Bonobos Bond, Not Battle: Outsider Threat Triggers Social Cohesion
New research shows bonobos respond to outsider calls with heightened alertness and a modest rise in affiliative behaviors like grooming, using social bonding rather than aggression to cope with threats—a pattern known as the common-enemy effect. The study across multiple groups found bonobos’ response is milder than chimpanzees but still demonstrates a link between external threat and internal cohesion, suggesting this cooperative toolkit evolved millions of years ago and that humans can also cooperate across borders instead of defaulting to warfare. The findings imply bonobos may have stopped lethal intergroup aggression long ago, offering insight into the roots of peaceful social strategies.
