De Waal: Very important. Bonobos have sex about seven times more frequently than chimpanzees. But their encounters are also shorter, lasting 14 seconds on average. For them, sex is like shaking hands, and they do in all kinds of positions. These Kama Sutra primates stimulate each other orally and with their hands, and they even have sex hanging upside down. Most importantly, however, they engage in all kinds of combinations, homosexual or heterosexual. They do avoid sex between mothers and sons, however. Unlike chimpanzees, they also have sex when bonobo females aren't even in heat. I would say that three-quarters of their sexual activity isn't for reproductive purposes.
SPIEGEL: For what, then?
De Waal: For pleasure and relaxation. And for repairing damaged relationships. When bonobos climb a fruit tree, the first thing that happens is that the females have plenty of sex. Their so-called GG rubbing, or rubbing their genitalia together, is the cement holding together their social order. Finally, the males use sex to try to get food from the females.
SPIEGEL: Why so much sex? How did this behavior develop?
De Waal: It prevents infanticide, or the killing of young animals by the adult males, the leading cause of death in young primates. Because bonobo males have sex with all bonobo females, they have no idea which children could be theirs. We call this paternity concealment. Female chimpanzees use a different strategy. They leave the group shortly before giving birth and spend years avoiding the dangerous male groups.
SPIEGEL: What role did infanticide play in human evolution?
De Waal: A very important one. In humans, the family prevents infanticide. Next to language, the core family, consisting of a mother, a father and children, is the greatest difference between us and other primates.
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