# Would bonobos mate with humans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 9, 2006, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bonobos-mate-with-humans/379662 "2006-11-09T03:53:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bonobos-mate-with-humans/379662/61 "2013-06-02T22:53:20Z")
> [@Luke\_Brandis](#): > > I have always wondered why many of the leading primatologists in the world are women… Women tend to be nurturing and caring while we guys usually want to kill something. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Luke\_Brandis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/898d66/32.png) [@Luke\_Brandis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luke_Brandis)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bonobos-mate-with-humans/379662/62 "2013-06-02T22:57:27Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Women tend to be nurturing and caring while we guys usually want to kill something. 🙂 Yep, that’s the answer I usually get 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bonobos-mate-with-humans/379662/63 "2013-06-03T14:55:28Z")
> [@Luke\_Brandis](#): > > I have always wondered why many of the leading primatologists in the world are women… > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Women tend to be nurturing and caring while we guys usually want to kill something. 🙂 > [@Luke\_Brandis](#): > > Yep, that’s the answer I usually get 😃 There’s actually some truth to this. I once went to a lecture by paleontologist Louis Leakey in the early 1970s. He said he had encouraged the studies of Jane Goodall and Diane Fossey in part because as women they would be less likely to behave aggressively or challenge male chimpanzees or gorillas and so would be better able to habituate groups. He felt that men would have been too likely to behave aggressively in a confrontation with a dominant male and get into trouble. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bonobos-mate-with-humans/379662/64 "2013-06-03T14:58:26Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > There’s actually some truth to this. I have Fought Ignorance! Do I get a Citation from Cecil? A cookie? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Luke\_Brandis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/898d66/32.png) [@Luke\_Brandis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luke_Brandis)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bonobos-mate-with-humans/379662/65 "2013-06-03T23:07:11Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > There’s actually some truth to this. I once went to a lecture by paleontologist Louis Leakey in the early 1970s. He said he had encouraged the studies of Jane Goodall and Diane Fossey in part because as women they would be less likely to behave aggressively or challenge male chimpanzees or gorillas and so would be better able to habituate groups. He felt that men would have been too likely to behave aggressively in a confrontation with a dominant male and get into trouble. That makes a lot of sense. :\> [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bonobos-mate-with-humans/379662.md?page=3)