peace-loving, matriarchal, and sexually liberated

“I once saw five female bonobos attack a male in Apenheul, in Holland,” he said. “They were gnawing on his toes. I’d already seen bonobos with digits missing, but I’d thought they would have been bitten off like a dog would bite. But they really chew. There was flesh between their teeth. Now, that’s something to counter the idea of”—Stevens used a high, mocking voice—“ ‘Oh, I’m a bonobo, and I love everyone.’ ”

Between the chimps and the bonobos, I’m afraid the socio-biological argument in favor of humanity’s general grooviness has suffered a major blow in my mind.