New Year’s Benefit for Bonobos

Bonobos are very close to my heart. In 2008, I wrote and published a children’s book called, “I’m Lucy: A Day in the Life of a Young Bonobo.” It tells the story of a young bonobo ape named Lucy as she goes about her day with her family at the Jacksonville, Florida zoo. It is accompanied by photographs taken on-site by the amazing Marian Brickner and has an afterword by the one and only Jane Goodall.

So, you can imagine that when I learned that Tristan Israel was bringing together some of the Island’s singer/songwriters to raise awareness and money for our closest ape cousins this New Year’s Eve, I was more than thrilled to find out more.

Bonobos, also known as pygmy chimps, share 99% of our DNA, but humans have much to learn from bonobos, as they are a uniquely peaceful and loving society.

In the wild, bonobos live exclusively in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), an area ravaged by civil war for decades. Tragically, scientists predict that bonobos will be extinct within ten years unless their habitat is protected.  No one knows how many bonobos are left in the wild; it may be fewer than 5000.

Turns out Israel fell for the bonobos the way many do. By seeing a documentary on NOVA called, “The Last Great Ape.” He was impressed with their capacity for love, kindness and intelligence.

“It just stuck with me,” said Israel of the documentary, “Just to see their social interaction and learn about them was amazing and I ended up writing a song about them.” That song, called simply, “Bonobo,” was recently recorded and will be featured on Israel’s upcoming CD due out this spring.

“It’s a dark song, not a happy song, but it’s a powerful song,” said Israel. Israel hopes that by singing about the bonobos and holding such benefits as tonight’s, he will be able to raise awareness as well as funds to protect the bonobos habitat.

In addition to Israel, who will be accompanied by Paul Thurlow, singer/songwriter Kevin Keady will also perform at the event.

The fundraiser will take place at 7:30 pm at the in Vineyard Haven. There is a suggested donation of $12 or give what you can. All of the money raised for the event will go to the Bonobo Conservation Initiative, a group that works tirelessly in the DRC to protect bonobos and their habitat.