This species is quite closely related to
chimpanzees. On the average they are slightly smaller, although some bonobos are larger than some chimpanzees. They seem to be slightly more capable than chimpanzees in terms of social skills and communication, and slightly less so in terms of tool use.
In the wild, bonobo society is dominated by the females. As individuals they are not quite as strong as the males, but since they consistently band together against male aggression while males do not cooperate to the same degree.
Bonobos are also noted for being much more sexually active than otherwise similar species, and there seems to be less explicit violence. Sexual stimuli are used as conflict avoiding mechanisms even between the same sex.
Scientists do not think of Bonobo society as a sort of egalitarian utopia. There is a rigid caste system, by which groups of higher ranking females band together to keep lower groups in their place. While there seems to be less overt violence than with chimpanzees, the dominance of higher ranking groups over food sources can mean the difference between life and death to lower ranking females.