Parents with children in adolescence know this all too well: one minute ‘the little ones’ are just up to your shoulder, and all of a sudden, they’re growing over your head. Until now, it was assumed that such pubertal growth spurt in body length only occurs in humans, but not in other primates. Researchers have now investigated this widespread hypothesis in bonobos (Pan paniscus). The result: Pronounced, human-like growth in the adolescent years also exists in bonobos and presumably also in other monkeys. Thus, humans are less exceptional in this trait than previously thought.