In desperation, many resort to foraging from the homes of humans nearby. Deforestation not only makes it harder for chimps to find a place to live, but it also strains their wild food supply. In western Uganda, habitat loss has fueled conflict between humans and our closest relatives. Logging, mining, oil extraction, and new road and highway projects threaten to further degrade and fragment the chimp’s habitat. As humans move into more and more of the chimp’s geographic range, they clear away the ape’s forest habitat to make way for agriculture. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has declared the chimpanzee an endangered species-and the booming human population is primarily to blame. Females reach reproductive age at 13, while males are not considered adults until they are 15. Reproductionįemales chimpanzees can give birth at any time of year, typically to a single infant that clings to its mother's fur and later rides on her back until the time of weaning between ages three and five. They relish meat, and have been known to kill and eat monkeys, small antelope, and even tortoises, which they slam against trees to break open their shells. Though they generally prefer fruits and plants, they have a varied diet that also includes insects, eggs, nuts, and hundreds of other things.
They usually sleep in trees-typically the sturdy Ugandan ironwood tree, which offers the most firm and stable place to sleep-and build themselves nests of leaves.Ĭhimps also do most of their eating in trees. Though many populations live in tropical rainforests, they can also be found in woodlands and grasslands spanning from central to western Africa. Habitat and dietĬhimpanzees have the widest range of any great ape. And chimpanzees can even be taught to use some basic human sign language. They use stones to smash open tasty nuts and employ leaves as sponges to soak up drinking water. Her groundbreaking discovery led archeologist Louis Leakey to declare, “Now we must redefine ‘tool,’ redefine ‘man,’ or accept chimpanzees as humans.”Īs Goodall observed, chimpanzees shape and use sticks to retrieve insects from their nests or dig grubs out of logs. This intelligent animal is one of the few species we know to use tools-which primatologist Jane Goodall famously observed in 1960. Chimpanzees have long arms, hands, and fingers, which help them climb trees and swing from branch to branch. Grooming is an important part of their social life, helping chimpanzees bond as they remove ticks and dirt from one another’s bodies.Īlthough they normally walk on all fours (knuckle-walking), chimpanzees can stand and walk upright. Research has shown that male and female chimps have individual personalities, with females being more trusting and timid. They live in communities of several dozen animals, led by an alpha male and his coalition of male allies. Humans and chimps are also thought to share a common ancestor who lived some seven to 13 million years ago. Along with bonobos, they are our closest living relatives, sharing 98.7 percent of our genetic blueprint. Current Population Trend: Decreasing What is the chimpanzee?Ĭhimpanzees are great apes found across central and West Africa.
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