Ask us a Question
Chimp Facts
Range and Habitat
* Chimpanzees are distributed over a wide but fragmented area in
Equatorial Africa that includes Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon,
Central African Republic (CAR), Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea,
Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone,
Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda
Equatorial Africa that includes Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon,
Central African Republic (CAR), Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea,
Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone,
Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda
* Because of their broad distribution, chimpanzees live in a wide variety of
habitats such as rainforests, dry forests and savannahs.
Diet
* Nearly half of their diet is fruit but chimpanzees will also eat leaves, seeds,
bark and small animals such as monkeys forest antelope.
bark and small animals such as monkeys forest antelope.
* Chimps are known to make and use tools such branches stripped of their
leaves to get honey or termites. They will also use rocks to break open
nuts and use leaves to scoop or soak up water to drink. These behaviors
vary between different groups.
* At HZI, chimps will be fed a diet fruits, vegetables, greens, seeds and a
commercially produced primate chow.
Social Behavior and Reproduction
* Chimpanzees live in fission-fusion social groups, meaning a large group
may occasionally split into smaller groups and then come back together
again.
may occasionally split into smaller groups and then come back together
again.
* There is a linear hierarchy among males and males are dominant over
females. Young males may stay with their mother and her group their
entire lives. Males form strong relationships with each other in the group
and cooperate to defend their territory and hunt.
* Females often leave their natal group and the dominance hierarchy is
based on age, with the oldest being the highest in rank.
* Young chimpanzees are not weaned until about 6 years old and remain
very close to their mother until 9 years old. Their status in the group is
likely tied to their mother’s rank in the hierarchy.
* Females in estrus have a large ano-genital swelling that attracts the
attention of the males. Females exhibit a variety of mating strategies but
are mostly promiscuous, mating with several males in the group.
Occasionally a dominant male may restrict the access of other males, or a
female may sneak away with a male from her group or even from another
group.
* Chimpanzees communicate in a variety of ways. Visual communication
includes body postures and facial expressions. They also use a variety of
vocalizations and even drum on objects to communicate via sound.
Conservation
* Chimpanzees are listed as CITES Appendix I, IUCN Red List Endangered
and US Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered. Captive chimpanzees are
listed as Threatened by USFWS but efforts are underway to list them as
endangered as well.
and US Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered. Captive chimpanzees are
listed as Threatened by USFWS but efforts are underway to list them as
endangered as well.
* There are only 100,000-200,000 chimpanzees left in the wild and they are
declining rapidly
* Threats include hunting, habitat loss and disease, all of which increase as
human populations move into chimpanzee habitat.
* Possible solutions include sustainable logging and farming, treatment of
human disease in areas near chimpanzees, enforcement of anti-poaching
laws, establishment of protected areas, and providing alternatives to
bushmeat consumption.
