Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives, sharing more than 98 percent of our genetic blueprint. Humans and chimps are also thought to share a common ancestor who lived some four to eight million years ago. They communicate with varied vocal sounds, gestures and facial expressions. The chimpanzees are clever, inventive and highly sociable. They live in extended family groups, forming close bonds with each other that can last a life-span of 50 years or more. Despite their cuddly image, they are powerful animals and can sometimes be aggressive, even killing and attacking their own kind. Noisy and curious, intelligent and social, the chimpanzee is the mammal most like a human. Chimpanzees fascinate humans and are favorites both in zoos and the wild.
Although they normally walk on all fours, chimpanzees can stand and walk upright. By swinging from branch to branch, they can also move quite efficiently in the trees,
where they do most of their eating. The chimpanzee’s inventiveness and ability to
learn, coupled with its superb hand-eye coordination and strength, make it wellsuited
to life in the forest. Chimpanzees usually sleep in the trees as well, employing nests of leaves.
It is untrue that chimps, along with other apes, are vegetarians. Five to 10 per cent of their diet consists of birds’ eggs, insects and meat. In fact, even cannibalism has been reported among some chimpanzees. Chimpanzees are one of the few animal species that employ tools.
They shape and use sticks to retrieve insects from their nests or dig grubs out of logs. They also use stones to smash open tasty nuts and employ leaves as sponges to soak up drinking
water. Chimpanzees can even be taught to use some basic human sign language.
Early Stage
Females can give birth at any time of the year, typically to a single infant that clings to its mother's fur and later rides on her back until the age of two. A newborn chimpanzee
is completely helpless, so it must rely on its mother for milk for the first few months. The bond between mother and baby is very strong. If one of them dies, the other goes into deep mourning. Like humans, chimpanzees have a long childhood and spend many hours playing and climbing. They learn how to behave in the group and also how to survive by copying
both their mother and other relatives.
Social Hierarchy
A chimpanzee’s group can range in size from 10-80 animals and is usually led by a dominant male. There is a complex social hierarchy, but this changes constantly as members come and go. Rank within the group depends just as much on personality and intelligence as on physical strength. Chimpanzees are noisy and communicative. They chatter, clap hands and kiss each other. They are highly sociable and enjoy grooming each other. When angry, they
scream, beat the ground with their hands or attack each other, but they are usually quick
to make up again.
Facing Extinction
Although chimps and humans are closely related, the apes have suffered much at human hands. These great apes are endangered and still threatened by bush-meat hunters and habitat destruction. If their numbers continue to decline at the present rate, there will be none left in 20 years.
Gorillas
Gorillas are the biggest of the apes. A big male can be 1.8m tall. They look ferocious, but are
among the gentlest of creatures. They eat only berries and leaves, and the male only becomes aggressive when a rival male intrudes on his group - even then he only beats his chest and roars.
FACTS
Although they normally walk on all fours, chimpanzees can stand and walk upright. By swinging from branch to branch, they can also move quite efficiently in the trees,
where they do most of their eating. The chimpanzee’s inventiveness and ability to
learn, coupled with its superb hand-eye coordination and strength, make it wellsuited
to life in the forest. Chimpanzees usually sleep in the trees as well, employing nests of leaves.
It is untrue that chimps, along with other apes, are vegetarians. Five to 10 per cent of their diet consists of birds’ eggs, insects and meat. In fact, even cannibalism has been reported among some chimpanzees. Chimpanzees are one of the few animal species that employ tools.
They shape and use sticks to retrieve insects from their nests or dig grubs out of logs. They also use stones to smash open tasty nuts and employ leaves as sponges to soak up drinking
water. Chimpanzees can even be taught to use some basic human sign language.
Early Stage
Females can give birth at any time of the year, typically to a single infant that clings to its mother's fur and later rides on her back until the age of two. A newborn chimpanzee
is completely helpless, so it must rely on its mother for milk for the first few months. The bond between mother and baby is very strong. If one of them dies, the other goes into deep mourning. Like humans, chimpanzees have a long childhood and spend many hours playing and climbing. They learn how to behave in the group and also how to survive by copying
both their mother and other relatives.
Social Hierarchy
A chimpanzee’s group can range in size from 10-80 animals and is usually led by a dominant male. There is a complex social hierarchy, but this changes constantly as members come and go. Rank within the group depends just as much on personality and intelligence as on physical strength. Chimpanzees are noisy and communicative. They chatter, clap hands and kiss each other. They are highly sociable and enjoy grooming each other. When angry, they
scream, beat the ground with their hands or attack each other, but they are usually quick
to make up again.
Facing Extinction
Although chimps and humans are closely related, the apes have suffered much at human hands. These great apes are endangered and still threatened by bush-meat hunters and habitat destruction. If their numbers continue to decline at the present rate, there will be none left in 20 years.
Gorillas
Gorillas are the biggest of the apes. A big male can be 1.8m tall. They look ferocious, but are
among the gentlest of creatures. They eat only berries and leaves, and the male only becomes aggressive when a rival male intrudes on his group - even then he only beats his chest and roars.
FACTS
- Chimpanzees’ body temperature is the same as humans, at 37.0 degrees Celsius.
- Travelling at 80 kilometres per hour, a car uses half its fuel to overcome wind resistance!
