Chimpanzee

 

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Classification:

Global Population

Description and Natural History

Physical Description
Chimpanzees have black hair all over their bodies except on their face, ears, palms of the hands and soles of the feet. In areas where there is no hair, the skin is pinkish to black in colour. Young have very pale skin and a white-coloured tail tuft that disappears by early adulthood.

Adult males are slightly larger than females, and in the Gombe region of Africa, weigh about 40-52 kilograms (90-115 pounds) and stand 1.2 meters (4 feet) when upright. Chimpanzees from different areas may be larger.

Natural History
Chimpanzees inhabit lowland and montane tropical rainforest, and tropical savannah woodland. Chimapanzees are extinct in numerous countries and the greatly reduced distribution now covers a wide but discontinuous area of equatorial Africa. Today, four subspecies of chimpanzee are recognized.

Chimpanzees live in complex social units and travel in groups of about six individuals. Group members may come and go from this group. Large groups may form when food is available or when a sexually mature female comes into season. Mothers and young of up to seven years of age are always found together and siblings or friends may travel together more so than with others. The social structure is hierarchical with a dominant male in each group; all females fall under all males in that group. Males will patrol the area around the group and will attack individuals from other communities.

Chimpanzees have arms that are longer than their legs and individuals can easily climb trees and swing from branches using their opposable thumbs and big toes for grip. Although they can walk in an upright position, most walking is done on the back feet with the backs of their finger joints on the ground. Chimpanzees feed on fruits, leaves and other plant parts, as well as insects, honey and occasionally meat and eggs.

When females are sexually receptive, the skin around the rump becomes pink and swells. The first swelling may occur at eight or nine years of age but females will not become attractive to older males until age ten or eleven. Females give birth to one baby (rarely twins) every five or six years after a gestation period of 202 - 261 days. Young are weaned at about four years of age but remain dependent on the mother until about ten. Males reach sexual maturity between twelve and thirteen years but are not socially mature until a few years later. They will still mate, however, as lower ranking males as well as the dominant male can mate with a sexually receptive female.

Chimpanzees communicate using postures, gestures, facial expressions and calls. Physical contact is very important for maintaining relationships and chimpanzees use social grooming to maintain relationships and to calm others. Chimpanzees were the first non-human animal to be recognized using tools.

Chimpanzees live about 50 years in the wild.

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Status of the Species

Status
Chimpanzees are listed as Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Threats to the Species
Chimpanzees are threatened by deforestation and habitat loss due to logging, mining, farming and other development. In parts of the west, only small tracts of intact rainforest remain after logging, leaving subpopulations small and highly fragmented. Construction of roads has led to increased access to animals for the commercial bushmeat trade. Poaching of chimpanzees for meat and for young is even a threat in protected areas.

International Trade
Listed on Appendix I of CITES which prohibits international trade.

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Authors and Sources

Sources
CITES. 2001. http://www.cites.org.

The Jane Goodall Institute. 2001. Chimpanzees.
http://www.janegoodall.org/chimp_central/default.asp

WWF. Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes).
http://www.panda.org.

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