Chimpanzee Information

Chimpanzees - Information: Pan troglodytes

Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives. Though requiring a rich year round food supply and preferring productive, moist forests, chimps are adaptable and can be found in habitats ranging from dry woodland to dry savannah. They are highly sociable, living in communities numbering up to 120; however individuals may also spend considerable time alone.

Primarily vegetarians, chimps consume fruit, bark, stem and leaves with the occasional meal of insects, nestling birds, eggs and large prey. The chimpanzee has a thickset body with long arms, short legs and no tail. Much of its body is covered with long black hair, but the face, ears, fingers and toes are bare. Young chimpanzees are browner if compared with adults.

Size: Height up to 1.7m; mass 40kg to 55kg.

Distribution: Western Uganda. Else where, chimpanzees are found in equatorial forest in western Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.

Status: Threatened by habitat destruction, civil unrest and hunting. Chimpanzees are endangered and occur in small isolated populations.