AFRICAN CHIMPANZEE: SPECIES OF GREAT APE

African Chimpanzee: There are four subpopulations of the chimpanzee the western chimp, the Nigeria-Cameroon chimp, the central chimp, and the eastern chimp. This great ape is one of our closest relatives, sharing about 98 percent of their genes with Human.

They have thickset bodies with short legs, opposable thumbs, no tails, and long arms that are 1.5 times their height that extends beyond their knees. Much of their body is covered with long black hair, but the face, ears, fingers, and toes are bare.

Groups of chimpanzees occupy sharply defined territories, and the rare interactions between neighboring groups are often hostile. Border patrols, usually male coalitions, conduct violent coordinated attacks on neighbors, which can on occasion lead to death although this is rare, since lethal attacks on members of the same species are uncommon.

However, violence can also occur within communities when younger males contend with the alpha male for dominance.

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION OF AFRICAN CHIMPANZEE.

The Scientific name of Chimpanzee is Pan Troglodytes.

WEIGHT.

• 25 TO 70 KILOGRAMS (57 TO 154 POUNDS)

SIZE

• ABOUT 1 TO 2 METERS TALL (3 TO 5.5 FEET).

HABITAT

• FORESTS, LOWLAND FORESTS, SWAMP FORESTS, SAVANNA WOODLAND.

LIFE SPAN

• UNKNOWN BUT ESTIMATED TO BE UP TO 50 YEARS.

PREDATORS

• HUMANS AND LEOPARDS.

Challenges Facing African Chimpanzee.

1. The Chimpanzee is Hunted for bush meat.

While bush meat has always been a popular source of dietary protein for local communities, the scale of hunting has increased dramatically, and the activity has become heavily commercialized with much more of the meat now going to urban residents.

2. Chimps are losing their homes.

The number of chimps in the wild is steadily decreasing. One of the main causes is the alarming rate at which forests are cut down for farming, settlements, and other activities.

Solutions to the Challenges.

Different solutions to protecting the endangered chimpanzee:

• Work with Communities.

African Wildlife Foundation works with local communities to provide education, and at times, incentivize conservation. For example, we built Lupani School a conservation school in the Sekute community. AWF agreed to work with the community on the grounds they would practice sustainable agriculture and conserve their local wildlife.

Also, conservation is built into the school’s curriculum to teach younger generations about protecting their wildlife.

• Provide Agricultural Training.

AWF engages communities living near chimps to create sustainable practices for agricultural and settlement growth by providing training on best practices and incentivizing conservation when appropriate.

Behaviors of Chimpanzee of African.

• They Enjoy spending time together.

Chimps touch each other a great deal and may kiss when they meet. They also hold hands and groom each other. An adult often has a special companion with which it spends a lot of time. The strongest relationships within a community appear to be between adult males.

They tend to spend a great deal of time together and will groom one another four times as much than females. Female chimps give their young a great deal of attention and help each other with babysitting chores.

• They can use Tools.

Chimps have opposable thumbs and a firm grip. This allows them to pick up objects and use “tools” for certain purposes. Chimpanzees are very intelligent indeed. They communicate with facial expressions and are one of the only animals to use tools.

• Chimps are not Picky Eaters.

After descending from their night nests in the trees, they hungrily feed on fruits, their principal diet, and on leaves, buds, and blossoms. After a while, their feeding becomes more selective, and they will choose the ripest fruit.

They usually pick fruit with their hands, but they eat berries and seeds directly off the stem with their lips.

• The Chimpanzee is the Mammal most like a Human.

They are intelligent, curious, noisy, and social. Chimps live in loose communities which can number anywhere from ten to more than 100 individuals. They can share a home range that they protect from intruders and will sometimes forage for foods in groups.

They exhibit complex patterns of behavior, many of which are learned, and can solve problems, plan for anticipated events, as well as make and use tools.

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