Chimpanzee

• Facts
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• Conservation
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• SSP Status

Chimpanzees have black hair and pinkish to black skin on their faces, ears, palms of their hands, and soles of their feet. Infants have pale skin in these areas and a white tail tuft, which disappears by early adulthood. Older individuals sometimes have a gray back and both males and females often have short, white beards. The ears are prominent. Chimpanzees have arms that are longer than their legs and this enables them to reach out for fruits growing on thin branches that would not support their total weight. They are excellent climbers and are able to brachiate (swing from branch to branch using their arms). When chimpanzees travel, they usually walk on the ground and are known as “knuckle walkers”. They also walk upright, in the bipedal position, especially when carrying food in their hands or when looking over tall grass. Chimpanzees have opposable (capable of being placed against one or more of the remaining digits) thumbs and opposable big toes. Chimpanzee males are slightly larger and heavier than females. Adult males weigh between 90 and 130 pounds and measure about 4 feet tall when standing upright.

Chimpanzee Facts

Range

The chimpanzee has a wide but discontinuous distribution in equatorial Africa, in about 21 countries from Senegal in the west to Tanzania in the east. Most taxonomists have recognized three or four distinct subspecies, although current genetic studies appear likely to refine this picture significantly.

Habitat

The largest concentrations of chimpanzees are found in rainforests in what was once the African equatorial forest belt. Rapid deforestation in Africa has left only fragmented patches of this forest. Chimpanzees are able to move into other habitats and are found in secondary re-growth forests, open woodlands, bamboo forests, swamp forests and even open savanna with riverine forest and forest savanna mosaic. Chimpanzees seldom venture far into the savanna except to move from one forest patch to the next. They are found at altitudes up to 9,000 feet.

Diet

Chimpanzees eat over 250 food types and their diet varies seasonally. Food includes fruit, leaves, flowers, ants, termites, wasps, grubs, birds and mammals (including 12 species of primates, bushbucks, bushpigs, duikers, rodents and hyraxes.)

                                                       Reproduction

Data from wild chimpanzees indicate that females reach sexual maturity at approximately age 11. Malesdo not reach it until age 13. When a female is in estrus, sexually attractive, and receptive to the males, the skin around her rump swells considerably and is clear pink. Females show their first small sexual swellings at age 8 or 9, but there is usually a two-year period of adolescent sterility before the female finally conceives. Spacing between births (provided the previous infant lives) is about 5 years. The gestation period is approximately 8 months and the average age for the female’s first birth is 14 to 15 years.

Lifespan

Although we don’t really know what the maximum lifespan is for chimpanzees, some individuals have been known to live over 50 years in the wild and over 60 years in captivity.

Subspecies Currently Recognized

• Pan troglodytes verus (western subspecies)
• Pan troglodytes vellerosus (the East Nigeria-West Cameroon subspecies)
• Pan troglodytes troglodytes (central subspecies)
• Pan troglodytes schweinfurthi (eastern subspecies)

Conservation Status

Chimpanzees are classified as endangered. It is difficult to determine a population size, but recent estimates suggest a total chimpanzee population of around 105,000—down from estimates made in the late 1980’s, which put the total at between 145,000 and 230,000.

The largest remaining populations of chimpanzees occur in central Africa, mainly Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon. Populations are severely depleted in Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Burundi and Rwanda. Five other countries, Senegal, Mali, the Cabinda enclave of Angola, Republic of Guinea and Sudan, contain only small and dispersed remnant populations. Chimpanzees are now extinct in four of the 25 countries they once inhabited (Gambia, Burkina Faso, Togo and Benin). It is clear that chimpanzee numbers have declined substantially and populations are at risk almost everywhere.The commercial trade in bushmeat is by far the greatest immediate threat to chimpanzees. This problem is compounded by commercial logging, conversion of habitat to agriculture, mineral prospecting and mining, and forest fires. Progressive habitat loss often leaves small and unconnected patches in which chimpanzee populations are isolated and at risk from chance demographic factors. Hunting of adult chimpanzees for bushmeat has a disproportionate impact on populations because of their slow reproductive rate. Civil wars exacerbate the problem because of the increased availability of guns, displacement of people and reduced agricultural output, all of which increase hunting levels. The live animal trade, including capture of infants for the pet trade and entertainment industry, and the international biomedical trade, are additional pressures.

The chimpanzee is listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and trade in individuals or products is therefore subject to strict regulation by ratifying nations. Trade for commercial purposes is banned. Chimpanzees are protected by law throughout their ranges, although enforcement is usually poor to non-existent. Chimpanzees are listed in Class A of the African Convention which prohibits the hunting or capture of chimpanzees unless in the national interest or for scientific purposes.

Sources

• The Jane Goodall Institute
• United Nations Environment Programme Great Apes Survival Project (GRASP)
• The Pictorial Guide to the Living Primates (Rowe)

Online Sources

Online Resources

• Association for Zoos and Aquarium’s Chimpanzee Species Survival Plan
• Pan African Sanctuary Alliance
• Bushmeat Crisis Task Force
• The Jane Goodall Institute
• Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program

AZA Chimpanzee SSP Status

The Chimpanzee Species Survival Plan (SSP) serves 34 zoos across the United States to help guide the management of the chimpanzee population. The five major goals of the Chimpanzee SSP are:

• Ensuring the genetic and demographic health of the captive population
• Advancing the care of captive chimpanzees
• Engaging in research to help learn more about chimpanzees and their care
• Educating the public about critical chimpanzee issues
• Partnering with other organizations that seek to improve the lives of wild and captive chimpanzees

To learn more, visit the Chimpanzee SSP website at: www.chimp-ssp.org.