Animal List and Facts

Are you ready to try your hand at observing chimpanzees?
First, here’s some basic facts that a researcher needs to know.

Chimpanzee (Pan Troglodytes)

Making a home...
Chimpanzees live in tropical Africa.  Rainforest is their most common home, but they also live in other kinds of forest or open savanna.

Sizing up...
Average adult males stand about 4 feet tall and weigh 130 pounds.  Females are slightly smaller- three feet tall and around 90-100 pounds.

Getting along...
Chimpanzees live in communities ranging from 20 to 100 individuals.  Close lifelong bonds develop between family and community members.

Getting around...
Chimpanzees usually walk on the soles fo their feet and on their knuckles.  Sometimes they may walk on two legs.

Raising young...
A young chimpanzee usually stays with mom until at least the age of six – and sometimes stays close by throughout her lifetime.

Finding food...
Fruit, leaves, seeds and flowers are among chimpanzee’s favorite foods.  Ants, caterpillars and honey provide an occasional meal, and sometimes chimpanzees may even hunt and eat meat.

Chimpanzees are a lot like us!...
With them, we share nearly 99% of our genes.  This is why scientists depend on chimpanzees as substitutes for humans as they search for cures and vaccines to human diseases.

Do chimpanzees look familiar? Watch for signs of chimpanzees:

Communicating...
Hugging, angry gestures and even tackling – all are ways chimpanzees communicate a lot like humans.

Showing intelligence...
Chimpanzees make and use tools, hunt and make decisions.  In captivity, they can be taught to use sign language and computers.

Showing family and community bonds...
Like us, chimpanzees have childhoods.  And bonds between chimpanzees may last a lifetime.

Sadly, despite our many similarities, human actions like logging and hunting are the main causes for the decline in chimpanzee population.