Chimpanzees are great apes (not monkeys) who are native to the continent of Africa. Three subspecies of common chimpanzees are distributed across the forest zone of Africa from Guinea to western Tanzania and Uganda.
Fast Facts about Chimpanzees
1.Chimpanzees are our closest living relative because we share all but 1.4% of our DNA with chimps. Chimpanzees are more closely related to humans than to gorillas or orangutans.
2. Chimpanzees use tools like sticks to extract ants from the trees/holes, or stones to break the shell of the nut. Chimpanzees use large sticks and branches as clubs or throw them at enemies like leopards and humans.
3. Chimpanzees in the wild have different cultures. That is, different groups of chimpanzees that live in different parts of Africa have unique behaviors, tools, and traditions that are passed down from generation to generation
4. Chimpanzees are omnivores, which means they eat fruits, nuts, seeds, blossoms and leaves, as well as many kinds of insects and occasionally medium-sized animals. They supplement their diets with meat, such as young antelopes or goats. Their most frequent victims, however, are other primates such as young baboons, colobus monkeys and blue monkeys.
5. Chimps groom each other. This is one way to show friendship. They comb and pull dirt and bugs out of each other’s fur. They exchange kisses, hugs, touches in their community and use complicated system of sounds to communicate.
6. Chimpanzees are 6-7 times stronger than humans. They make and use tools. In fact, they use more tools for more purposes than any other creature except human beings.
7. Chimpanzee mothers carry their babies on their back for 4 years or more. They remain close their whole lives.
8. Chimpanzees thumb is in opposition with other fingers which means that their thumb is not in the same line with other four fingers (just like in human hands). These specific shape of hands allows them to develop and use tools, to groom each other.
9. When chimpanzees are bored, they organize various games to entertain themselves.
10. In the wild, chimpanzee lives 40-50 years, and in captivity between 50 and 60 years.
