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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
|
| COMMON
NAME: |
chimpanzee,
chimp |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Mammalia |
| ORDER: |
Primates |
| FAMILY: |
Hominidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Pan
(all) troglodytes (cave dwellers) |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Long
arms with opposable thumbs; hair color brown to
black; adults similar in size to adolescent humans |
|
| SIZE: |
|
| MALE |
1.2
m (4 ft) |
| FEMALE |
1.1
m (3.5 ft) |
|
| WEIGHT: |
|
| MALE |
60
kg (132 lbs) |
| FEMALE |
47
kg (103.6 lbs) |
|
| DIET: |
Omnivores
that feed on fruits, leaves, seeds, stems, bark,
insect, and meat; 60% fruits, 30% other vegetation,
10% animal matter |
|
| GESTATION: |
230-240
days |
| ESTRAL
PERIOD |
36
days |
| NURSING
DURATION |
48
months (wean) |
|
| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
|
| MALE |
7-8
years |
| FEMALE |
6-10
years |
|
| LIFE
SPAN: |
Average
of 30-40 years in the wild; 45-55 years in managed
situations |
|
|
|
| HABITAT: |
Tropical
forests |
|
| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
Unknown |
|
| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Not
listed |
| CITES |
Appendix
I |
| USFWS |
Endangered |
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|
| 1. |
Young
chimps learn to create tools from objects in their
environment by watching others; they use sticks
to extract termites to eat and crumple leaves to
soak up water to drink. |
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|
| 2. |
Just
like people, mother chimpanzees often develop lifelong
relationships with their offspring. |
|
|
| 3. |
By
following wild chimps through the forests, scientists
discovered that chimps use medicinal plants to treat
themselves for illness and injury. Scientists have
isolated an anti-tumor agent in one such plant! |
|
|
| 4. |
Chimpanzees
are very social primates that use facial expressions,
vocalizations, body language, grooming, and even
kisses and pats to communicate with members of their
group. |
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|
| 5. |
The
differences between monkeys and apes are easy to
see once you know what to look for. Apes do not
have a tail and are generally larger than most other
primates. They have a more upright body posture
as well. Apes rely more on vision than on smell
and have a short broad nose rather than a snout,
as Old World monkeys do. Apes have a larger brain
relative to the body size than other primates do. |
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While
foraging through an area, a chimp feeds on a variety
of fruits. A few days later, the seeds pass through
the digestive tract and germinate far away from
the parent plant. This method of seed dispersal
insures healthy plant diversity within the habitat
and creates shelter and food for other forest
dwellers, including native peoples.
Because
chimps closely resemble humans, studying their
behavior and biology may provide great insight
for solving the mysteries of our own ancestry
and social development.
There
are only four subspecies of chimpanzee left in
the wild today. Habitat loss, poaching, and the
bush meat trade are the main causes behind chimp
deaths.
Busch
Gardens is proud of its long-standing relationship
with the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center,
Emory University, Atlanta, Ga., the site of some
of the most well-respected primate research programs
in the world. Busch Gardens has partnered with
the Yerkes Center on several primate conservation
research programs including the Tana River Primate
Research Center in Southeast Kenya and in-park
behavioral research carried out by Frans de Waal,
Ph.D. and his staff at the Yerkes Center.
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|
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|
| |
|
|
| Ghiglieri,
Michael P. East of the Mountains of the Moon.
New York: Free Press, 1988. |
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| Goodall,
Jane. In the Shadow of Man. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin,
1971. |
|
|
Nowak,
Ronald M. (ed.). Walker's Mammals of the World.
Vol.I. Baltimore: Johns-Hopkins University
Press, 1991.
|
|
| Parker,
Sybil P. (ed.). Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals.
Vol. II. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Co.,
1990. |
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