

Within their communities, chimps sleep, travel and feed in smaller sub-groups of up to ten. We also show similar behaviours, and like us chimps laugh when playing, hug to show affection and are able to walk upright.Ĥ) In the wild, chimpanzees live in ‘communities’ made up of around 15 to 80 members led by a dominant, alpha male. Today, populations are fragmented, with the largest groups found in Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon.ģ) Did you know the DNA (the material that determines how a living thing will look and function) of chimps and humans is 98.5% the same? That’s how closely related we are! As a result, we share many similar features, such as expressive faces, big toes and hands that can grasp. Their faces are flat with big eyes, a small nose and a wide mouth.Ģ) These amazing animals live in the tropical forests and woodland savannahs of West and Central Africa. They have long arms that extend below their knees, short legs and black hair covering almost their entire body. Habitat: Tropical forests and woodland savannahsġ) Chimpanzees are one of our planet’s ‘ great apes’, along with gorillas and orangutans. They are not frequent, but they can happen.Pack your bags for a family trip, gang – because we’re off to the tropical forests of Africa to catch up with one of our closest relatives! Check out our ten top chimpanzee facts… There have been cases of cannibalism of common chimpanzees in the wild and bonobos in captivity. Bonobos hunt less often, but if they have the opportunity they catch termites, flying squirrels, and duikers. Once the animal is dead, they share the meat among all the members of the group. Some chase the prey, others block the way, and others hide and ambush it. If it is a small monkey, a chimpanzee can go through the trees to get it, but in the case of needing help, each member of the group has a hunting role. The species that common chimpanzees hunt are the western red colobus monkey (Procolobus badius), the red-tailed monkey (Cercopithecus ascanius) and the yellow baboon (Papio cynocephalus). But sometimes they even feed on wild boars, birds and their eggs. On average, they spend 6 to 8 hours feeding, per day.Īlthough they do not stand out as hunters, chimpanzees can hunt small vertebrates, mainly antelopes such as the blue duiker (Philantomba monticola) and monkeys.

During the first hours of the morning they begin to consume almost everything they have near, but after a few hours they become more selective and start choosing the leaves that have more water and the ripe fruits. They spend almost all day eating, but feeding is an activity done mainly individually. From time to time they can also consume caterpillars. Once the insects climb to the tool, the chimpanzee takes it out and eats it as its recently caught food. Chimps are often observed catching termites with the help of a stick or twig that they introduce in the termite nest.

Males consume more meat than females who get their proteins mainly from insects, they are occasionally seen hunting. In the past they were thought to be exclusively herbivores, but now it is known that they eat less than 2 percent of meat in their usual diet. The vegetables that chimpanzees eat give them a fair amount of protein, but they need a little more. In the afternoon, chimps usually spend about an hour or two feeding on young leaves. Fruit is the main component of the chimpanzee diet, and they spend at least four hours a day finding and eating varieties of this food. Chimps mostly feed on the fig tree fruits as their major loved fruits, however they can also feed on other tree fruits.
