Chimpanzee
(Pan troglodytes)
Facts
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IUCN ENDANGERED (EN)
Facts about this animal
The chimpanzee is a large ape with a head-body length of 77-100 cm and a body-weight of about 50 kg in adult males. In zoos where they may get food too rich in energy and have not enough exercise, weights of up to 90 kg have been recorded. Females are somewhat smaller, up to 85 cm, and lighter, around 45-50 kg.
Chimpanzees have a bare face with pale, motlted or darkly pigmented skin. A white beard grows on the chin of adults of both sexes. The eyes are very human-like with a yellowish-brown iris. The ears are big, naked and prominent. The lips are protrusive and very moveable.
The arms are longer than the legs. Hands and feet are elongated with short, opposable thumbs and big toes.
The hair is black, coarse, dense and short, longer on head, shoulders and forearms. The coat on the upper chest is weak. Older animals of both sexes tend to baldness and their coat may turn grey.
In the wild, females become adolescent at 8 to 10 years. Females in estrus have prominent swelling of the pink perineal skin, lasting two to three weeks or more and occurring every four to six weeks. After a gestation period of 230 to 250 days usually one single young is born, which the females raises alone. Birth intervals are 4 to 5 years. The young nurses about 5 years.
The food of chimpanzees consists primarily of fruit, nuts and other plant material, but animal protein is an inegral part of their diet.
Did you know?
that chimpanzees do not only eat fruit and other plant material but are also predators in their forest ecosystems? Chimpanzees hunt smaller primate species, such as the red colobus, duikers and whatever they can get. In some sites the quantity of meat eaten by a chimpanzee community may approach one ton annually.
| Factsheet | |
|---|---|
| Class | MAMMALIA |
| Order | PRIMATES |
| Suborder | SIMIAE |
| Family | PONGIDAE (HOMINIDAE) |
| Name (Scientific) | Pan troglodytes |
| Name (English) | Chimpanzee |
| Name (French) | Chimpanzé |
| Name (German) | Schimpanse |
| Name (Spanish) | Chimpanzé |
| Local names | kiSwahili: Soko motu |
| CITES Status | Appendix I |
| CMS Status | Not listed |
Photo Copyright by
WAZA
Distribution
| Distribution | |
|---|---|
| Range | Burundi, Cameroon, CAR, Congo,Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Equatorial, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaire |
| Habitat | Different types of forests, savannas |
| Wild population | Approx. 172,700 - 299,700 (2003) (Red List IUCN 2011) |
| Zoo population | 1158 reported to ISIS (2007) |
In the Zoo
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How this animal should be transported
For air transport, Container Note 33 or 34 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.
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Photo Copyright by
WAZA
Why do zoos keep this animal
The chimpanzee is of great educational value, because it is our closest relative in the Animal Kingdom. The banding patterns seen on stained chromosomes from humans and chimpanzees show striking similarities and about 94 % of the DNA of the two species is identical.
Because chimpanzees are so fascinating creatures, they are ideal ambassadors for their West and Central African Forest habitat, and can be used as a flagship species when campaigning against an illegal and unsustainable bushmeat trade.
Rated Vulnerable a few years ago, the chimpanzee is now considered Endangered. In the long term, chimpanzees kept ex situ may become increasingly important as an insurance population. Therefore, coordinated breeding programmes have been set up in several regions.
How this animal should be kept
Legal requirements for the keeping of apes vary greatly from country to country. Even if lower national standards apply, it is recommended that an outdoor enclosure of 400 m² and, in cold and temperate climatic zones, an indoor enclosure of 200m² should be provided for up to 5 adult animals. These enclosures should be at least 6 m high. They should be enlarged by 10% for each additional adult.
During daytime, access to the outdoor enclosure should be possible whenever weather conditions permit. In- and outdoor enclosures should be connected by at least two doors. The indoor temperature should not fall below 20°C, it should be higher in places (radiators). The day phase should be around 12 hours, the light spectrum should more or less correspond to that of natural sunlight.
Vertical and horizontal climbing opportunities, horizontal benches or platforms allowing for sitting at various levels above ground, structures allowing the individuals to retire and avoid one another, and separate cages for temporary isolation should be provided as should toys, and branches and other material for constructing sleeping nests. The outdoor enclosure should have some natural vegetation such as a grass cover, bushes and live trees in addition to dead trees, ropes, climbing frames etc. Live trees may need to be protected by hot wires or similar.
Food should be provided at least three times per day, it should comprise a variety of fruit and vegetables, sufficient animal protein, leaves and branches all year round), and should be presented in a way to keep the animals busy over a longer period of time.
Chimpanzees should be kept in family groups or bachelor groups. The keeping of single animals must be avoided.