Where chimpanzees live

Chimpanzees are found in Africa in the countries that lie along the equator. They live mostly in tropical rain forests. They sometimes live in drier woodland savannas as well.

Physical features

Individual chimpanzees vary in size and appearance. They usually stand about 3 to 5¹/₂ feet (1 to 1.7 meters) tall and weigh about 57 to 154 pounds (26 to 70 kilograms). Males are usually larger than females. A chimpanzee's arms are longer than its legs, reaching just below the knees when the animal stands.

Chimpanzees have a coat of brown or black hair. Their face, ears, hands, and feet are bare. Their skin color is black, though it may be pink or brown in younger animals. Their head is covered with just a little bit of hair, which both males and females lose as they grow older. The top of the head is rounded. Their ears stick out, and their lips protrude. Their jaw projects out beyond the upper part of the face.

Behavior

Chimpanzees spend time both in trees and on the ground. In trees, they use both their hands and their feet to move, or they swing by their arms from branch to branch. If they must go long distances, they usually travel on the ground. Chimpanzees can walk upright, but they more often lean on the knuckles of their hands and walk on all fours. Chimpanzees are active during the day. At night they usually sleep in the trees in nests that they make out of branches and leaves.

Chimpanzees do not usually eat meat. Their diet is made up mostly of fruits, berries, leaves, and seeds. They sometimes eat termites and ants and occasionally hunt and eat young baboons and bush pigs.

No animals besides humans use tools as well as chimpanzees. Chimpanzees poke twigs, grass, or other objects into ant and termite nests, pull out the tool, and eat the insects that cling to it. They also use leaves to soak up drinking water and to clean themselves. Young chimpanzees probably learn how to use tools by watching and imitating adults.

Chimpanzees are very social animals that live in groups known as communities. Each community has a male leader and 15 to 120 members, usually divided into smaller groups. Those groups continually change, and relationships between them are generally friendly. Members of a community are free to come and go as they wish. Different communities, however, often do not get along with each other. Chimpanzees of one community sometimes attack and fight chimpanzees of another community.

Adult chimpanzees in the same community regularly groom each other's fur. That behavior helps them to bond with one another. Chimpanzees communicate by facial expressions, gestures, and many different sounds, including screams, hoots, grunts, and roars.

Life cycle

Mating can happen at any time of year. Female chimpanzees give birth to a single young after a pregnancy of about eight months. A newborn weighs about 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms), is almost helpless, and clings to the fur of the mother's belly when she moves. From about 6 months to 2 years, the youngster rides on the mother's back. Chimpanzees can live up to about 50 years.

Chimpanzees and humans

The number of chimpanzees in the wild has greatly fallen, mainly because of human behavior. Humans hunt chimpanzees, destroy their habitat through logging and farming, and capture them for use in zoos and research laboratories. Chimpanzees are now considered an endangered species, a type of animal that is at risk of dying out.