Chimpanzee
Pan troglodytes
Where is it found?
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Tropical forest and savannah
Diet and foraging method
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Forage in vegetation and earth, hunt small to medium size mammals (including other monkeys) and construct tools to reach prize food items. For example, twigs to probe for grubs and rocks to get into fruit and nuts.
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Key adaptations
Chimps possess longer arms than legs and have both opposable thumbs and big toes, helping their movement through trees and on the ground as 'knuckle-walkers'.
Like humans, chimps have flat faces, forward facing eyes, and relatively small noses. These have implications on a chimp’s senses such as an increased reliance on vision and a decreased reliance on smell.
Like humans, chimps have flat faces, forward facing eyes, and relatively small noses. These have implications on a chimp’s senses such as an increased reliance on vision and a decreased reliance on smell.
Social organisation and mating system
Groups of 15-80 individuals. Complex social structures within these groups and wars often occur between neighbouring groups.
Promiscuous
Did you know that...?
Like us, Chimpanzees are also partial to a tipple of alcohol. Wild chimpanzees create sponges out of crushed up leaves to soak up fermented palm sap - palm wine - to drink and some individuals drink the equivalent of one bottle of wine! They even look inebriated afterwards and quite often fall asleep after a drink.
Taxonomy
Picture credits:
Maps from: http://species.mol.org/species/
"Gombe Stream NP Mutter und Kind" by Ikiwaner - Own work. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gombe_Stream_NP_Mutter_und_Kind.jpg#/media/File:Gombe_Stream_NP_Mutter_und_Kind.jpg
"Gombe Stream NP Beute" by Ikiwaner - Own work. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gombe_Stream_NP_Beute.jpg#/media/File:Gombe_Stream_NP_Beute.jpg
"Gombe Stream NP Mutter und Kind" by Ikiwaner - Own work. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gombe_Stream_NP_Mutter_und_Kind.jpg#/media/File:Gombe_Stream_NP_Mutter_und_Kind.jpg
"Gombe Stream NP Beute" by Ikiwaner - Own work. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gombe_Stream_NP_Beute.jpg#/media/File:Gombe_Stream_NP_Beute.jpg
