Chimpanzees - Chimpanzee Species And Habitat, Physical Characteristics, Behavior, Parenting, Eating Habits, Communication, Jane Goodall's Observations

Chimpanzees - Chimpanzee Species And Habitat

Chimpanzees - Physical Characteristics

The height of chimpanzees varies from about 39 in (1 m) in males to about 36 in (90 cm) in females. An adult wild male weighs about 132 lb (60 kg), but in captivity can grow up to 220 lb (100 kg). The weight of females range from about 66 lb (30 kg) in the wild to as much as 190 lb (87 kg) in captivity. Chimpanzee pelage is primarily black, turning gray on the back after about 20 years of age. Bot…

Chimpanzees - Behavior

Life in the wild presents many challenges for chimpanzees. They have complex social systems, and daily use their considerable mental skills for their survival. They are presented with a multitude of choices in their natural habitat, and exercise highly developed social skills. For instance, males aspire to attain a high position of dominance within the hierarchy of chimpanzee society, and conseque…

Chimpanzees - Parenting

A female's estrus cycle averages 38 days, which includes 2-4 days of menstruation. When a female begins her estrus cycle, her genital area swells for approximately ten days, and this is when she is sexually attractive and receptive. The last three or four days of estrus is when the likelihood of conception is highest. Mating is seemingly random and varied, and receptive females are often mo…

Chimpanzees - Eating Habits

Chimpanzees are omnivorous, eating both meat and plant material. Their diet includes fruits, leaves, buds, seeds, pith, bark, insects, bird eggs, and smaller mammals. Chimpanzees have been observed to kill baboons, other monkeys, and young bush pigs, and they sometimes practice cannibalism. Chimps eat up to 200-300 species of plants, depending on local availability. Chimpanzees seem to know the me…

Chimpanzees - Communication

Chimpanzees use a multitude of calls to communicate. After being separated, chimpanzees often embrace, kiss, touch, stroke, or hold hands with each other. When fighting, the opponents may strike with a flat hand, kick, bite, or stomp, or drag the other along the ground. Scratching and hair pulling are favorite tactics of females. When the fighting is over, the loser will approach the winner and we…

Chimpanzees - Jane Goodall's Observations

In 1960, Jane Goodall, a young Englishwoman, first set up camp in Gombe, Tanzania, to conduct a long-term study of chimpanzees. Louis Leakey, a famous anthropologist, helped Goodall by providing the initial funding for her research and by serving as her mentor. Leakey is best known for his discovery of hominid fossils in eastern Africa, and his contributions to the understanding of human evolution…

Chimpanzees - The Bonobo (pygmy Chimpanzee)

Several projects begun in the early 1970s were the first to study bonobos in the wild. Their alternative name, pygmy chimp, is inaccurate because these animals are only slightly smaller than common chimpanzees. The reference to "pygmy" has more to do with so-called pedomorphic traits of bonobos, meaning they exhibit certain aspects of adolescence in early adulthood, such as a rounded…

Chimpanzees - Language

Chimpanzees - Use In Research

The chimpanzee is the closest living relative of humans. In fact, the DNA of humans and chimpanzees differs by less than 1%. Because of this genetic closeness, and anatomical and biochemical similarities, chimps have been widely used for testing new vaccines and drugs in biomedical research. Chimpanzees can also become infected by certain diseases that humans are susceptible to, such as colds, flu…