Chimpanzees are one of our closest relatives, sharing an estimated 98% of their genes with humans.

Four subspecies have been identified, based on differences in appearance and distribution:

• Western chimpanzee (P. t. verus)
• Central chimpanzee (P. t. troglodytes)
• Eastern chimpanzee (P. t. schweinfurthii)
• Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (P. t. ellioti).

There is a wide range of behavioural differences between groups from different regions, so the loss of any one group represents a loss of cultural as well as biological heritage.

Physical description

The characteristic chimpanzee shape includes arms that extend beyond the knees, opposable thumbs, and a prominent mouth. The skin on the face, ears, palms, and soles of the feet is bare, and the rest of the body is covered with brown to black hair.

Chimpanzees usually move on the ground, although during the day they mostly stay in trees, where they also sleep in makeshift nests made with vegetation. This species walks "on all four", but individuals can also walk on their legs for more than a kilometre. Young individuals sometimes swing from branch to branch.

Living in communities

Chimpanzees are found in savanna woodlands, grassland-forest mosaics and tropical moist forests, from sea level to about 3,000m in elevation.

Social structure
Chimpanzees are highly social animals. Their communities consist of loose and flexible groups of males and females (fusion-fission societies) within a fixed home range, led by a dominant male. Members join and leave these communities freely, depending among other on their reproductive status and the availability of resources.

Apart from the dominant leader, there are also groups of individuals with some level of authority. Communities of about 50 individuals each have been reported in forest, woodland and savanna habitat, but overall size range is around 15-80.

Subgroups may include solitary individuals or diverse groups of both sexes and all ages. These aggregations are temporary and constantly change in composition, regardless of gender and age.

Life cycle
Breeding occurs throughout the year. Following a gestation period ranging from 202 and 261 days, females give birth to a single young, and occasionally twins, every 5-6 years. Of these offspring, about three will survive. 

For the first 6 months, the young is carried around clinging to its mother's underbelly, and after that it rides on its mother's back. It weans at 3.5-4.5 years, while still remaining reliant on its mother for a longer period, sometimes up to 10 years. Although chimpanzees reach sexual maturity at about 7 years, females do not produce offspring until they reach 13-14 years of age. Chimpanzees may live until they are over 60.

Diet & feeding
Food items include fruits, leaves and other plant parts, honey, insects (especially termites), and occasionally eggs and meat.

Chimpanzees eat with their hands, which they also use to throw objects at enemies and to create tools. Notably, they will poke a stick into a termite mound to feed on the insects, and crack nuts open.

The animals forage during the day for 6-8 hours, with peaks of activity in the early morning and late afternoon. Depending on the fruiting times of the plants they feed on, activities may shift seasonally.

Chimpanzees sometimes stalk, kill and eat other primates or young antelopes, and may hunt co-operatively.

View Chimpanzee populations in a larger map

What are the main threats?

The main threats to the chimpanzee are habitat loss and hunting for bushmeat. The relative severity of these threats differs from region to region, but the two are linked. 

Habitat loss and degradation
Degradation of forests through logging, mining, farming, and other forms of land development is contributing to the decline of primate species throughout tropical Africa. Remaining habitat patches are often small and unconnected, leaving chimpanzee populations isolated.

Deforestation is most advanced in West Africa, where only remnant tracts of primary rainforest remain. The small populations of western, Nigerian, and eastern chimpanzees are primarily located in remnant forest reserves and national parks.

In many such "protected areas", poaching for meat and live infants is common, as is unauthorized logging, mining and farming. Logging activities improve access to formerly remote forest areas, leading to increased hunting pressure.

• More on habitat loss

Bushmeat
'Bushmeat' has always been a primary source of dietary protein in Central and West African countries. However in recent years, hunting for bushmeat, once a subsistence activity, has become heavily commercialized and much of the meat goes to urban residents who can afford to pay premium prices for it.

The effect of the bushmeat trade on chimp populations has yet to be evaluated, but a study in Congo showed that offtake was 5-7%, surpassing annual population increase. In addition, apes are often injured or killed in snares set for other animals. Infant chimpanzees are frequently taken alive and sold in the cities as pets.

Many conservationists believe that the bushmeat trade is now the greatest threat to forest biodiversity in West and Central Africa.

Disease - the Ebola crisis
In late 2002 an outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in humans was reported in the north of the Republic of Congo on the border with Gabon. The human infections coincided with a large-scale die-off of great apes in the region.

Two great apes are found in Central Africa, the area currently affected by Ebola: western lowland gorilla and the central chimpanzee. Both have been severely affected by the virus, which has drastically reduced populations. The disease reportedly had a great impact in Odzala National Park, a site known to have the highest density of great apes in Africa.

How you can help

• Buy sustainable wood and paper. By purchasing FSC-certified forest products, consumers, retailers, traders, and manufacturers help protect chimpanzee habitat by encouraging sustainable forestry and limiting illegal logging. Without the FSC label, your timber may well stem from illegal or controversial sources in central Africa.
   
• Donate to WWF to help support chimpanzee conservation work 
  
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