Chimpanzees
Physical
Description
|
Height: |
3 to 5 feet |
|
Weight: |
80 to 120
pounds (in wild); males in captivity can be 150 to 200
pounds |
|
Color: |
Predominantly
black, often gray on back after 20 years of age; short,
white beard is common in both sexes; white tail tuft in
infants that is lost by early adulthood |
|
Physical
Features: |
Bare face
generally black in color; prominent brow ridge; stout
bodies; backs sloping evenly down from shoulder to hips;
relatively long arms reaching just below the knee when
standing erect |
Distinctive
Habits and Characteristics
-
The most social of all the apes living in communities of 15 to 120.
-
Communities are often split into a number of subgroups with a male as the leader of the group.
-
Males seldom leave the community where they were born.
-
Females migrate to a new community during an adolescent estrus period.
-
Mothers often travel alone with their offspring.
-
Toward the last week of estrus, near the time of ovulation, high ranking males compete for mating rights and an exclusive consortship is formed in which the female and a male elude other members of the community for days or weeks.
-
Travel mostly on the ground (terrestrial) by knuckle walking.
-
Construct nests at night in which to sleep.
-
Have been observed in the wild hunting cooperatively for meat.
-
Have been observed using tools to gain access to food.
Location
Found in the
tropical rain forest of Africa from Sudan and Tanzania in the East
to Senegal and Angola in the West. Zaire has the largest
population, although chimpanzees have become extinct in some
areas.
Diet
Mainly
fruits with regular amounts of insects, as well as birds and small
mammals.
Reproductive
Cycle
Female gives birth every 4 to 5 years; gestation period is 230 to 250 days (8 to 9 months); females raise young alone; young nurses about 5 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.
Life
Stages
|
Infant: |
Birth to 5
years (nursed and carried by mother) |
|
Childhood: |
5 to 7 years
(still with mother but independent of her for transport and
milk) |
|
Early
Adolescence: |
F - 8 to 10
years M - 8 to 12
years |
|
Late
Adolescence: |
F - 11 to 14
years M - 13 to 15
years |
|
Maturity: |
16 to 33
years |
|
Old Age: |
33 years to
death |
Life
Span
40
to 50 years in the wild; 50 to 60 years in captivity.
Endangered
Status