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Sabtu, 01 Juni 2013

Chimp Information

Chimp Information

Chimpanzees or Pan troglodytes, also affectionately known as chimps, are one of human's closest evolutionary relatives, famously studied by Jane Goodall. For years Goodall lived amongst the wild chimpanzees of Gombe, studying their behavior and lifestyles. Because of her efforts, understanding of these complex and gentle creatures has improved greatly.

Description

    An adult chimp is approximately 1 meter tall and weighs 34 to 70 kilograms in males and 26 to 50 kg in females. The average life of a chimp is 60 years in the wild, approximately 53 years in captivity. Chimps have long arms and hands with short thumbs that make it easier to climb. Chimps have prominent ears and a ridged brow. The adult chimp's face is black or mottled. Baby chimps have a white tuft of hair on their backside.

Habitat

    Wild chimps live across a west-east belt in equatorial Africa. Chimps' natural habitat ranges through 22 countries, with the highest density living in the Congo. Because of this wide and diverse distribution, chimps are adapted to life in various habitats including dry savannas, rainforests, dry woodlands and swamplands. On the western coast of Africa, chimpanzees inhabit the only remaining rainforest of war-torn Cte d'Ivoire. The size of chimps' home range varies according to habitat and community size but the average size can be approximated at 12 square kilometers.

Diet

    Chimps eat a mainly vegetarian diet consisting mostly of fruit, leaves and leaf buds with occasional snacking on seeds, flowers, stems, bark and resin. Although a small part of their overall diet, protein sources include insects, honey, bird and bird's eggs, soil, and small mammals, which can include other primates.

    Chimps have been observed using tools to assist in food acquisition. Sticks, rocks and leaves can aide the chimp in snagging some honey or termites. This type of skill and forethought is indicative of chimps' intelligence.

Behavior

    According to the University of Michigan's Animal Diversity Web, "Because chimpanzees are so closely related to humans, and because they show such intelligence, they have been the focus of many behavioral investigations, both in captivity and in the wild. Over the years, a tremendous wealth of information on the behaviors and social relationships of these animals has been collected." Chimps are highly social animals who in the wild live in what is known as a fusion-fission society. The community often splits into smaller subgroups and are reunited as a whole periodically.

Communication

    Chimps exhibit long memories for individuals and skills they've acquired. Because of their intelligence and memory capacity, some chimps have been taught to communicate with humans using the signs of American Sign Language. The Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute reports "The chimpanzees' accomplishments are a scientific first and have resulted in a better understanding of ourselves, as well as our place and role in nature. This was achieved by accepting the chimpanzees on their terms, as much as possible, and thus giving special consideration to the chimpanzees' needs."

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