Facts About Chimpanzees

Chimpanzees are humans' closest living relatives, sharing roughly 98-99% of our DNA depending on the comparison method used.

Wild chimpanzees are found in about 21 African countries, from Senegal in the west to Tanzania in the east, though they've already disappeared from several of those historic ranges.

Chimpanzees are omnivores, eating mostly fruit and plants but also insects, honey, and occasionally meat.

They have opposable thumbs (and opposable big toes), letting them grasp and manipulate objects with remarkable precision.

Chimpanzees live in social groups called communities that can range from a few dozen to over 100 individuals, though most are much smaller.

They communicate through vocalizations like pant-hoots, along with facial expressions, gestures, and body language.

Chimpanzees are skilled tool users, stripping twigs to fish for termites and using rocks as hammers and anvils to crack open nuts.

They have been observed chewing leaves into a sponge-like wad to soak up water from tree hollows for drinking.

Captive chimpanzees have learned to use sign language and symbol boards to communicate with researchers, though whether this counts as true "language" is debated among scientists.

Chimpanzees display a wide range of emotions, including joy, grief, fear, and frustration.

Chimpanzees have been observed comforting distressed group members with hugs and touching.

They can recognize themselves in a mirror, a trait considered a sign of self-awareness shared by only a handful of species.

Chimpanzees at some sites hunt other primates, including red colobus monkeys, often working together in coordinated group hunts.

Chimpanzee troops sometimes engage in violent, coordinated conflicts with neighboring communities over territory.

Chimpanzees solve problems cooperatively, including using teamwork to pull food into reach with tools.

Leopards are the main natural predator of chimpanzees, though lions and large snakes can also pose a threat in some habitats.

Chimpanzees are territorial and will patrol and defend their home range from neighboring communities.

Chimpanzees have been used in biomedical research because of their genetic similarity to humans, a practice now banned or heavily restricted in the U.S. and much of the world.

Chimpanzee populations are declining due to habitat loss, disease, and poaching for bushmeat.

The IUCN Red List classifies the common chimpanzee as Endangered.

Chimpanzees have contributed enormously to our understanding of primate behavior, cognition, and human evolution through decades of field and lab research.

Chimpanzees can live around 40-50 years in the wild and often longer in the safety of sanctuaries or zoos.