A great ape of the forests and savannas of equatorial Africa and, with the bonobo, humanity’s closest living relative. Chimpanzees live in communities that can top 200 members, split into smaller foraging parties by day.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?Omnivore
Dangerous?Can be
Attacks by wild great apes are rare, but chimpanzees are the most likely to attack, mostly children, near forest edges and farmland.
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Daytime
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inAfrica
HabitatRainforest, Forest, Grassland
ColoursBlack
SizeMedium
Length63.5–92.5 cm
Weight26–70 kg
Legs2
Covered inFur
Lives introops
Lives for40 years
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Forests and savannas across equatorial Africa.
- What it eats
- Mainly fruit, plus leaves, seeds, flowers, bark and resin, insects and honey, and sometimes meat from hunting.
- Conservation
- Endangered (IUCN Red List)
Did you know
Makes and carries its own tools, and teaches them to others.
Some chimpanzees make sharpened sticks and use them to spear small mammals.
Often confused with
- Bonobo
A bonobo has longer limbs, a darker face, pink lips and long hair parted on its head, and is consistently smaller.
Sources
Play
Could you have guessed it?
A photo, a few hints, one guess. Same 438 animals.
