She weans them when they are 3 or 4 years old, but they do not reach independence for another 10 years or so.New Genome Comparison Finds Chimps, Humans Very Similar at the DNA Level The infants rely on their mother for many years. Most females give birth to a single infant, but twins are not uncommon. Sometimes females mate with several males, sometimes a male defends a single female while she is receptive, and sometimes a male and female leave the group for several days to breed.Īfter mating, the gestation period lasts about 7.5 months. Reproduction of the ChimpanzeeĬhimps utilize several different reproductive strategies. Groups of chimps, known as troops, consist of several families which separate and join together periodically. Overnight, they sleep in nests up in the trees, building a new nest almost every night. They spend time both in the trees and on the ground. These primates spend their days socializing with their peers and searching for food. Zookeepers even teach the chimps using positive reinforcement to voluntarily allow the veterinarians to perform blood draws, weigh them, check their teeth, and more. Veterinarians at the zoo tailor each chimp’s diet based off their body weight and individual needs. Zookeepers provide their charges with ropes and branches to climb, water bodies to swim in, toys to play with, puzzles to solve, and even iPads! Meeting their mental stimulation needs is one of the most important aspects of care. The enclosures are large enough to house an entire family, as these primates are quite social creatures. They build large enclosures with a variety of built-in features to help with their care. Zoos need extensive facilities to care for these complex creatures. Capture for the pet trade also increases pressure on wild populations. They are incredibly powerful, dangerous, and potentially aggressive animals. Humans have not domesticated any primate species in any way. Often, people hunt more in close proximity to areas where logging and other deforestation are occurring, virtually decimating the entire population in a given area. Habitat destruction, for development and for agriculture, also causes serious population decline. Poaching poses the greatest threat to these creatures. Their populations are currently in decline and the IUCN lists them as Endangered. Human activity causes severe problems for these primates. The carnivorous portion of their diet contains a variety of insects and invertebrates, eggs, small mammals, monkeys, and occasionally Chimpanzees from other troops. Some of the different plants that they eat include fruits, berries, nuts, leaves, stems, seeds, bark, and more. The season also impacts diet as some foods increase in volume during the spring and summer. Each subspecies has different dietary preferences and habits based on where they live. Diet of the ChimpanzeeĬhimpanzees are omnivorous, and they feed on a wide variety of plants and animals. Finally, the eastern subspecies primarily lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic. The central subspecies lives from southern Cameroon to the western tip of the Democratic Republic of Congo. ![]() Unsurprisingly, the Nigeria-Cameroon subspecies inhabits portions of Nigeria and Cameroon. The western subspecies ranges from southern Senegal to western Ghana. This species lives throughout various regions of eastern and central Africa. Many also live in mountainous regions up to 9,000 ft. Some inhabit tropical rainforests or scrub forests, others live in savannas, grasslands, woodlands, or chaparral. The different subspecies prefer different habitat types. These primates live in a variety of different ecosystems. The entire family shares a close bond even after reaching adulthood. Because of this, her older offspring often help with the care of their younger siblings.
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