Chimpanzee
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Common
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Chimpanzees are great apes of the genus Pan. They live in Africa.
Taxonomy
- Genus Pan: Chimpanzees
- Common Chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes
- Bonobo or Pygmy Chimpanzee, Pan paniscus,
Habitat
The Common Chimpanzee lives in West and Central Africa. The Bonobo lives in the forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The two species are on opposite sides of the Congo River.
Life and description
Chimpanzees mainly eat fruit, leaves, flowers, seeds, bark, honey, insects, bird eggs, and meat. They spend a lot of time with other chimpanzees from their group, acting up, playing, and chatting. Sometimes they will groom each other; combing and looking through each other's thick fur; picking out the dirt and insects. Grooming helps chimps feel comfortable and friendly.
Like apes, chimpanzees can walk on two feet, but they prefer to move about on all four legs. They have hands that look like human hands, but their thumbs are shorter than those of humans. At night, chimpanzees sleep in nests that they make on tree branches. They bend twigs and tuck in leaves to make a soft platform to rest in a place that is safe from enemies on the ground. The gestation period of chimpanzees lasts between six and eight months. Usually only one offspring is produced; they rarely have twins. Chimpanzees live up to 60 years in the wild. [1]
Jane Goodall, an expert primatologist, has been studying chimpanzees since 1985. Dr. Goodall observed how chimpanzees use tools in several ways. They will pick up rocks to crack nuts for a meal. They also strip down twigs and stick them into a termite mound to collect a tasty snack. Some have been known to make a sponge from leaves in order to hold more drinking water. The chimp chews leaves to soften them up, dips them in rainwater, and then squeezes the water into its mouth. Chimpanzees are also known to think ahead and solve problems. [1]
Communication
Chimpanzees show their emotions with their faces and sounds. They make hooting sounds to express the discovery of food, and the face of a chimpanzee with a scowling face and lips pressed is to express annoyance. This means the chimpanzee may attack. Or, the chimpanzee may bare its teeth to express that it is afraid or that a more dominant chimp is approaching. [2]
Bonobos
Bonobos are smaller than other chimpanzees. They tend to climb in the trees more than other chimps. They are more like monkeys in that way. [3]
Other pages
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 English through Science (2003). Blue Planet. Alpha Omega Publications. ISBN 970-10-3769-3.
- ↑ Blue Planet Level 5 by Dinorah Pous, p.74 to p.75
- ↑ History and Geography. LIFEPAC. Alpha Omega Publications, 39. ISBN 978-1-58095-155-5.