Chimpanzee

The chimpanzee is a clever, friendly-faced ape that lives in the forests and grassy woodlands of Africa. It is covered in coarse black hair, but its face, ears, hands, and feet are bare. Chimpanzees are one of our closest animal cousins, which is one reason they can do so many surprising things.

Chimpanzees are strong climbers with long arms, and they swing and clamber high in the trees to find food and to build cosy leafy nests for sleeping. On the ground they usually walk on all fours, leaning on the knuckles of their hands. Their arms are so long that, stretched out wide, they reach further than the chimp is tall.

Most of what a chimpanzee eats is fruit, but it also nibbles leaves, seeds, and flowers, and hunts for insects like ants and termites. Chimpanzees are famous for using tools. A chimp might poke a slim stick into a termite mound, wait for the insects to climb on, and then pull it out to eat them, a bit like using a spoon.

Chimpanzees live together in big family groups, and youngsters spend years learning from the grown-ups around them. They “talk” with hoots, calls, and lots of face-pulling, and they often greet friends with a hug or a hand-hold. Sitting together to gently clean each other’s fur is one of their favourite ways to stay friends.

There are fewer chimpanzees in the wild than there once were, mostly because the forests they need are being cut down, and because of hunting and illness. Many parks and kind people now work hard to protect chimpanzees and the wild places they call home, so these gentle, curious apes have room to climb, play, and grow up safely.