Facts about Chimpanzee
Physiologically, chimpanzees rarely have heart attacks, are resistant to malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum, and do not go through menopause (Wood 2006).
The better known chimpanzee is Pan troglodytes, the common chimpanzee, which lives in West and Central Africa.
When chimpanzees first began arriving on the European continent, scientists there noted the inaccuracy of these ancient descriptions, which often falsely purported that chimpanzees had horns and hooves.
Her discovery that chimpanzees make and use tools was groundbreaking, as scientists had previously believed that humans were the only species to do so (Goodall 1986).
The men and their colleagues established laboratory studies of chimpanzees that focused specifically on learning about the intellectual abilities of chimpanzees, particularly their capacity for problem-solving.
Notably, Yerkes also made extensive observations of chimpanzees in the wild, which added tremendously to the scientific understanding of chimpanzees and their behavior.
Common chimpanzees have an omnivorous diet, a troop hunting culture based on beta males led by a relatively weak alpha male, and highly complex social relationships.
Darwin's theory of evolution (first published in 1859) spurred scientific interest in chimpanzees, as the anatomical similarity of apes and humans was offered as evidence for the theory of common descent.
Prior to 1960, almost nothing was known about chimpanzee behavior in their natural habitat.
Anatomically and genetically, there is a remarkable similarity between chimpanzees and humans.
Biologists believe that the two species of chimpanzees are the closest living evolutionary relatives to humans.
Anatomical differences between common chimpanzees and bonobos are slight.
In 1698, Edward Tyson, an English anatomist dissected a young chimpanzee that had come from Angola and had died soon after arrival.
Existing chimpanzee populations in West and Central Africa do not overlap with the major human fossil sites in East Africa.
The first of these early transcontinental chimpanzees came from Angola and were presented as a gift to the Prince of Orange in 1640.
The observers of chimpanzees at the time were mainly interested in behavior as it related to that of humans.
Scientists who initially examined chimpanzees often described them as "pygmies," and noted the animals' distinct similarities to humans.
Scientists related the syllable “pan” in "chimpanzee" to Pan, a ancient Greek nature deity, and applied it as the genus name of the animal.
The twentieth century saw a new age of scientific research into chimpanzee behavior.
By the end of the nineteenth century, chimpanzees remained very much a mystery to humans, with very little factual scientific information available.
The most progressive earlier studies on chimpanzees were spearheaded primarily by renowned psychologists Wolfgang Kцhler and Robert Yerkes.
The diary of Portuguese explorer Duarte Pacheco Pereira (1506), preserved in the Portuguese National Archive (Torre do Tombo), is probably the first European document to acknowledge that chimpanzees built their own rudimentary tools.
Chimpanzees rarely live past the age of 40 in the wild, but they are known to live to be 60 years old in captivity.
A chimpanzee, often shortened to chimp, is one of the two extant ape species in the genus Pan.
Many cancers common to humans are not found in chimpanzees, and differences exist in terms of the genes for smell and also those that regulate the metabolism of amino acids.
The Hominids, also referred to as the "great apes," consist of gorillas, chimpanzees (including bonobos), orangutans, and humans.
Only a small fraction of the chimpanzee genome consists of sequences not found at the corresponding location in humans.
Much of their attention focused on whether or not the animals had traits that could be considered "good," and the intelligence of chimpanzees was often significantly exaggerated.
Chimpanzees exhibit sexual dimorphism—adult males are nearly 50 percent larger than females, while in humans the males and females are nearly the same size.
We cannot stress this strongly enough – Chimpanzees do not make good pets and in many locations having a chimpanzee as a pet is illegal. Chimpanzees are wild animals. They are not domesticated like a dog or cat. Chimpanzees stay with their mothers until they are at least 5 years old.
They rely heavily on a wide variety fruit and leaves, but also eat insects, bark, eggs, nuts, and even hunt monkeys and other small animals for meat. Chimpanzees spend a large part of their day looking for food and eating, but they do not wander aimlessly through the forest hoping to bump into food.
The main predator, or natural enemy, of the chimpanzee is the leopard. However, a full-grown chimp is a very powerful animal, so leopards prefer to attack, kill and eat young or baby chimpanzees. Usually, young chimpanzees stay very close to adult chimpanzees however, so it is hard for a leopard to catch one.Mar 29, 2010
Their climbing lifestyle accentuates the need for arm strength. A chimp on four legs can easily outrun a world-class human sprinter. But it sounds extreme to suggest that humans are only an eighth as strong as chimpanzees. Consider that a large human can bench-press 250 pounds.Feb 25, 2009
They say chimps are three to five times stronger than humans—something Hawkes would argue isn't proven—but their explanation for why might still pass muster. They say that a big reason chimps can lift heavier things than we can, is that they have less control over how much muscle they use each time they lift.Jan 14, 2013