Although chimpanzees
are very similar to humans, there is still much that we don’t know about them.
Many people confuse chimps with monkeys. In fact, chimpanzees are great apes as
are gorillas, bonobos and orangutans. Here are 10 things you probably didn’t
know about our closest living cousins in the animal kingdom. Dr. Jane Goodall discover the following
10. You can tell the difference between a chimpanzee and a monkey by
looking at their backsides
Monkeys have tails but
chimpanzees and other great apes do not.
9. Chimpanzees are endangered
Chimpanzees are
classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. At the beginning of the 20th
century there were more than 1 million chimpanzees in the wild. Today, it’s
estimated that there are less than 300,000. Their numbers are decreasing
because of habitat loss and fragmentation, commercial bush meat hunting and the
illegal wildlife trade.
8. Chimpanzees enjoy many of the same foods humans do
Chimpanzees love honey,
watermelons, and figs! Check out this top ten list of what
chimpanzees eat.
7. Chimpanzees go to war
Dr. Goodall discovered
that chimpanzees not only fight, but engage in a primitive form of brutal
warfare. The first ever recorded long-term war broke out in 1974 and lasted for
four years.
6. While chimpanzees aren’t big on swimming, they do enjoy an occasional
dip
You’ll rarely see a
chimp paddling about in the water as they don’t like to swim. Their low body
fat ratio causes them to sink and their top heavy body composition makes it
difficult for them to keep their heads above water. However, some
chimpanzees do enjoy a good splash around in shallow water.
5. Humans aren’t descendants of present-day apes, but there’s a chance we
share a common ancestor
Humans are not direct
descendants of chimpanzees, gorillas, or any other great ape. Evolutionary
theory suggests we share a common ancestor – an ape-like-human-like creature
that lived millions of years ago.
4. Chimpanzees grieve
Chimps have been
observed grieving over friends and family members. They visit the body, both
individually and in groups, gently touching, sniffing, and grooming the
deceased.
3. They make terrible pets
Chimpanzees may look
cute, especially when they are babies, but they can be very aggressive. Groups
of males have the aptitude and motivation to plan and execute attacks on other
chimps, often resulting in serious injuries and even fatalities. Fatal attacks
on humans have also been reported.
2. Chimps are handy with tools
One of Dr. Goodall’s
earliest discoveries was that chimpanzees make and use tools. Jane observed a
chimp named David Greybeard using a twig he had stripped of its leaves as a
fishing rod to reach termites deep within their mounds. When he pulled it out of
the mound, termites clung to the twig and David picked them off with his lips
for a protein packed snack.
1. So like us
Chimpanzees are our
closest living non-human relatives. We share over 98% of our DNA. As many
experts say we are 98% chimpanzee and chimpanzees are 98% human. This shared
genetic make-up reveals itself in many physiological and behavioural traits
that give us an incredible look into human evolutionary history.