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The Chimpanzee (Pan Troglodytes)

The Scientific name comes from two words; 'Pan', who was the Greek god of the woods and 'Troglodytes' which means 'cave-dweller'. They were named when they were discovered more than 200 years ago and were thought to be some sort of cave dweller.

Chimpanzees are found throughout the African lowland forest belt from Senegal in the west to Uganda and Tanzania. When in the wild, Chimpanzees spend roughly half their time in the trees and half of their time on the ground. They live in large communities ranging from 20 to 80 individuals and split into smaller groups during the day. By night, the Chimpanzee makes a nest in nearby trees by interlacing branches and patting them down to make a platform. A nest takes only a few minutes to make and a new one is usually made each evening. All Chimpanzees over three years old make their own nest.

Adult groups of Chimpanzees are usually grouped according according to sex with a dominant animal leading the group. The ranking depends mostly on size and age but intelligence also plays a part. The hierarchy is maintained by a show of aggressive behaviour, but this rarely leads to injury.

Chimpanzees are omnivorous creatures eating fruit, nuts, leaves, honey, insects and eggs. Several hours of the day are spent searching for this food. Hunting, although relatively uncommon, has shown the animals to co-operate in stalking and killing their prey.

In their natural habitat, the Leopard is the Chimpanzee's main enemy. A defence mechanism against adversaries is to gather in large groups and scream at the top of their lungs in order to drive the predator away. They even throw projectiles at their enemy as a further defence.

Chimpanzees at Chester Zoo

Average weight of adult male: 68 kg

Average weight of adult female: 56kg

Average height of adult: 1.35m

Number of Babies: 1

Pregnancy: 7 1/2 months

Life span: 35-45 in the wild, longer in captivity

There are currently 32 Chimpanzees at Chester Zoo; Boris is the oldest at 40years old. Dylan is the dominant male, aged 19 and Cleo is the dominant female at 35 years old.

Amazing Animal Fact

Chimpanzees are our closest relatives.... 98.4% of our genes are the same!