Chimp Habitats

Location

• Chimpanzees are found above the Congo River in the hot and humid regions of Central and Western Africa. They find shelter in enclosed canopies of the forests, in the mountains and savannas. There are four subspecies of chimpanzees, each taking the name of its habitat. The masked chimp, or Western chimpanzee, inhabits most of the Upper Guinea regions. At one time, they covered most of the Guineas, but because of harvesting, much of their habitat is gone. The black-faced chimp resides mostly in Central Africa. The third species is called the long-haired or Eastern chimp and the fourth is referred to as the Nigerian chimpanzee.

Behavior

• Much of the great apes habitat influences their behavior. Chimpanzees live in tribes ranging from 15 to 150 members. As with most animals, males manage the tribes with one male as proprietor over the others. Males develop close bonds while females do not. This is because males never leave the tribe they are born into while females tend to leave the tribe and seek out other chimpanzee groups during adolescence. Males will often be seen grooming each other and tend to run in packs, sharing food. Females also form groups. Males and females rarely groom each other. Because the great apes do not store food, instead eating it where it is found, they travel great distances. Each night the apes built leafy bowl-shaped nests to sleep in. The nests are located in the treetops, high above predators, and will only be shared by a mother and her nursing baby.

Food Sources

• Chimpanzees have a wide variety of tastes that include insects, plants and fresh fruits and, in some cases, small animals. During scarce seasons, chimps eat bark, flowers and resin from trees. These varied tastes allow chimps to roam great distances to hunt for food. Chimps will split into hunting parties when hunting for food. Parties can vary in number depending on the size of the tribe and availability of food. A chimpanzee tribe can cover up to nine miles to search for food. Chimps use rocks and long sticks as crude tools to crack open seeds and fruits and to draw out ants and termites.

Threats

• Long ago, the only real threat chimps had to fear was leopards. Now, the greatest threat to chimpanzees is humans. Deforestation is destroying much of their habitat and giving rise to many new problems like the new bushmeat crisis, a poaching practice affecting not only chimpanzees but also many other animals.