The Chimpanzees

chimpCommon Name: Chimpanzees, common chimpanzees, robust chimpanzees; Chimpanzés (Fr); Chimpancé (Sp)

Scientific Name: Pan troglodytes

Population: 172,700 to 299,700

Chimpanzees usually move on the ground, although during the day they mostly stay in trees, where they also sleep in makeshift nests made with vegetation. This species walks "on all four", but individuals can also walk on their legs for almost a mile. Young individuals sometimes swing from branch to branch. Chimpanzees eat with their hands, which they also use to throw objects at enemies and to create tools. Notably, they will poke a stick into a termite mound to feed on the insects, and crack nuts open.

They forage during the day for 6-8 hours, with peaks of activity in the early morning and late afternoon. Depending on the fruiting times of the plants they feed on, activities may shift seasonally.

§Chimpanzees once inhabited 25 African countries. Now, they are extinct in 3 or 4 and nearing extinction in many others. Deforestation and commercial hunting for bushmeat are taking a terrible toll on most populations.

All four subspecies of chimpanzee - eastern chimpanzee, western chimpanzee, Nigerian chimpanzee, and central chimpanzee - are Endangered, with western and Nigerian chimpanzees having the smallest populations and being the most threatened.
Physical Description and Behavior

§Chimpanzees share an estimated 98 percent of their genes with humans. Four subspecies have been identified, based on differences in appearance and distribution: western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus), central chimpanzee (P. t. troglodytes), eastern chimpanzee (P. t. schweinfurthii), and the Nigeria chimpanzee (P. t. vellerosus).

Their characteristic shape includes arms that extend beyond the knees, opposable thumbs, and a prominent mouth. The skin on their face, ears, palms, and soles of the feet is bare, and the rest of the body is covered with brown to black hair.

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The Bonobo

§Scientific Name: Pan paniscus
Habitat: tropical and subtropical forests
Location: Central Africa
Population: There are no reliable estimates for current Bonobo numbers because many years of civil unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has prohibited population surveys from being conducted.
Bonobos are extensively hunted for their meat – both for personal consumption and for the commercial bushmeat trade. Their habitat is rapidly being lost to logging and agriculture.

§Background

§Bonobos, arguably our closest relatives, are found only in the rainforests of the central Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Africa. Populations have rapidly declined over the last 30 years because of poaching and habitat loss.

§Bonobos live in the forests of Salonga National Park, the only national park where the species is found.  Invasion by gangs of poachers in the park has affected conservation efforts as civil unrest prevails in the region.

§Physical description

§Compared to chimpanzees, bonobos have longer legs, shorter arms and a narrower mid-section. They are also generally smaller, with a rounder skull and flatter face. Their faces are black with vibrant red lips. Bonobos are covered with black fur that often turns grey when they get older.

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Rhino

§Rhinos once roamed Europe, Asia and Africa and were known by early Europeans who depicted them in cave paintings. In historical times, rhinos were still widespread in the African savannas and the tropical forests of Asia.

§Today, very few rhinos survive outside national parks and reserves. Rhinos are threatened by poaching due to the demand for their horns, and habitat loss, a result of human populations encroaching on the land and the destruction of forests. WWF works to strengthen protected areas in Africa and Asia and stop illegal trade of rhino horns.

§The southern white rhino, once thought to be extinct, and the Indian rhino are thriving in well-protected sanctuaries and their numbers are increasing. Black rhino populations have increased too, but total numbers are still a fraction of what they were fifty years ago.