Therefore they rarely eat meat and when they do, they eat almost everything including the brain. Meat is considered “gourmet” food among chimpanzees. They also use bamboo rods to scoop the termites out and eat them. They mainly use straws to suck termites out of the mounds. Termites are a very important part of their diet because they are the most nutritious. These insects include termites, ants, and more. They mainly pick the insects off each other or other things such as trees. Insects make up about 4% of their diet while in the wild. InsectsĬhimpanzees can also supplement their diet with a variety of insects found in their wild habitat. Moreover, wild chimpanzees can also eat leaves, buds, and blossoms. Chimpanzees can eat over 80 plant species in the wild. However, these come second to fruits which they really enjoy. When fruits become scarce, chimpanzees start looking for tree seeds, bark, and flowers to complement their diet. They spend most of their time foraging for fruits since that is what makes up the largest part of their entire diet. Additionally, they eat both unripe and ripe fruits. FruitsĬhimpanzees typically eat the fruits that are available in their habitat. They also use tools to obtain their food or even scare away intruders. Getting FoodĬhimpanzees mainly forage for food in the forest. On the other hand, fruits make up the highest percentage of their diet which is about 60%. Meat makes up about 1% of their total diet. Their diet includes things such as insects, blossoms, bark, fruit, tree seeds, leaves, meat and a wide variety of nuts. They are very diverse in their diet and they eat a very wide variety of things. The chimps are trained for several behaviors such as getting on a scale for weights, presenting multiple body parts for inspection and allowing a Doppler machine to track their heart rate.Chimpanzees are omnivorous (they eat both plants and meat) just like human beings. The keepers use positive reinforcement techniques for training. Several enrichment items are given each day, as well as health check sessions. This keeps the chimps active and foraging much like they would in the wild. They feed the chimpanzees several times a day by scattering their diet all over the exhibits. The keepers work hard to make the chimps' lives as interesting and challenging as it is in the wild. Poaching for the illegal pet trade, disease, and habitat loss due to deforestation combine to cause this steep decline. At the turn of the 20th century, 2 million of them lived in Central and West African forests, but today only 100,000 to 200,000 remain in the wild. Chimpanzee conservationĬhimpanzees are among the most threatened primates in Africa. The median life expectancy of a wild chimpanzee is 31.7 years for males and 38.7 years for females. Female chimps may remain with their mothers permanently. They are weaned at 4 to 5 years of age and may remain with their mother 10 or more years. Newborn chimps weigh 2 to 4 pounds and are completely helpless. Females are smaller, at 66 to 176 pounds and 30 to 36 inches tall.įemale chimps give birth for the first time at 12 to 15 years of age, and give birth every 5 years or so. Meat is a favorite food, and groups cooperate to hunt small to medium-sized mammals.Īdult males are 90 to 200 pounds and 28 to 33 inches tall. They are active throughout the day and feed on fruit, nuts, seeds, blossoms and leaves, insects, birds, birds' eggs and honey. Long arms and fingers and mobile shoulder joints allow them to move easily both in the trees and on the ground. This is called fission-fusion.Ĭhimpanzees have opposable thumbs, allowing them to grasp objects. Groups come together or split apart depending on how much food is available in the area. A male hierarchy determines social standing, with one male at the top or "alpha" position. These troops are multi-male, multi-female, and multi-generational. Chimpanzees live in family groups that sometimes join much larger communities.
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