DID YOU KNOW?

•    Chimpanzees are “Apes”, not monkeys. The other apes include gorillas, orang-utans, bonobos (or   pygmy chimpanzees) and gibbons.

•    Chimpanzees share 98.4% DNA with humans, which makes them closer to humans than gorillas.

•    There is one species of Chimpanzee
-    Common Chimpanzee (Pan Troglodytes) – which are found in 21 African countries
-    Bonobo or Pygmy Chimpanzee (Pan paniscus) was thought to be another species  of chimpanzee but is not. They are found in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

•    There are four subspecies of Common Chimpanzee 

  -    Pan troglodytes verus (West Africa)
-    Pan troglodytes troglodytes (Central Africa)
-    Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii (East Africa)
-    Pan troglodytes velerosus (Cameroon)

•    There are thought to be 175,000 chimpanzees remaining in the wild but their numbers are reducing at an alarming rate as their habitats are being destroyed and the “bushmeat” trade increases.

•    There are 19 sanctuaries in Africa caring for orphaned and/or confiscated chimpanzees,bonobos,gorillas and other primates.  In 2000, an association of sanctuaries was formed, called the “Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA)”, to help conserve chimpanzees and their habitats through education and political lobbying.

•    Chimpanzees are highly social animals and can live in communities of 20-100 individuals.  Each community has a dominant male called the “alpha” male.  The community lives in a home range that covers approximately 1 sq km per individual in the group.

•    They can live to 50 years of age and they have an elaborate communication system.

•    Chimpanzees use tools to catch termites, to open nuts and for drinking water.

•    Chimpanzees eat mostly fruit, e.g., figs and sometimes insects, eggs and nestlings.  Occasionally they will stalk, attack, kill and eat monkeys;  red colobus monkeys being their favourite.  They feed mostly in the morning and evening and rest during the heat of the day.

•    At the sanctuary, the chimpanzees are fed a variety of foodstuffs including fruit and vegetables, posho and millet porridge.  They are fed four times a day.

•    At dusk, wild chimpanzees build nests 6-25 metres above the ground (by pulling over branches to make a soft bed).

•    Female chimpanzees become sexually active in captivity from 8-9 years of age when they start to develop a very large swelling of the ano-genital region.

•    “Menarche”, the time when female chimpanzees first menstruate, occurs when they are 7 - 9 years of age in captivity and 11 –12 years of age.  From this stage the heats may become fertile.

•    The oestrous cycle is 34-36 dayS.  Females can cycle until 45 years of age.

•    On average, chimpanzees in the wild have their first babies when they are approximately 11-12 years of age.

•    Males become fertile when they are approximately 10 years of age in the wild, earlier in captivity

•    Mating occurs when the females are in oestrus, which is only 10 days each month.  Some females continue to cycle during pregnancy.

•    The gestation period is 225-240 days.  Normally labour is only 40 minutes long.

•    A nursing female will start cycling again after 14 months to 4 years.  The average time between babies is approximately 3 – 5 years.

•    For the first six months of life, the offspring is in constant contact with their mother and then for many months after, is within arms reach.  For the first four months, the juvenile will suckle three times per hour.

•    Independent travel occurs fulltime at about five years of age when weaning also occurs.

•    Solid food consumption starts from 4 – 6 months of age and increases as the suckling reduces.

•    The chimpanzees at the Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary are not allowed to breed at this stage.  Birth control is provided by a contraceptive implant “ImplanonTM” or Norplant, a silicon plastic rod containing a progesterone compound.  It is inserted under the skin of the inner aspect of the upper arm.  It lasts for three years.

•    Chimpanzees are susceptible to many human diseases like measles, influenza, hepatitis B, ringworm and cold sores.  They may also suffer from giardia, amoebic dysentery and hookworms.

•    When orphan chimpanzees are first confiscated, they are quarantined for 3 months, which means they are separated from other chimps and people other than the primary caregiver.  They are tested for tuberculosis on three occasions, one month apart, and are vaccinated against tetanus and polio.  Once they have undergone their quarantine period, they are then transferred to Ngamba Island and introduced to the other chimpanzees.