Chimpanzee Tracking
Table of Contents
They are great apes found across central and West Africa. They are our closest living relatives sharing 98.7 of our genetic blue print. They spend most of their days in the tree tops and can be found in Gabon, Cameroon, Uganda, Rwanda and in protected areas of West Africa.
In Uganda, visitor can find chimpanzee places like Kibale Forest National Park, Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kalinzu Forest Reserve, Bigodi Wetlands Sanctuary, and Budongo Forest in Murchison Falls National park and at the Ngamba Island in Lake Victoria near Entebbe International airport. In Rwanda, chimps can be found in three main places like Nyungwe National Park (Nyungwe and Cyamudongo forests) and Gishwati Mukura national park. Nyungwe National Park has the highest population of chimpanzees (over 400 individuals).
What Chimps eat?
Chimpanzees are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and animals. Chimp diet is made up of fruits, figs, Nuts&seeds, Blossom and leaves, Insects, Honey, Meat &eggs, Palm Wine, Medicinal Plants and Milk.
Chimpanzee Families or Groups
Family relationships are vital to chimpanzees. They live in extended family groups of as many as 20-120 individuals. They have a fission-fusion social organization in which they break off into smaller interchangeable groups and periodically come together.
Reproduction
Female chimpanzees can give birth at any time of year, typically to a single infant that clings to its mother’s fur and later rides on her back until the time of weaning between ages three and five. Females reach reproductive age at 13, while males are not considered adults until they are 15.
How to differentiate chimpanzee female and male?
Males and females look much the same, except males are slightly larger than females. Both sexes are roughly the same height, usually measuring around 2 feet 8 inches and have the same black hair all over their bodies, with white beards, pale faces and prominent ears.
How do they communicate?
Since chimps cannot speak, they communicate by using hand gestures, body posture, facial expressions and they make various noises. By combining gestures that are available to them, chimps are able to convey a wide variety of messages to one another.