World Chimpanzee Day

Today is World Chimpanzee Day!

Chimpanzees are mammals native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. They are great apes, and they are the closest living relatives to humans. 

Chimpanzees are social animals, living in male-dominated groups that can range from about 15 to 150 members. The word "chimpanzee" first was recorded in 1738. One possible origin of it comes from the African Tshiluba word "chimpenze", meaning "ape" or "mockman". 

Chimpanzees are omnivorous (meaning they eat both meat and plants), but they are frugivores, which means they prefer fruit. But they have been known to supplement their fruit diet with things like honey, insects, birds (and bird eggs), small mammals, and even other primates. In the wild, chimpanzees tend to live less than 15 years. In captivity, male chimps tend to live around 31, and females around 38-39. The oldest known chimpanzee, Little Mama, nearly reached 80.

Chimpanzees are also known for being rather intelligent. They've been observed making tools for helping to catch prey, like using sticks to get ants out of anthills, and cracking open nuts with rocks. They are able to cooperate with each other, and various troops have even been observed passing down techniques for tool-making down the generations. That's pretty neat.

Sadly, chimps are an endangered species, mainly thanks to habitat loss, poaching, and disease. There are efforts at conservation, and they are protected in national parks. 

These are fascinating critters, and may be the closest we ever get to seeing an actual pre-evolution of man. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! See you next time!