1. Class: Mammalia

2. Order:: Primata

3. Family: Pongidae

4. Genus Species: Pan troglodytes. They pygmy chimpanzee, P. Paniscus are called the bonobo.

5. Size: Size of average adult chimpanzee is about 4 feet for the male species and 3 feet for the female species

6. Weight: Male chimpanzees weigh about 130 pounds while their female companions are usually less than 100 pounds.

7. Description: Chimpanzees, known as Pan troglodytes by their scientific names are apes which have a thick black coat (older animals may have gray beard, shoulders or chest furs) and flat bare faces. The arms are longer than the legs. Their arms when extended have a span half as long as their body height. They have an opposable thumb and big toe. The soles of their feet are broad and toes short. The upper jaw has sixteen teeth of which two are canine, four are incisor and the back are molars. The bottom jaw also has sixteen teeth consisting of two canine, four incisor and the back molars.

8. Life Span: Approximately about 35 - 45 years in the wild and 50 years if in captivity.

9. Reproduction: Sexual maturity: female 10 - 11 years; male 12 - 13 years; single births. Mating takes place at any time during the year, but many female chimpanzees are highly selective about their mate. They average fewer than five offsprings per lifetime.

10. Gestation: 8 months; weaned at 5 years; stay with mother 6 - 10 years.
11. Habitat: Chimpanzees once inhabited 25 African countries. Now, they are extinct or nearing extinction in 13 countries. Chimpanzees live in rainforests, woodlands and grasslands with trees. Distributed mostly in western and central Africa. They are native to the tropical regions of West Africa from French Guiana and Western Uganda to the Congo River.

12. Diet: Chimpanzees are diurnal and omnivorous, eating about 200 kinds of leaves and fruits; termites, ants, honey and birds' eggs; and birds and small mammals. Wild - mostly fruits, seeds, flowers and leaves, will sometimes hunt, kill and eat meat (young monkeys, bush pigs). Males hunt as an organized group. Females fish for termites. In captivity, the diet will normally consist of apples, oranges, bananas, lettuce, carrots, celery, kale, monkey chow, hard boiled eggs and vitamins.

13. Predator: The primary predators of the chimpanzee are man, leopards, baboons and large snakes. Deforestation and commercial hunting for bushmeat are taking a terrible toll on most chimpanzee population. Chimpanzees are heavily threatened by habitat destruction, population fragmentation, disease and human persecution. Habitats traditionally occupied by chimpanzees are quickly disappearing due to human activities. Mining has destroyed chimpanzee habitats in the diamond districts of Sierra Leone and the iron districts of Liberia. Timber exploitation is a major threat mainly in Uganda and crop cultivation is the major threat in Rwanda and Burundi.

14. Endangered Status: All four subspecies of chimpanzees are listed in the 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ as Endangered: the western chimpanzees and the Eastern Nigerian-West Cameroon chimpanzees are the most threatened. Today, they number only approximately 150,000 - 235,000 in the wild. Compare this with millions just only 50 years ago!

15. Special features/Specialization; Chimpanzees are tool makers and users, for example, they collect termites using twigs. Many primatologists now attribute culture to chimpanzees, noting learned variations in such skills and habits among different groups. Chimpanzees share many biological, behavioural, social and psychological traits of human beings.

16. Social Organization: Communities of 25 - 90 individuals with a definite hierarchy. Chimpanzees move about the forest in bands of varying composition, usually numbering six to ten individuals. The males of a group engage in dominance contests involving much screaming and stamping. Vocal and physical communication are important.

17. Conservation Status: Urgent measures are needed to conserve remaining chimpanzee populations, especially in West Africa. Here, WWF is working to develop and strengthen protected areas in Nigeria and Cote D'Ivoire. In Central Africa, we are helping establish and manage forest protected areas in Gabon, CAR, Cameron and several other countries. WWF is also exploring ways to work with governments, local communities, and timber companies to combat the commercial trade in bushmeat. Through our trade monitoring arm, TRAFFIC, we are working to stop the international trade in meat from protected species such as chimpanzees and other primates.

18. Behaviors: Diurnal: active during the day, nest at night.

19. Population Areas: The common chimpanzee, lives north of the Congo River. They pygmy chimpanzee lives south of the Congo.