The adult male defender of the group is called a silverback because, at maturity, the fur on his back turns gray. Chimpanzee Smaller than gorillas, and much more active, chimpanzees eat about 200 species of plants, compared to the gorillas' two dozen. They also eat ants, honey, birds, eggs, and small mammals, including monkeys. They spend much time on the ground but still have dexterous feet. The are agile climbers and spend the night up in the trees in nests they create by bending together several branches.
Chimps live in large groups and depend on individualized faces to recognized each other.
The abiding relationship, at least five years, is between mother and child. Skills of motherhood are learned, not instinctive. Friendships are important, and are reinforced by grooming. Grooming also comforts the young, soothes tensions, and reinforces the social hierarchy. Their complex and stimulating social lives are important evidence of their close relationship to the last primate, humans.