Common Chimpanzee

The **common chimpanzee** (*Pan troglodytes*), also known as the **robust chimpanzee**, is a species of great ape. Colloquially, the common chimpanzee is often called the chimpanzee (or "chimp"), though this term can be used to refer to both species in the genus *Pan*: the common chimpanzee and the closely related bonobo, formerly called the pygmy chimpanzee. Evidence from fossils and DNA sequencing shows both species of chimpanzee are the sister taxon to the modern human lineage.

The common chimpanzee is covered in coarse black hair, but has a bare face, fingers, toes, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet. It is considered more robust than the bonobo, weighing between 40 and 65 kg (88 and 143 lb) and measuring about 63 to 94 cm (25 to 37 in). Its gestation period is eight months. The infant is weaned at about three years old, but usually maintains a close relationship with its mother for several more years; it reaches puberty at the age of eight to 10. Its lifespan in the wild is 36 years and its lifespan in captivity is about 50 years.

The common chimpanzee lives in groups which range in size from 15 to 150 members, although individuals travel and forage in much smaller groups during the day. The species lives in a male-dominated, strict hierarchy, which means disputes can generally be settled without the need for violence. Nearly all chimpanzee populations have been recorded using tools, modifying sticks, rocks, grass and leaves and using them for acquiring honey, termites, ants, nuts and water. The species has also been found creating sharpened sticks to spear Senegal bushbabies out of small holes in trees.

The common chimpanzee is listed on the IUCN Red List as an endangered species. Between 170,000 and 300,000 individuals are estimated across its range in the forests and savannahs of West and Central Africa. The biggest threats to the common chimpanzee are habitat loss, poaching and disease.

## Description

The adult male common chimpanzee weighs between 40 and 60 kg (88 and 132 lb), the female weighs 32 to 47 kg (71 to 104 lb). However, large wild males can weigh up to 70 kg (150 lb) and males in captivity, such as Travis the Chimp, have reached 91 kg (201 lb). Head-body length (from the nose to the rump while on all fours) ranges from 63 to 94 cm (25 to 37 in). Males can measure up to 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in) tall while standing and females up to 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in) tall. Their bodies are covered by coarse, black hair, except for the face, fingers, toes, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet. Both its thumbs and big toes are opposable, allowing a precise grip. The common chimpanzee is both arboreal and terrestrial, and spends its nights in the trees, while most daylight hours are spent on the ground.

Its habitual gait is quadrupedal, using the soles of its feet and resting on its knuckles, but it can walk upright for short distances. The common chimpanzee is a 'knuckle walker', like the gorilla and the bonobo,[21] in contrast to the quadrupedal locomotion of the orangutan, a 'palm walker' that uses the outside edge of its palms. It is the anatomically closest relative of the human.

Check out Wikipedia for more details!