Probably the most intelligent non-human animal, chimpanzees are also very similar to us in appearance and in their social behaviour.

Subspecies
Four: western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus), Nigeria chimpanzee (P.t.vellerosus), central chimpanzee (P.t.troglodytes) and the eastern chimpanzee (P.t.schweinfurthi).

Life span
Chimpanzees live for 40-50 years in the wild.

Statistics
Height: 70-100cm, Weight: males: 43-60kg, Females: 33-47kg.

Physical description
Chimpanzees have black or brown body hair. The body is fairly robust, with strong limbs. The hands and feet are long and narrow, with opposable thumbs. They have large, external ears and mobile, protrusive lips.

Distribution
Chimpanzees live in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Sudan, Rwanda, Cameroon, Uganda and Tanzania.

Habitat
They inhabit rainforests, dry savannah and grassland.

Diet
Chimps primarily feed on fruit, but they will also consume seeds, nuts, flowers, leaves, insects, eggs, and vertebrates, including monkeys.

Behaviour
Chimpanzees live in multi-male, mixed communities or unit-groups, but mixed-sex parties are predominant. They are mainly terrestrial, but do spend time in the trees. They move quadrapedally, as well as leaping and suspending through the canopy. They occasionally walk on two legs. Chimpanzees are diurnal.

Reproduction
Females give birth to one young after a gestation period of eight months.

Conservation status
Chimpanzees are classified as Endangered by the 2000 IUCN Red List. They have a very scattered occurrence and suffer from the destruction of their habitat and hunting for their meat. They are also used by humans for scientific research. There are approximately 150,000 chimpanzees.

Records
Chimpanzees are considered to be the most intelligent non-human primate.