Chimpanzee

Pan troglodytes · The chimpanzee is a medium-sized great ape found in the forests and savannas of equatorial Africa.

Also called Chimp, Common chimpanzee, Robust chimpanzee, Savanna Chimpanzee.

Chimpanzee
Photo: © Giles Laurent, gileslaurent.com, License CC BY-SA, CC BY-SA 4.0
Chimpanzee
Photo: Rowena Facee Schaeffer, CC BY 4.0
Chimpanzee
Photo: © Giles Laurent, gileslaurent.com, License CC BY-SA, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderPrimates
FamilyHominidae
GenusPan
SpeciesPan troglodytes

Where it lives

Tropical forests and wooded savannas of West, Central and East Africa.

Fun facts

  • Chimpanzees are about 50% stronger per weight than humans because of their fast twitch muscle fibres, which help them climb and swing.
  • In 1960, a chimpanzee became the first nonhuman animal reported making a tool, modifying a twig to pull termites out of their mound.
  • A chimpanzee named Ayumu beat human adults at a memory test where numbers flashed on a screen for less than a quarter of a second.
  • Chimpanzees laugh when tickled, and the laughter sounds more like breathing and panting than human laughter.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).