All information about the Chimpanzee

What is a chimpanzee?

The chimpanzee is an African great ape. It is considered the closest surviving relative of humans. Chimpanzees have large ears, long arms (which can reach a wingspan of 3 meters) and have no tail.

Chimpanzees and humans

A chimpanzee's DNA matches 98.5% of a human's DNA. Because of this, they are considered the closest living relative of humans. Chimpanzees are even more closely related to humans, than to a gorilla. They are almost as big as humans are, a lot lighter and a little less smart. They are stronger, can climb much better, but do prefer to stay on the ground. Chimpanzees can recognize themselves in the mirror! They can also walk upright, but not for a mile.

Types of chimpanzees

Chimpanzees (Pan) belong to the family of humanoids (Hominidae), as do orangutans, gorillas and humans.

There are two species of chimpanzees with subspecies:

• Bonobo or dwarf chimpanzee (Pan paniscus)

• Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)

Safaripark Beekse Bergen is home to two groups of West African chimpanzees.

Where do chimpanzees live?

The chimpanzee's habitat consists mainly of forests in Central and West Africa. It almost always lives in forests, but sometimes also in mountain forests and forest savannas.

Behavior of chimpanzees

Chimpanzees live in groups of 15 to 100 monkeys and guard their territory. The adult males rule the communities. Rank-hungry males often display a spectacular impressing ritual; running, yelling, stomping and striking with raised hair. Of course, they want the whole group to be impressed! Males stay with the same group their entire lives. Females, on the other hand, move to another group when they mature. Not always is the strongest male in charge. Often it is the one who manages to make the most friends who help him. A fun fact is that chimpanzees flea each other to form friendships.

Chimpanzees even show different cultures. In fact, groups differ in taking care of themselves and their children, interacting with each other, using objects or tools. They possess empathy and know grief when relatives die.

At Beekse Bergen, the chimpanzees also live in two groups. We do not have one big group, because they would fight each other out of the tent (just like different groups in nature)! The chimpanzees have been living in these groups since 2018.

See how they were put together and how the chimps met? Ranger Rick shows it all in the Chimpanzee Zoo!

What kind of sound does a chimp make?

Chimpanzees have their own language. Through many different sounds, they make things clear to each other, for example to greet each other or to warn of danger. They do not always make sounds to make things clear. For example, they can kiss each other, hug each other, tickle each other and much more. They can also, like us, show with their faces whether they are angry or happy. One difference with us, however, is that when a chimp smiles at someone, it does not mean it is friendly. Then the chimpanzee wants to fight!

Chimpanzees in Beekse Bergen

In Beekse Bergen you will find two groups of chimpanzees. One group is at the front of the park, this group consists of 5 males and 7 females. The other group has 6 males and 8 females and is located in the middle of the park. The group includes chimpanzees from 1 to 36 years old!

Did you know that our chimps are also trained? Ranger Stijn takes you to chimp training!

Is the chimpanzee an endangered species?

The chimpanzee is an endangered species. Due to the disappearance of its habitat, the number of chimpanzees is decreasing dramatically. A century ago there were about 2 million chimpanzees. This is now estimated at 200,000 chimpanzees.

The role of zoos is to preserve and protect of endangered species. European parks work closely together to achieve this goal and do so with an management program (EEP). The chimpanzee is also part of this. In this way, a healthy reserve population is maintained. Find out more about species conservation and our role here here.

Conservation

Not only chimpanzees, but many of the species you see in our park are endangered and struggling in their original habitats. Did you know that worldwide more than 4000 animal species are threatened with extinction? are endangered? Together we can help them, with big, or small steps. Want to know how? Then click here.

Wildlife Foundation

Beekse Bergen is committed to chimpanzee species conservation with the help of the Wildlife Foundation that supports the Jane Goodall Institute supports. This institute protects chimpanzees and other great apes by, among other things, sheltering chimpanzees, deploying anti-poaching units, training rangers, providing public information and education for local communities on protecting endangered wildlife, and community projects for sustainable agriculture. Want to learn more about the Wildlife Foundation? Then click here.

What do chimpanzees eat?

Chimpanzees eat mostly fruits, seeds, flowers and leaves. They also hunt insects and sometimes other animals. These include smaller monkeys, young antelopes, boars and birds. Cannibalism also occurs in chimpanzees. Chimpanzees make their own tools, such as spears, to kill small monkeys with.

In zoos, chimpanzees eat mostly fruits and vegetables. Curious? The chimpanzees at Safari Park are fed daily!

Reproduction of chimpanzees

Females are easily identified by the pink swelling of their hindquarters. The males find this incredibly interesting! Chimpanzees do not have fixed pairs, so females mate with multiple males.

Baby chimpanzees

A female carries the young for 8 months. Raising a young takes years and is the mother's job.

For seven years, they eat with their mother and sleep together in the same nest. Young chimpanzees have a white tuft of hair just above their buttocks. This is a sign to adult chimpanzees that these animals are still young. As long as they have this white tuft, they can do almost anything. When they are four or five years old, this white hair disappears. From then on, they must follow the rules of the group. If they don't, their father usually scolds them.

It takes three to eight years for females to give birth to new young. The bond between mother and child is often lifelong.

How do chimpanzees sleep?

During the day, chimpanzees can be found both on the ground and in the trees. Before it gets dark at night, they build a nest to sleep in. They do this every night. They bend some branches together to make a kind of hammock in the tree. They sleep in this nest for eight to nine hours. During the day, chimpanzees also often make a nest to rest or play in. A chimpanzee can build as many as 19,000 nests in its lifetime. Its bed is sometimes as high as 25 meters!