Wildlife Guide · West Africa & Central Africa

Chimpanzee

Pan troglodytes

Our closest living relatives, sharing tools, culture and roughly 98-99% of our DNA.

Endangered (IUCN); CITES Appendix I

An adult chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) with dark hair and a bare, expressive face, sitting in dappled forest light and gazing thoughtfully to one side.

Image: Source: Global Animal Guide (WARN) — verify license before production

In brief

A chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) is a great ape from the forests and woodlands of equatorial Africa. Along with the bonobo, it is humans' closest living relative, sharing roughly 98-99% of our DNA. Famous for tool use, complex societies and culture, it is classified as Endangered.

By the WARN Research & Conservation TeamChecked against IUCN Red List & CITES sourcesLast updated June 2026

The chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) is a great ape native to the forests and savanna woodlands of equatorial Africa. Together with the bonobo, it is our closest living relative, sharing an estimated 98-99% of its DNA with humans. Chimpanzees are renowned for their intelligence: they make and use tools, hunt cooperatively, pass learned behaviours between generations as local "cultures", and live in complex fission-fusion societies. Four subspecies are recognised across West, Central and East Africa. Classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and listed on CITES Appendix I, chimpanzees face mounting pressure from habitat loss, the bushmeat trade, disease and the illegal pet trade, and their numbers are falling.

~98.8%

DNA shared with humans

subspecies

50+

years lifespan in the wild

months gestation

Figures sourced from Chimpanzee - Wikipedia, IUCN Red List - Pan troglodytes, CITES - Appendices and other references on this page.

Chimpanzee: Quick Facts

Vital statistics and key facts about the Chimpanzee
Scientific name	Pan troglodytes
Size (standing)	About 1-1.5 m tall
Weight	Males ~40 kg; females ~30 kg
Lifespan	30-50+ years in the wild; older in captivity
Diet	Omnivore; mainly fruit, plus leaves, insects and some meat
Habitat	Rainforest, woodland and savanna of equatorial Africa
Range	West, Central and East Africa
Gestation	About 8 months; single infant
Group name	Community (or troop)
Subspecies	Four recognised

Scientific Classification

Scientific classification of the Chimpanzee
Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Mammalia
Order	Primates
Family	Hominidae
Genus	Pan
Species	Pan troglodytes

Conservation Status

IUCN Status: Endangered on the IUCN Red List, with a decreasing population trend. Listed on CITES Appendix I, prohibiting commercial international trade. All four subspecies are threatened, and the Western chimpanzee (P. t. verus) is assessed as Critically Endangered.
Population: Roughly 170,000-300,000 across its range, though estimates are uncertain
Trend: Decreasing
Assessed: Assessed Endangered in the most recent IUCN Red List review
CITES: Appendix I

Habitat loss, the bushmeat trade, poaching, disease (including Ebola) and the illegal pet trade are driving declines. The species' slow reproduction makes recovery difficult, and its patchy distribution means local extinctions can erase unique cultural behaviours.

Did you know?

Chimpanzees in different regions have their own "cultures": one community may crack nuts with stone hammers while a neighbouring group, with the same nuts and stones available, never does, because the skill is learned socially and passed down rather than instinctive.

Key Facts: Chimpanzee

Chimpanzees and bonobos are humans' closest living relatives, sharing roughly 98-99% of our DNA.
They make and use tools, from termite-fishing sticks to nut-cracking stones, and pass these skills to their young.
Chimpanzees live in fission-fusion communities that can exceed 100 members, splitting into smaller foraging parties.
Four subspecies are recognised across West, Central and East Africa.
They are classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and listed on CITES Appendix I, with numbers falling.
Habitat loss, the bushmeat trade, poaching, disease and the illegal pet trade are their main threats.

What chimpanzees look like and where they live

Chimpanzees are robust, mostly black-haired great apes with bare faces, ears, hands and feet, and long, powerful arms suited to climbing and swinging through trees. Standing upright they reach about 1 to 1.5 metres tall; males typically weigh around 40 kg and females around 30 kg, with exceptional captive individuals heavier still. Their faces lighten or darken with age, and infants are born with a pale face and a tuft of white tail hair that fades over time. They walk on all fours using a distinctive knuckle-walking gait but stand and walk upright when carrying food or peering over vegetation. Chimpanzees range discontinuously across equatorial Africa, from Senegal in the west to Tanzania and Uganda in the east. They occupy a wide variety of habitats, including tropical rainforest, swamp forest, montane forest, woodland and dry savanna, provided there are fruiting trees and water. Each community defends a home range that it patrols and forages across, building fresh leafy sleeping nests in the trees each night.

Tool use, hunting and chimpanzee culture

Few animals rival the chimpanzee for behavioural complexity. Nearly every wild population studied uses tools, and different communities favour different techniques, a pattern scientists describe as culture because the behaviours are learned socially rather than inherited. Chimpanzees strip leaves from twigs to "fish" for termites and ants, crumple leaves into sponges to soak up drinking water, and in parts of West Africa use stone or wooden hammers and anvils to crack hard-shelled nuts, a skill that takes years to master. Some populations have even been seen sharpening sticks to jab at small prey. Diets are broad and largely plant-based, dominated by ripe fruit but including leaves, seeds, flowers, bark, insects and honey. Chimpanzees also hunt cooperatively, most famously pursuing red colobus monkeys, then sharing the meat in ways shaped by social bonds. Communication is rich, combining dozens of vocalisations such as the carrying pant-hoot with facial expressions, gestures and drumming on tree buttresses. These cultural traditions vary so much between sites that losing a population can mean losing unique behaviours forever.

Society, family life and reproduction

Chimpanzees live in multi-male, multi-female communities of roughly 15 to more than 150 individuals, organised around a fission-fusion structure: the whole community rarely gathers at once, instead splitting into smaller, ever-changing parties that forage and travel together before regrouping. Males usually remain in their birth community for life and form the core of a status hierarchy headed by an alpha male, whose position depends as much on alliances and grooming as on size or strength. Females often transfer to a new community as they mature, reducing inbreeding. Bonds are maintained through long bouts of social grooming, which calms tensions and reinforces relationships. Reproduction is slow, which makes population recovery difficult. After a gestation of about eight months a female gives birth to a single infant, which she carries, nurses and teaches for years; weaning occurs around three years of age and the interval between births is often four to six years. Youngsters learn foraging, tool use and social rules largely by watching their mothers and others. In the wild chimpanzees can live well past 40 and sometimes beyond 50 years, with some captive individuals reaching their sixties or older.

Chimpanzee vs bonobo: how our two closest relatives differ

Feature	Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)	Bonobo (Pan paniscus)
Range	West, Central and East Africa, north of the Congo River	Only south of the Congo River, in the DR Congo
Build	Stockier, more robust	More slender, with longer legs
Society	Male-dominated hierarchies	More female-centred and egalitarian
Conflict	Hunts often; can show marked intercommunity aggression	Uses social and sexual behaviour to defuse tension
IUCN status	Endangered	Endangered

What WARN Does

WARN does not currently run dedicated field projects for chimpanzees, which live outside the countries where WARN's partners work; this guide is part of WARN's free educational and awareness work to help people understand the species and the pressures it faces. The very threats that endanger chimpanzees, above all habitat loss alongside the wildlife trade, also harm the animals WARN does protect, which is why building public understanding of them matters.

If you value clear, science-based wildlife guides like this one, a small gift helps fund WARN's habitat and wildlife work for the animals in its care.

Support Habitat Protection Donate to WARN

How does the chimpanzee compare?

Gorilla vs Chimpanzee →

How can I help save the chimpanzee?

There are three practical things that make a real difference for the chimpanzee — and the first is the one that funds everything else.

Fund frontline rescue

Back the partner-led teams, veterinary care and protection that reach chimpanzees where the need is greatest — WARN channels donations straight to that work.

Ease the pressures

Avoid the wildlife trade and souvenirs, never buy wild animals as pets, and choose sustainable, habitat-friendly products — the threats behind the chimpanzee's decline fall when demand does.

Spread the word

Share accurate, sourced information about the chimpanzee. Wider awareness is what turns concern into lasting protection.

Support Habitat Protection Donate monthly

Chimpanzee: Frequently Asked Questions

How can I help save the chimpanzee?

The most effective way to help the chimpanzee is to fund the frontline rescue and habitat protection that keeps the species alive — WARN channels donations to partner-led teams working where the need is greatest. You can also ease the pressures behind its decline by avoiding the wildlife trade and souvenirs, never buying wild animals as pets, and choosing sustainable products, and by sharing accurate information to build wider support. See the ways to help below, or support WARN's Support Habitat Protection.

Are chimpanzees endangered?

Yes. The chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and its population is decreasing. It is also listed on CITES Appendix I, the strictest level of international trade protection. The main threats are habitat loss from logging and agriculture, the bushmeat trade and poaching, infectious disease, and capture for the illegal pet trade.

How much DNA do chimpanzees share with humans?

Chimpanzees share roughly 98-99% of their DNA with humans, with the most commonly cited figure around 98.8% for directly comparable sequences. Along with bonobos, they are our closest living relatives. This deep genetic similarity is reflected in shared traits such as tool use, complex social bonds, problem-solving and a wide range of emotional expressions, though humans and chimpanzees last shared a common ancestor several million years ago.

What do chimpanzees eat?

Chimpanzees are omnivores with a largely plant-based diet dominated by ripe fruit. They also eat leaves, seeds, flowers, bark, insects such as termites and ants, and honey. Many populations hunt cooperatively for small and medium mammals, most famously red colobus monkeys, and share the meat. Diets vary between communities and seasons, reflecting both local food availability and learned cultural traditions.

Do chimpanzees really use tools?

Yes. Nearly every wild chimpanzee population studied uses tools, and they are among the most accomplished tool-users in the animal kingdom. They fish for termites and ants with stripped twigs, soak up water with leaf sponges, and in some regions crack hard nuts using stone or wooden hammers and anvils. Different communities favour different techniques, learned socially, which scientists regard as evidence of chimpanzee culture.

How long do chimpanzees live?

In the wild chimpanzees commonly live into their thirties and forties, and some individuals survive past 50 years. In captivity they can live even longer, with documented individuals reaching their sixties and, in rare cases, close to 80. Their slow life history, with single births spaced several years apart and years of maternal care, means populations recover slowly from losses.

What is the difference between a chimpanzee and a bonobo?

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus) are closely related great apes and our two closest living relatives. Bonobos live only south of the Congo River and tend to be more slender, with female-centred societies and frequent use of social and sexual behaviour to ease tension. Chimpanzees have a wider range, more male-dominated hierarchies, hunt more often and can show greater intercommunity aggression.

Where do chimpanzees live?

Chimpanzees live in the rainforest, woodland and savanna of equatorial Africa, across West, Central and East Africa. Four recognised subspecies occupy different parts of this range. They need forest or woodland with fruit, water and cover, and are classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List with a decreasing population trend.

Are chimpanzees dangerous?

Yes, chimpanzees can be dangerous. Males weigh about 40 kg and females about 30 kg, and wild communities can show serious aggression toward rivals and, rarely, humans. They are far stronger than their size suggests. Observing them in the wild requires distance and expert guidance; they are not safe to approach or treat as pets.

How big is a chimpanzee?

Standing chimpanzees reach about 1–1.5 m tall. Males weigh roughly 40 kg and females about 30 kg. They share roughly 98.8% of their DNA with humans and show similar proportions, though their arms are longer relative to their legs and they move on all fours through the forest canopy and ground.

Sources & References

Population figures, conservation status and biological facts on this page are drawn from authoritative scientific and intergovernmental sources.

Terms used on this page

Plain-English definitions, from our wildlife and conservation glossary.

Latest Chimpanzee Stories

Quick, fact-checked reads on the chimpanzee — amazing facts, key questions and the threats it faces.

Species

12 Amazing Facts About Chimpanzees (Tool Cultures, and 98.7% of Our DNA)

Termite fishing, regional tool traditions, medicinal plant use and warfare between communities. Twelve verified facts.

Read the story

Explore More Species

Every animal in our network faces a crisis. Learn about the others.

View all wildlife guides

Support Habitat Protection