Chimpanzees
Chimpanzees are immensely powerful Great Apes who live in large social groups called communities. They are highly intelligent animals, capable of carrying out sophisticated hunting strategies that require teamwork and role identification. They’re also capable of spontaneous planning for a future event.
Chester Zoo is home to one of the world’s largest and most successful groups of Zoo Chimpanzees, which has a social structure very similar to a community of wild chimps. Born in the mid 1960’s, Boris is our oldest Chimpanzee. The community also consists of dominant male, senior females (grandmothers), younger males, breeding females and youngsters.
Whilst in the Zoo, you may hear our Chimpanzees vocalising very loudly. Although this may sound like they’re fighting, these calls and shouts are often expressions of excitement at a keeper about to feed them or allowing them access to another part of their enclosure.
Chester Zoo’s Chimpanzees are part of a European managed breeding programme. We also support the conservation of Chimpanzees in the wild through our Nigeria Conservation Programme. The focus of our support is in Gashaka Gumti National Park, in partnership with the Gashaka Primate Project.
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Species Information
Where they live: Equatorial Africa from southern Senegal across the forested belt north of the Congo River to western Uganda and western Tanzania.
Habitat: Moist and dry forests, and forest galleries extending into savanna woodlands.
Size: Up to 175cm tall.
Weight: Up to 70kg
Conservation status: IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
Threats: Habitat loss and degradation due to mining, forestry and agricultural development, Hunting and poaching for bushmeat and exposure to disease brought into their natural habitat by humans.