Chimpanzee

Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives, sharing more than 98 percent of our genetic blueprint. Chimpanzees live in  communities of few dozen animals, and can live in  African rain forests, woodlands, and grasslands.

These smart apes are one of the few animal species to use tools such as sticks to retrieve insects from their nests or dig grubs out of logs. They also use stones to smash open tasty nuts and use leaves as sponges to soak up drinking water. Chimpanzees can even be taught to use some basic human sign language.



They are  generally fruit and plant eaters, but they can eat insects, eggs, and meat, including carrion. They have a huge diet that includes hundreds of foods.

Although chimps and humans are closely related, the apes have suffered much at human hands. These great apes are endangered and still threatened by habitat destruction.