Chimpanzees belong to the family Hominidae, which includes great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans) and humans (including extinct Homo species). The scientific name of the chimpanzee is Pan troglodytes.
A troop of chimpanzees is generally composed of about 150 individuals, and is dominated by a single, or alpha, male. This alpha male and other males within the troop define the territory of that particular troop, which they will defend fiercely against foreign males. Chimps within a troop generally travel in small groups, namely females and their offspring, all male groups, and occasionally the single individual. These groups will come together and split apart in what is known as a fission-fusion type of society. Females are the only individuals that will leave their troops territory, namely to mate. Offspring are dependant upon their mothers for several years and it is not uncommon for female offspring to stay with their mothers throughout their lives.
Male chimps can often be observed performing boisterous displays which include a variety of behaviors such as clapping, branch shaking, and throwing objects, among others. A chimp does not have to be the biggest in the troop to attain the status of alpha; he just has to have the most impressive displays. Chimpanzees generally walk on all fours in a manner called knuckle walking, but they can also be observed walking bipedally for short periods of time. Chimps also spend a considerable amount of time moving through the trees, swinging from branch to branch in a manner called brachiation. Their upper bodies are specially designed for arboreal life; large, strong hands and dense muscle can support their body weight as they swing through the trees.
A chimpanzee's diet consists mainly of vegetation such as plant leaves, nuts, and fruit. However, a small percentage of a chimpanzee's diet consists of insects and meat. Chimps spend a large amount of their time foraging for food. Occasionally, a group of chimpanzees will band together and cooperatively hunt small prey, such as colobus monkey. Chimpanzees have frequently been observed using tools to assist them in finding food. A chimp will strip a branch of it's leaves and dip it into a termite mound, pulling out several termites that it can eat off the branch.
Due to deforestation, the bushmeat trade, and the pet trade, chimpanzees are classified as endangered in the wild. Their numbers have dwindled significantly over the years (from about one million to just a couple hundred thousand), and it is believed that they could become extinct in the wild within several decades if their numbers continue to decrease at the current rate. Unfortunately, it is a common misconception that chimpanzees are not endangered due to the fact that they are frequently seen in television, print ads, and other media (Ross et al. 2008).
The two species of orangutans, Pongo pygmaeus and Pongo abelii, are arboreal apes that inhabit the rainforests of Borneo and
Orangutans have long orange-red hair and long arms and males can stand up to 4.5 feet tall, females up to 4. As adults, males can weigh between 130-200 lbs, while adult females weigh between 90-100 lbs. They are generally solitary, but mothers and offspring will remain together for 5-7 years after birth. Otherwise, adult orangutans generally only come together to breed and to share large food sources. In the wild, their diet primarily consists of fruits and leaves, with small amounts of tree bark and small animals making up the remainder of their diet. Researchers observing wild orangutans have recorded 400 different kinds of diet eaten!
These long lived animals (around 35 years in the wild and up to 60 in captivity) are currently facing a number of threats in the wild, the most widespread being habitat destruction. Estimates are that one of the two species may be extinct in the wild in the next 10 years! Currently Sumatrans are critically endangered while Borneans are listed as endangered on the World Conservation Unions’s Red List of Threatened animals.
Some of the things captive apes require for their physical and mental well-being are:
The USDA oversees captive nonhuman primates. Anyone housing a nonhuman primate must meet the minimum requirements as specified by the USDA's Animal Welfare Regulations. Many private owners, circuses, and roadside zoos can not and do not provide nonhuman primates with these minimum requirements, and although these private owners are often cited by the USDA for failure to do so, penalties for violations are often not strict enough to incite change. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is working with different vertebrate Taxon Advisory Groups (TAG's) and Species Survival Plans (SSP's) to create Animal Care Manuals that contain guidelines for properly housing all vertebrate species (http://www.lpzoo.org/chimp-ssp/). These guidelines will most likely greatly exceed the minimums set by the USDA and will become the standard upon which zoo husbandry programs will be based.