Introduction There is something very special about chimpanzees Every chimp has its own character It has its own likes and dislikes and can learn many different skills Chimps are smart A chimp can invent a new skill and show it to its friends Chimpanzees are like us That is not surprising They are our nearest living relatives Chimps and humans are descended from the same ancestors who lived in Africa several million years ago 3 A sleepy young chimp with an older brother or sister and their mother with the darker face
2 This chimpanzee looks both relaxed and aware of its surroundings 5 CHIMPANZEES Our human ancestors walked upright on the open plains Chimpanzees were more at home with life in the forests They have long arms fingers and toes for reaching and clinging to branches Chimps use their hands to climb through trees and usually walk on all fours They can also use their hands to make simple tools and use them Chimp talk Chimpanzees have complicated social lives and their own language of signs and sounds Given the chance a chimp can even learn ways of communicating with humans In this book you will discover how chimps live together and how these animals spend their days Brainpower Chimpanzees have big brains and are very intelligent Chimps can solve tricky practical problems They learn from their friends so different groups of chimps deal with the same problems in different ways This is what makes chimpanzees so unpredictable and why their behavior is so fascinating
6 Living together All chimpanzees live in groups of 15 to 120 animals Each community is based on related males The group lives in an area called the home range The chimps in the community use the home range in different ways An adult female has her own special part of the range which she shares with her young Female chimps often meet to feed at fruiting trees and sometimes form special friendships Adult males roam all over the home range often in parties of three to six They are more sociable than females but they are always arguing over who’s boss There is a definite pecking order or hierarchy in chimp society especially among males The pecking order 0 A group of male chimps is going for a bathe The chimp in the water is probably the gang’s boss
2 A group of two adult females and three young chimpanzees relaxes in the warm sunshine 7 CHIMPANZEES Pushing their luck As young chimps play with each other they find out what other chimps like and dislike They soon discover that they can push some chimps farther than others They challenge each other and develop their own pecking order These are useful lessons for the future changes as young chimps get strong enough to show how tough they are When different parties get together after a few days apart there is a noisy reunion They shout scream hug and even threaten each other Jostling for position Male chimpanzees have a complicated social life They compete against each other for status and for females They also form alliances to defend the community and their own position within it They usually avoid serious arguments but sometimes rival chimps refuse to back down They may grab kick and bite each other
