Chimpanzees

Battling with vines and scrambling across tough terrain, suddenly you are amidst a group of quietly preening chimpanzees. Resting on the forest floor, you observe their daily interactions as they play, fight and care for each other with astonishingly humane movements. If the trek has lasted a little longer, it is possible that they are already on the move after a chilled out morning, screeching through the high canopy in search of food in the forest.

Tracking chimpanzees can be hard work, but seeing them play, fight and relax around you is not to be missed. You can see chimpanzees in various African destinations, our favourites are Mahale in Tanzania and Kibale in Uganda. Mahale is incredible; staying right on a beautiful beached backed by rainforest, track chimpanzees, go fishing and relax on the sandy shores.

Chimpanzee, or chimp, is the common name for one of the two ape species in the Pan genus. Four subspecies of chimpanzee exist across Africa; Western, Central, Eastern and Nigerian. The second species in the Pan genus is the Bonobo but there are no subspecies of Bonobo.

Chimpanzees are classified as great apes and share 98% of our genes. Prominent characteristics include long arms, opposable thumbs, a black/brownish fur and bare skin on their face, palms, ears and soles of the feet. Highly sociable primates they move in flexible groups of between 15-80 individuals with one dominant male, and communicate through a series of screams, pant hoots, squeaks and barks. Movement during the day is often on the ground and can either be bipedally (upright) or knuckle walking. They are larger than you might think, with males weighing up to 70 kilos, reaching a height of up to 1.7 metres when standing upright.