Animals

Chimpanzees

Chimpanzees look a little like monkeys, but chimps don’t have tails, whereas monkeys do. In fact, this is the main different between apes and monkeys. Apes are also generally bigger than monkeys.

Next time you go to a zoo, remember to check for a tail to know if you’re looking at a monkey or an ape.

The chimpanzee’s closest animal relation is the bonobo. They’re both in the Pan genus. (A genus is a group of very closely related animals.)

Chimps aren’t too fussy with what they eat. They’ll take some fruit, leaves, insects, bugs, eggs, nuts and even bark from trees and pop it in their mouth. Can you imagine going to a chimp dinner party and being served up a fruit and insect salad – look out for those creepy crawling bugs moving around on your plate!

Sometimes chimps hunt animals that are smaller than them for meat, like goats or antelopes. When they do this, they share the meat with their families.

Chimps live in small groups called ‘troops’ and normally there are about 30 chimps in these families. They always make sure everyone has enough to eat when they have a big feast.

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