In the language of the indigenous people of Africa - the Luba tribe - "chimpanzee" means "human-like." The truth of this statement has been scientifically proven. Scientists estimate that the evolutionary paths of chimpanzees and humans diverged just 6 million years ago. And today it is the most striking and amazing representative of the genus of anthropoid primates, genetically and biochemically the closest to Homo sapiens. For example, the similarity between our DNA is almost 90%.

Description of chimpanzee

But the “humanity” of chimpanzees is not limited to DNA similarity.

Appearance

Chimpanzees, just like humans, have blood types and individual fingerprints.. They can be distinguished by them - the pattern never repeats. Chimpanzees differ in height from humans. The largest males do not exceed 1.5 meters in height. Females are even lower – 1.3 meters. But at the same time, chimpanzees are very strong physically and have well-developed muscles, which not every Homo sapiens can boast of.

The structure of the skull is distinguished by pronounced brow ridges, a flat nose and a strongly protruding jaw armed with sharp teeth. The skull is made by nature with a reserve - the brain occupies only half of its volume. The front and hind legs of chimpanzees are the same length. An outstanding feature of the structure of their paws is thumb, which is located at a distance from the others and allows the monkey to deftly handle small objects.

The entire body of a chimpanzee is covered with fur. Nature made an exception for the face, palms and soles of the monkey’s feet. Adolescent chimpanzees have a small patch of dark, thick fur white- in the area of ​​the coccyx. As the monkey ages, the hairs darken and turn brown. This feature allows chimpanzees to distinguish children from adults and treat them accordingly. It has been noticed that monkeys with white “islands” on the tailbone get away with a lot, that is, from their paws. Adult primates do not punish them for pranks and do not demand much. But as soon as the white hairs disappear, childhood ends.

Chimpanzee species

Chimpanzees belong to the genus of great apes and are related to gorillas and orangutans. There are two types of chimpanzees - the common chimpanzee and the bonobo chimpanzee. Bonobos are often called “pygmy chimpanzees,” which is not entirely true. The bonobo is not a dwarf as such, it’s just that the structure of its body differs from the ordinary chimpanzee in greater grace. Also, this species, the only one of the monkeys, has red lips, like those of humans.

The common chimpanzee has subspecies:

• black-faced or chimpanzee what - distinguished by freckles on the face;
• Western chimpanzee - has a black mask on its face in the shape of a butterfly;
• Schweinfurt - has two distinctive features: a light face, which acquires a dirty tint with age, and longer hair than its relatives.

Character and lifestyle

Chimpanzee is a social animal, lives in groups of up to 20-30 individuals. The group is led by a male in common chimpanzees, and by a female in bonobos. The leader is not always the strongest primate in the group, but he must be the most cunning. He needs to be able to build relationships with his relatives in such a way that they obey him. To do this, he chooses a company of close associates, such as security guards, whom he can rely on in case of danger. The rest of the male competitors are kept in fear of obedience.

When a leader “fails” due to old age or injury, his place is immediately taken by a younger and more promising “commander”. Females in the pack also obey a strict hierarchy. There are female leaders who are in a special position. Males pay increased attention to them, and this secures their chosen status. These chimpanzees get the tastiest morsels and the most a large number of suitors during the mating period.

This is interesting! Bonobos, due to the lack of aggression in their character, resolve all conflicts within the group peacefully - by mating.

Female chimpanzees are considered to be more docile but less intelligent than males when it comes to learning and training. But they express great affection for a person and do not harbor the threat of aggressive disobedience, unlike males, who are “led astray from the righteous path” by the instinct of dominance. Social image life makes it easier for chimpanzees to hunt, protect offspring, and helps to accumulate useful skills in the group. They learn a lot from each other while living together. Scientists have proven that lonely monkeys have reduced overall health indicators. The appetite is worse than that of collective relatives, and the metabolism is slowed down.

Chimpanzees are forest dwellers. They need trees. They build nests on them, find food, and use them to escape, grabbing branches, from the enemy. But, with equal success, these monkeys also move on the ground, using all four paws. Walking upright, on two legs, is not typical for chimpanzees in the natural environment.

It has been noted that chimpanzees are inferior to orangutans in tree-climbing dexterity, but are superior to gorillas in the cleanliness of their nests. The design of chimpanzee nests is not elegant and is made simply - from branches and sticks, assembled together in a chaotic manner. Chimpanzees sleep only in nests, in trees, for safety reasons.

Chimpanzees can swim, but they don't like it. They generally prefer not to get wet unless absolutely necessary. Their main pastime is eating and relaxing. Everything is leisurely and measured. The only thing that disturbs the monkeys’ life harmony is the appearance of an enemy. In this case, the chimpanzees raise an incredible cry. Chimpanzees are capable of producing up to 30 types of sounds, but they cannot reproduce human speech, since they “speak” while exhaling, and not while inhaling, like a person. Communication within the group is also facilitated by body language and body posture. There is also facial expressions. Chimpanzees can smile and change their facial expressions.

Chimpanzees are smart animals. These monkeys learn quickly. Living with a person, they easily adopt his manners and habits, sometimes demonstrating amazing results. It is a known fact that a sailor's monkey could handle an anchor and sails and was able to light the stove in the galley and keep the fire going.

Living in a group, chimpanzees successfully exchange their accumulated experience. Young animals learn from mature primates simply by observing and copying their behavior. In their natural habitat, these monkeys themselves came up with the idea of ​​using sticks and stones as tools for obtaining food, and large plant leaves as a scoop for water or an umbrella in case of rain, or a fan, or even toilet paper.

Chimpanzees are capable of admiring a flower that does not represent nutritional value, or a close look at a crawling python.

This is interesting! Unlike humans, a chimpanzee will not destroy objects and living beings that are useless and harmless to him; rather, on the contrary. There are cases of chimpanzees feeding turtles. Just!

How long does a chimpanzee live?

In the harsh environment of the wild, chimpanzees rarely live beyond 50 years of age. But in the zoo, under human supervision, this monkey was allowed to live up to 60 years.

Range, habitats

Chimpanzees are inhabitants of Central and Western Africa. They choose tropical rainforests and montane forests with plenty of vegetation. Today, bonobos can only be found in Central Africa - in the rainforests between the Congo and Lualaba rivers.

Populations of common chimpanzees are registered in the territories of: Cameroon, Guinea, Congo, Mali, Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and a number of other countries in equatorial Africa.

A genus of great apes native to Africa. Includes two species - the common chimpanzee and the bonobo chimpanzee. You can often hear the first species being called without an adjective, while the second is called a pygmy chimpanzee or simply a bonobo. The very name of these monkeys is borrowed from the language of the Luba tribe and translated means “human-like.” Chimpanzees are related to other great apes- orangutans and gorillas.

Common chimpanzee(Pan troglodytes).

Both species of these monkeys are very similar to each other; contrary to its unofficial name, the pygmy chimpanzee is no less than its relative, it just looks more slender. When looking at a chimpanzee, what attracts attention is the voluminous cranium, which contains a brain that is only half the size of a human. The powerful jaws protrude strongly and are armed with sharp fangs. The nose, on the contrary, is relatively small and flat compared to a human nose. These monkeys also have well-developed auricles and brow ridges.

The forelimbs of chimpanzees are almost equal in length to the hind limbs. On all paws, the thumb is opposed to the rest, which indicates the animals' ability to manipulate small objects. There is a skin pattern on the palms and fingers of the forelimbs; it is as individual and unique as that of humans, so chimpanzees can be distinguished by their fingerprints. In general, these monkeys have very well developed muscles - they are superior in strength to humans, although they are shorter than humans. The body is covered with thick, moderately long, straight hair; the palms and soles of the feet, ears and face remain bare. Sexual dimorphism comes down to differences in size. Males of these monkeys weigh 55-70 kg with a height of up to 1.5 m, females weigh 33-50 kg with a height of up to 1.3 m. In general, the chimpanzee genome is 98.7% identical to the human genome. Physiologically (if you do not take into account the difference in appearance and behavior) these monkeys are no different from us, for example, they have the same blood types as humans.

Chimpanzees are capable of learning abstract concepts; for example, this animal carefully studies an inedible flower.

Common chimpanzees live in West and Central Africa, where they inhabit wet forests and dry savannas. Bonobos inhabit Central Africa, and are found only in humid forests, and do not enter savannas. Both species live in groups of 15-30 individuals. Chimpanzee communities have a strict hierarchy. In common chimpanzees, the group is led by a leader, who is surrounded by a retinue of lower-ranking males. As a rule, the main male tries to maintain a good relationship with at least several of them, showing friends signs of attention and sharing the spoils with them. In case of any conflicts, he can be sure that they will take his side. The male threatens other rivals with gestures and grins, keeping them in constant fear, and if necessary, he can start a fight. However, the leader is not always the strongest in the herd; more often this place is occupied by the most cunning, diplomatic and adaptable animal. If the leader is old or does not cope well with his duties, he may be replaced by a more worthy candidate. Females in the group are also divided into ranks, but their position depends not on intelligence and strength, but on the dose of attention that the males give them. Leading females beg the males for the most delicious parts of the prey, they are better developed, and during the breeding season they attract more suitors.

A male chimpanzee yawns conspicuously, baring his fangs to show his authority over an older male (left). Animals of lower rank (female with cub on the right) carefully observe the behavior of the leader.

The language of these monkeys includes a variety of postures, gestures and sounds. So, begging for food, chimpanzees approach a friend with an outstretched hand; threatening, they bare their teeth; having fun and playing, they smile and laugh, including when tickled. In a state of alarm, they scream loudly, and during a calm “conversation” they make hoot sounds ( listen ). Chimpanzees make all their vocal sounds while exhaling, which radically distinguishes them from humans, whose vowel sounds occur when inhaling. For this reason, chimpanzees are not able to speak in the literal sense of the word like humans. However, what they lack in words, they make up for in cleverness. In laboratory conditions, young chimpanzees learned up to 3,000 words by ear, numbers up to ten, mastered basic computer skills and were able to ask for what they wanted by pressing keys or selecting an image on the screen. These monkeys easily master the skills of handling everyday objects: they can freely handle cutlery, do laundry, and cook food over a fire. Unfortunately, there are cases where people taught them and bad habits- drinking alcoholic drinks and smoking.

Chimpanzees have a basic understanding of abstract concepts and the emotions associated with them. These animals are aware of the fact of death and truly grieve for their fallen comrade. They are also capable of learning subjects environment, which are not of particular benefit to them, for example, they can consider a crawling python. It is interesting that, unlike people, these monkeys never destroy useless (that is, inedible and non-dangerous) organisms; on the contrary, there have been cases when they fed turtles.

A group of bonobo chimpanzees (Pan paniscus) watch with undisguised concern as staff at the Chimpanzee Rescue Center remove the body of their friend, 40-year-old Dorothy, who died of a heart attack.

However, chimpanzees' altruism towards surrounding species should not be exaggerated. By nature of nutrition, these animals are omnivores. Their diet includes green parts of plants, juicy fruits, grains, honey, bird eggs, insects and... other monkeys. Common chimpanzees regularly hunt small primates such as red colobus monkeys and monkeys. They surround their victims on all sides, after which several large males climb the tree and kill the monkey. Occasionally they can hunt animals of other species: they catch wild pigs, fish, and collect shellfish. Bonobos do not actively hunt, but sometimes catch monkeys and play with them.

A group of chimpanzees at the zoo eat a pumpkin.

The methods of searching for prey are also varied. Usually monkeys slowly walk around the territory, stepping on all fours. When walking, their hind legs rest on the ground with their soles, and their front legs rest on the back of their hands. This careful use of the hands is most likely due to the great sensitivity of the palms and the important role they play in manipulating objects. Chimpanzees obtain hard-to-reach food using improvised means: they lower a straw into an anthill, and then pull out and lick the ants sitting on it; pick out the wood with a twig; push the object with a stick; break the shells with a stone. They use the leaves as a scoop for water, an umbrella, a fan and... toilet paper. These monkeys are capable of walking on two legs, but in nature they rarely use upright posture, mainly when communicating in a group. They climb trees well, although they are inferior in this to orangutans. Chimpanzees can swim, but do not like to get wet unnecessarily. Monkeys endure rain patiently, but on occasion they try to cover their heads with leaves. For safety reasons, they sleep only in trees. Usually, chimpanzees build nests for sleeping from several hastily thrown sticks on top of each other.

A baby chimpanzee has made a turban from twisted leaves; in the background, an adult is wielding stones.

These primates do not have a distinct breeding season. The ability of females to conceive offspring occurs cyclically at any time of the year and depends on the age and physical condition of the individual. Pregnancy in chimpanzees lasts 7.5-8 months, and the baby is always born alone. In the first days of his life, he is covered with sparse fur and hides on his mother’s chest, who does not part with him for a second. Young chimpanzees differ from adults in their flesh-pink skin color; with age, it darkens and becomes black. Childhood lasts up to 9 years, during this period the female gradually teaches the cub the secrets of survival in nature. Kids learn many useful skills by playing with each other and watching other members of the group. Chimpanzees reach puberty at 13-14 years of age, and these monkeys live in the wild for up to 40-45 years, and in zoos for up to 55-60 years. Just like people, aged chimpanzees turn gray.

Female chimpanzees carry their young ones on their backs.

In nature, the main enemies of these monkeys are leopards. Predators stalk chimpanzees from the ground, sneaking up unnoticed in the thickets, and then quickly climb a tree and kill their prey. The only means of protection for chimpanzees remains attentiveness. Seeing an enemy, the monkeys make a terrible noise, letting the leopard know that they see him - the discovered predator loses interest in the prey and moves away. Chimpanzees speed up his departure by throwing sticks at the potential offender.

Both types of chimpanzees wildlife are subject to protection, especially bonobos with their limited range. In captivity, these monkeys are not uncommon. They breed well in zoos and are often kept at biological stations and scientific laboratories. Chimpanzees are often used for psychological and behavioral research, as well as experiments requiring a high level of intelligence (for example, space flight).

CHIMPANZEE
CHIMPANZEE(Pan) is a genus of monkeys of the anthropoid family, endemic to Africa. Distributed in Equatorial Africa, where its representatives are found in tropical rain and mountain forests, rising to mountains up to 3000 m above sea level.

Chimpanzee - large monkeys with a total body length of up to one and a half meters, of which the length of the head and body accounts for 75-95 cm; body weight averages 45-50 kg and even up to 80 kg. In chimpanzees, unlike orangutans, sexual dimorphism is less pronounced - in terms of body weight, for example, females make up 90% of males. The arms are much longer than the legs. Hands with long fingers, but the first finger is small. On the feet, the first toe is large, and there are skin membranes between the remaining toes. The ears are large, similar to human ones, the upper lip is high, the nose is small. The skin of the face, as well as the back surfaces of the hands and feet, is wrinkled. The coat is black, and both sexes have white hair on the chin. The body skin is light, but on the face different types its color varies. Average body temperature is 37.2°.

The chimpanzee genus includes two species - the common chimpanzee (P. troglodytes) and the pygmy chimpanzee, or bonobo (P. paniscus). The first type is divided into three subspecies. The "what" chimpanzee (P. troglodytes troglodytes) from Central Africa (Niger and Congo river basins) is distinguished by a freckled face on a white background, which becomes dirty with age, with larger spots. The Schweinfurth chimpanzee (P. t. schweinfurthii) from Central and Eastern Africa (the basins of the Luabala and Ubanga rivers) in the areas of Lakes Victoria and Tanganyika has a light face, turning into a dark dirty face with age; the wool is longer. The common chimpanzee (P. t. verus) from West Africa (Sierra Leone, Guinea east to the Niger River) has black facial pigmentation, which is shaped like a butterfly mask (the eyebrows and lower part of the face are lighter). These subspecies are often mistaken for independent species, and some authors even proposed that the bonobo, discovered only about 70 years ago, be classified as a separate genus. The bonobo, or pygmy chimpanzee (P. paniscus), has a somewhat infantile appearance; he is much smaller than ordinary chimpanzees, slender, his facial skin is black, and the hair on the sides of his forehead is longer. Bonobos live in a small area between the Congo and Luabala rivers. Chimpanzees lead a semi-terrestrial, semi-arboreal lifestyle; they spend about 30% of their daytime hours on the ground. Here they usually move on all fours, resting on the entire sole and on the dorsal surfaces of the middle phalanges of the bent fingers; in this position they can run quickly and occasionally walk on two legs. They move quickly through trees using brachiation, hanging on their arms, the muscles of which have great lifting force. But moving along branches often uses arms and legs simultaneously. Chimpanzees have a grasping hand, and their thumb, despite its small size, can be opposed to the rest. During locomotion in trees, the hand serves as a “grasping hook”. The chimpanzee's hand is capable of active manipulation, which includes the process of searching, building a nest, "using tools"; This also includes "drawing" in captivity. Chimpanzees live in groups, the numbers of which are not stable. Each group includes from 2 to 25 or more individuals, sometimes mixed groups of even 40-45 individuals are found. The composition of the group is also not stable. A group can consist of a pair - a male and a female, there are only male groups, groups - a mother with cubs of different generations, mixed groups. Single males are also visible. In the herd relationships of chimpanzees, there is no special hierarchy between individuals. D. Goodall, who studied their life in natural conditions, indicates rare quarrels and aggressiveness, emphasizes tolerance between adult males and adolescents. Mutual courtship and exaction are common between adults. When communicating with each other, chimpanzees make about 30 different sounds; hand gestures and body postures also play an important role. Finally, facial expression occupies a special place. Anthropoids, perhaps more so chimpanzees, have well-developed facial muscles, and hence the variety of their facial expressions. It is interesting that when they “cry,” they close their eyes tightly and emit a loud cry, but, unlike humans, tears do not flow from their eyes. When receiving a treat, the chimpanzee shows a semblance of a smile - the corners of the eyes squint, the eyes sparkle, the corners of the lips are pulled upward.

Chimpanzees sleep in nests, lying on their sides with their knees bent, and sometimes on their backs with their legs extended or pressed to their stomachs. They build nests, like orangutans, in the middle part of the tree. For daytime rest, the nest is built on the ground or in trees. In captivity, nests are made from rags and paper. Chimpanzees feed mainly on plant foods, including juicy fruits, leaves, nuts, young shoots, seeds, tree bark, and sometimes do not neglect termites and ants. They observed how a chimpanzee lowered a stick into a pile of ants and licked the ants that ran onto it. D. Goodall tells how in Tanganyika chimpanzees kill and devour small monkeys. According to her reports, chimpanzees make drinking cups by rolling leaves into a cone. The herd life of chimpanzees consists of searching for food and various relationships. Cubs and adolescents 3-8 years old spend a lot of time in games; with age, games are gradually replaced by ritual searching in adults. Chimpanzees breed all year round. Their pregnancy lasts 225 days. As a rule, one cub is born. The baby is born almost naked, helpless. For many months he is closely associated with his mother. Females reach sexual maturity at 6-10 years, males at 7-8 years. The potential lifespan of a chimpanzee is 60 years.

Chimpanzees are strictly protected in a number of reserves and national parks in West and East Africa.

Introduction

Common chimpanzee (lat. Pan troglodytes) - a species of primates from the hominid family ( Hominidae). Together with the pygmy chimpanzee it forms the genus chimpanzee ( Pan). Its physique is more robust and muscular than that of the pygmy chimpanzee, and its range is wider.

1. Subspecies

Several subspecies of the common chimpanzee are recognized:

Black-faced chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes troglodytes), in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo and Democratic Republic Congo;

Western chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes verus), in Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria;

Pan troglodytes vellerosus in Nigeria and Cameroon;

Schweinfurt's chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in the Central African Republic, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Zambia.

2. Basic facts

Common chimpanzees live in tropical forests and wet savannas of West and Central Africa. They once inhabited much of this area, but their habitat has been dramatically reduced in recent years.

Adults in the wild weigh from 40 to 80 kg; The height of a male individual can be 160 cm and a female 130 cm. The body is covered with coarse dark brown hair, with the exception of the face, toes, fingers and soles, part of the hair is white (around the mouth and on the tailbone). The skin of the cubs is pink and turns black when they reach sexual maturity. The menstrual cycle is 38 days, the gestation period lasts about 225 days. Chimpanzee babies are weaned when they are about three years old, but they usually maintain a close bond with their mother for several years. Chimpanzees reach sexual maturity at eight to ten years of age and have a lifespan of approximately 50 to 60 years. The female usually moves to another group, the male remains in the same group.

3. Food

The chimpanzee is an omnivore, but its diet is primarily plant-based (but eats meat whenever available), consisting of fruits, leaves, nuts, seeds, tubers, and other vegetation, as well as mushrooms, insects, honey, birds' [[eggs and small vertebrates. Primitive tools are created to extract termites and crack nuts. There are also cases of organized hunting; in some cases, such as the killing of leopard cubs, this is primarily a defensive action, since the leopard is its main natural predator. However, meat is an essential source of nutrition, and common chimpanzees sometimes form groups and hunt prey such as western red colobus monkeys and monkeys. Isolated cases of cannibalism and hunting of people were also recorded.

West African chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes verus) are the only non-human animals known to be able to create and use specialized tools to hunt. Chimpanzees in the savannah of southeastern Senegal were observed to create spears by tearing branches from a tree and removing their bark, then sharpening one end with their teeth. They then used this weapon, killing the animal. Where there are no red colobus monkeys, females and calves hunt sleeping Senegalese galagos ( Galago senegalensis), testingly poking homemade spears into hollows, and then checking whether they hit.

4. Behavior

Common chimpanzees live in communities that typically range from 20 to more than 150 individuals. They live in trees and on the ground for equal periods of time. Their normal gait is quadrupedal, using the soles of their feet and support on the joints of their arms, but they can walk upright for short distances. They spend the night in nests in trees, nests are built anew every evening (individuals raised in captivity, as a rule, do not know how to build nests). They sleep lying on their side with their knees bent or on their back with their legs pressed to their stomach.

5. Language

They communicate with each other using about 30 different sounds; gestures, postures, and facial expressions play a big role. They know how to cry (unlike humans - without tears), laugh. To call a relative, the monkey hoots, reinforcing the sounds with a specific “calling” facial expression. Pursed lips and a piercing gaze are a threatening demonstration (with such a face one rushes into a fight). The lips are parted, the gums are exposed, the mouth is slightly open - submission or fear. Similar facial expressions, but the teeth are clenched - this is an “obsequious smile” in the presence of a dominant individual. By smiling without showing their teeth, the cubs show that aggression is not serious. Whining sounds when the lips are extended into a tube are a sign of discomfort when the monkey needs food, grooming or something else. Stomping, the dominant individual drives away the subordinate.

Even if they want, chimpanzees can only learn a few words from human languages, since they pronounce sounds while inhaling, while humans pronounce sounds while exhaling. Experiments on teaching chimpanzees the language of the deaf and dumb were successful.

6. Divergence from other hominids

DNA studies published in 2004-2005 showed differences between the pygmy chimpanzee and the common chimpanzee, the species diverging less than a million years ago (about the same time as humans and Neanderthals). The split of the chimpanzee lineage from the last common ancestor of the human lineage occurred approximately 6 million years ago. Since no species other than Homo sapiens has survived, both species of chimpanzee are the closest living relatives modern people. The chimpanzee genus diverged from the gorilla genus about 7 million years ago.

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Aggression toward Large Carnivores by Wild Chimpanzees of Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania

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Chimpanzees break spears to hunt sleeping cuties

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Chimpanzees live in the wild in South-West Africa (Republic of Guinea) and Central Africa (Belgian Congo). According to the descriptions of Nissen, who observed the lifestyle of chimpanzees in the French region research station "Pastoria", the nature there is extremely picturesque and diverse. Dense forest thickets alternate with open, hilly clearings covered with tall grass.

Panthers are hiding in the thickets and wild cats, huge buffalos and wild boars rush, breaking their way through the thicket of the forest, numerous herds of baboons wander, deer and antelopes run through in search of new pastures; Green monkeys are jumping through the trees; on the ground, rustling with long quills, porcupines make their way, giant snakes crawl hissing, every minute ready to curl up in a ball and jump up to catch and squeeze the victim in their grip. In the shallow rivers that cut through the terrain here and there, crocodiles lie motionless on the water. Flocks of birds fly in the air, countless insects flash and chirp.

But when night comes, a black, warm, humid tropical night, then all living things calm down, rest, calm down, but do not freeze completely. Here and there, against the background of sounds made by various animals, single chimpanzee cries are occasionally heard.

Shortly before sunrise, these screams become more frequent and louder. With the first glimmers of daylight, the black “four-armed” inhabitants of the forest awaken, they stand up on their night beds-nests located in the forks of the trees and carefully look around. Seeing their relatives on numerous adjacent trees, also sitting in nests, they announce the surrounding area with thunderous, rolling, hooting and grunting sounds, audible 10 km or more. Vocalization lasts from half a minute to half an hour. Then the chimpanzees start eating.

If the tree on which the nests are located contains edible stems, leaves, flowers or fruits (especially Naray's favorite fruits), then the chimpanzees begin to eat them, remaining on the same tree.

For the first half hour, they greedily consume food, often swallowing inedible parts (seeds, grains, nut shells), but as they become full, they become more and more picky.

Without leaving the tree, the chimpanzee most often grabs an edible fruit with his free hand, either his right or his left, and brings it to his mouth. To reach a high-lying fruit, the monkey pulls on a branch, bringing the fruit directly to its mouth and biting it off. A chimpanzee was once observed eating plums while hanging upside down from a tree.

Depending on the quality of the fruit, the chimpanzee swallows some of them whole, chews others well, and processes others by removing the outer skin and eating only the contents. But there are fruits that have both edible and inedible parts inside them; The chimpanzee eats the first ones, and throws away the last ones. In some cases, processing (for example, peeling) is carried out by the monkey so thoroughly that the removed skin is not torn off in shreds, but retains the configuration of the fruit. Juice is squeezed out of some monkey fruits. Nissen cites an observation of a female chimpanzee squeezing the juice of a Bomenti fruit into the open mouth of her baby. This fact, according to Nissen, was confirmed by the natives.

When searching for fruits on the same tree, chimpanzees do not observe any order in their search: they move from right to left, from the top to the base of the tree, from one branch to another.

Usually the chimpanzee stays on the tree until it picks all the fruits. Then he moves to another tree or moves to a new place where there is more food. Sometimes, seeing fruits on adjacent trees, the chimpanzee simply jumps from tree to tree (sometimes at a great height), then descends to the lower branches, and then to the ground. You can often see how a chimpanzee, being about 12 meters from the ground, clinging to a branch with its hands, swings, jumps forward and down to the ground, and then climbs up the tree on which it noticed the fruits.

Some flowers are also edible for chimpanzees; he takes the opportunity to catch with his hand and eat an insect flying nearby (beetle, dragonfly, butterfly), or climb into a bird's nest and drink bird eggs, or climb into a hollow and enjoy sweet honey, which he eats especially willingly.

Chimpanzees climb down from thick tree trunks with their heads up, and from thin tree trunks - head down. In general, a chimpanzee climbs up a tree more easily than gets down from it. Rarely does it move through trees in a horizontal position, using four limbs.

Food is found in abundance all around; it is extremely diverse in appearance, color, shape, size, consistency, taste and smell.

The fruits are most often bright and dark green, brown, orange, yellow, less often - red, light purple, black. The shape of the fruits is also varied: often the fruits are spherical, less often in
de pods (Dundrch, Foray, Bonkwey); there are heart-shaped fruits (Naray); disc-shaped, lemon-shaped (Soujinyeh), oval (Gerenyi), in the form of clusters of berries (Mowkch).

As the sun rises higher and higher, chimpanzees leave the treetops and head to more shaded areas to search for food on the ground.

There are cases when chimpanzees, setting off on a further journey in a group, starting from a feeding place, break or tear off branches with fruits and drag them behind them, eating the fruits along the way. Often a broken branch with fruit is thrown to the ground; it is possible that, having tasted the fruits, chimpanzees reject them as inedible. The favorite food of chimpanzees (Troglodytes Schweinfurtii) is the large round, head-sized, brown fruits of a huge tree from the breadfruit family (Treculia). This fruit contains about a thousand seeds, the size of a bean, and the monkey carries it on his head, straightening up and standing on his feet, walking upright, like a man.

According to the observations of the natives, chimpanzees sometimes dig up wild sweet potatoes and the roots of certain plants from the ground.

Digging up roots during the summer drought, after the disappearance of greenery, has also been observed in Tenerife chimpanzees. It is characteristic that they dug the earth not only with their hands, but even with a stick in their hand, with which they dug the earth to a much greater depth than when they dug it with their hands.

Slowly, with stops, a group of chimpanzees (from 4 to 14 individuals) moves from place to place during the day, usually including several adult males, females, teenagers and very small cubs.

At the head of the group is the largest animal (male or female), teenagers run near their mother, babies hang under the mother’s breast, and older babies sit astride her back, tenaciously holding onto the fur with their hands.

The procession of the group is sometimes carried out randomly, but in one direction, and the appearance of one animal after another can be separated by a 5-10-15 minute period of time. Sometimes a group of chimpanzees (6 individuals) walks in single file at a close distance from each other.

Typically, chimpanzees move on all fours with a slow, measured, rhythmic gait, with stops, covering about 7-10 km per day, wandering mainly during the day. They sometimes migrate hundreds of miles.

There is great wariness of chimpanzees, especially the leader, during movement. Having heard or seen a suspicious object or person in the bushes, the leader immediately looks in the direction of danger; after him, other chimpanzees begin to look in the same direction. One day it was observed that a female chimpanzee with two babies, when looking at people in the distance, moved her head down and up, left and right, in order to better see them; she left, reappeared and peered intently into the distance.

People who have observed the natural life of chimpanzees emphasize that chimpanzees are curious. Having discovered danger, a chimpanzee often does not hide from it, but begins to examine the object that inspired fear. Nissen testifies to this: “The chimpanzee sitting on the ground looked intently in my direction, ... to get a better look at me, he moved up and down, right and left, and even moved away several sagging branches that blocked his view. He disappeared and after 1-2 minutes he appeared and looked again...” And another case. A huge black chimpanzee “looked at us first from one place, then from another, about 5 m away. He walked on all fours, but when he looked, he straightened up, holding his hand on a tree trunk or a hanging branch above. He moved back four or five times and then disappeared.” From these descriptions it is clear how strong the orienting reaction of chimpanzees is.

Chimpanzees are very sociable creatures. He is apparently afraid to be left alone, to be separated from his herd. A case was recorded in the wild when one female chimpanzee, lagging behind the general procession, uttered plaintive, screaming, moaning cries, and at this time she hit the tree with her hand (from 1 to 3 times), and once, when she was screaming especially irritably, she suddenly grabbed hanging branch above and pulled it down and up several times. No less interesting is another case when a chimpanzee, in a state of excitement, grabbed the fruits of a tree and tore them off.

Chimpanzees spend the time before noon walking, searching, and consuming food. But the hotter the day gets, the more the monkeys are drawn to rest, since they cannot stand the heat and try to hide from it. The onset of scorching heat stops the movement of the monkeys. Usually they approach the edge of the forest, where they settle down to rest or sleep on branches or forks in the shade of trees, or settle down on the ground in daytime nests, the so-called daytime beds.

These beds are patches of soil that the chimpanzees cover with thickets of grass, bent small shrubs, very young trees, or leafy branches of broken nearby trees. Sometimes small trees hang over these areas, bent by monkeys so that a kind of umbrella or canopy is formed. Sometimes these sun umbrellas are obtained by monkeys weaving together young shoots growing nearby to shade the “day beds” underneath. Sometimes these daytime nests are located in naturally shaded areas of the forest. On areas (about 7-8 m in size) that serve as daytime nests for monkeys, the grass is usually heavily crushed. Adult animals most often sleep during rest hours, young animals spend time playing.

Chimpazee's straw nest at the zoo. Photo: Martin Pettitt

The play of young animals is, first of all, a manifestation of a wide variety of motor activity: climbing trees, running, galloping on the ground, jumping from branch to branch and from tree to ground, swinging on branches, rolling on the ground. Grown-up cubs play catching and attacking. The game usually involves no more than two partners, approximately six years of age. To provoke a response, chimpanzees push, tickle their partner with their hands or feet and immediately run away to the side with lightning speed. Sometimes in the midst of play, babies try to bite each other. At the same time, they scream, perhaps from pain or fear. The game of young people can last up to 20 minutes; Usually the game is shorter and lasts 3-4 minutes.

As an exception, cases of chimpanzees playing with objects have been observed. For example, a six-year-old chimpanzee was once seen sitting in front of a stream and splashing the water with his hand; in another case, a chimpanzee, sitting in front of slowly flowing water and looking into it, grimaced and raised its head.

Nissen's descriptions cite one remarkable case when two adolescent chimpanzees (5-8 years old) were playing around a pile of leafy branches. They rode on it, after a while they moved a short distance and then again ran back to this pile and threw themselves on it. This went on for about 2 minutes; the object of the game turned out to be a kind of upside-down basket made of dense woody rubber vines. These vines were intertwined. It is possible, as Nissen thinks, that “this basket was originally designed by monkeys in the form of a “sun umbrella”, and later used as an object of play." The author excludes its manufacture by humans. Persons who observed chimpanzees in the wild note that with age, the play activity of chimpanzees decreases; adult, sexually mature chimpanzees usually do not play.

As the heat subsides, chimpanzees become active again and go on new searches for food. Typically, chimpanzees feed regularly in the early morning and late evening; at other times of the day they eat at indeterminate intervals.

Just before sunset, the chimpanzees prepare for the night's rest. They settle down for the night and begin building nests where dusk finds them. At this time, they often make moaning sounds in chorus until sunset. Usually one chimpanzee starts; later others join him.

Nests are usually built by adult chimpanzees; the cub is placed in the same nest with the mother, who builds a larger nest than solitary-nesting chimpanzees. The young begin to independently build a nest when they stop sleeping with their mother. It is known that babies live with their mother from the day they are born until they are 3-9 years old.

Before starting to build nests, members of the group walk through the forest, looking up, and seem to be looking for trees that are most suitable for nest building. Typically, they select trees that have forks perpendicular to the main trunk of the tree. If the nests are located in dense valley forests, then they are completely hidden from the observer. On sparsely wooded hills they are more noticeable. The nests of each chimpanzee family are usually located on neighboring trees, spaced from one another no further than 60 m. On one tree there are on average 1, 2, 3 nests located at a height of 2 to 16 m, but up to 13 nests can be placed chimpanzee.

Trees of various kinds are used to build nests, but each nest is built from branches of the tree on which it is located.

The foliage of nesting trees is different: the leaves are sometimes wide, sometimes needle-shaped, reminiscent of the needles of our coniferous plants(pine or spruce), and sometimes contain edible fruits (Naray, Gerenii, etc.). Palm trees are never used to build nests.

A chimpanzee, having climbed a tree, usually begins to make a nest at a level of 4 to 34 m from the ground. When building a nest, he stands in the middle of the base of the nest and takes out tree branches from one side or the other, tilting them towards himself; while the monkey's leg holds the branches in place and participates in the rough process of braiding them from above. The nest is never braided from below. The movements of chimpanzees when building a nest are fast but leisurely. Usually the entire construction is completed in 2-3 minutes, but sometimes the nest-building can last up to 25 minutes if the chimpanzee is distracted by eating, communicating with relatives, etc.

The chimpanzee's nest is oval-shaped, concave on the inside; it measures 47.5 x 57.5 cm and is 17.5 cm deep; it is built symmetrically and open at the top. The supporting part of the nest is the main horizontal fork of a tree, on which broken branches of the same tree, quite thick (up to 2 inches), are piled up and down, although the thickness of the branches can vary.

The chimpanzee intertwines some of the branches that make up the support of the nest, which provides better adhesion of the parts and strength of the nest. The chimpanzee does not break elastic branches, but only bends them. The inner surface of the nest is lined with broken apical shoots of the tree, and the deepened cavity of the nest is abundantly filled with leaves of the same tree; the leaves form a soft lining of the nest, providing the monkey with comfort while sitting or lying in the nest.

There is free air space above most of the nests. This allows the chimpanzee in the nest to survey the area and promptly detect anything suspicious or threatening to it.

Typically, a chimpanzee only uses the nest for one night. However, there is evidence that when returning to the same sites, chimpanzees can re-occupy old nests.

Often when reuse The monkey has to renovate the nest, since usually already on the fourth or fifth day the nest begins to deteriorate severely. In these cases, the chimpanzee additionally lines the nest with fresh, soft material, which provides more warmth and makes less noise when the monkey moves in the nest. Having built a nest, the chimpanzee settles down in it for the night and remains in it until the morning.

Given suitable conditions, chimpanzees build nests in trees and in captivity. Köhler reports that if a tree with foliage is placed on the site where the animals are located, the preparation of the nest begins within a few moments. The little chimpanzee Koko was still poorly able to climb a tree, but when he managed to climb at least 3 m, he bent the branches and immediately built a nest. Other adult chimpanzees made nests on the ground from a variety of objects.

Nest building in trees was a favorite activity of the young male chimpanzee Chima. But the young female chimpanzee Panzi did not build nests in the trees; she occasionally made only initial attempts to construct a nest on the ground.

Chim has occasionally successfully built several tree nests in New Hampshire. He climbed a tree, pulled twigs and branches towards him within their reach and, having pulled them up, folded them under him, broke small branches nearby and threw them onto the nest. Within 5 or 10 min. Chim built a nest of twigs and covered them with leaves; the nest was located at a level of 3-4.5 m from the ground; it was comfortable and strong enough to hold a chimpanzee sitting in it. Having made a nest, a short time Chim used it, after which he turned to other activities. The chimpanzee never made a roof over the nest or tried to cover himself with branches or leaves while lying in the nest (as orangs usually do). He was more concerned with the construction process than with the use of the nest; he rarely reused nests that had already been built. Chim clearly preferred to make new nests in a new place. On the ground or indoors, Chim could construct nests from almost any suitable material, even from a rug, which he pulled towards him and folded.

The female chimpanzee Panzi once or twice climbed a tree and looked at the nest built by Chim or lay in it.

During field observations of the life of a chimpanzee in the wild, some of its characteristic psychological traits are noted.

In open places, where the chimpanzee is less protected than in the forest, he develops fear. It has been observed, for example, that chimpanzees retreat when a group of monkeys approaches. Nissen cites a case in which a female chimpanzee was frightened by a large bird flying above her, circling above a tree, under which, apparently, there was a baby monkey. Sensing danger, the female and the baby looked around and changed their position, and her lips trembled at the same time. The chimpanzee exhibits fear of humans, especially when the person walks towards the chimpanzee.

There are numerous examples demonstrating the chimpanzee's observation skills, caution and vigilance. For example, a chimpanzee easily notices every foreign, especially artificial, object that appears against the background of its familiar natural landscape.

In addition, he notices both the person’s attention specifically directed towards him and the person’s presence in general. In the first case, he tries to hide, in the second, he remains calm.

Nissen conducted the following experiment: a group of expedition members, making their way through the forest where chimpanzees were discovered, were asked to alternately not look at the chimpanzees, then pay attention to them. As a result of the observation, it turned out that in the first case, “some animals came down from the trees, but the majority remained where they were; in the second case, all the chimpanzees immediately moved 18 and disappeared.”

The chimpanzee itself does not attack a person, but when a person attacks him, he defends himself fiercely. As Junker writes, “Hunting chimpanzees is easy and convenient when you first find their hiding place. They move in the trees with measured steps and carefully, so that they cannot escape from a hunter with a good gun, like monkeys of other breeds, for example, the agile jumper Colobus, which above, in the leafy crown, runs from one tree to another faster than the hunter below can follow him into the dense bush. The chimpanzee, on the contrary, tries to hide and, in order to continue its journey, descends to the ground, where it can easily escape in the forest. An adult chimpanzee even there enters into a fight; his strength is great, he has powerful jaws, so in single combat he is a dangerous opponent... The strength of even a young chimpanzee is amazing. I once had difficulty snatching a stick from the paws of a half-grown animal. The baby is already grasping the finger so tightly with its paws that a certain amount of effort is required to free it.”

But a chimpanzee is able to get used to the presence of a person and to other phenomena that previously frightened him. Nissen cites a case where a group of chimpanzees were feeding at a distance of 76 m from a place where several native women were noisily washing clothes, talking and laughing. Chimpanzees were not afraid of the noise and whistle of the locomotive, building nests even not far (100 English yards) from the railway tracks.

The most important factor ensuring the survival of chimpanzees is their gregariousness. The strongest animal - the leader - takes care of protecting the entire herd. He is always ahead of everyone, the first to come to the rescue of the weak and little ones in trouble, and often at the risk of his life he goes to a suspicious place to save the cubs who have lagged behind. Cases of weak monkeys being carried from place to place by healthy monkeys have been described.

In life in the wild, the relationship between members of a chimpanzee herd is closely related to their ability to produce a variety of sounds that act as signals (vocal, vibratory, tapping), as well as to use facial movements and gestures. The rich facial expressions of a chimpanzee express subtle shades of its emotional states associated with sexual moments, with the manifestation of family and parental feelings in both females and males. These senses are highly developed in chimpanzees. Juncker vividly describes the behavior of a female caring for her calf in danger.

“At first I made my way through endless bushes, then the vaulted crowns of huge trees appeared above us. Meanwhile, some people were watching the movement of the animals and greeted me with exclamations: Over there! Chimpanzee! But the tree was so tall that I did not immediately notice one animal moving in the deciduous thicket... the chimpanzee left his place, and I clearly saw how the cub grabbed him around his chest. The female hurriedly looked for a sheltered place and, protecting the cub with her body, disappeared into the fork of two powerful branches. Only the fifth bullet knocked her down, despite the fact that I later found several severe bullet wounds on her. The old female finally instinctively drove the cub away from her, so that he remained unharmed at the top of the tree.”

Nissen cites the case of the selflessness of a male who saved his little cub. A family group of chimpanzees (3-4 individuals) passing in the same direction apparently noticed the observer, as some monkeys began to look at him; from time to time they stopped and then moved on. Then, as the author writes, “an exciting moment came: a large, well-built male, the largest I had ever seen, stopped, looked around and, leaning his hands on the rock, remained in an upright position for about two minutes. He looked at me persistently, without signs of fear. Again and again he looked in the direction from which the animals came and where they went. There was no excitement; he was gigantic, white-faced, silent. Suddenly and without warning he walked on all fours straight towards me: I thought it best to fall to the ground; About 9 meters from me, he stopped, grabbed something and ran back at random along the inclined plane. He was carrying a baby chimpanzee (maybe three years old). When he came closer to the top of a small valley, 7 meters from where he had stood before, he sat down with his back against a tree, facing me. He held the young animal in front of him between his legs.

The big male was clearly breathing heavily... I think what happened was that the young animal took a course towards me (west to southwest), I did not see him, and he did not see me, but the old male saw us both and noticed that the baby was walking in the direction of danger. To save the baby, perhaps his son or daughter, he went down at risk to himself. Remarkably, he didn't give any warning signal. I did not hear any vocalizations or other sounds produced by any animal during the entire observation period” 2.

Already from the above descriptions it is clear how, in the living conditions of a chimpanzee in the wild, he exhibits rapid orientation in difficult situations and how highly developed his adaptability to the environment is.

To complete the overview of the life of chimpanzees in natural conditions, we will mention the sounds made by chimpanzees and the ways in which they communicate with their own kind.

1. the sound of excitement or a choking cry;

2. cry of fear, pain;

3. barking, similar to the barking of dogs, as an expression of anger and irritation;

4. crying, whining;

5. Grumbling when eating food is a sign of satisfaction.

When analyzing the sounds made by chimpanzees, we established more subtle gradations, distinguishing 23 natural sounds.

According to Nissen, chimpanzees have 12 periods of sound activity during the day, each of which lasts from 0.5 minutes. up to 0.5 hours.

At dusk, as at night, chimpanzees rarely make sounds. Based on observations made on chimpanzees in the wild, Nissen notes that they have three methods of communication:

1. visual - through gestures;

2. tactile - by direct touch of one animal to another;

3. vibrator - by tapping on thick tree trunks and on the ground.

Nissen points out that a person can barely distinguish this last sound at a distance of 15 m, and argues that this sound is a communicative signal of danger. Judging by our observations of young chimpanzees, sometimes such tapping serves as a manifestation of the chimpanzee's playfulness and, perhaps, expresses a state of joyful excitement at moments of a kind of release of accumulated muscle energy. So, for example, our chimpanzee Joni sharply knocked the knuckles of one hand on hard objects, looking defiantly at a person, and after that he playfully jumped on him, or rushed past him.

It is important to note that in natural conditions, chimpanzees are surrounded by a rich plant world, colorful and diverse with an abundance of food of various types, colors, shapes, external and internal structures. This is associated with wide possibilities for the emergence of a selective attitude of chimpanzees to a rich assortment of plants.

Chimpanzees' vigilance is combined with greater powers of observation and the ability to discern fine details of objects. Various environmental stimuli attract the attention of chimpanzees and awaken their curiosity in captivity, which I. P. Pavlov repeatedly emphasized when he observed the free behavior of these monkeys and their handling of new objects. In addition, it should be emphasized that for monkeys, to a greater extent than for other mammals, physical properties objects: color, shape, size, density, weight, surface structure, mobility of parts, while in the subject analysis of many other animals, the analysis of chemical properties is of great importance: smell, taste, etc.

The migration of chimpanzees from place to place presupposes the enormous mobility of the animal itself, its great motor activity. Let us recall the chimpanzee’s ability to perform a wide variety of movements: running, walking, galloping, climbing, swinging, hanging, jumping, stomping, tumbling, etc. The chimpanzee’s migration also gives him the opportunity to meet a variety of living forest inhabitants.

Studying the lifestyle of chimpanzees in the wild shows how vigilant and wary they are when moving, avoiding animals and humans that are dangerous to them.

The chimpanzee's lifestyle places particularly high demands on the senses and, therefore, contributes to the development of various analyzers, primarily visual and auditory, signaling danger. On the basis of highly developed sensory differentiations, more complex forms of mental activity of chimpanzees are formed. In this activity, chimpanzee analyzers play a huge role, which we now turn to consider.