This belief was one of the foundations for the very concept of 'human being', and served as a neat and simple distinction. Until Jane Goodal's groundbreaking research began in 1960, it was firmly believed that human beings were the only creatures that used and (most importantly) made tools. What they found is that they still share 99.6% of their DNA, while human beings share about 98.7% of our DNA with both chimps and bonobos.īut it is the behaviors that we share with these great apes, particularly chimps, that is truly intriguing. Researchers sequenced the genome of the chimpanzee in 2005 and the bonobo in 2012. Subsequently, the ancestors of chimps and bonobos split about 1 million years ago, most likely as a result of the formation of the Congo river which divided the population. It is widely believed that the ancestor of human beings split with the common ancestor of bonobos and chimps more than 4 million years ago. Soon our closest relative may only exist in zoos, and, more disturbingly, research facilities. Once numbering in the millions throughout Western and Central Africa, chimpanzees are now critically endangered in the wild due to the destruction of their natural habitat. Occasionally, especially when carrying something, chimps will stand and walk on two legs, but this is neither typical nor efficient. The chimps arms are much longer than its legs and it walks and runs comfortably on all-fours. Most chimps spend equal amounts of time in the trees and on the ground, where they are true knuckle-walkers. The dominant male will assure them with a pat and the submissive chimp will often actually kiss the dominant males hand in a very 'human' gesture. Once dominance is obtained, all group members must show submission by crouching or bowing or presenting their rump.

Lots of politics is involved and coups may be planned and developed by young males for years. There is more than just force involved in gaining leadership though, and in order to become the dominant male, support from other community members, especially older females, is critical. Males will 'display' by screaming and running through the forest grabbing sticks to strike the ground or the trees with, throwing rocks, and rattling bushes. The group usually has one or two dominant males, who gain their leadership through sometimes very violent displays and fights between rivals. These groups may socialize at a watering hole and then break up into any number of smaller units to forage, reconvene in the afternoon, break up when its time to bed down, etc The social structure is sometimes referred to as a 'fission-fusion' society. Within these groups are fluid, often changing sub-groups of friends and family.

Chimpanzees live in large groups of 30 to up to 150 individuals called 'communities'. The lifestyles of these two species differ greatly. Living in the rainforests and savanna grasslands of Africa, the chimp, sometimes called the 'common chimpanzee', separated from its close relative the bonobo, sometimes called the 'pygmy chimpanzee', about 1 million years ago, and never looked back.

Chimpanzee facts about there behavior