Social Animals

Raising a family

A female chimpanzee can mate about 1 week in every 5 weeks and can mate with many males in turn. Male chimpanzees gather around a receptive female, bounding and leaping through the branches. There appears to be no rivalry among the males for the female's attention.

Females usually produce babies every 5 to 6 years and often do not have more than 2 to 3 offspring in their lifetime. A single baby - twins are rare - is born after a gestation period of 7-8 months.

A newborn chimp weighs about 1,800-2,200 gms. For 2 years the baby is completely dependent on its mother and stays with her for about 6 years. Young males soon join a gang of adult males but the females prefer to stay on with their mother. Young chimps are very playful and affectionate but their temper becomes less predictable with age. This is why chimps do not make good pets.


Living together
Chimps are social animals and live in groups of up to 80 where food is plentiful. Sometimes a group of chimps meets another group. When this happens a fight can break out, but usually the groups meet without showing any hostility.

The dominant male
As a male chimpanzee grows older, he gradually rises in social importance. A dominant male stakes his claim to leadership by noisy displays, charging other chimps, waving branches and rocks, or drumming his feet on forest trees. The arrival of a dominant male is the signal for others to hurry over and pay their respects to him!