The chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) belongs to the Pongidae family of the Primate order. They have a wide distribution, extending across central Africa from Senegal in the west to Tanzania in the east. There are three subspecies of common chimpanzee recognized. They are the western subspecies, P. troglodytes verus, the central species, P. t. troglodytes, and
Chimpanzees, the most socially diverse group of apes, are represented by two species, the common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and the pygmy chimpanzee, or bonobo (Pan paniscus). Both species are found in the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. Sharing approximately 98% of their genes with humans, chimpanzees are genetically more closely related to humans than they
At the beginning of the 20th century, more than 2 million chimpanzees flourished in the forests of 25 African countries. Today, only 4 nations have significant populations. Population estimates for 1999 show that common chimpanzee numbers have dwindled to between 150,000 to 235,000 individuals. Most of the remaining animals are found in the Central Africa