Apes

Chimpanzees live in tropical Africa, ranging from southern Senegal and Mali, across the forests of Central Africa north of the Congo River to western Tanzania and Uganda. They live in patriarchal societies where males generally remain in the group and females transfer to other communities at sexual maturity. They live in groups that vary greatly in size but can be up to 150 individuals. These groups may break up into smaller groups and come back together – something called a fission-fusion society. Their range sizes vary greatly as well, depending on food and water availability, and group size among other factors. Adult chimpanzees make nests in trees every night to sleep in. Adult males will defend their territory from other communities of chimpanzees. Chimpanzees use tools, such a fishing rods to fish for algae, stone tools to crack open nuts, as well as leaves for drinking water. They form social bonds that last a lifetime. There are four subspecies of chimpanzees: western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus), Nigeria-central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ellioti), central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes), and eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii).

Bonobos (Pan paniscus) live only in the Democratic Republic of Congo south of the Congo River. They live in a matriarchal society where the females are dominant. They can live in groups of up to 100 bonobos but these groups usually break up and come back together, typical of a fission-fusion society. Unlike chimpanzees, bonobo communities are not aggressive between themselves. Bonobos are famous for their peaceful societies.

Gorillas live in tropical Africa ranging from Nigeria, Cameroon, Angola, Gabon, Central African Republic, Congo, through the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Rwanda and Uganda. Like chimpanzees, they make nests to sleep in every night. Gorillas are mainly ground-dwelling, but especially lowland gorillas will forage for fruit in trees. Adult males are much larger than females and a group is usually about ten individuals, consisting of one adult male and several adult females with their young, although this can vary. There are two species of gorillas. The western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) are comprised of two subspecies: cross-river gorillas (Gorilla gorilla diehli) and western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). The eastern gorillas (Gorilla beringei) are also comprised of two subspecies: mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) and Grauer’s gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri).

Orangutans live in Indonesia and Malaysia. Today, they can only be found on Borneo and the north of Sumatra. They do not live in large groups like gorillas and chimpanzees, but are solitary, with males living alone and females living with their offspring. Young stay with their mother until they reach puberty. Also unlike gorillas and chimpanzees, orangutans are mainly arboreal, spending most of their time in the trees. There are three species of orangutans: Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii), Tapanuli orangutans (Pongo tapanuliensis), and Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus).