Are there Chimpanzees in Bwindi ?
Chimpanzees in Bwindi are by far one of the rarest fascinating creatures in Uganda’s wild
They are the second biggest primates after mountain Gorillas with about 98% DNA similarities with humans thereby making them also close cousins.
Chimpanzees are divided into two that is the common chimpanzees and the baboons species .
Chimpanzees are frugivores consuming various fruits and dispersing them through their movements and waste disposal causing forest regeneration
It is very exciting to note that Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has over 400 individuals out of over 5050 chimpanzees world wide making them the only gorilla destination in the world where gorillas and chimpanzees share the same habitat .
Bwindi Impenetrable is home to the common chimpanzee species that is the pan troy-lodytes schweinfurthii
While on a safari in Bwindi, the chimpanzees can easily be seen in Buhoma area that is in the north and Nkuringo Sector South of the park.
They are not habituated unlike in other chimpanzee locations but are more visible in comparison to mountain Gorillas.
Therefore, Chimpanzees in Bwindi thrive in the highland rainforest.
Important facts to note
A mature common chimpanzee male weighs between 40-60Kgs an average height of 1.6m while the female weighs 30-40kgs with a height of 1.3m .
They have a coarse black hair apart from.their toes, palms , face , fingers and soles of their feet making them have a firm grip due to their uniqueness in the thumbs and toes that are opposite to each other.
Just like mountain Gorillas, chimpanzees also stay in communities led by an alpha male that is also the strongest.
A chimpanzee gets to puberty at 10-12 years and female gives birth to about 4-6 babies .
It is important to keep in mind that the lifespan of a chimpanzee is on average 40 years In the wild and 50 years in captivity
Chimpanzees in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park remain not habituated because it’s deemed they keep that way considering cost of habituation and also other better locations where they have already been habituated and their livelihood are suitable and better.
Other animals to see while doing nature walks and other activities in Bwindi .
Vervet monkey
Red tailed monkeys
Olive baboons
Black and white colobus moneys
L’Hoest monkeys and many others
By and large , chimpanzees at Bwindi Impenetrable are beautiful creatures not exactly trekked but easily seen during nature walks and other activities in the highland forest
