Chimpanzee Central

How should we relate to beings who look into mirrors and see themselves as individuals, who mourn companions and may die of grief, who have a consciousness of 'self?' Don't they deserve to be treated with the same sort of consideration we accord to other highly sensitive beings: ourselves?

- Dr. Jane Goodall

Chimpanzees are intelligent, social beings. Before Dr. Goodall began her landmark study of them in 1960, however, almost nothing was known of their behavior in the wild. Through our studies of chimpanzees, we humans have learned that we are not the only animals who have close family bonds, make and use tools, or engage in warfare against one another. Here at Chimpanzee Central, you too can learn about our closest relatives!

Feature
Our Gombe videographer shares his thoughts about chimpanzee rain dances and waterfall displays

"I've spent many hours pondering how complex and sophisticated are the workings of a chimp's mind, but I still have far more questions than answers."
— Bill Wallauer, Gombe videographer

Chimpanzee News

2/11/2008 — JGI assists police with chimp rescue in Uganda
When the JGI staff in Uganda received word that a chimpanzee was being held for sale on the black market, they worked with police on a successful sting operation.

12/30/2007 — Gombe chimpanzees help shed light on questions about reproductive evolution
Data collected over several decades at JGI's Gombe Stream Research Center in Tanzania and other sites suggests that menopause – the period after which a woman's ovaries have ceased to produce eggs – may be a very human process not shared by our closest living relatives.

12/27/2007 — New law guarantees sanctuary for former medical research chimpanzees
JGI hailed Wednesday’s signing into law of the Chimp Haven is Home Act, a bill that will ensure chimpanzees living in sanctuary after years of medical research in government-funded facilities will not be returned to the labs.

11/19/2007 — Bill to Help Lab Chimps Advances in Senate
The Chimp Haven is Home Act would ensure the secure retirement of laboratory chimpanzees.

10/22/2007 — New chimpanzee film with Jane Goodall and JGI videographer premieres on Animal Planet Sunday
Much of the film's never-before-seen footage comes from the Jane Goodall Institute's rich media library, which is full of historic scenes and photographs chronicling Dr. Goodall's remarkable time at Gombe.

Become a Chimpanzee Guardian These precious animals have sad histories, but with your help we can give them happy futures. Find out more Chimpanzees in the wild are on the brink of extinction. At the turn of the last century, chimpanzees were living in 25 countries across West and Central Africa numbering around one million. Today their total number has dwindled to less than 200,000, with significant populations found in only four countries. There are many reasons why chimpanzees are disappearing in the wild. Their habitat is vanishing at an alarming rate due to deforestation by foreign hardwood logging companies. Logging in remote areas has increased chimpanzees' vulnerability to poachers by disrupting their once secluded environments. The Jane Goodall Institute sanctuary program is working to create vast areas of protected chimpanzee habitat.