Chimpanzee Trekking

Chimpanzee Trekking in Uganda

Chimpanzee trekking is one of the exciting activities to do in Uganda while on a wildlife safari to savanna parks in western Uganda that involves taking footsteps into rainforests searching for intelligent primates.

Chimpanzees are believed to have the closest DNA to humans with 98%. They are known to be extremely playful and keep on moving from one place to the next but note that they can also become aggressive once they are provoked. Adult chimpanzees weigh differently depending on the sex that is an average adult female chimpanzee can weigh between 30 to 50kgs at a height of 2 to 4 feet whereas a male adult chimpanzee weighs between 35 to 75 kgs at a height of 3 meters.

Chimpanzees relatively stay in groups of 10 to 100 with one dominant male as the leader. With their high intelligence, they can easily take care of each other like humans; hold hands, search for food, and care for the young ones. When a baby chimpanzee turns 4 years old, they tend to become independent and start looking for their food.

Chimpanzee tracking in Uganda gives you a magical hour watching the chimps feed, play, laugh, hug, kiss, and groom each other. The drama unfolds as male chimps hold fight bouts, slap hollow buttress roots, and chase each other, jostling for a seat at the top of the hierarchy.

Chimpanzee Behavior Patterns

Chimpanzees are highly social. They live on the ground in communities of several groups of animals but normally spend their time up in the tree canopies, especially at night and while feeding. They are led by an alpha male and his coalition of male allies and if another male wants to take over leadership, they have to fight for the position.

The male and female chimps have individual personalities, with females being more trusting and timid. Grooming is an important part of their social life, helping chimpanzees’ bond as they remove ticks and dirt from one another’s bodies.
Chimpanzees have long arms, hands, and fingers, which help them climb trees and swing from branch to branch. While on the ground, they use both hands and toes for walking (Knuckle walk) with half-flexed fingers due to their huge weight.

Habitat for chimps

Though many populations live in tropical rainforests, they can also be found in woodlands and grasslands spanning from central to western Africa. They usually sleep in trees—typically the sturdy Ugandan ironwood tree, which offers the most firm and stable place to sleep—and build themselves nests of leaves.

What do Chimpanzees feed on?

Chimps mainly feed on fruits and leaves. Though they generally prefer fruits and plants, they have a varied diet that also includes insects, eggs, nuts, and hundreds of other things. They relish meat and have been known to kill and eat monkeys, small antelope, and even tortoises which they slam against trees to break open their shells.