We are pushing our closest cousins towards extinction. Chimpanzees share 98.7% of their genes with us.
But humans and chimps do not mix. There has been an increase in human-chimp conflicts. This is largely due to deforestation. And the encroaching human population. Other threats to the species include disease, the illegal pet trade, and being poached for their bushmeat.
Although the majority of the chimpanzees’ diet is plants, fruits, and nuts; they also hunt and eat insects and mammals, including monkeys.
Chimps are often portrayed on T.V. as cute, goofy, cuddly animals, but they can be dangerous and even deadly. Chimps have attacked and killed humans.
In a recent National Geographic there was an article by Daniel Quammen about the conflict between humans and chimps in Uganda. As humans clear more and more forest for agriculture, the chimps lose their habitat and their food source. As a result chimps and humans are competing for resources. Chimps are eating and destroying farmers’ crops. There are also incidents of chimps attacking and killing young children. In turn humans shoot the chimpanzees to protect their crops and family.
Incentives like paying school fees for reforestation in return, giving people stoves that burn less firewood, and drilling wells for the local community so that they don’t have to get water from the same stream as the chimps use. Educating the people who local communities on the importance of conservation, and teaching them ways to stop the human-wildlife conflicts.
Thank you Jane Goodall for all of your research and hard work that taught us so much about these amazing creatures. You are an amazing ambassador, researcher, and conservationist. https://www.janegoodall.org.uk/
Eye of the Wild Photography 