Chimpanzee Predators

Chimpanzee Predators

The Chimpanzee doesn’t have too many predators to worry about in the wild. Yet they do have substantial problems with the ones that they have. Due to the fact that they spend so much time in the trees means they are protected from common hunters that are on land. The Chimpanzee is also often sleeping in the trees at night when such hunters come out after dark.

Leopards though are great cats with a killer instinct. They are very patient hunters and they are extremely fast. They are able to move around on land and in the trees where the Chimpanzees live. They can often take medium sized adults or the younger ones without any problems. The level of mortality due to these leopards though often depends on the region.

Being in the trees though isn’t completely safe from all predators. There are extremely large snakes that live in the trees and they find the Chimpanzee to be a great meal. They can coil their bodies around the Chimpanzee as it sleeps and crush to remove all the air from the body. Some of these snakes weigh hundreds of pounds so there is no way the Chimpanzee can escape from it.

Other apes can be a problem for Chimpanzees as well. The Baboon is often found in many of the same areas as the Chimpanzee. They have no problem with taking the young ones as a source of food for themselves. It seems to be an ongoing war between these two animals. The Baboon does seem to be more aggressive in nature though.

The can become predators as a means of protecting their own home range environment. They may kill the offspring of other troops as well. Taking back this source of meat to the rest of their troop can increase their status in the social hierarchy. This is why they males are often the ones involved in such behavior.

Sometimes there is cannibalism among the troop though. This will increase when food sources are scarce and the home range gets smaller in size. The males will fight the mothers of the young fiercely to be able to kill them for a meal. It is extremely rare that a female is involved in such cannibalistic rituals. However, it has been recorded as taking place in the wild.

The biggest threat to the Chimpanzee comes from humans. They are predators that can wipe out complete areas of them. It is often that this done in order for the land to be used for something else. Trees where these animals live are cleared away to make wood and various products that come from wood.

Humans that are in the same areas as these animals often expose them to dangerous viruses that kill large numbers of them. Something that a human can easily recover from can kill these animals and as they move around looking for food they can expose other groups of them to it.

The brutal slaughter of the Chimpanzee as a sport in some parts of Africa continues even though it is illegal. You will always have trophy hunters that are tired of going after the same old animals all the time. Instead, they are willing to pay money to be taken on guided expeditions around areas of Africa in search of the Chimpanzee.

Many of the villagers around Africa also kill them so that they have food to eat. This is called bushmeat and it often leaves many young orphaned. If another Chimpanzee doesn’t care for them they will die. Killing the mothers so that the young can be sold as exotic pets also occurs.