Chimpanzees
Chimpanzees are omnivorous and their diet depends on both season and individual preference, although fruit usually makes up around half of their diet. Termites and other insects are often eaten, and groups of chimpanzees also hunt other mammals, such as duikers and small monkeys. Chimpanzees often use tools when feeding, for example using leaves to mop up blood from captured prey, and using sticks to 'fish' for termites in termite mounds.
Chimpanzees form communities of between 15 and 120 individuals which live within a large territory. However, these communities split into smaller groups to search for food, and it is rare for all the members of a community to gather in one place. Home ranges average around 12.5km2, and males are fiercely intolerant of other males in neighbouring communities, and have been known to attack and kill neighbours, particularly when a group of males come across a lone male from another community. Chimpanzees are most active first thing in the morning and late in the day, and often rest in temporary nests throughout the day. At night adult chimpanzees build sturdy nests, usually several metres off the ground, by bending and weaving branches together.
Many areas where this chimpanzee lives are inaccessible and in sparsely populated parts of Central Africa. However, in many places their habitat is disturbed by logging operations, and also threatened by illegal hunting. IUCN's classification of this subspecies as Endangered is based on a projected future rate of decline of 50% in three generations (in relation to its long generation time). It is Integrally Protected in Congo.