Chimpanzees and Humans

The chimpanzee resembles humans more closely than any other animal. It shows human qualities such as facial expressions, problem-solving abilities and a high level of parental care. The chimpanzee even suffers from human diseases such as malaria. Since sequencing human and chimpanzee DNA, there have been calls to reclassify Chimpanzees as 'homo troglodytes' - in the same species as 'homo sapiens', the human being. 

Chimpanzees once competed with humans for food crops and were soon driven away from areas with large human populations. Even today, chimpanzees are regarded as a nuisance when they attack banana plantations.

However, for years the chimpanzee has been well-loved - it is probably one of the most popular animals in the world, perhaps because it resembles us so closely. Despite such popularity, the chimpanzee's survival is most threatened by humans. Hunting and trapping chimpanzees for zoos and experimental use is still big business in several parts of Africa - and, as a result, they are endangered in some areas. Chimpanzees have been used extensively for testing drugs because of their similarity to humans, and although this is still going on, the practice is decreasing under pressure of public opinion.