Home Species We Protect Chimpanzees Threats to Chimpanzees
Francesco Ungaro
David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation

Threats to Chimpanzees

Chimpanzees, commonly referred to as chimps, share over 98% of the same DNA with humans. 

The illegal wildlife trade is one of the biggest threats to chimpanzees, now listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List, with an estimated remaining population of between 170,000 to 300,000. Yet, every four hours, one chimp is being illegally taken from the wild.

Discover new chimpanzee facts about western chimpanzees and other chimp subspecies from Africa.

David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation

Why are chimpanzees endangered?

How we help protect Chimpanzees

Chimpanzee Conservation Center
David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation

The illegal wildlife trade of chimpanzees

Infants are often captured for the exotic pet trade. The devastating reality of these captures is that for every individual infant taken, poachers will typically slaughter 10 chimpanzees to stop the protective adults interfering in the capture.

Read DSWF’s position on the international trade in chimpanzees.

Other threats

Other threats to chimps include the illegal bushmeat trade, human-wildlife conflict, habitat destruction, and disease.

Chimpanzee Conservation Center
David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation

How DSWF protects chimps

David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) work to protect chimps from all these threats in High Niger National Park, Guinea. The park is home to an estimated 500 chimpanzees, making it one of seven top priority sites for chimpanzee conservation in west Africa. Threats to the chimps here include illegal logging, uncontrolled bushfires, cattle grazing, poaching, and illegal mining. We work with communities living close to the park to provide education programmes, activities that improve the local environment such as tree planting and improved sanitation, and alternative livelihoods including honey-making and gardening projects, which reduce local people’s reliance on the forest.

David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
Josh Iremonger

“We must engage with key stakeholders and local communities about how to end the illegal trade in chimpanzees and how best to disincentivise poaching. People lie at the heart of the poaching crisis, be it as consumers or as a part of the poaching cycle and yet people are also the hope and solution to resolve it.”

Georgina Lamb, Chief Executive of DSWF

You can support our work to save endangered animals from extinction by adopting today.

David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation

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All donations will help us continue our vital work conservation work to protect endangered species and turn the tide on extinction.

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