Threats to chimpanzees

Chimpanzees, commonly referred to as chimps, share over 95% of the same DNA with humans. Yet, every four hours, one chimp is being illegally taken from the wild.

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 left in the wild.

 Infants are often captured for the exotic pet trade and 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. Other threats to chimps include the illegal bushmeat trade, human-wildlife conflict, habitat destruction and disease.

“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

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

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