Origins and Habitat of Chimpanzees

"At the turn of the century chimpanzees were found, in the hundreds of thousands, in twenty-five African nations. From four countries they have disappeared completely. In five others, the population is so small that the species cannot long survive. In seven countries populations are less than five thousand. And even in the four remaining central strongholds chimpanzees are gradually and relentlessly losing ground to the ever-growing human populations."

"Even the Gombe chimpanzees, are threatened by the relentless march of human expansion."

Gombe seen from Lake Tanganyika—Credit JGI/ Jen Croft

Gombe National Park Research Centre is located in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, East Africa. "Gombe National Park, a narrow strip of rugged terrain, two miles at its widest, stretches for no more than ten miles along the eastern shore of the lake-a pitifully small stronghold, . . "

 

". . . . although they still roam free, they are effectively imprisoned their refuge is surrounded on three sides by villages and cultivated land, while along the fourth boundary, the shore of the lake, over one thousand fishermen are camped. Yet these one hundred and sixty or so chimpanzees are safer than almost any other wild chimpanzees in Africa-except for those in the few remaining places, in the central part of the species' range, that are utterly remote. At least, in Gombe, there is no poaching."

Goodall, Jane. In the Shadow of Man, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1971.