Chimpanzee Postcard

Chimpanzee populations are being threatened due to a range of factors throughout Africa with habitat loss being one of the biggest impacts. Forests are being cut down for the timber, mining and farming industry and the resulting fragmentation of the forests results in chimpanzee families becoming isolated which can have dramatic impact on breeding and migration patterns. Poaching of chimpanzee for the illegal pet trade and the bush meat industry continues to reduce chimpanzee populations throughout much of Africa. Some wild chimpanzees are also taken for traditional medicines and scientific research. As humans and chimpanzees are so closely related, chimpanzees are susceptible to the same diseases that affect us. In some parts of Africa, diseases like Ebola haemorrhagic fever have had dramatic impacts on chimp populations. Photo taken at Taronga Zoo, Sydney on a Nikon Coolpix P610.