Chimpanzee Diet and Feeding Habits

Chimpanzees are omnivores animals that need a lot of nutrients in their diet that is why they eat up to 100 types of plants on top of supplementing their diets with meat, insects, ants, bird eggs, pith, bark, buds and termites though the always prefer vegetables to other foods.

Common chimpanzees always prefer to eat fruits other than any other diet but in case of no availability they can eat leaves, shoot, stems, flowers, seeds, resin and bark. Bonobo chimpanzees also love fruits with about 57% of their diet composed of fruits. During hunting sessions the whole chimpanzee family always participates by others chasing the monkey, some block the monkey and others ambush it but once he prey has been caught the whole group shares the meat.

Chimpanzees sometimes use leaves as bowels for drinking water and they also use stones for breaking hard nuts. Chimpanzees are also seen hunting occasionally for invertebrates like pattas monkeys, yellow baboons, red tailed monkeys, western red colobus monkeys and small antelopes like duikers.

Chimpanzees always spend most of their day eating, early in the morning when chimpanzees wake up they always eat a variety of food depending on the availability near them and after midday they start being selective by eating more ripe fruits and leaves that contain a lot of water.

Chimpanzees at Gombe national park in Tanzania have been observed eating Apilia mossambicensis plant which helps them to deal with parasites in their digestive systems, chimpanzees consume a lot of figs which is their source of energy. Chimpanzees have also been seen consuming honey.

Chimpanzees in Guinea, West Africa have been observed taking palm wine, the natural sugars in pal nuts ferment with tropical heat creating alcohol beverage that they take by creating vessels out of leaves. Infant chimpanzees especially the orphaned babies can feed on milk this can be seen at Tchimpounga sanctuary.

In conclusion, chimpanzees are omnivores animals though the higher percentage of their diet consists of vegetables.