Endangerment of Our Closest Living Relatives

Group JRB

Problem

• Chimpanzees are endangered because of poaching, disease, and habitat destruction

• They have disappeared completely from 4 countries and their population is dwindling every where else they live

Poaching has recently become a major problem because of the thriving commercial market for bushmeat.

Chimpanzee’s habitats are being destroyed for more room for homes for people in Africa.

Disease, including Ebola which has killed tens of thousands of Chimpanzees, is also a threat.

Why are They Important?

• Chimpanzees are important seed and pollen dispensers

• Biodiversity; they help make the ecosystem stable

• They are very similar to humans genetically, so they help show how human evolution may have occurred and they give us a glimpse of our past

Facts

• Population: Between 150,000 and 250,000• Share more than 98 percent of our human

genetic blueprint