Population Growth in Chimpanzee Populations
Historically, chimpanzee populations were prominent in equatorial Africa ranging from southern Senegal to the forested belt of the northern Congo to western Tanzania and Uganda. Because of natural and human factors like habitat loss, most populations are now scattered throughout central Africa, for example the Congo and Cameroon.
With a change in the geographical position of the chimpanzees, there has also been a statistical change in their population numbers. According to the WWF, chimpanzee numbers have declined by 90% in the last 20-30 years in certain countries like Cote d'Ivoire. As a result of this decline there are no longer populations in Gambia, Burkina Faso, Benin or Togo. When considering how isolated chimpanzees are and how difficult it is to track each group, population estimates (like population characteristics) are approximations at best . In 1900 the population size was estimated to be about 2,000,000 and is presently about 170,000 to 300,00 (WWF, 2012). The estimates of chimpanzee populations throughout the past century are shown in the following chart.
As evident by the chart, the population has drastically decreased in the last 100 years. This can be attributed to habitat loss, hunting, and disease, which are all further explained on the human influence page. The population decreased exponentially until it hit its low point around the 1970’s. Since then however, the chimpanzee populations have incrementally grown at a rate of a few thousand per year up until this point. This growth can be attributed to governmental and nongovernmental programs, which are further touched upon on the conservation biology page. At the rate of the chimpanzee populations are growing, one can estimate that in the next five to ten years, the estimated population will be about 200,000-350,000.