The chimpanzee lifespan is divided into six different stages: neonate, infant, juvenile, adolescent, subadult, and adult. This section will analyze each stage of life and describe the characteristics of a chimpanzee in that stage of life.
Neonate
The neonate stage of life lasts from the birth of a chimpanzee until three months of age. During this time period, the mother chimpanzee holds the new baby chimpanzee close to her chest.
Infant
The infant stage of life lasts from three months old until the age of three to five years old. After reaching three months old, the infant chimpanzee begins to ride on the mother's back. At the end of the infant stage, weaning begins to take place.
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Juvenile
The juvenile stage of life begins when weaning has occurred (between three and five years old) and lasts until the age of seven. Although the young chimpanzee remains close to its mother during this time, it also begins to socialize and play.
Adolescent
Female chimpanzees are considered adolescents between the ages of seven and ten, while male chimpanzees are considered adolescents between the ages of seven to twelve. Females mature faster than males and reach puberty first during this stage of life.
Subadult
The subadult stage of life lasts from age ten to thirteen for female chimpanzees and from twelve to fifteen for males. During the subadult stage, chimpanzees become more independent and do not remain as close to their mother. In addition, females begin to have regular cycles but do not begin ovulating or mating during this stage.
Adult
The adult stage of life is when the chimpanzee reaches sexual maturity and begins to mate. For females, this begins around age thirteen, while in males adulthood begins around age fifteen. Chimpanzees remain in the adult stage of life until death.
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A chimpanzee is a species of great ape found in many African countries. It is the closest living relative to humans, with only a 2% difference in genetic material. In the wild, the average lifespan for a chimpanzee is around 40 years. In captivity, a chimpanzee can live up to 70 years. Female chimpanzees mature faster than male chimpanzees. They begin puberty at around seven years old and begin to menstruate. They do not have their first child until they are an adult, around thirteen years old. Male chimpanzees are considered sexually mature and are allowed to reproduce with female chimpanzees when they are fifteen years old. After a male and female chimpanzee successfully mate, the female's gestation, or period of pregnancy, is around eight months. Females give birth once every three to six years.
The lifespan of these primates is divided into six stages: the neonate, infant, juvenile, adolescent, subadult, and adult stages. The neonate stage of life lasts from the birth of a chimpanzee until three months of age. The infant stage of life lasts from three months old until the age of three to five years old, when the young chimpanzee is weaned. The juvenile stage of life begins when weaning has occurred between three and five years old and lasts until around the age of seven. The adolescent stage varies for males and females. Female chimpanzees are considered adolescents between the ages of seven and ten, while male chimpanzees are considered adolescents between the ages of seven to twelve. The subadult stage of life lasts from ten to thirteen years old for female chimpanzees, but from twelve to fifteen years old for male chimpanzees. The adult stage begins at around age thirteen for females and age fifteen for males. Each stage in the chimpanzee's lifecycle brings unique changes to the chimpanzee's behavior and sexual maturity.
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Video Transcript
What Are Chimpanzees?
The chimpanzee is a primate. Chimpanzees are apes that are genetically different from humans by a mere 2% of their DNA. It has long been a fascination to compare the chimpanzee lifespan to our own from an anthropological point of view. A study published in 2017 in The Journal of Human Evolution revealed that the span of a chimp's life depends on their foraging capabilities and presence of predators, making them a lot like us.
Chimpanzee Life Cycle
The gestation (meaning the time spent being pregnant) of a chimpanzee is almost eight months. A female usually gives birth to a single baby weighing around four and a half pounds. Chimpanzee babies spend their first three months held at the mother's chest and then move to her back. Females get pregnant only once every three to six years.
The average life span of a chimpanzee is around 38 to 40 years in the wild. In captivity, they have been known to live more than 70 years. As of 2017, one of the oldest living chimpanzees is a 78-year old named ''Little Mama.''
Chimpanzees begin puberty at around seven years of age. Females start cycles but are sterile for another three years; they won't ovulate until fully mature. During this period, the female will get her period as well as anogenital swelling (swelling up of skin in the vagin*l area). Females reach maturity and start to reproduce around the age of 13 in the wild.
The males reach sexual maturity around the age of nine but aren't socially allowed to mate with a fertile female until the age of 15. They do mate with sterile females from a very young age onward.
Chimpanzee Life Cycle: Stages
Chimpanzees have six stages in their life cycle:
- Neonate, which lasts from birth till the age of three months; during this period the mother holds the baby to her chest.
- Infant, which lasts from three months to weaning at age three and a half to four and a half; at around three months the baby begins clinging to its mother's back.
- Juvenile, which lasts from weaning at three and a half to four and a half until age seven.
- Adolescent, which is a stage at which males and females start to differ in development. Females mature faster than males. From age of seven to 10, the female is considered an adolescent. The male, however, is an adolescent from the age of seven to 12.
- Subadult, which lasts from age 12 to 15 for males, age 10 to 13 for females. At this stage chimpanzees start to become independent. Males break away from their mothers and females develop their periods but are still sterile.
- Adult, in which chimpanzees reach sexual maturity and are able to copulate with intention of reproduction and also have established their dominance in social groups.
Lesson Summary
All right, let's take a moment or two to review. As we learned, the chimpanzee is an ape that is genetically different from humans by a mere 2% of their DNA. In similar fashion, the gestation period (the time spent being pregnant) is several months, with chimps being born after eight and humans being born after nine.
We also learned that chimps weaned from their mothers at around the age of four. They don't become mature adults until around 13 to 15 years of age. The females mature faster than males. They live on average 40 years in the wild and 60 years in captivity. Chimpanzees have six main stages in life: neonate, infant, juvenile, adolescent, subadults, and adult. Females reproduce once every three to six years.
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