Chimpanzees live primarily in the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa, with their range spanning West and Central Africa. They inhabit a variety of habitats including tropical rainforests, dry savannah, evergreen and montane forests, swamp forests, and woodland-savanna mosaics
. More specifically, chimpanzees are found discontinuously from southern Senegal across the forested belt north of the Congo River to western Uganda and western Tanzania
. The largest populations are in Central Africa, particularly in Gabon, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
. There are several subspecies with distinct ranges:
- Central chimpanzee: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, DRC
- Western chimpanzee: Ivory Coast, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Ghana
- Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee: Forested areas of Nigeria and Cameroon
- Eastern chimpanzee: Central African Republic, South Sudan, DRC, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia
- Southeastern chimpanzee (less recognized subspecies): Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda
Chimpanzees spend much of their time in the treetops but also travel on the ground, moving on all fours or occasionally walking upright for short distances
. They build sleeping nests in trees each night, never reusing the same nest
. In summary, chimpanzees live in diverse forested and savannah habitats across a broad but fragmented range in tropical Africa, from West Africa through Central Africa to parts of East Africa
