World Chimpanzee Day
July 14 · Level 8 · #515 of 2238
Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives among the apes, and this day reminds us how fragile their future is. It draws attention to shrinking chimp populations and to the forests they depend on.
How it is celebrated: conservation groups and zoos share stories about chimp behaviour, host talks and online events, and raise money for sanctuaries and for orphaned apes. Schoolchildren draw and craft, and animal lovers swap their favourite chimp tales online.
Jane Goodall began studying chimpanzees at Gombe in Tanzania in 1960. There she saw them making and using tools, such as stripping leaves off twigs to fish termites out of mounds.