U.S. Lists Chimps as Endangered Species

The government has declared wild chimpanzees an endangered species, a move that will provide additional federal protection for man’s closest relative, officials confirmed Friday.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had classified the primate as a “threatened” species, but officials said that more protection was needed in view of recent studies documenting a drastic decline in the populations of wild chimps in Africa.

The endangered status designation was also extended to the pygmy chimpanzee, which, despite its name, is about the same size as the chimpanzee.

The chimpanzee has disappeared from five of the 25 African countries that represent its historic range, and its population has fallen from a high of about 2 million to a current estimate of 175,000 because of overhunting and loss of habitat to man.

The pygmy chimpanzee lives only in Zaire, and experts estimate its population at 15,000.