Nigeria-Cameroon Chimpanzee
Encyclopedia
The Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes vellerosus, now also known as Pan troglodytes ellioti) is a subspecies
of the common chimpanzee
which inhabits the rainforest
s along the border of Nigeria
and Cameroon
. Male Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees can weigh as much as 70 kilos with a body length of up to 1.2 metres. Females are significantly smaller.
The Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee is recognised as the most threatened and least distributed of all the common chimpanzee subspecies, and without a dramatic change to human behaviour in the area, there is a likelihood of extinction in the coming decades.
A June 2008 report said the Edumanom Forest Reserve
reserve was the last known site for chimpanzees in the Niger Delta.
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of the common chimpanzee
Common Chimpanzee
The common chimpanzee , also known as the robust chimpanzee, is a great ape. Colloquially, the common chimpanzee is often called the chimpanzee , though technically this term refers to both species in the genus Pan: the common chimpanzee and the closely related bonobo, formerly called the pygmy...
which inhabits the rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
s along the border of Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
and Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
. Male Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees can weigh as much as 70 kilos with a body length of up to 1.2 metres. Females are significantly smaller.
The Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee is recognised as the most threatened and least distributed of all the common chimpanzee subspecies, and without a dramatic change to human behaviour in the area, there is a likelihood of extinction in the coming decades.
A June 2008 report said the Edumanom Forest Reserve
Edumanom Forest Reserve
The Edumanom Forest Reserve is an area in the Niger Delta region of southeast Nigeria that is home to some of the last chimpanzees in Nigeria. It covers part of the old Nembe Kingdom, now divided into the Nembe and Brass local government areas, in Bayelsa State.The reserve is a Freshwater Swamp...
reserve was the last known site for chimpanzees in the Niger Delta.