chimpanzees

JGI videographer Bill Wallauer reflects on the first chimpanzee he encountered in Gombe, Prof, the musical chimp of Gombe.

For 15 years, Bill Wallauer scrambled up and down the hills and valleys of Gombe National Park in Tanzania, camera in hand, filming the daily dramas of the world’s most famous chimpanzee society. Chimpanzee births, dominance displays, infanticide attempts, encounters with snakes, the mysterious waterfall and rain “dances” – he has seen all of this and more.

Male chimpanzees use displays of power to establish their position within the community.

A rite of passage, almost every young chimp gets lost from their mother at some point during their exploration.

Meet Kouilou, Shanga, Mosengo and Betou, four orphan chimpanzees starting their new lives at the Tchimpounga Sanctuary in the Republic of Congo.

Mischievous Titan's craving for attention makes him a menace in the community.