Q 01/05

What is the easiest way to tell a chimpanzee apart from most monkeys?

A) It has thumbs

B) It has no tail

C) It has fingernails

D) It walks on two legs

Answer · why

B) It has no tail

It has no tail: a 2024 Nature study linked the loss of tails in apes to a small stretch of DNA inserted into a gene called TBXT.

Q 02/05

What do primatologists call the chimpanzee who dominates the community?

A) The silverback

B) The sentinel

C) The queen

D) The alpha male

Answer · why

D) The alpha male

The alpha male: allies help a chimp win and keep that rank, since coalitions let him dominate rivals he could never beat alone.

Q 03/05

What can a chimpanzee do with its feet that a human can't?

A) Swivel them backwards

B) Retract its toenails

C) Grasp with its big toe

D) Sense heat through its soles

Answer · why

C) Grasp with its big toe

Grasp with its big toe: such hand-like feet once led naturalists to class apes as Quadrumana, 'four-handed', and humans apart as Bimana.

Q 04/05

The chimpanzee's genus name Pan is taken from what?

A) A Latin word for bread

B) An African river

C) A Portuguese explorer

D) A Greek god

Answer · why

D) A Greek god

The species name troglodytes comes from the Troglodytae, a mythical race of cave-dwellers.

Q 05/05

How do chimpanzees often greet each other or make up after a fight?

A) By rubbing noses

B) With a kiss or an embrace

C) By bumping their chests

D) By touching tongues

Answer · why

B) With a kiss or an embrace

With a kiss or an embrace: touching eases tension, reassuring upset chimps and calming aggressive ones, which helps cement their social bonds.