Great Ape Conservation

Gombe Field Research
Lincoln Park Zoo is proud to partner with the Jane Goodall Institute to study the benefits of play and ecosystem health for chimpanzees in Gombe National Park.

Goualougo Triangle Ape Project
In a remote region of the Congo, scientists study how logging impacts this pristine landscape while monitoring great ape behavior and tool-use.

Lincoln Park Zoo's Project ChimpCARE
There are an estimated 2,200 chimpanzees living in the United States today, more than double the number estimated in their home range country of Tanzania in East Africa. Project ChimpCARE is committed to providing sustainable care for all chimpanzees.

Predicting Capacity for African Ape Sanctuaries
Every year sanctuaries across Africa are inundated with orphaned primates from the bushmeat trade. In partnership with the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance, Lincoln Park Zoo scientists analyzed population trends for African sanctuaries, helping these havens plan for future care.

Ape Touch-Screen Studies
By using touch-screen computers to monitor chimpanzees and gorillas as they sequence objects and react to the social cues embedded in a glance, zoo scientists can see how apes perceive the world around them.

Monitoring Ape Behavior
Every day, zoo researchers use tablet computers to observe and record the activities of chimpanzees and gorillas living at Regenstein Center for African Apes.

Ape Tool-Use Studies
By observing chimpanzees and gorillas as they use tools at Regenstein Center for African Apes, zoo scientists can better understand how apes learn and interact with one another.

Token-Exchange Studies
By having gorillas and chimpanzees exchange tokens for treats, scientists can study responses to unequal treatment. The resulting behavioral economics insights can reveal ape perceptions of inequity.

Great Ape Blood Typing
Zoo caregivers have partnered with peers around the world to build a vital database of great ape blood types, information that’s improved veterinary care at zoos and in the wild.

Chimps Should Be Chimps
Produced by Lincoln Park Zoo's Project ChimpCARE, this free, interactive iPad children's book shares how chimps should be free to be themselves, from chimp head to chimp toe!

Lincoln Park Zoo's Project ChimpCARE
There are an estimated 2,200 chimpanzees living in the United States today, more than double the number estimated in their home range country of Tanzania in East Africa. Project ChimpCARE is committed to providing sustainable care for all chimpanzees.

ChimpDATA
Nearly 500 chimpanzees live in sanctuaries across North America. Lincoln Park Zoo scientists have volunteered their expertise to help sanctuaries manage the lifetime care of chimpanzees while planning for a better future.

The Mind of the Chimpanzee: Ecological and Experimental Perspectives
Featuring a foreword by Jane Goodall
Edited by Lincoln Park Zoo scientist Steve Ross, Ph.D., the Mind of the Chimpanzee features contributions from 30 of the world’s leading chimpanzee researchers. Exploring topics ranging from tool use to chimpanzee culture, this exciting scholarly volume collects the latest knowledge on our closest living relative.