World Chimpanzee day is marked each July 14 to celebrate, improve our understanding, and inspire protection of our closest living relative. Chimpanzees are highly endangered and face many threats in the wild including habitat loss, disease, and wildlife trafficking. One hundred years ago, there were an estimated 1-2 million chimpanzees across twenty-five countries in Africa. Today, an estimated 350,000 chimpanzees remain in the wild across Africa, down from between 1-2 million a century ago. On this date in 1960, Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE began her transformative work and research on the wild chimpanzees of Gombe National Park, Tanzania.
