According to Momoh the population in the Western part is very small, noting that Sierra Leone is the third country in Africa with the highest population of chimps (about 5,500 in population) of wild chimps based on a census in 2010 – 2011; while Liberia has 7,000 with Guinea having the highest number of 15,000 in the whole of Africa.
He disclosed that the chimpanzees’ life cycle is similar to that of humans because they get pregnant for 9 months and breast-feed their young just like the way humans do. He maintained that the uniqueness of chimps is that they only give birth after every 4-5 years which is based on the lactating period.
“Chimpanzees can lactate for 3 years, train their babies to live in the wild and then get pregnant again,” Momoh said when speaking to AYV.
Chimpanzees according to Momoh are so very conscious of their territory and territorial protection is their key concept which is why they like their boundary to be well-protected, noting that whenever they see humans in their territory they throw stones at them.
