AnAge entry for Pan troglodytes

Lifespan, ageing, and relevant traits

Physiological observations indicate that chimpanzees develop age-related changes typical of humans at considerably earlier ages, and geriatric chimpanzees were originally defined as animals with 34 years of age and older [0590]. Even in captivity, young adult chimpanzees have considerably higher mortality rates than humans [0008]. Therefore, while it is not known whether the pace of ageing is different between chimpanzees and humans, the onset of ageing appears to occur at earlier ages in chimpanzees. The MRDT and IMR were estimated based on mortality rates obtained from field sites [0834].

Determining the maximum longevity of chimpanzees is problematic due to the many anecdotal reports. "Cheeta", a male chimpanzee who participated in some Tarzan movies, has been reported to be 75 years of age and still alive, though these claims have not been verified and might well be overestimated [0505]. One wild-born female called "Little Mama" was estimated to be over 70 years of age at Lion Country Safari in Florida [0842]. Another specimen, called "Gregoire", reportedly died at the age of 66 in Congo after living most of his life in Brazzaville Zoo. In spite of these claims, chimpanzees in captivity have not been confirmed to live for more than 60 years [0671]. Therefore, although the issue is controversial, the established maximum longevity of chimpanzees remains the 59.4 years that a female called "Gamma" was when she died in 1992 at Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center in Atlanta [0574]. Similarly, the maximum longevity in the wild belongs to one 55 year-old female, though there are unverified reports suggesting a longer lifespan [0008].

Life history traits (averages)

Metabolism

References

[0844] Atsalis and Videan (2009), Reproductive aging in captive and wild common chimpanzees: factors influencing the rate of follicular depletion, PubMed
[0837] Rosen et al. (2008), Tauopathy with paired helical filaments in an aged chimpanzee, PubMed
[0846] Seraphin et al. (2008), The influence of age on fecal steroid hormone levels in male Budongo Forest chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii), PubMed
[0753] Videan et al. (2008), Effects of aging on hematology and serum clinical chemistry in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), PubMed
[0752] Emery Thompson et al. (2007), Aging and fertility patterns in wild chimpanzees provide insights into the evolution of menopause, PubMed
[0736] Videan et al. (2006), The effects of aging on hormone and reproductive cycles in female chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), PubMed
[0607] Dou et al. (2006), Co-evolutionary analysis of insulin/insulin like growth factor 1 signal pathway in vertebrate species, PubMed
[0834] de Magalhaes (2006), Species selection in comparative studies of aging and antiaging research
[0535] Fraser et al. (2005), Aging and gene expression in the primate brain, PubMed
[0671] Richard Weigl (2005), Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; from the Living Collections of the World
[0072] Sugiyama (2004), Demographic parameters and life history of chimpanzees at Bossou, Guinea, PubMed
[0256] Finch and Stanford (2004), Meat-adaptive genes and the evolution of slower aging in humans, PubMed
[0234] Howell et al. (2003), Normal hematologic and serum clinical chemistry values for captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), PubMed
[0073] Gunji et al. (2003), Extraordinarily low bone mineral density in an old female chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) from the Mahale Mountains National Park, PubMed
[0681] Peter Kappeler and Michael Pereira (2003), Primate Life Histories and Socioecology
[0610] Ernest (2003), Life history characteristics of placental non-volant mammals
[0467] Lindenfors (2002), Sexually antagonistic selection on primate size
[0008] Hill et al. (2001), Mortality rates among wild chimpanzees, PubMed
[0434] Ronald Nowak (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World
[0463] Austad (1997), Small nonhuman primates as potential models of human aging, PubMed
[0235] Gearing et al. (1996), A beta40 is a major form of beta-amyloid in nonhuman primates, PubMed
[0574] Hakeem et al. (1996), Brain and life span in primates
[0676] Purvis and Harvey (1995), Mammal life-history evolution: a comparative test of Charnov’s model
[0236] Gearing et al. (1994), Neuropathology and apolipoprotein E profile of aged chimpanzees: implications for Alzheimer disease, PubMed
[0455] Virginia Hayssen et al. (1993), Asdell's Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction: A Compendium of Species-Specific Data
[0237] Sumner et al. (1989), Apparent age-related bone loss among adult female Gombe chimpanzees, PubMed
[0680] Wootton (1987), The effects of body mass, phylogeny, habitat, and trophic level on mammalian age at first reproduction
[0679] Harvey and Clutton-Brock (1985), Life-history variation in primates
[0731] Zullinger et al. (1984), Fitting sigmoid equations to mammalian growth curves
[0323] Gould et al. (1981), Chimpanzee reproductive senescence: a possible model for evolution of the menopause, PubMed
[0059] Tolmasoff et al. (1980), Superoxide dismutase: correlation with life-span and specific metabolic rate in primate species, PubMed
[0436] Cutler (1979), Evolution of human longevity: a critical overview, PubMed
[0238] Graham (1979), Reproductive function in aged female chimpanzees, PubMed
[0239] Graham and McClure (1977), Ovarian tumors and related lesions in aged chimpanzees, PubMed
[0505] Cheeta the World's Oldest Chimpanzee
[0590] ChimpanZoo
[0842] Lion Country Safari

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