What if a chimpanzee smiles at you? Do not smile back! It might not be a moment of pure joy or fun on their part. For example, when chimpanzees are afraid or want to appear intimidating they expose their upper teeth. This is referred to as a “fear grimace.” It is a form of non-verbal communication that they understand among themselves. This is because they cannot talk as we do, to tell you how scared they are. However, they do this as an adaptive strategy to survive. Meanwhile chimpanzees also expose their teeth when they are anxious or simply uncertain.

Nevertheless, studies reveal that they open their mouth wide, and sometimes reveal only their lower teeth when happy. Therefore, when you witness them exposing their upper row of teeth, cover your upper teeth and only show the bottom ones. Chimpanzees view our own smile as a threat. They are good at reading facial expressions. Otherwise, you might be attacked in violent manner if you do not appear submissive. If a chimp becomes aggressive as a result of your smile, you must show that you are non-threatening. Ensure that you move with a trained guide to help you in such situations.

Where to see Chimpanzees?

Chimpanzees can be seen in very many forested destinations in East Africa. To encounter them in these places, you must do a chimp trek or chimp habituation experience. Even those on forest/nature walks or primate walks have huge opportunities of seeing the chimps in the forest. Now in East Africa, several forests offer visitors from all over the world daily opportunities to see chimps. Below are some of the major forested destinations,

Gombe National Park

Still known by many as Gombe Stream National Park, this is located in the western part of Tanzania. Specifically, Gombe National Park is found right on the eastern shores of Lake Tanganyika. Gazetted in 1968 and currently 56 square kilometers big, Gombe is home to chimpanzees and many other primate, other mammal and bird species. Its uniqueness lies in viewing chimps right where renowned primatologist, the late Dr. Jane Goodall did a lot of research. This destination attracts a lot of visitors and researchers.

Kibale National Park

Dubbed the “Primate Capital of the World,” Kibale National Park is home to 1,500 chimpanzees, the biggest population in Uganda. It is hard to imagine how all these can be sheltered in the 795 square kilometer destination in western Uganda. Nevertheless, they offer a variety of chimpanzee trekking opportunities for visitors every day. The forest’s chimpanzees can also be seen during forest walks, primate walks, birding trips and others. Kibale had members of the Ngogo Community kill each other in a violent confrontation recently.

Nyungwe National Park

Nyungwe welcomes visitors to see its chimpanzees that live in a 1,019 square kilometer land area. Established in 2004 as a national park in southwestern Rwanda, Nyungwe’s chimpanzees can be seen during a guided trekking tour. Other opportunities offered for more chimpanzee encounters include canopy walk, birdwatching, forest walk, zip lining and others. There is a community of chimpanzees that can be tracked and seen in the isolated Cyamudongo Forest. This is considered part of Nyungwe National Park.

Virunga National Park

This park is so big, covering land area of 7,800 square kilometers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The forest houses several individuals of chimpanzees in 3 sectors, north, central and south. Rebel groups and other armed conflicts have made seeing the chimps quite hard for people to visit Virunga. However, you can see them when the conflicts reduce. If you want to visit Virunga, you must plan the visit when you hear that eastern Congo is safe for travel. Contact a local tour operator such as Standard Safaris to keep you up to date.

Kyambura Gorge

Inside Queen Elizabeth National Park chimpanzees can be seen in Kyambura Gorge, also known as the “Valley of Apes.” Found in the western region of Uganda, this place has a river, also known as Kyambura. The erosion of the river is believed to have formed the gorge thousands of years ago. Today, Kyambura Gorge is 100 meters deep and 11 kilometers long. There is a community of habituated chimpanzees inside the forest. Visitors can see them during a guided chimpanzee trek, and every day. Also, during a forest walk or birding tour, chimpanzees could be encountered.

There are so many other destinations in East Africa where visitors can travel and see chimpanzees to witness their wild behavior. Uganda still has Bugoma, Budongo and Kalinzu forests as chimpanzee destinations to visit. Gishwati-Mukura National Park in northwest Rwanda also has a healthy population of chimps that can be seen in the wild. Tanzania offers 2 additional key places where chimpanzees can be seen in the wild. Mahale Mountains in the west and Rubondo Island National Park in the northwest offer marvelous chimp views.