Sierra Leone Legal Tender Wildlife Coin Chimpanzee 2006 BU Prooflike

The chimpanzee lives in the rainforest and savanna of equatorial Africa. Chimpanzees are typically three to five feet tall and weigh ninety to one hundred and ten pounds. They have light-colored, black, or blotchy skin, and large protruding ears. Partly because of their intelligence, these animals have been used extensively for scientific research. In 1961 the chimp Ham orbited the Earth in a rocket, preceding human astronauts. The demand for live chimpanzees for zoos and research has led to a significant decline in their population. Chimpanzees eat plants, ants, termites, and occasionally meat. They live and travel in small groups, communicating and expressing their moods with a variety of hoots, grunts, roars, and screams. They apparently delight in their own sounds. Chimpanzees have also demonstrated the ability to use and make tools, share and cooperate for the common good, express complex emotions and communicate using sign language. Issued under authority of the Government of Sierra Leone in 2006, this One Dollar legal tender crown-sized (38.6mm) coin features the Chimpanzee on its reverse.