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Can chimpanzees walk upright?

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A common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) sits on a rock holding a long blade of grass in its mouth, with dense green foliage in the background. — chimpanzee The West African, or masked, chimpanzee (*Pan troglodytes verus*) is a critically endangered subspecies of chimpanzee.

Yes, chimpanzees are capable of walking upright, and they do so for short periods. However, they are not habitually bipedal like humans; they typically move on all fours using knuckle walking, where they lean forward on the knuckles of their hands.123

While humans have evolved a specialized form of bipedalism known as striding—which is energy-efficient and supported by unique skeletal adaptations in the pelvis, legs, and feet—chimpanzees retain a body plan better suited for climbing and quadrupedal movement. Despite these differences, the ability to stand and walk upright is found to varying degrees across the order Primates, and it is incorrect to view uprightness as a trait exclusive to humans.124