An international research team led by the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE), the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI EVA) and Leipzig University has compiled the largest genomic catalogue of wild chimpanzee populations in Africa. For the first time, genomic information, obtained from hundreds of faecal samples of chimpanzees from across their range, has been sequenced, clarifying their evolutionary history and contributing to the conservation of these great apes. The new genomic atlas, published in the journal Cell Genomics, has the potential to map routes and sources of illegal trafficking that could be used to protect this endangered species.