Do Chimpanzees Hate Us?
July 1, 2012 by MichaelMountain
By any standard, the story of a young graduate student being torn up by chimpanzees at a South Africa sanctuary that bears the name of Jane Goodall is shocking. But, like the news of a woman in Connecticut having her face torn off by a “pet” chimpanzee, we are singularly upset to hear of our own kind being treated this way by one of our closest cousins. Why does it get to us more than any other savage interactions with wildlife?
Bonobo Genome Shows How Close We Are
June 14, 2012 by Michael Mountain
Ulindi provided DNA for the sequencing of the bonobo genome Scientists have completed the mapping of the bonobo genome. This means that all five great ape species – chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans and humans – have now had their genomes mapped. The research team, from the Max Planck Institute in Germany, found that bonobos share [...]
Farewell to Oliver the ‘Humanzee’
June 4, 2012 by Michael Mountain
Oliver was captured in Africa as a two-year-old in the 1960s and sold to animal trainers in the U.S. For the next few years he was exploited for the fact that he had a flatter face than most chimpanzees and tended to walk upright like a human. Perhaps, his owners suggested, he was a hybrid or a “missing link.”
Bob Barker Does It Again
May 30, 2012 by Michael Mountain
Just three weeks after he completed a half-million-dollar donation to Chimp Haven, a Louisiana sanctuary for former laboratory chimpanzees, Bob Barker has sent $250,000 to Save the Chimps, a sanctuary in Florida.
Chimps, Orangutans Have Human-Like Personalities
May 29, 2012 by Michael Mountain
Do chimpanzees, orangutans and other nonhuman great apes have distinct personalities like us? It’s been a longstanding debate within the scientific community, and those who seek to exploit these animals have long argued that “personality” is a distinctly human attribute, not shared by any other species.
Chimp Rescues Ducklings … Then Demands Reward
May 24, 2012 by Michael Mountain
When Bossou saw three ducklings in the water around his Chimp Island at the Dublin Zoo, he decided it was time to rescue them. But he wasn’t going to give them to the SPCA without a reward.
Chimp Lab Fights to Save Its Own Life
May 22, 2012 by Michael Mountain
As the tide begins to turn in the battle to save the lives of chimpanzees in laboratories, the laboratory that conducts most of those experiments is now fighting for its own life.
Trapped Orangutan Puts a Face on Wildlife Struggles
May 15, 2012 by MichaelMountain
Chimp Santino Plans His Attacks on Zoo Visitors
May 14, 2012 by Michael Mountain
Santino has never had much patience for the humans who come to gawp at him at the Furuvik Zoo in Sweden. Fifteen years ago, at age 12, he began picking up stones, storing them for future use, and hurling them at visitors. But his war on his captors has been escalating and has reached new levels [...]
PBS Takes Up the Chimp Testing Debate
May 12, 2012 by Michael Mountain
There are no other animals quite like them, except us. They share 99 percent of our DNA, and it shows. They scheme, plot and fight. They care for their babies, and they grieve their dead. And they love a good game of catch, emphasis on good, as I discovered. PBS NewsHour reporter Miles O’Brien visits [...]