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.”
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.
Why Chimpanzees Kill
May 21, 2012 by Michael Mountain
Chimpanzees don’t pretend to each other that the wars they’re fighting are “good wars” – fought for ethical purposes, in which “we” are on the “good” side. That’s a uniquely human wrinkle on violence.
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 [...]
Where’s Oscar?
April 25, 2012 by Michael Mountain
Adorable Oscar, the star of the Disneynature movie Chimpanzee, has gone AWOL. In fact, according to the movie’s director, Mark Linfield, Oscar hasn’t been seen since the filmmakers left his forest on Africa’s Ivory Coast last September.
The Rights of a Nonhuman Person
March 20, 2012 by Michael Mountain
What rights might a chimpanzee or a dolphin have when we consider these nonhumans as persons with the capacity for legal rights. Eric Michael Johnson writes about this in his “Primate Blogs” at Scientific American:
How ‘Teacher’ Steps in When Chimps Squabble
March 15, 2012 by Michael Mountain
When things get rowdy in the playground at school, the teacher may decide to step in. As it turns out, chimpanzees do much the same thing.
Happy to Help, but Please Ask First
February 22, 2012 by Michael Mountain
There’s more and more evidence that chimps have what scientists call a “theory of mind” – the ability to understand the minds of others. (It was once thought that only humans had this ability.)