Februari 03, 2017
chimpanzees and humans share 98.5% of theirgenes. they are the closest relatives we have inthe animal world. the common chimpanzees are apes which belongto the pan genus and their scientific name is pan troglodytes. the first record of the word 'chimpanze' beingused was in a 1738 edition of the london magazine. the name roughly translated as 'mockman' andit was derived from a bantu language. in 1758 the spelling 'chimpanzee' was releasedby another publication and later the colloquial 'chimp' was coined. a chimp's arms exceed the length of its feet.
an average male stands at 3.9 feet and mayweigh up to 200 pounds. when climbing trees, chimps use their strongarms. on the ground they usually knuckle-walk ormove around on all fours using their knuckles to support their weight. chimpanzees are highly intelligent creatures. they use tools for social displays and toacquire food. chimps are also believed to have a conceptof self and the ability of understanding and reproducing sign language and other symbols. after working with chimpanzees extensively,dr. jane goodall had discovered that they
are capable of displaying a range of emotionsthat were once thought to be uniquely human. this was possible because of their expressionsand their facial musculature which is very similar to ours. dr. goodall also discovered that chimps arecapable of violence and even killing each other. she observed a territory war between two separatechimp groups. it had reportedly lasted for four years andended with the members of one group killing all of the chimpanzees in the other. number 4: andrew oberlewhile andrew oberle was visiting the jane
goodall institute chimpanzee eden near johannesburg,south africa, he was attacked by two chimps. the 26-year-old had always been passionateabout chimps ever since he was a boy and became even more interested in them after watchingjane goodall's documentaries. as part of obtaining his master's degree inanthropology and primatology, oberle was giving sanctuary visitors a lecture prior to theattack. he then entered a restricted area where nikkiand amadeus, two alpha-male chimps pounced on him. highly territorial animals, the chimpanzeesperceived oberle as a threat. they initially pulled him from under an electrifiedfence.
then they dragged him for more than half amile, biting him repeatedly. eugene cussons was in charge of the rescueoperation. he fired two warning shots in order to dissuadethe apes from continuing their attack. cussons commented on the events that followed“i was then forced to fire a round at the chimpanzee, warning the chimpanzee becausemy intention at that point was that i needed to get to andy so there was no other alternativeoption. the absolute necessity there was how to savehuman life.†the medical staff found him in a fetal positionnear a roofed open-walled structure. he was taken to a private hospital in nelspruit.
hospital staff commented on the extent ofhis injuries 'he lost an ear, he lost a number of fingers and toes, he's got very deep wounds,he's got total removal of skin and muscle off his one leg and his one arm, fracturesall over the place.' his skull and facial bones were exposed ashe had suffered massive cuts. oberle was in critical condition and he wasplaced in a medically induced coma. his recovery included a bionic right hand,prosthetics on both his feet and 22 other surgeries to repair his face. wild chimpanzees are only found in africa. they inhabit 22 countries from the continent'swest coast to the east, reaching as far as
tanzania. the most significant number of chimpanzeesare located in gabon, central african republic, republic of congo and the democratic republicof congo. they are omnivorous and the fact that theyhave a varied diet enables them to adapt to various habitats. although most of them live in tropical rainforestssuch as the congo jungle, they have been known to inhabit more arid areas as well. these include swamp forests, bamboo forests,open woodlands and open savannahs. their behavior is greatly influenced by thetype of environment they live in.
chimps spend a lot of time in trees wherethey forage, socialize and sleep. they live in groups which are called communities. they have a 'fusion-fission' society wherethe members change constantly as they wander off by themselves or join other groups. family bonds in a chimpanzee community arevery strong particularly the ones between mothers and daughters. chimps are highly social creatures and themanner in which they interact is in many ways similar to that of human beings. at the top of their hierarchical society isan alpha male, usually between the age of
20 and 26. number 3: james davis‘i remember every bite, one at a time. i remember when i went to touch my face, myfingers looked really scary’ davis told a news outlet as he remembered his horrifyingchimpanzee attack. retired nascar driver, james davis and hiswife ladonna had had a pet chimp for many years. moe was viewed as a member of their familyuntil he was removed from their home in 1999 after biting off part of a woman’s finger. he was taken to the animal haven ranch ownedby ralph and virginia brauer.
in 2005, on the chimp’s 39th birthday, davisand his wife decided to visit him. the couple was standing outside moe’s cage,holding a cake they had made for him, when they were attacked by ollie and buddy, twoyoung male chimps. the chimps had escaped from the adjoiningcage and charged at the couple. their attack only ended after mark carruthers,the sanctuary owners’ son-in-law, shot and killed both of them. amazingly, ladonna escaped with minor injuriesand was only bitten on her hand. james, however, was left in critical condition. the chimpanzees had chewed off a large portionof his face.
he had lost most of his nose, his lips, aneye, and cheeks. he had even lost parts of his genitals andbuttocks. james davis’ recovery would require morethan 60 surgeries over the course of several although chimpanzees and human beings sharemany similarities, when it comes to unarmed killing potential there are a number of criticaldifferences. pound per pound chimpanzees are at least twotimes stronger than humans. this is due to the fact that their skeletalmuscle fibers are larger and generate more power. in addition, chimpanzees do not have the samemotor control as humans.
they have less motor neurons which activatetheir muscles differently by contracting more fibers at once. this makes chimpanzees explosive fighters,sprinters and climbers. their displays of dominance include stamping,charging and throwing objects. even though a chimp's dentition pattern isthe same as a human's, its canines are much larger. when they attack, chimpanzees are fierce. documented attacks on humans have shown thatchimpanzees break bones, tear out muscle fibers and even chew off faces.
number 2: dunia sibomana6-year-old dunia sibomana, his 4-year-old brother and one of their friends were playingnear a river, close to virunga national park in the democratic republic of congo. tragedy struck when the boys were attackedby a troop of chimpanzees. it was believed that because of the poachingand violence inside the park, the chimps viewed humans as enemies intruding on their territory. dunia’s friend was killed and his littlebrother was dismembered by the aggressive primates. the boys’ father was working on a fieldnearby but could not hear their screams over
the sound of the roaring river. when the man went to check on the boys, thefirst thing he saw was the dismembered remains of his youngest son. then he found dunia, and hastily took himto the park rangers to receive medical care. dunia was the only one to survive the attackbut not without consequence. he was severely mauled by the chimpanzees. according to the initial reports the boy lostboth his upper and lower lips, parts of his cheek, one of his fingers, a part of his rightear and had internal damage as well. dunia could no longer chew or swallow foodproperly and he also had trouble speaking.
his wounds would impact him psychologicallyas well. after his recovery, the boy returned to schoolin the congo for a period of time. the other kids started to laugh at him andmake fun of him because of his disfiguring scars. dunia became more withdrawn and started spendingmore time alone. through the help of the smile rescue fundfor kids, dunia was taken to new york where he underwent extensive surgery. doctors took tissue from his forearm and usedit to reconstruct his lips. the boy remained in brooklyn and was enrolledat the pines elementary school.
jennifer crean, dunia’s host mom, her fiancã©kevin and their children welcomed the boy to their family and made efforts in helpinghim restore his self-confidence after his successful medical procedure. as of 2016 they continue to take care of duniauntil he will be ready to be reunited with his father. there are few steps you can take in orderto survive or avoid an encounter with an aggressive chimpanzee. if you are planning to observe these animalsin their natural habitats make sure to dress plainly and remove your jewelry or piercings.
if you have long hair you should considertying it up or putting it back. wearing contact lenses instead of glassesis also a good idea. even though some wildlife experts have cultivatedrelationships with chimpanzees and no longer feel threatened by them, you should alwaysremember that they are wild animals that are unpredictable therefore you should keep yourdistance. maintaining a safe distance is among the bestways of preventing an attack. you might consider feeding the chimps as away of initiating contact and showing them that you are non-threatening but this mayalso put you in danger. feeding one chimpanzee might attract others.
should you run out of food it is possiblefor them to take it as a refusal to share it and as a sign of aggression. always be aware of the body language you display. showing your teeth to a chimpanzee will oftencause them to perceive you as a possible threat and might trigger an attack. avoid sudden or rapid movements and intimidatingpostures. if confrontation is inevitable, do not run. instead, slowly fall back and avoid directeye contact. a clenched fist may be perceived, as an indicationthat you have food thus showing your empty
palms will reduce the chances of an attack. do not scream at a chimpanzee or try to fightit as it will most likely over-power you. having a firearm would increase your chancesof survival. number 1: charla nashcharla nash was the victim of one of the worst chimpanzee attacks in recent history. in 2003, travis unbuckled his seatbelt andran away from his owner's car, held up traffic and was on the loose for several hours beforehe was finally caught. after the incident, the connecticut departmentof environmental protection issued a law which prohibited people from keeping apes that weighedmore than 50 pounds as pets.
although the law was officially in effectin 2004, the dep did not enforce it on sarah herold, travis' owner, as they did not believethat the 200 pound chimp posed a safety risk. in 2009, while carla nash was visiting herold,she was attacked by travis. upon seeing that the 55-year-old woman washolding one of his favorite toys, travis charged at her. herold hit him with a shovel and stabbed himwith a butcher knife in order to get him to stop. travis had been herold's pet since he wasa baby and she saw him as her son. she later said 'for me to do something likethat – put a knife in him – was like putting
one in myself'. the woman then called 911 in order to pleadfor help. the operators initially thought it was a prankbut then they heard travis' screams and herold's frightening voice shouting 'he's ripping herapart!'. the emergency services arrived on the sceneand waited for police support. when the law enforcement units arrived, travisapproached one of the cars and smashed a side-view mirror. moments after the chimp opened the driver'sside door he was shot multiple times by officer frank chiafari.
travis went back into the house. his lifeless body was found next to his cage. nash's injuries were extremely severe. the hospital staff that treated her initiallyreportedly needed counselling after witnessing the gravity of her wounds. nash had lost her mid-face bone structure,lips, nose, eyes and even her hands. four surgeon teams operated on her for morethan 7 hours. her jaw was successfully re-attached, but,unfortunately, the attack would leave her permanently blind.
xanax was discovered in the ape’s body afterthe autopsy. it was revealed that travis suffered fromlyme disease, which is known to set off psychotic behavior. experts believe these are the main reasonsbehind its frenzied attack.
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