Chimps are a threat to mankind:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/04/national/main678061.shtml

Tabris on February 18, 2009 at 8:24 PM

The first thing chimpanzees do when they fight other male primates is to tear off their testicles.

This is not a joke. Run from them. Run very fast.

Tabris on February 18, 2009 at 8:29 PM

Good informational post on chimpanzees:

Chimpanzees and Baboons are the only other primates other than humans who will kill and eat meat. They can also go insane when kept in captivity in confined quarters. I would trust a 250 lb silver back Gorilla before I would trust a 130 lb Chimpanzee. These two were crazy to think they could keep Chimps as pets.

True. Chimpanzees and baboons can be exceedingly dangerous. Their is an oldish (early 80s i thing) movie called ‘The Slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro’ that is about a drought that hit East Africa, causing baboons to turn their attention to humans (like many primates baboons are omnivorous, and can even turn to a wholly protein diet under certain conditions). When i was in Kenya i once went to this animal park where baboons would come and ask for food. They were really cute, the females would carry the babies on their backs, sit on their haunches and ask for food with their hands. Very polite. However the males always kept a good distance away. While the females are ‘cute’ and doglike, the males are large, and when they yawn they reveal fangs that are longer than that of any lion or leopard. The males have been known to rend leopards apart (leopards prey on a lot of baboons, that is female and infant baboons. They know better than to face a male. The leopard would win since they are just death incarnate, but it would get seriously injured, and getting injured in the bush means death).

Chimps on the other hand are the second most underestimated animal in the African bush (the first being the Hippo). Most people think Chimp and ‘Bubbles’ comes to their mind. The truth is that a chimpanzee, even though it is much smaller than an adult human, is SEVERAL TIMES stronger!

An adult male chimpanzee weighs around a 160 pounds, yet has 6-7 times the strength of the average human male!

Their strength levels are obscene, yet their form does not suggest it (although if you look at adult males closely you notice something ‘wrong’ in their posture). In the late 1800s and early 1900s there used to be boxing matches that used to pit man against chimp, and the chimps were unbeatable. I do not know how the man’s foot was removed from his leg, it might have been very well bitten off. But i would bet that it was most likely literally ripped off his leg – with the chimp using its hands! With their strength levels they could do that, and do it easily.

As for the testicle bit that is simple. Many primates, male and female, attack by going after genitalia. It is a simple and efficient way to knock out an opponent, and at the same time (especially for male vs male aggression) it ensures that that particular opponent will not procreate (which is a good thing since the biggest trigger for a fight was probably rights to fertile females). The guy who lost one testicle, a foot and half a face should actually consider himself lucky! He could have lost both testicles, his you-know-what, all his limbs, and all of his face (a face bite probably means he was looking the chimp in the face as it attacked. The chimp took this as continued aggression).

Chimps are actually some of the most high-strung creatures in the wild. They are usually docile, but every now and then they go loco. For example it has been recorded that groups of chimps attack other neighboring groups, using sticks stones and bare hands, and try to exterminate the other group. They even at times eat the young of the other group. They are the only other species, apart from man (and obviously invertebrate species like ants and termites), that actually wage full-scale war. And they are the only other species apart from man that wage war using tools.

But people look at chimps and thing they are cuddly babies that make their way to the Jay Leno show, swathed in human baby clothes and sucking a milk bottle. The truth is once they grow up they become extremely intelligent animals that love their independence, and have the strength to ensure they keep it. They can be quite loving, but with intelligent animals come personalities. And with personalities come behavioral issues. And with that comes the danger than the nromally placcid chimp will get annoyed/stressed/jealous/irate/bored/malicious/offended and just come at you. And with something having 6-7 times your strength you would be in a world of hurt.

Although i am sure this attack will do nothing to deter people who think that exotic animals make good pets. I know a person who wanted to import hyenas and use them as guard dogs. Well, hyenas can be loving. But they also have jaws that are the strongest on land, and are really good hunters and quite profecient at killing lions that are separated from the pride (oh, hyenas are another animal that is also underestimated. People think all they do is scavenge, when they actually extremely efficient night hunters and only scavenge during the day. And percentage wise they hunt far more than scavenge). But dude wanted a couple of hyena puppies (i don’t know how he was going to go around the licenses, but i guess he must have worked that out).

Tabris on February 18, 2009 at 8:36 PM