Monkeys In The News

Monkey snatching schoolgirl's headscarf sparks clashes in Libya, leaving 16 dead

2016-11-20T22:08:00.000-05:00

Four days of clashes between rival tribal militias in the Libyan city of Sabha have left at least 16 people dead and 50 injured. The violence was reportedly triggered by a monkey that snatched the headscarf off of a tribal girl.

The monkey, which belonged to a shopkeeper from the Gaddadfa tribe, pulled the headwear off a schoolgirl from the Awlad Suleiman tribe who was passing by with a group of other girls, reported Reuters, citing locals.

Awlad Suleiman fighters retaliated in response, killing three members of the Gaddadfa tribe along with the monkey in a wave of violence involving heavy weapons.

Full story here.
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North Korea's New Star: Azalea the Smoking Chimp at Pyongyang Zoo

2016-10-20T11:02:00.000-04:00

Pyongyang's newly opened zoo has a new star: Azalea, the smoking chimpanzee.

According to officials at the newly renovated zoo, which has become a favorite leisure spot in the North Korean capital since it re-opened in July, the 19-year-old female chimpanzee, whose name in Korean is "Dallae," smokes about a pack a day. Dallae is short for azalea.

They insist, however, she doesn't inhale.

Full story here.
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How London Zoo’s gorilla escaped through TWO unlocked doors before downing 12 pints of blackcurrant squash

2016-10-20T10:00:00.000-04:00

The 29st gorilla who broke out of his London Zoo enclosure got through two unlocked gates before downing 12 pints of undiluted squash, it was revealed today.

Kumbuka was able to walk out of his den when his first door was left open and a second security gate was unlocked after he was called for dinner.

A zookeeper in the area scrambled to secure the gorilla as the thirsty primate gulped down a huge bottle of cordial he found.

Full story here.
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Monkeys Rip Up Voter Lists In Thailand

2016-07-26T09:06:00.000-04:00

The road to a national vote on a new constitution took an unexpected turn in northern Thailand on Sunday, when 100 pig-tailed macaques reportedly stormed into a voting station and destroyed a section of the voter rolls and other documents.

The marauding macaques swarmed into an open hall of the Wat Hat Mun Krabue temple in Pichit Province, about 220 miles north of Bangkok, that will be used as a voting station in less than two weeks. A police investigator and village chief who inspected the site found a third of the voters list had been left in tatters, along with a large chunk of the posted instructions for voters.

It's not clear what might have set the primates on a path of destruction; The Bangkok Post reports that witnesses who tried to catch the monkeys failed to apprehend them. The newspaper adds, "They said the monkeys which were responsible for the damage live in the bushes around the temple."

Full story here.
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Scientist discovers gorillas engaging in lesbian sex for the first time

2016-05-13T10:29:00.000-04:00

A scientist has reported what seems to be the first occurrence of same-sex passion among female gorillas.

Associate Professor Dr Cyril Grueter, a primate expert from the University of Western Australia, was examining the feeding patterns of gorillas in Rwanda when he made the stunning discovery.

He told Daily Mail Australia : "Instead of seeing aggression between females over food we saw them engaging in sexual behaviour which was quite surprising."

Dr Grueter learnt a majority of the female gorillas would turn to each other for sexual stimulation when rejected by males and obviously derived sexual pleasure from the act.

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Two 'naked' chimpanzees suffering from alopecia start mass brawl in zoo enclosure caught on camera

2016-03-07T22:01:00.000-05:00

This is the astonishing moment two chimpanzees with alopecia sparked a mass brawl between a group of apes at a zoo.

The video, filmed yesterday at Twycross Zoo at Atherstone, England, shows the two angry chimps, who are completely bald, chasing each other and fighting in their enclosure.

The pair, who are believed to be father and son, begin their scrap by chasing one another and baring their teeth while screeching before the entire group of chimps become involved.

Full story here.
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Monkeys Drive Wheelchairs Using Only Their Thoughts

2016-03-03T14:56:00.000-05:00

Neuroscientists at Duke Health have developed a brain-machine interface (BMI) that allows primates to use only their thoughts to navigate a robotic wheelchair. The BMI uses signals from hundreds of neurons recorded simultaneously in two regions of the monkeys’ brains that are involved in movement and sensation. As the animals think about moving toward their goal -- in this case, a bowl containing fresh grapes -- computers translate their brain activity into real-time operation of the wheelchair. The interface, described in the March 3 issue of the online journal Scientific Reports, demonstrates the future potential for people with disabilities who have lost most muscle control and mobility due to quadriplegia or ALS, said senior author Miguel Nicolelis, M.D., Ph.D., co-director for the Duke Center for Neuroengineering. “In some severely disabled people, even blinking is not possible,” Nicolelis said. “For them, using a wheelchair or device controlled by noninvasive measures like an EEG (a device that monitors brain waves through electrodes on the scalp) may not be sufficient. We show clearly that if you have intracranial implants, you get better control of a wheelchair than with noninvasive devices.” Full story here. -----------------------------------------

Ritualized behavior? Chimps all throw rocks at the same tree

2016-03-03T14:12:00.003-05:00

Camera trap footage, taken with no humans present to cause a disturbance, shows one chimp after another pick up a rock and hurl it at the same tree. Rocks pile up at the foot of the tree, which starts to show signs of wear and tear. For some reason, the chimps have picked this particular tree for an accumulation of hurled rocks.

“It was unlike anything I had ever observed among wild chimpanzees,” said primatologist Ammie Kalan. Her team has discovered the behavior in four distinct populations, and it’s possible that more will turn up as they continue searching. What the rock piles mean is an open question, but the discovery of such a distinct and puzzling stone tool use is unquestionably exciting.

Full story here.
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Drunk monkey chases bar patrons with large kitchen knife

2016-02-17T12:20:00.000-05:00

Some men who were visiting a bar to grab a drink found themselves in some odd, life-threatening trouble when an intoxicated monkey began chasing them with a large knife.

The capuchin had apparently been drinking multiple glasses of alcoholic cachaça in the Brazilian bar when it became aggressive.

Eventually, the monkey grabbed a large kitchen knife and began chasing men, but strangely not women, around the building with the weapon.

Unable to get the angry animal to retreat, the bar owner called the fire brigade to come handle the situation.

Full story here.
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First Monkeys with Autism Created in China

2016-01-28T15:25:00.002-05:00

Scientists in China say they used genetic engineering to create monkeys with a version of autism, an achievement that could make it easier to test treatments but that raises thorny practical and ethical questions over how useful such animal models will be.

Neuroscientist Zilong Qiu of the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences says his team has generated more than a dozen monkeys with a genetic error that in human children causes a rare syndrome whose symptoms include mental retardation and autistic features, such as repetitive speech and restricted interests.

Full story here.
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Head transplant carried out on monkey, claims maverick surgeon

2016-01-21T16:35:00.002-05:00

The head transplant juggernaut rolls on. Last year, maverick surgeon Sergio Canavero caused a worldwide storm when he revealed his plan to attempt a human head transplant to New Scientist. He claimed that the surgical protocol would be ready within two years and said he intended to offer the surgery as a treatment for complete paralysis.

Now, working with other scientists in China and South Korea, he claims to have moved closer to that goal with a series of experiments in animals and human cadavers.

“I would say we have plenty of data to go on,” says Canavero. “It’s important that people stop thinking this is impossible. This is absolutely possible and we’re working towards it.”

Full story here.
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George Bush sentenced for listing monkey heads on eBay

2016-01-13T22:25:00.001-05:00

A man who tried to sell the heads of monkeys and leopards on eBay has been sentenced.

George Bush, 63, of Riverdale Road, Erith, south east London, also possessed sexual images of animals, Woolwich Crown Court heard.

He was sentenced to 14 months in prison, suspended for two years.

Bush admitted four charges relating to listings on the online auction site which included more than 130 body parts of endangered species.

Among them were leopard skulls and the hands and heads of monkeys. Bush also admitted possessing 71 images of bestiality.

Full story here.
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Monkey who took selfie can not own copyright to the photo, judge rules

2016-01-07T10:01:00.002-05:00

A US court has ruled that a macaque monkey who took pictures of himself cannot own the copyright to the photographs.

The ruling resulted from a lawsuit filed last year by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, who sought the right to administer proceeds derived from photos taken by a monkey named Naruto in Sulawesi, Indonesia, in 2011, using a camera belonging to British nature photographer David Slater.

Full story here.
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Knoxville Zoo chimps confront wayward raccoon

2015-12-09T19:57:00.000-05:00

It's doubtful a wild raccoon expected a big chimp challenge when he wandered through the Knoxville Zoo.

A few days ago, "Downtown" Randall Brown was visiting the zoo with his son, Will White, when they spotted something unexpected in Chimp Ridge.

A raccoon had somehow gotten inside the chimpanzee enclosure, and had been "treed" by the youngest and most inquisitive member of the group, 7-year-old George. While the other chimps looked on from nearby, George grabbed a stick and was trying to poke the raccoon.

Full story here.
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Monkeys kill temple priest in Patna, India

2015-12-02T13:13:00.002-05:00

Munna Mishra, a temple priest, was killed when a troop of monkeys playing on the terrace of his house dropped a few bricks on him.

Monkeys on a rampage have left Patna residents a harried lot these days. Several persons, including women and children, have borne the burnt of simian attacks in the past few days. Not to mention people have lost their lives because of the monkey menace in the area.

Munna Mishra, a temple priest, was killed in the Mirchai Gali locality under Chowk police station of Old Patna when a troop of monkeys playing on the terrace of his house dropped a few bricks on him while he was sweeping the floor downstairs on Monday. Mishra was rushed to the Nalanda Medical College and Hospital by his family members but he succumbed to his injuries on the way.

Mishra's death caused widespread panic in the area. He was the third person in recent times to have lost his life because of the nuisance caused by monkeys in the locality. After Mishra's death, police wanted to take his body for a post-mortem examination to enable his family get ex-gratia but his relatives declined to opt for the autopsy of his body. Locals alleged that monkeys had bitten several people in areas under the three police stations of Malsalami, Chowk and Khajekalan over the past week.

Full story here.
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US Government Finally Banning Chimp Research

2015-11-24T12:23:00.001-05:00

Biomedical and invasive research on chimpanzees will no longer be supported by the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH). They further decided last Wednesday that they will retire the 50 chimps reserved for future studies.

"We find no evidence that there is a need to continue to do research of an invasive sort on chimpanzees, not now and not going into the future", said Dr. Collins. The decision will finally close the controversial federally funded primate testing and follow the 2013 decision to retire chimpanzees to animal sanctuaries.

In addition, an allocation of $3 million to house additional animals plus the $30 million sanctuary budget set aside by federal legislators last 2000 will be requested to the Congress. In an interview, Collins cited two rationale to coming up with the decision according to the New York Times. First, the 2011 extensive independent assessment that assessed chimpanzee's use on biomedical research led the agency to retire the 300 government-owned chimpanzees two years after and also to set more stringent rules on primates' research.

Full story here.
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Howler monkeys with louder roars have smaller testes, potentially shedding light on men's behavior

2015-10-21T13:53:00.000-04:00

Those men catcalling and driving Hummers and hollering at football games and, heck, mansplaining – are they compensating for something else?

Science suggests yes.

A new study finds that monkeys with louder calls also have, ahem, smaller balls – and by extension, less sperm for reproduction.

"In evolutionary terms, all males strive to have as many offspring as they can, but when it comes to reproduction you can't have everything," said lead researcher Jacob Dunn of the University of Cambridge's Division of Biological Anthropology, crushing the hopes of high school boys everywhere.

"When males invest in large bodies, bright colors, or weaponry such as horns or long canines, they are unable to also invest in reproductive traits," Dunn added.

It's unclear whether the results extend to gold chains and Camaros, but this is the first study to find an apparent tradeoff between "vocal investment and sperm production," he said.

The researchers studied Howler monkeys, the That-Guy-from-the-Bleacher-Section of the animal kingdom. Weighing just 15 pounds – or the size of a small dog – the species ranks as one of the loudest on the planet, unleashing a roar that can be heard 3 miles away, powered by vocal cords three times longer than a human's.

Full story here.
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Controversy over pigtailed macaques picking coconuts in Thailand

2015-10-21T13:51:00.000-04:00

For around 400 years, pigtailed macaques and not humans are picking coconuts. Experts from the National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin, Madison have found that it is because monkeys collect more coconuts than humans.

As per study researchers, monkeys can collect around 1,600 coconuts per day and a female can collect 600 and on the other hand, humans can collected around 80 per day. Not only it is about quantity, from the safety point of view as well monkeys can easily pluck and drop the fruit from the tall trees.

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Zeek the Monkey Escapes, Eats Mail in Orlando

2015-09-29T10:04:00.000-04:00

A Florida town got a wild surprise when a monkey was spotted on the loose Monday morning.

Residents of Sanford, near Orlando, posted photos on Twitter of the monkey, named "Zeek," jumping on cars and sitting on a mailbox eating someone's mail, according to cops.

The Sanford Police Department said they received a call around 8 a.m. to report the monkey roaming the streets, they told NBC affiliate WFLA.

Officers were able to distract the monkey with a bottle of water, after it started tearing at the police cars.

According to the department's Facebook page, the monkey was finally corralled up by a "private owner" after being caught.

Full story here.
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Pioneering scientists grow monkey arms in the lab

2015-08-11T13:13:00.001-04:00

In a U.S. laboratory, a monkey arm is stripped down as far as its individual cells. All that's left behind is a bare, frail scaffold.

But that's not the end of the road for this arm. The scaffold is rebuilt with infusions of cells from another being -- be it a monkey, or a human -- which grow and transform the limb.

The aim is ultimately to restore the limb to its fully functional form. But this transformed limb will contain the blood, bones, muscles, cartilage -- and more -- not of the animal it once was, but instead, the animal providing these new cells.

The hope is to eventually use human cells to make limbs that can be transplanted in humans -- and the technology is already being trialled in monkeys.

Full story here.
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Memphis Zoo reports small monkey escaped enclosure

2015-07-10T21:07:00.000-04:00

Workers are trying to catch a small, “very spirited” monkey that escaped its enclosure at the Memphis Zoo.

WMC-TV reports the primate, a macaque named Zimm, broke free around 4 p.m. Thursday.

After the escape, visitors were asked to leave the nearby area as workers searched for Zimm, who senior veterinarian Felicia Knight called a “very spirited monkey.”

Zoo officials say Zimm, who weighs about 10 pounds and is described as harmless, likely ran into a storm drain on the property.

They say she could be asleep and may not come out until morning.

The zoo tweeted: “Sleep well, little macaque. We’ll have you home soon.”

Full story here.
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Monkeys, rats form 'brainet' to move virtual arm, predict weather

2015-07-10T19:02:00.000-04:00

It seems three monkey brains are better than one when it comes to performing simple tasks using only the power of thought.

Scientists at Duke University wired the brains of adult rhesus macaque monkeys to form a network, or "brainet," and observed them in their separate rooms as they were each given partial control over a virtual arm they could see on a screen.

When the animals worked together, they were able to synchronize their brain activity to guide the arm of an avatar, allowing them to reach for a virtual ball. Their reward was a small drink of juice.

One monkey acting alone could not move the arm in three dimensions, but three working together could control the 3D movements and reach the moving target.

The monkeys were connected only to a computer, but not one another.

However, in a second set of experiments, the team directly wired the brains of four rats together, and to a computer, to allow the animals to transmit neural brain activity to each other.

The team outfitted the animals with multi-electrode arrays in the motor and somatosensory (sense of touch) cortices to capture and transmit their brain activity.

Full story here.
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Giant Mouse Lemur Boasts Largest Proportional Testicles Of All Primates

2015-07-05T17:22:00.001-04:00

Despite its diminutive stature, the giant mouse lemur has the largest pair of testicles relative to its size among primates, according to a new study.

Researchers from the Oxford Brookes University, the Bristol Zoological Society and the German Primate Center discovered that the northern giant mouse lemur (Mirza zaza), which typically weighs a meager 11 ounces, owns disproportionately-sized genitals in comparison to its body mass.

When put into context in relation to an average-sized human, this means that a 177-pound gentleman would have a pair of testicles as big as decent-sized grapefruits.

In a study featured in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, the researchers found that this lemur species is capable of reproducing all throughout the year. In fact, adult male lemurs often roam around the wild look for potential mating partners and try to copulate with as many females as possible.

Full story here.
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30 Monkeys break free in great escape from research facility in Puerto Rico

2015-06-30T11:15:00.000-04:00

Authorities say more than two dozen monkeys have been set free in Puerto Rico after someone broke a lock on their enclosures at a primate research facility.

Police say the roughly 30 rhesus macaques were freed early Sunday from the Caribbean Primate Research Center in the northern town of Toa Baja.

The facility established in the late 1930s is a unit of the University of Puerto Rico. It supplies monkeys for use in studies of diseases that afflict people.

There have been no arrests. Authorities have launched an effort to recapture the monkeys.

Puerto Rico has long struggled with controlling wild monkeys that descended from escaped research monkeys.

Full story here.
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Women going ape over 'handsome gorilla'

2015-06-30T11:12:00.000-04:00

A brooding expression, rippling muscles, a lingering gaze ... and, er, a habit of beating his chest.

Shabani may be a little hairier than your average pin-up - and at 177 kgs, he's certainly a little heavier - but none of that has deterred humans of the fairer sex from flocking to admire the 'hunky' and 'handsome' gorilla.

His zoo has been flooded with young female visitors desperate for a glimpse of the 'buff' primate. And 18-year-old silverback Shabani doesn't seem to mind, playing up to his adoring audience by posing for pictures, staring pensively into the distance and showing off his muscular physique.

Takayuki Ishikawa, spokesman for Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Nagoya, Japan, said: "Sometimes if you're taking photos it will look like he's posing for you like a model.

He often rests his chin on his hands and looks intently at you. He is more buff than most gorillas and he's at his peak physically.

"We've seen a rise in the number of female visitors - women say he's very good-looking."

Full story here.
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