On God, Gorillas, and the Evolution of Religion

Alright, before I take you down this slippery slope of intellecuality, I wanna tell you that as I began reading this Salon.com article, "God and gorillas" I was thinking to myself, "What a load of crap! This is outrageous!" But as I read some more, specifically on the second page of the piece, that all...

Ethical Concerns about maintaining the US’ Chimp population for Biomedical Research

Again, many thanks to Betsy, who sent me a copy of the Science article over-viewing some of the ethics and current debate topics about the use of chimpanzees in biomedical research in the United States. The topic and scope of this piece is very poignant, it tackles two critical and morally charged topics in our...

Science’s overview of the debate on the benefits and costs of biomedical studies with chimps

John Cohen has contributed a little news focus in the current issue of Science, that I'd love to get my hands on. Unfortunately, my current university doesn't have access to the latest issues of Science and from what I can read of Cohen's news item, it really sparks my interests! It is titled, "The Endangered...

Congolese Warden gains permission to access Patrol Posts in search of gorilla groups

Good news from WildlifeDirect's Senior Warden, Paulin Ngobobo: permission was granted to allow access to the Patrol Posts enabling the wardens to search for gorillas and establish current group status. His most recent entry reads as follows (but be sure to check out his blog for more details documenting his efforts): “Yesterday we finally managed...

New analysis of Paleocene skeletons and the evolutionary history of early plesiadapiforms primates

If you're interested in paleoprimatology and phylogeny at all, a new paper in PNAS titled, "New Paleocene skeletons and the relationship of plesiadapiforms to crown-clade primates" has just come out. If you don't know Plesiadapiforms are archaic primates who lived in the Paleocene. The study focuses mostly on the initial divergence of primates, and uses...

Karema, a mountain gorilla’s, remains found dumped in human excrement pit

I'm extremely humbled by and welcome the cohesive comments shared by Paulin Ngobobo & Patty Hoaglund, on the on going tragedy of mountain gorilla killings in the Congo, it breaks my heart to share with you more upsetting news. National Geographic News shares with us some words and pictures of the the killings, "Mountain Gorillas...

Unexpected birth at Chimp Haven

Photo by Amy Fultz Despite all residents receiving vasectomies prior to arrival at Chimp Haven, the caregivers stumbled upon a surprise yesterday morning... a healthy baby chimpanzee in the arms of her mother. Chimp Haven reports that their next step is to determine paternity and address the failed vasectomy. This is an interesting occurrence given...

Congo rebels kill Silverback Mountain Gorilla

With only around 700 mountain gorillas left in the whole world now, and more than half of them in Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, it is upsetting to hear that, "Congolese rebels have shot and butchered," one of these individuals. This news comes from Reuters' "Congo rebels kill rare ape, raising...

Human Zoo: Research project puts humans on display as a means to promote conservation and improve living conditions

In an interesting and bold research move in Australia, dubbed the Human Zoo, humans have been put on display at the Adelaide Zoo. Dr. Carla Litchfield, a lecturer in psychology at the University of South Australia, will be monitoring her volunteers as they are housed in an unused orangutan enclosure for about a month. Groups...

The role of Anthrax in the Great Ape Die-Off

Earlier this week, my coworker, Betsy, who also blogs here at Primatology.org, handed me a short little press release. The press release discussed the role of anthrax in the devastating die-off of great apes in what was once one of the most dense areas of primates in the world. It is titled, "Sudden Great Ape...