A newborn baby Western lowland gorilla naps in the arms of Frala, its mother at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo. It is about a week old and we don't know if the new addition is male or female.

Should a Chimpanzee Be Considered a Person?

Tommy is a 26-year-old chimpanzee owned by a couple in upstate New York. He has a lawyer and a trust fund to have him declared the first animal considered a person under the law. The Boston-based Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) asked the court to free Tommy from what they describe as a "small, dank, cement cage...

The Possibility Of Full Protection For Chimpanzees Under The Endangered Species Act

For as long as I've been alive, wild chimpanzees have been “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Captive-born chimps, however, have only been classified under the lesser class of “threatened.” Dan Ashe, the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), announced today that the loophole that exempted captive-bred chimpanzees from the full...

Photos Of San Diego Zoo’s Newborn Gorilla

San Diego Zoo welcomed the birth of a new baby gorilla last month. I just found the photos on ZooBorn, a blog that you maybe interested in if you're into newborn animals. The details of the birth are documented on the ZooBorn post, so jump on over there to read up. Otherwise, enjoy these photos...

Non-Human Primate Tool Use: Gorillas Wielding Weapons, Macaques & Mirror Neurons

I'm scouring the American Journal of Primatology for a paper on gorillas using tools as weapons in the wild. National Geographic News says the paper is out, but I can't find it anywhere in the early edition nor in the current issues. I'll continue looking, but in the mean time here's what we got to...

Dutch Biologist Receives 14-year Sentence

One of Time Magazine's "Hero's for the Planet 2000", known for discovering new species (Callicebus bernhardi, Callicebus stephennashi, etc.) and focusing his attentions on protecting the rainforest has been convicted of failing to apply for a permit on behalf of the monkey refuge in his Brazilian home. It seems that without the permit (or license)...

Ndakasi’s Dead Mother, Rubiga

Yesterday I shared with you news about the recently orphaned baby gorilla, Ndakasi. In today's post I will show you a graphic photo of his dead mother. Her name is Rubiga, and she was shot in the back of the head. A autopsy confirmed this, removing two bullets from the back of her head. I...

Ndakasi an Orphaned Gorilla Rescued After Mom was Shot “Execution Style”

So I'll be straight up honest with you here, I'm still a bit shell shocked with this comment left this evening that basically defending the bushmeat industry. I know there are always whack jobs out there, but this person really took the cake; his or her arguments for bushmeat, or 'survival foods' as they term...

Spread the word, “Choose the right biofuel or the Orang-utan gets it!”

Being 'green' or ecologically conscious is making big waves in current popular culture, especially in the United States. Many initiatives, such as clean fuels and renewable energy, seem like excellent alternatives to our energy sources we predominantly use right now. This is generally a good thing. But not all of these initiatives are ecological so...

Brainstorming the Future of Primate Brain Evolution Research

The following post is a departure from my usual reporting on an interesting primate related tidbit of research. I'll be posting about how I have thought about how to study primate brain evolution research. These are just ideas I have brainstormed. It is very probable that people are doing this out in their respective labs...