The Bili apes, or Bondo mystery apes, were names given in 2003 in sensational reports in the popular media to a purportedly new species of highly aggressive, giant ape supposedly inhabiting the wetlands and savannah around of the village of Bili in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[1][2] "The apes nest on the ground like gorillas, but they have a diet and features characteristic of chimpanzees", according to a 2003 National Geographic article.[1]
Skulls of gorillas were first collected near the town of Bili in 1908. These were sent to the colonial power of Belgium; in 1927, a new subspecies of gorilla, Gorilla gorilla uellensis, was described based upon these specimens. Colin Groves examined the skulls in 1970 and determined that they were indistinguishable from western gorillas.[1]
Karl Ammann, a Swiss Kenyan photographer and anti-bushmeat campaigner, first visited the city in 1996, looking for the gorillas. Instead, Ammann bought a skull that had dimensions like that of a chimpanzee, but with a prominent sagittal crest like that of a gorilla.[1][2] Ammann purchased a photograph from hunters of what looked like a very big chimpanzee. Ammann also measured a faecal dropping three times as big as normal chimpanzee dung and casts of footprints as large as or larger than a gorilla's.[2]
Ammann, with a group of foreign researchers, returned in 2000 to an area described by a Cameroonian bushmeat hunter he had sent to scout the area first a few years earlier. Although they did not see any chimpanzees, they did find several well-worn ground nests, characteristic of gorillas rather than chimpanzees, in swampy river beds.[1][2]
In 2001, an international team of scientists, including George Schaller and Mike Belliveau, were recruited by Karl Ammann to search for apes, but the venture came up empty.[citation needed]
After the Second Congo War ended in 2003, it was easier for scientists to conduct field research in the Congo.[9] Also recruited by Ammann was Shelly Williams, an experimental psychologist affiliated with National Geographic magazine,[1] who claimed to be the first scientist to see the 'Bili apes'.[2][9] Williams returned to the US with videos, apparently purchased from one of Ammann's long-term trackers.[10] Williams reported on her close encounter, "we could hear them in the trees, about 10m[33ft] away, and four suddenly came rushing through the brush towards me. If this had been a mock charge they would have been screaming to intimidate us. These guys were quiet, and they were huge. They were coming in for the kill – but as soon as they saw my face they stopped and disappeared".[9]
According to Williams, who claims she learnt Lingala, the local populace classified great apes into two distinct groups. There are the "tree beaters", which disperse high into the trees to stay safe, and easily succumb to the poison arrows used by local hunters. Then there are the "lion killers", which seldom climb trees, are bigger and darker, and are unaffected by the poison arrows.[2][11] Other reports attribute this statement to Ammann.[10] Williams claimed to have observed three species of chimpanzees, including this new one, during her summer tour.[2]
"The unique characteristics they exhibit just don't fit into the other groups of apes", said Williams. The apes, she argued, could be a new species unknown to science, a new subspecies of chimpanzee, or a hybrid of the gorilla and the chimpanzee. "At the very least, we have a unique, isolated chimp culture that's unlike any that's been studied", she said. These and other sensational pronouncements to the media proved controversial, and Williams was subsequently no longer welcome to study the animals with Ammann.[2] Ammann had published a letter in 2003 decrying Williams' unprofessional involvement.[10] Williams vowed to continue without him,[2] making plans for another expedition.[11] Cleve Hicks, a primatologist recruited by Ammann in 2004,[10] stated "genetically, they're not even a subspecies".[2]
Mitochondrial DNA resolved from hairs taken from the nests found in 2003 that the chimpanzees belonged to Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii. Williams countered that all these hairs may have contaminated by real chimpanzees or humans, or that the conventional use of mDNA regions discovered in human research as genetic markers was incorrect in primatology, or that the mDNA, which is only transmitted by mothers, would not reflect one-way hybridisation with male gorillas.[2][11]
In 2004, Hicks studied several communities of the chimpanzees approximately 60km (37mi) northwest of the town of Bili. Although the apes, including adult males, would surround the humans and display an interest or curiosity in them, somewhat like previous reports, they did not attack or become threatening.[12][13]
In 2005, Williams was paralysed in an accident, and her claims to the media ceased. She never mounted her planned expedition.[10]
By 2006, Hicks and colleagues had completed another long hunt for the chimpanzees during which they were able to observe the creatures a total of twenty hours. Hicks reported, "I see nothing gorilla about them. The females definitely have a chimp's sex swellings, they pant-hoot and tree-drum, and so on". DNA samples recovered from faeces also reaffirmed the classification of these apes in the chimpanzee subspecies P. t. schweinfurthii.[4] When a report on Hicks' research on the New Scientist website was later confused with claims originating from Williams, Hicks wrote to claim the article misreported and misquoted him.[14]
In 2019, Hicks and others published a comprehensive paper on the chimpanzees of the wider 'Bili-Uéré region', as they termed the central part of the Uélé watershed.[7] The old giant ape controversy was ignored entirely.[10] Twenty chimpanzee groups were studied over twelve years. In the work, Hicks et al. classifies the chimpanzees of this area as a behavioural "realm", subdivided into many "regions", united by common preferences and techniques, defined by tool use, dietary preferences and such habits. Chimpanzees of Bili-Uéré, for example, do not eat termites of the Macrotermes genus, which are otherwise much loved by the apes, unless the termites are having a mating swarm.[15] Despite early reports of super-long rods used to fish termites,[2] Hicks et al. document that these chimpanzees do not use rods to fish for termites at all, but instead bash the mounds open against roots.[15]
Description
Williams initially claimed the apes were bipedal (meaning they walk upright) and stand over five point seven feet (1.7 metres) tall, with the looks of a giant chimpanzee;[11] making them look more like the extinct Australopithecine, Sahelanthropus or Toumaï.
According to Williams, "They have a very flat face, a wide muzzle and their brow-ridge runs straight across and overhangs. They seem to turn grey very early in life, but instead of turning grey-black like a gorilla, they turn grey all over." They develop uniform grey fur independently of age and sex, which suggests that greying takes place early in life (whereas in all known gorilla species, only males gray as they age and graying is restricted to their backs).[2]
A single skull from Bili has the prominent brow ridge and a sagittal crest similar to that of a gorilla, but other morphological measurements are like those of chimpanzees. Only one of the many skulls found at Bili had a sagittal crest, thus it cannot be considered typical for the population.[10]
Female Bili apes have genital swellings similar to other chimpanzees,[12] although Williams claimed otherwise.[2]
Behavior
According to Williams, the apes howled at the Moon.[2] Hicks and Ammann disputed that.[10]
According to Hicks, in some ways, the apes behave more like gorillas than chimpanzees. For example, they build ground nests as gorillas do, using interwoven branches and/or saplings, bent down into a central bowl. However, they frequently nest in the trees as well. Often ground nests will be found beneath or in proximity to tree nests. Their diet is decidedly chimpanzee-like, consisting mainly of fruits (fruiting trees such as strangler figs are visited often).[12]
Hicks observed one group far from the roads and villages in 2004, saying that when they encountered it, the chimps not only approached the humans, but also would actually surround them with intent curiosity. Hicks found the behavior toward humans intriguing. They would come face-to-face, stare intently, then slide away quietly. There was little to no aggression, yet no fear, either. "Gorilla males will always charge when they encounter a hunter, but there were no stories like that" about the chimpanzees, according to Ammann.[12] Hicks clarifies Williams' claims as follows: the apes within roughly 20km (12mi) of the roads flee humans almost without exception. The adult males show the greatest fear. Further from the roads, however, the chimpanzees become progressively "naive".[16]
Even though these apes avoid the camera, they seem to have a curious nature. It has been observed that, when these chimps find humans around, they don’t just approach humans, but circle them out of pure curiosity. The chimpanzees would stand face to face and exchange longing glances.[17]
Distribution
map of the Ubangi river
Bili is a city, and a river tributary, which lies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's far north, about 200 kilometres (120mi) east of the Ebola River.[2] It lies to the north of the Uélé River, to the south of this river lie deep tropical rainforests, whereas around Bili lie wetlands and the forests are broken by patches of savanna.[2][10]Civil war and neglect had left the region relatively undeveloped and wild, with people still using home-made guns of ancient design in 2005.[2]
Chimpanzees were also tracked by Ammann in the region near the city of Bondo, 200 kilometres (120mi) to the west, in 2004.[18]
In 2006, Hicks moved the study to the much denser forests around Gangu, [19] and 50 to 55 kilometres (31 to 34mi) from the road to Bili.[16] By 2007 they had grown frightened of the new arrivals to the city of Bili as gold was found in the region, and moved south of the Uélé.[5] In 2007, Hicks was based in the city of Aketi, a few hundred kilometres southwest of Bondo.[20][21]
As of 2014, a large contiguous population of chimpanzees is now known to occur in the lands along both sides of the Uélé throughout Bas-Uélé District, in a range of habitats. They can be found throughout the region, in the savannahs around Bili and the dense rainforests a few hundred kilometres south.[6] They are adapted to humans and occur within four kilometres (2.5mi) of Bili, as well as other neighbouring towns such as Lebo and Zapay, and within thirteen kilometres (8.1mi) of large cities such as Buta.[16]
Conservation
Primates throughout the Congo are hunted for bushmeat,[22][23] although less to the north of the Uélé.[5] Beginning in 2007 the Bili area saw an influx of gold miners, prompting concern by Westerners about the animals in the area.[5][24][25] Over a 14-month period between September 2007 and November 2008, Hicks and his associates documented 34 chimpanzee young and 31 carcasses for sale in the cities of Buta, Aketi and Bambesa.[5][20]
See also
Mangani (fictional "great apes" of the Tarzan series)
The chimpanzee, also simply known as the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close relative the bonobo was more commonly known as the pygmy chimpanzee, this species was often called the common chimpanzee or the robust chimpanzee. The chimpanzee and the bonobo are the only species in the genus Pan. Evidence from fossils and DNA sequencing shows that Pan is a sister taxon to the human lineage and is thus humans' closest living relative. The chimpanzee is covered in coarse black hair, but has a bare face, fingers, toes, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet. It is larger and more robust than the bonobo, weighing 40–70 kg (88–154 lb) for males and 27–50 kg (60–110 lb) for females and standing 150 cm.
Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus Gorilla is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five subspecies. The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from 95 to 99% depending on what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after chimpanzees and bonobos.
Homininae, also called "African hominids" or "African apes", is a subfamily of Hominidae. It includes two tribes, with their extant as well as extinct species: 1) the tribe Hominini ―and 2) the tribe Gorillini (gorillas). Alternatively, the genus Pan is sometimes considered to belong to its own third tribe, Panini. Homininae comprises all hominids that arose after orangutans split from the line of great apes. The Homininae cladogram has three main branches, which lead to gorillas and to humans and chimpanzees. There are two living species of Panina and two living species of gorillas, but only one extant human species. Traces of extinct Homo species, including Homo floresiensis have been found with dates as recent as 40,000 years ago. Organisms in this subfamily are described as hominine or hominines.
The bonobo, also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee, is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus Pan. While bonobos are, today, recognized as a distinct species in their own right, they were initially thought to be a subspecies of Pan troglodytes, due to the physical similarities between the two species. Taxonomically, members of the chimpanzee/bonobo subtribe Panina—composed entirely by the genus Pan—are collectively termed panins.
The genus Pan consists of two extant species: the chimpanzee and the bonobo. Taxonomically, these two ape species are collectively termed panins. The two species were formerly collectively called "chimpanzees" or "chimps"; if bonobos were recognized as a separate group at all, they were referred to as "pygmy" or "gracile chimpanzees". Together with humans, gorillas, and orangutans they are part of the family Hominidae. Native to sub-Saharan Africa, chimpanzees and bonobos are currently both found in the Congo jungle, while only the chimpanzee is also found further north in West Africa. Both species are listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and in 2017 the Convention on Migratory Species selected the chimpanzee for special protection.
Great ape personhood is a movement to extend personhood and some legal protections to the non-human members of the great ape family: bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans.
Apes are a clade of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, which together with its sister group Cercopithecidae form the catarrhine clade, cladistically making them monkeys. Apes do not have tails due to a mutation of the TBXT gene. In traditional and non-scientific use, the term ape can include tailless primates taxonomically considered Cercopithecidae, and is thus not equivalent to the scientific taxon Hominoidea. There are two extant branches of the superfamily Hominoidea: the gibbons, or lesser apes; and the hominids, or great apes.
The humanzee is a hypothetical hybrid of chimpanzee and human, thus a form of human–animal hybrid. Serious attempts to create such a hybrid were made by Soviet biologist Ilya Ivanovich Ivanov in the 1920s, and possibly by researchers in China in the 1960s, though neither succeeded.
Bili, which is about 200 km east of Bondo and 250 km north of Buta, is a city in the Bas-Uélé District in the northern Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa. It lies along the Bili river, a tributary of the Ubangi river. It lies 50 km south of the Mbomou river, which forms the border with the Central African Republic. It is situated to the north of the Uélé river. The town has existed since at least 1908. It sits on land covered in marshlands, swamps and savannah, with patches of forest, while to the south of the Uélé lies dense unbroken rainforest. The local populace of the greater area are Azande. In 2005, a Time reporter found the region was highly undeveloped due to war and neglect. Bicycles were the main mode of transport at the time. Gold was found in the region, attracting many prospectors in 2006–2007.
The Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP) is a UNEP and UNESCO-led World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) Type II Partnership, established in 2001, that aims to conserve the non-human great apes and their habitats—primarily forested tropical ecosystems that provide important services to humanity, through pro-poor conservation and sustainable development strategies.
Karl Ammann is a Swiss conservationist, wildlife photographer, author and documentary film producer. He initiated a campaign focusing on the African bush meat trade, which gained worldwide attention. As a conservation activist, he has specialized in investigative journalism involving undercover exposés dealing with the illegal wildlife trade. In the process, he has exposed NGOs and international conventions for their lack of effectiveness and the promotion of feel-good tales.
Bondo is a town in north-central Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Bas-Uele Province, about 200 km north-west of Buta. Bondo lies mainly on the north bank of the Uele River. As of 2009 it had an estimated population of 19,601.
The eastern chimpanzee is a subspecies of the common chimpanzee. It is native to the Central African Republic, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania.
The central chimpanzee or the tschego is a subspecies of chimpanzee. It can be found in Central Africa, mostly in Gabon, Cameroon, Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Hominidae, whose members are known as the great apes or hominids, are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: Pongo ; Gorilla ; Pan ; and Homo, of which only modern humans remain.
The western chimpanzee or West African chimpanzee is a Critically Endangered subspecies of the common chimpanzee. It inhabits western Africa, specifically Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, but has been extirpated in three countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, and Togo.
Congo is a 2001 BBC nature documentary series for television on the natural history of the Congo River of Central Africa. In three episodes, the series explores the variety of animals and habitats that are to be found along the river's 4,700 km (2,922 mi) reach.
Bondo Territory is a territory in the Bas-Uele Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The administrative capital is the town of Bondo.
The Koolakamba or Kooloo-Kamba is a purported hybrid species of chimpanzees and gorillas. This alleged hybrid ape species has been reported in Africa as early as the mid 19th century. No empirical evidence has been found to substantiate the existence of the creature. The Koolakamba was referenced in the mid-19th century in French work by Franquet and in some descriptive work of Paul Du Chaillu from 1860, 1861, 1867, and 1899, some of which was republished in 1969.
↑ Cleve Hicks of the Bili Ape Project (16 Sep 2007). "The Bili Apes Are in Trouble!". RichardDawkins.net. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
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