This chimp has lost his hair, revealing a disturbingly human anatomy underneath. It really makes you think about our origins and place in the grand scheme of things.
The missus and I had a very strange encounter with a pair of chimps trapped in a miserable cage in a run-down zoo, and I was stunned by the humanity of these animals. Being right up close to chimps, you feel a very close kinship to them, which is disturbing when you think what evil, miserable bastards they can be (I'm a gorilla man, myself).
Is humanity's own evil due to our very close relationship to these horrible, cannibalistic beasts?
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8 comments:
My wife and I once visited a run down "zoo" in Florida. It was very upsetting. The chimps had obviously gone insane or were on their way to insanity due to the conditions of the zoo... or just being held captive at all.
Chimps have a LONG way to go before they can equal us in barbarity in lack of empathy.
Holy Crap, Evil Monkeys. Some of those stories are horrendous. I really feel for Chris with the evil monkey in his closet, LOL.
Ever since I was a child (was a big zoology, animal science nut) I knew chimpanzees had the strength of several men & were extremely powerful animals.
So its still shocking to me people would keep these things as pets knowing they are capable of tearing a full grown man limb from limb.
Don't get me started on zoos either. I think its good to be able to observe exotic animals & protect any that may not have refuge, but I'd rather see the efforts go into more wildlife sanctuary. That being said I loved my annual spring trip to the zoo, absolutely LOVED it.
Gorillas I do think are amazing & they seem more at ease at zoos, at least in my experiences..they also qualify as needing alot of protection from humans.
I also like orangutans...one was throwing poop from his wire crossing at the national zoo here, if I recall correctly...much funnier & a more intellectually scathing indictment towards the "uprights" :D
As a general rule, I don't think apes or lions or any animals that need to roam should be kept in zoos. There are good zoos that do good work, but I think it's immoral to imprison animals who need to be free to thrive.
I'd rather see some really cool Imax footage of lions in the wild than some doped-out, overfed ones in a zoo.
I was mulling over this & realized how domestication of any kind may effect a species.
Dogs are great examples of how domestication can serve both man & animal, if man can raise up, or love & show tremendous care towards his friend. Not empty-headed dress up or over-humanizing the things, but actually making the communication between species valuable & healthy. I have seen dogs that are one step away from being wild in their desire to express energy, & they were also the most loving & good companions to humans.
Its as if its written into our code, manipulating bloodlines, species & breeds- mankind seems to desire to make creative strides, but so inevitably foolishly revels in the "higher" status of manipulating & controlling, rather than simply appreciate the creations as their own.
Its one of the great paradoxes we have to learn to live with and maybe its why there is such an amazing irony with the seemingly atheistic trans-humanists, always "playing god", when they can't bear to admit they could be the creation of some higher being........
Do you know why the chimpanzee lost its hair?
Great discussions - Chris, thanks for this smart little post. That image has got so much going on in it people could have many very different conversations.
My answer to your question at the end is a soft yes - not a hard yes in that it is animal nature to behave cruelly - but rather it is our mammalian organizational scripting that seems to let us allow evil. I've seen even at the highestt levels people who are way to eager to roll over and put their butts in the air for the Alpha Male. Put simply - I haven't ever noticed any of my neighbours eat anyone's babies, but I have for sure seen, even those I love admire or respect, at different times suck up to the top or accept things as they are too easily. I am certain I am guilty.
And I am very intrigued with discussions about psychopathy and the specials skill they have been given to climb to the superior primate roles. Of course the world is messier than that and Ideas and 1,000 different goals and fanaticism etc all play into it - but I think who is leading us lays at the foundation - and our complicitnes in going along with the herd/tribe/Company line / Articles of Faith. and by doing so propping up a kind of person who buys into none of those things except as measures of Kontrol.
It is no accident that the suit and tie has its antecedents not in civilian clothing but in the Military uniform - - the next time you hear friends or the News ask what do we do about the Street Gang problem - Tell the police force to take a breath and look at they way they are organized - point at the structure of the corporate world - ITS ALL THE SAME - and we seem to have that need hardwired into us for sure.
I bet dollars to dreadnoughts that your pictured ape has had to re-evaluate his place in the structure of his tribe since he lost his uniform. I bet everyone here and at the other sister blogs are here partly because at some point in their lives they got put outside of their particular social orders and had to actually SEE the structure.
Thanks Chris, and keep on truckin' or SuperTraining or whatever you folks are doing these days.
The ape was sick, and looks pretty old, which is why he lost his hair.
I think the only reason chimps are less efficient at killing than humans is a matter of technology. They certainly are as enthusiastic in their blood lust, probably more so than a lot of us. But then again there are Bonobos, who as far as I know aren't quite as vicious as regular chimps. Funny that Planet of the Apes made them the good guys and the gorillas the villians, because the truth is the exact opposite. Gorillas are wonderful animals that are in constant danger from poachers and the bushmeat trade.
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