Boing Boing » primates

A brief history of space monkeys and spies

Maggie Koerth-Baker — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 21:46:30 +0000

In the late 1950s, American scientists very publicly readied a crew of monkeys for a series of trips into Earth orbit and back. As far as the researchers knew, Project Discoverer was an actual, honest-to-Ike peaceful scientific program. Naturally, they were wrong about that. In reality, their work was part of an elaborate cover-up masking a spy satellite program. At The Primate Diaries, Eric Michael Johnson reports on some fascinating space history.

Touched by a mountain gorilla

Xeni Jardin — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 18:52:48 +0000

This video clip has been around since 2011, but it may be new for you. It documents photographer John King's "an amazing chance encounter with a troop of wild mountain gorillas near Bwindi National Park, Uganda," and at around 3 minutes in, shows a cameraman being curiously poked and cuddled by a female and her babies. Definitely a cure for any case of the bummers you may be experiencing today. Don't miss the look the gorilla gives the human around 5:11, before it walks away. As a commenter put it, "ALPHA AS FUCK."

Orangutan rescued from poaching, returned to wild, then shot 62 times by thrill-seeking villagers

Xeni Jardin — Wed, 30 May 2012 23:13:04 +0000

A blind Sumatran orangutan named Leuser was poached, sold as a gift, rescueed by the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program, and returned to the wild. Then, villagers seeking entertainment shot him 62 times. He has been rescued again, and his story is told in photos here.

Chimpanzee testing: the beginning of the end? (video)

Xeni Jardin — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:46:21 +0000

For PBS NewsHour, Miles O'Brien reports on whether there are ever instances in which the scientific value of research should offset the moral cost of working with chimpanzees. The US government has moved to limit some of the research it funds with chimps in recent months. Medical experiments on chimps can be invasive: one animal may endure dozens of injections, blood samples and liver biopsies in her lifetime. But some scientists argue that this is the only way to advance medicine. MP3 and transcript here, along with video.

PHOTO: Miles O'Brien. "If they could talk, what would these residents of Chimp Haven tell us?"

Jane Goodall and Jon Stewart hug like chimps

Cory Doctorow — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:46:30 +0000

Last night's Jane Goodall Daily Show appearance started with a warm, chimp-style greeting.

Jane Goodall made her second appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night, and the first order of business was to make sure Jon Stewart remembered the proper chimp greeting. And then she talked about the new documentary from Disney, Chimpanzee. As you can imagine, all of this was fascinating and adorable.

Jane Goodall Was On The Daily Show Last Night and Chimp-Greeted Jon Stewart [Video]

Project Nim: heartbreaking film on animal ethics, and academic arrogance

Xeni Jardin — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 19:11:20 +0000

[Video Link] I went to see the documentary Project Nim last night at the advice of a friend, and would like to recommend it to all who read Boing Boing. James Marsh (Man on Wire) directed. Be prepared to cry or require hugs afterwards. Above, the trailer. It's in theaters throughout the USA now.

I was talking about it with Google+ followers last night, and one shared this review which squares with my own reaction. You can watch the first 6 minutes of the film here. The film is based on Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human, by Elizabeth Hess, who consulted on the film.

Without spoiling too much, I'd just like to share that the most upbeat takeaways for me were: Deadheads really can be awesome people. And, chimps like weed.