"The humanzee (also known as the Chuman or Manpanzee) is a hypothetical
chimpanzee/human hybrid. Chimpanzees and humans are closely related
(sharing 95% of their DNA sequence and 99% of coding DNA sequences),
leading to contested speculation that a hybrid is possible.
The Ivanov experiments
Ilya
Ivanovich Ivanov was the first person to attempt to create a human--ape
hybrid. As early as 1910 he gave a presentation to the World Congress
of Zoologists in Graz, Austria, in which he described the possibility of
creating such a hybrid by artificial insemination.
In 1924,
while working at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, Ivanov obtained
permission from the Institute's directors to use its experimental
primate station in Kindia, French Guinea, for such an experiment. Ivanov
attempted to gain backing for his project from the Soviet government.
He dispatched letters to the People's Commissar on Education and Science
Anatoliy Vasilievich Lunacharsky and to other officials. Ivanov's
proposal finally sparked the interest of Nikolai Petrovich Gorbunov, the
head of the Department of Scientific Institutions. In September 1925
Gorbunov helped allocate US$10,000 to the USSR Academy of Sciences (now
the Russian Academy of Sciences) for Ivanov's human-ape hybridization
experiments in Africa.
In March 1926 Ivanov arrived at the Kindia
facility, but stayed only a month without success. The Kindia site, it
turned out, had no sexually mature chimpanzees. He returned to France
where he arranged through correspondence with French Guinea's colonial
governor to set up experiments at the botanical gardens in Conakry.
Ivanov
reached Conakry in November 1926 accompanied by his son, also named
Ilya, who would assist him in his experiments. Ivanov supervised the
capture of adult chimpanzees in the interior of the colony, which were
brought to Conakry and kept in cages in the botanical gardens. On
February 28, 1927, Ivanov inseminated two female chimpanzees with his
own sperm. On June 25, his son inseminated a third chimpanzee with his
sperm. The Ivanovs left Africa in July with thirteen chimps, including
the three used in his experiments. They already knew before leaving that
the first two chimpanzees had failed to become pregnant. The third died
in France, and was also found not to have been pregnant. The remaining
chimps were sent to a new primate station at Sukhumi.
Although
Ivanov attempted to organize the insemination of human females with
chimpanzee sperm in Guinea, these plans met with resistance from the
French colonial government and there is no evidence such an experiment
was arranged there.
Upon his return to the Soviet Union in 1927,
Ivanov began an effort to organize hybridization experiments at Sukhumi
using ape sperm and human females. Eventually in 1929, through the help
of Gorbunov, he obtained the support of the Society of Materialist
Biologists, a group associated with the Communist Academy. In the spring
of 1929 the Society set up a commission to plan Ivanov's experiments at
Sukhumi. They decided that at least five volunteer women would be
needed for the project. However, in June 1929, before any inseminations
had taken place, Ivanov learned that the only postpubescent male ape
remaining at Sukhumi (an orangutan) had died. A new set of chimps would
not arrive at Sukhumi until the summer of 1930.
Rumored humanzees
There
have been no scientifically verified specimens of a human/ape hybrid. A
performing chimp named Oliver was popularized during the 1970s as a
possible chuman/humanzee, but genetic tests conducted at the University
of Chicago concluded that, despite Oliver's somewhat unusual appearance
and behavior, he was a normal chimpanzee: he had the same number of
chromosomes as normal chimpanzees. The "hybrid" claims may merely have
been a promotional gimmick. Despite the dismissal of the claim, Oliver's
representational legacy persists in popular culture. The decades-long
speculation about his possible human-chimp hybrid origins led to
numerous references, many satirical or at least intended to be humorous.
For example, the Church of the SubGenius, which has a feast day or holy
day (and sometimes several) every day of the year, designates October
20 The Feast of Saint Oliver the humanzee.
In addition, some
musical outfits reference Oliver's legacy, such Ontario's The Humanzees.
Depictions like these generally ignore or predate the proof that Oliver
is not a hybrid. Oliver has been regularly discussed by Karl Pilkington
on The Ricky Gervais Show, in a feature called "Monkey News".
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purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and
research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise
be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in
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If someone ever captures a specimen and takes it to
the experts in a museum, many skeptics would then have to shut up their damn
mouths. Obviously, this would be one of the biggest findings and news in
mankind´s recorded history.
But there is one big problem. How in the heck could
any cryptid chaser ever get a chance to catch one live specimen when these
animals died out a long time ago?
These flying monsters are supposed to have disappeared
from the face of the Earth during the Cretaceous Period, some 65 million years
ago. This is a heck of a long time ago.
So long ago that most people do not have any fucking
idea what this really means. Notwithstanding, these vast spans of time have
seeped through and enter the people´s
language reservoir, enough so that they can repeat these amounts of time like
parrots in those occasions when they want to impress one another when talking
bullshit.
No missing links have been found yet. They appeared in
the fossil record already adapted to flying.
When did this happen? The oldest fossils are known
from the Triassic Period, around 300 million years ago.
Given that these animals were already expert fliers,
capable of soaring, gliding and scaring the shit out of their prey when they
popped into the registered fossil beds, their lineage must be older than this.
Nobody
knows how these creatures achieved such a feat.
As far as we know, they were the first group of
vertebrates to take to the air. And they did it in marvelous ways.
They came in all sorts of sizes and shapes. Perhaps
colours too. Their bodies were covered with a fur like mammals, although their
hairs seemed to have had another embryological origin.
Some of these flying creatures were true monsters, for
example some species of Pteranodon(Fig. 1), which had wingspans between seven and nine metres.
On the other hand, on a lower scale, there are species
such as Anurognathus (Fig. 2) whose wings reached a wingspan of 40 cm, making it one of the
smallest members of the group.
Surprinsingly, after a long time of species radiation
and taking advantage of many available ecological niches all over the planet,
these flying monsters or dragons now known as pterosaurs became extinct
some 65 million years ago.
Or did they really?
Surprising sightings of mysterious creatures in a
surprising land
Papua New Guinea is still one of those places on Earth
that can give you a sensation that you are still immersed a different age, in a
primaeval time.
There are still vast tracts of unexplored lands on this massive island, filled with lush vegetation, steep mountains some of which are capped with snow (Maoke Mountains), and powerful rivers, all of which without any doubt contain countless new species of animals and plants waiting to enter the annals of science.
As a matter of fact, a tube-nosed fruit bat or Yoda bat (Pteropodidae: Nyctimene sp.) (Fig. 3) and other 200 new plants and animals have recently been discovered by researchers working
in the rainforests of Papua New Guinea.
Figure 3. New species of tube-nosed or Yoda bat (Nyctimene sp.). Source: The Epoch Times.
Papua New Guinea is an authentic "treasure trove" of unknown species of plants and animals.
Humans have been living on this island for thousands of years. It is fair to say that the world owes New Guinean farmers the cultivation of sugar cane (Saccharum edule and S. officinarum), a crop domesticated by the islanders around 6000
B.C.
Until recently, those humans that made this island
their home lived in isolation from the outside world. Each group of people having developed its
own language (there are over 850 today) and occupying a specific territory on the island.
In the olden days, almost nobody dared to cross the borderlands unless he risked
his own neck, for people practiced cannibalism as part of their lives.
Intertribal warfare was nearly an everyday event. To
cope with the intergroup troubles, the natives had come up with different
solutions such as paying offended families with dozens of live pigs or throwing
a big party in which pork meat was at the centre for everybody to enjoy.
Soon European, Australians and “Americans”
(U.S. people) came to the island as missionaries, explorers, businessmen or
warmongers and little by little the local people left out some of their ancient
traditions. In other words, Papuan natives were “civilised”.
Of course, today everything “civilised” has
been allowed by the white conquerers and their allies with the exception of the
practice of cannibalism, one thing that was forbidden and has become a tourist
attraction nowadays.
Stories of headhunting and cannibalism have become a legend to be told to the
curious and dumbfounded visiting tourists (Video 1).
Video 1. Cannibalism and head hunting in Papua New Guinea.
But old habits are hard to leave behind or get rid of for good. Once in a while there are reports of cannibals chewing on people´s meat as part of a secret cult (Video 2).
Video 2. Cannibals arrested in Papua New Guinea.
Culturally speaking, the overall result is that Papuans have ingeniously made a mixed cultural bag of the old with the
new, living with one foot in the jungle and the other one in the “civilised
world”.
Papuans are not stupid people. On the contrary, they
are smart folks with clear inquisitive and exquisite minds, with an unusual
sense of penetrating into the secret world of intentions of anyone who crosses
their way.
In short, Papuans are good natural human
psychologists. They might look dumb to outsiders, especially to Europeans or
their descendants, but deep inside these islanders have the upper hand.
If you travel on the island with an open mind and
heart, you will soon realise that Papuans with X-ray eyes that can explore
people´s inner workings with one look at them abound on this beautiful land.
However, there are dumb and numb Papuans too, a common
feature found anywhere in a globalised world.
But these Papuans have become city zombies under the
effect of the powerful bites from the “civilised” vampire which has a
firm grip on humans worldwide.
In the Papuan hinterland, with the imposed changes and
adaptations, life goes on. Islanders plant their old and new crops, have
parties and swine feasts, fuck one another and some young men still start their sexual life tampering animals (pigs, dogs, hens), have and settle their quarrels by “peaceful”
talks following “democratic” foreign laws, sell their produce, shop at
the local stores or travel afar to get what they need or can pay for and if
needed, they can also entertain zombied tourists with their ancient lore.
And some of their lore is surprising. Indeed.
Part of this lore might turn out not to be so much lore but
something belonging to the “real” world, something that we could grasp by
our limited senses.
It turns out that there are numerous reports of
sightings of nocturnal and bioluminescent flying creatures whose descriptions
given by the islanders who have seen them match closely those of the ancient
flying reptiles, the pterosaurs.
By now, Papuans are not the only ones who have
recently seen these unknown flying creatures that look like pterosaurs but also
by some Westerners´ eyes.
And some people still think that if something is not
seen by “white” people´s eyes, this still needs to be “discovered”,
does not get much credit or is not worth to be looked into except by the daring
folks who do not give a shit what others might think.
Anyway, these reports have aroused the interest of
some cryptozoologists a great deal. So much so that there have been a few
expeditions to confirm these sightings (Video 3).
Video 3. The quest for flying monsters in Papua New Guinea.
So far, nobody has had any luck at capturing or has
been able to settle this matter of the extant pterosaurs in Papua New Guinea
once and for all. We must keep in mind that this island is quite large and
difficult to explore.
The best thing there is up till now on the possibility
that pterosaurs are still with us, much like the surprising fact that birds
that are the direct descendants of dinosaurs or are really dinosaurs by all
means, is the recent book written by Witcomb (2012): Live Pterosaurs in
Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Obviously, this book is based solely on sightings. But it
is worth reading, from the cryptozoological point of view.
Therefore, it would not be surprising that one of these days the monster chasers get lucky and show the world a surprise.
But monster hunters had better hurry before the world´s third-largest tropical rain forest disappears!
It is estimated that at the present rate of man´s fucking up and devouring (logging, mining, fires, oil palm plantations and farming) (Fig. 4) this wonderful and unique forest, there will not be anything left by 2021.
Figure 4. Destruction of the rain forest in Papua New Guinea's Western Province. Source: MailOnline.
For the time being, there are
still many creatures new to science roaming somewhere on the Papua New Guinea
mountains. And may they live on!
Surprising sightings of mysterious creatures in a
surprising land are a common thing amongst the local people.
On the other hand, these pterosaur sightings in Papua New Guinea could be
the result of various factors:
Unknown species of flying foxes (Chiroptera) that feed
on luminescent insects or perhaps fungi,
Geomagnetic bolts shot out and up into the sky along
fault lines,
Electromagnetic fields playing in the sky,
Soil radiations or rock magnetic fields affecting
people´s brains to see visions,
Visions caused by the effect sof an unknown gas in the
area,
Visions under the effect of psychotropic drugs,
Sophisticated man-made holographic imaging in the sky
using satellites to keep people tethered along convenient lines of thinking,
i.e., for social engineering, or for scaring the shit out of people to push
them away from an area rich in strategic minerals,
Interactions of real UFOs or their probes as they
enter or leave the visible electromagnetic spectrum, or
They are simply jokes played by djinns, those extra-
or interdimensional creatures who enjoy living in isolated places such as the
many spots offered by Papua New Guinea and performing high tech monstruous
tricks to scare the shit out of people.
Whatever the sightings are or whatever their origin might be, we cannot
rule out any possibility of encountering real life pterosaurs or any unknown
flying creature living in the isolated and unexplored areas of Papua New
Guinea.
After all, we live in a mysterious universe. We could
be contained in a simple drop of water without knowing it that we are being
observed by an unknown much bigger entity.
We must keep our minds open, for the universe is open.
We cannot close our eyes because someone says so.
Our limiting and blind cultures certainly give us an
edge at survival on this world so far but they can also push and put us down in the
hole if we are not careful with any assessment of our blind touchings with our limited senses done on the
reality elephant within which we are trapped.
Question but also know that you are part of this
question that questions the question to find an answer to your question and all of the questions.
References
Buffetaut E. & Mazin J.-M. (Eds.) (2003).
Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs. Geological Society, London, Special
Publications 217: 1-347.
Veldmeijer A. J., Witton M. & Nieuwland I. (2012).
Pterosaurs: Flying Contemporaries of the Dinosaurs. Sidestone Press, Leiden,
The Netherlands. 133 p.
Witcomb J. (2012). Live Pterosaurs in Australia and
Papua New Guinea. Amazon Digital Services, Inc. 76
p.
The Vietnamese call it Nguói Rúng, meaning "forest people". Like the Bigfoot in North America, this is its counterpart in Vietnam. They are cryptic species of unknown human-like creatures that have been reported from various parts of the world.
According to Wikipedia (2013), this hominid cryptid "is described as being approximately 1.8 m (6 ft) tall and covered with
hair except in the knees, the soles of the feet, the hands, and the face. The
hair ranges in color from gray to brown to black. The creature walks on two legs
and has been reported both solitary and moving in small groups. The creature is
most often sighted foraging for food from fruits and leaves to langers and even
flying foxes."
The distribution of Nguói Rúngranges from the Vũ Quang nature
reserve and other forested areas of Vietnam to northern Borneo and Laos.
During the Vietnam War, a few U.S. soldiers reported having seen these tall and hairy creatures. They called them "Rock Apes". And the encounters were not friendly at all, for rock apes were very agressive. Vietnamese military also mentioned having had the same problem with these creatures during the same conflict.
These wild hominids attacked the soldiers, screaming and charging against them and at times throwing sticks and stones at them, thus the name rock apes given to these cryptids by the U.S. soldiers
Cryptozoologists believe these apes belong to a group of mammals that have evolved colaterally to humans and somehow have been able to survive to the present day by hiding deep in the jungle in various parts of the world, as in the case of the Nguói Rúng, the thick conifer forests in higher latitudes, as for example the famous Bigfoot or Sasquatch in Canada and the United States, or in the valleys and snowy mountains, like the Yeti in the Himalayan region of Tibet and Nepal.
Various scientists, for instance Dr Bernard Heuvelmans, have been tracking these animals with the hope of capturing a specimen but so far to no avail. The efforts of an expedition requested by Hoang Minh Thao, a Vietnamese general, also proved unsuccessful in 1974.
From time to time, there have been reports of footprints which presumably belong to these cryptidcreatures but upon close examination have turned out to belonged to known animals or were frauds.
Hairs from unknown mammals thought to belong to mysterious apes have also been found by people but DNA analyses have been inconclusive or were samples shown to be from other known apes.
This is the case of the rock apes. There is little evidence of their existence except stories from the local tribesmen in the Vietnamese highlands and one footprint.
According to ANU (Australian National University), "a 10 year resource inventory of the entire
Central Highlands also netted little. Tran Hong Viet, now
Professor of Zoology at Hanoi's Pedagogic University, found
a suspicious footprint which he photographed and cast, but
his concern was such that he did not report on this or
stories he had collected at a summation conference in 1985."
Efforts to prove whether rock apes are real life creatures and members of the human family continue to this very day.
Recently there has been a new attempt to find rock apes by some cryptozoologists. The results have been presented in a documentary (Video 1).
A new predator is stalking and killing livestock in Texas (USA). The mysterious creatures are hairless, wrinkled skin as in elephants, look like jackals or medium sized dogs, and have intense blue eyes. They are called "Texas Blue Dogs".
Are they a new species of mammal? Have these animals escaped from a secret GM laboratory in the USA?
These are some of the questions cryptozoologists are asking about these new predators.
Let us find out more about the Texas Blue Dogs (Video 1):
