Giant, Lion-eating chimps found in Congo Jungle

Scientists have been studying a giant species of chimpanzee, named the Bili's since 2004 in the Democratic republic of Congo. The chimps are legendary with the local villagers as "Lion-eaters" and scientist have witnessed one eating a leopard. They have also been mistaken for bigfoot on occasion. Haha

environment.guardian.co.uk...

Who's your daddy now Mr. King of the Jungle?

Can you supersize my lionburger meal? Thanks...

Good to hear the brethren are keeping the locals in line.

Wow big chimps. I found a video of a couple in a zoo.

So, what we have here is a situation not unlike the Bigfoot phenomenon.

A big man-like ape with unusual habits that resides out in the middle of nowhere.

Here's the big difference.

When scientists go looking for them they find not only the apes, but all the other evidence one associates with a thriving species.

One:

"The ground nests were very big and there was obviously something very unusual going on there. They are not unknown elsewhere but very unusual," said Colin Groves, an expert on primate morphology at the Australian National University in Canberra who has observed the nests in the field.

environment.guardian.co.uk

Two:

Mr Hicks said the animals also have what he calls a "smashing culture" - a blunt but effective way of solving problems. He has found hundreds of snails and hard-shelled fruits smashed for food, seen chimps carrying termite mounds to rocks to break them open and also found a turtle that was almost certainly smashed apart by chimps.

[emphasis mine]

environment.guardian.co.uk

And let's not forget:

They actually have a couple in captivity.

One thing did confuse me about the article though.

Was this one of the apes?







[edit on 2007/7/14 by GradyPhilpott]

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott


One thing did confuse me about the article though.

Was this one of the apes?

Heh. No. I think that's the evolutionary missing link that intelligent design apologists will be demanding.

Fascinating article and video. The thought that there are still species of large animals in the remaining rain forests of the world that we haven't yet discovered gives me chills.

Eesh-I just got done watching that video.

I can safely say I would not want to run into one of those dudes in the jungle, let alone a pack of them. That is one powerful, aggressive creature. They looked super muscular. And obviously smart.

That one kicking the plexiglass looked like it meant serious business. It looked like the whole wall was going to come down. lol

It's of course very exciting news for cryptozoology - a mythical beast "coming to life" so to speak... It is a bit leading though - trying to make the finding a bit more appealing? They're called the "giant lion-eating chimps of the magic forest"...? What magic forest? The one with Little Red Riding Hood and the talking Wolf?

Jokes aside, there's no real proof that the apes kill lions. Yes, there's one occasion where one was found eating a leopard, which would justify the "lion-eating" name, but I would really love to see these guys take on a pride of lions or even just one lion. It's not impossible, but it would sure be a battle worth seeing...

I wouldnt put it past these great apes to use branches of trees as clubs in some kind of confrontation... Amazing thread, I wasnt aware of this...amazing news.

[edit on 21-7-2007 by Unplugged]

Amazing creatures! They've been looking for one in the wild for years now! The civil war in the Congo makes it tricky...

Very muscular and serious looking!
Chimps have been known to make use of tools, but never has one been seen using a tool as a weapon other than throwing things. (this is more of a cautionary action)

oh... and lions have never been kings of the jungle. Lions are native to grasslands and the savannas, not the jungle.

Kong smash! Kong eat lion! Seriously, the little blighters sound deadly. I would'nt want to meet one.