The New Apes

No, that header is not the name of a band.  Although it probably should be.

I came across this article on the BBC from 2004.  The upshot of it is that a new species of ape may have been discovered in the Congo.  They are said to have the same size and appearance as gorillas, but behave like chimpanzees.  At the time in '04, the leading theories from scientists as to the nature and origin of these apes were as follows:

• They are a new species of ape
• They are giant chimpanzees, much larger than any so far recorded, but behave like gorillas
• They could be hybrids, the product of gorillas mating with chimpanzees.

Search as I might, I have yet to find any follow up on this 2004 article.  Were these indeed apes heretofore undiscovered by science?  I don't know.  But if you know anything, send an email.

During my search, I did come across this bit from just last September.  A new species of gibbon was found in Southeast Asia.  This was verified and photographs of the primate appear on the linked page.

My point with all of this?  We don't know everything.  In 1998, a professor at a community college told both Armando and myself that "all the major land animals that will be discovered have already been discovered."  Yeah.  Right.

A few posts back, I wrote about Bigfoot.  While I'm still not sold, news of this kind amply demonstrates that new land animals can and are being discovered all the time.  It is not at all outside the realm of possibility that more await us, lurking in the shadows or deep under the oceans.

Whether or not one, especially a super-sized hominid, could remain undetected on a continent as heavily populated as North America is another question altogether.

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