by Melanie Parker | Feb 20, 2022 | News
A barrel of spider monkeys has been confiscated by federal officials at a port of entry in Progreso, Texas, where they said someone was trying to illegally smuggle the endangered species across the border.
by Melanie Parker | Feb 10, 2022 | News
In 2019, Alessandra Mascaro, a volunteer with the Ozouga Chimpanzee Project, was filming an adult female chimpanzee named Suzee, who was interacting with her little daughter Sassandra and adolescent son, Sia. Then, at some point, something very peculiar happened. As Suzee was inspecting a wound on Sia’s foot, the chimp mother dashed her fingers under a leaf, caught something which she put in her mouth, pressed it between her lips, then took it out of her mouth and applied it to the wound of her son’s leg.
by Melanie Parker | Jan 21, 2022 | News
You might think it’s cute to text a GIF of a chimpanzee in overalls walking a dog, but behind this seemingly adorable image is a grim truth: “Those animals were beaten and abused into submission to act that way,” says Debbie Metzler, associate director of captive animal law enforcement for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
by Melanie Parker | Dec 13, 2021 | News
She may not be Rembrandt or Pablo Picasso, but Molly the orangutan drew more than 1000 pictures over her lifetime. Now, one of the largest studies of nonhuman primate drawings to date—including hundreds of works by Molly and her ape companions at a Japanese zoo-reveal distinct individual differences in styles and ability. Some of the pictures appeared to change with the season, perhaps indicative of an orangutan’s mood.
by Melanie Parker | Dec 13, 2021 | News
It’s tempting to see all the hugs, rubs and lip smacks among animals as something they share with us humans. But there’s a critical difference: The animals mean it.