Thursday, February 22, 2007

Thats it, game over dude....

We are doomed, doomed I tell you!

Killer Chimps Make Spears, Hunt Bushbabies

The researchers saw 10 different chimps fashioning spear-like tools to forcibly jab at nocturnal primates known as lesser bushbabies (Galago senegalensis), which sleep inside hollow branches or tree trunks during the day.

After their attacks, the chimps sniffed or licked their weapons, as if to see whether or not they shed blood.

"I was flabbergasted," Pruetz said.

Previously, researchers had spotted one chimpanzee using tools to flush out mammalian prey, specifically employing a branch to rouse a squirrel.

However, Pruetz and her colleague, Cambridge biological anthropologist Paco Bertolani, saw something far more complex. The chimps routinely broke off branches, trimmed them of twigs, leaves and bark and sharpened the tips of their spears with their teeth.

There was just one successful attempt in 22 recorded instances of the chimpanzee hunts with their spears.

"Still, this involves significantly less energy than in chasing down monkeys, so it is not surprising that it evolved," Pruetz said.



Run away, run away! This is just practice for when they make their bid to take over the world!

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