Oliver (chimpanzee)

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Oliver is a Common Chimpanzee and a former performing ape once promoted as a missing link or "Humanzee" due to an unusually human-like face and a tendency to walk upright. Despite his somewhat unusual appearance and behavior, Oliver is, genetically speaking, a normal chimpanzee. However, research into specific genetic markers shows that Oliver has several inconsistencies with control groups of both traditional and bonobo chimpanzees.

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[edit] Early life

Oliver was acquired as a young animal (around 2 years old[1]) in 1960 by trainers Frank and Janet Berger. Supposedly, the chimpanzee had been caught in the Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire). Some physical and behavioral evidence led the Bergers to believe Oliver was a creature other than a chimpanzee, perhaps a human-chimp hybrid: Oliver possesses a flatter face than his fellow chimpanzees; Oliver was habitually bipedal (before being struck with arthritis), never walking on his knuckles like his chimpanzee peers; and Oliver may have preferred human females over chimpanzee females.[1] During a December 16, 2006 Discovery Channel special, Janet Berger herself claimed that Oliver was becoming attracted to her when he reached the age of 16[2]. He mounted her and tried to mate with her. After he tried it several times it became apparent that Oliver was a threat to Janet, and had to be sold. Still, Oliver was not the clownish performer his chimp peers were, and other chimps avoided him. Some people claim he did not possess a typical odor common to chimpanzees.

[edit] Japanese tour

Oliver's next owner was New York appellate lawyer Michael Miller, who purchased Oliver from the Bergers in or before 1976[1] and promoted Oliver as a "missing link." Oliver appeared on Japanese TV with fraudulent promotions picturing him as a miniature, hairy human being. Though he was sent to Japan in a normal chimpanzee cage as cargo, Oliver was depicted as flying in the passenger cabin. Oliver's trip coincided with a concert promotion of the rock 'n roll group The Monkees, and he was presented on Japanese television shows with Micky Dolenz providing inaccurate scientific observations.

Miller claimed he was promised genuine scientific examination of Oliver including genetic testing by the Japanese promoters. Some Japanese results held that Oliver had 47 chromosomes.[3] Some anthropologists observing Oliver's head, nose, ears, and preference for bipedal walking asserted the possibility that the chimp was a hybrid.[citation needed]

[edit] 1997 to 2006

Miller in 1977 sold him to Ralph Helfer, partner in a small Buena Park, California, theme park called Enchanted Village which was built on the site of the defunct Japanese Deer Park And Village amusement attraction. When Enchanted Village closed down later that year, Helfer continued exhibiting Oliver in a new venture, Gentle Jungle, which changed locations a few times before finally closing in 1982. The Los Angeles Times did an extensive article about Oliver as a possible missing link or new sub-species of chimp. Oliver was transferred to the Wild Animal Training Center at Riverside, California, owned by Ken Decroo, but he was allegedly sold by Decroo in 1985. The last trainer to own Oliver was Bill Rivers. Rivers reported problems with Oliver not getting along with other chimps.

The Buckshire Corporation, a Pennsylvanian laboratory leasing out animals for scientific and cosmetic testing, purchased Oliver in 1989. His entrance examination revealed some previous rough handling. He was never used in experiments, but for the next nine years, his home was a small cage, whose restricted size resulted in muscular atrophy to the point that Oliver's limbs trembled. In 1996, Sharon Hursh, president of the Buckshire Corporation, inquired whether Primarily Primates could start a retirement effort for Buckshire's colony of 12 chimpanzees.

Older, blind, and arthritic, in 1998 Oliver ended up at a spacious, open-air cage at Primarily Primates;[4] the sanctuary's director at the time also decided to resolve the question of Oliver's taxonomy.

[edit] Genetic testing

A geneticist from University of Chicago examined Oliver's chromosomes in 1996[5] and revealed that Oliver had forty-eight, not forty-seven, chromosomes, thus disproving the earlier claim and confirming that he had a normal chromosome count for a chimpanzee. Oliver's cranial morphology, ear shape, freckles and baldness fall within the range of variability exhibited by the Common Chimpanzee.[6] Scientists performed further studies with Oliver, the results of which were published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.[3]

Standard chromosomal studies fully supported Ledbetter's findings that Oliver had the diploid chromosome count expected for chimpanzees. The tests showed several variations of the traditional chimpanzee. The radical differences in his behavior remain notable for their suggestion of his being to some extent culturally and physically more humanlike than most known chimpanzees. Rumors persist that Oliver's bipedalism and behavior were most probably due to domestication and animal training, and his head shape was mainly a consequence of his teeth being removed at an early age to prevent biting, however Oliver currently has 40 teeth (the number found in adult chimpanzees) Also chimpanzees do not walk upright for extended periods of time and do not prefer doing so because of the hipbone leg joint connection. No “behavioral” explanation accounts for why Oliver smells different from other chimps and is treated by other Chimps as an outsider and is not included in any chimpanzee society. .[citation needed]

On the other hand, the mtDNA D-loop is not known to carry information relevant to the bipedalism trait; Oliver's walking style may yet be inborn and inherited. However, the biogeography of the variation in chimpanzee populations makes this rather unlikely; more recent findings on the geography of behavioral diversity in chimpanzees (see Bili Ape) raise the novel possibility that Oliver might have belonged to one or a few more bipedal "tribes" of Common Chimpanzees (which would be scientifically considered morphs and not subspecies).

[edit] Oliver Today

Oliver was in the temporary care of wildlife rehabilitator Lee Theisen-Watt, who had been appointed to oversee Primarily Primates while the State of Texas determined who would ultimately be in charge of the facility. Though Oliver's health may have been compromised by being kept for long periods of time under unsatisfactory conditions prior to receivorship, he has barely exceeded half the usual lifespan of captive Common Chimpanzees which survive to adulthood.

On April 27, 2007, The State of Texas entered into a settlement agreement which removed Lee Theisen-Watt as overseer of Primarily Primates and replaced her with a board of directors that is headed by Eric Turton and Priscilla Feral. The settlement also dismissed all charges against Primarily Primates. Swett was required to leave the property and is prohibited from serving either on the Board or as an employee.[7]

Oliver remains in the care of Primarily Primates while the facility goes through major renovations. Members of the re-formed board of directors expressed concern for Oliver in court proceedings and in news articles about the ongoing dispute over management of the sanctuary. The Star-Telegram reports that Friends of Animals is now merging with Primarily Primates in order to restructure its management and address past concerns about the future of the sanctuary.[8]

[edit] Oliver in popular culture

The decades long speculation about Oliver's origins and the possibility that he was a Human-Chimp hybrid has led to numerous references to him in popular culture. Many of these are satirical in nature or at least intended to be humorous. For example, the popular Church of the SubGenius assigns a feast day or holy day (sometimes several) to every day of the year and has seen fit to assign October 20 as The Feast of Saint Oliver the humanzee.[9] In addition, there is a New Mexico Jam band calling itself Oliver and The Humanzees.[10] As shown by these examples, most pop culture references to Oliver tend to mythologize him as a real example of a Humanzee despite tests having proved he is no such thing.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Shuker, Karl (1999). "Oliver's No Gene Genie". Fortean Times 120: 48–49. 
  2. ^ "The Human Chimp" . 
  3. ^ a b Ely JJ, Leland M, Martino M, Swett W, Moore CM (1998). "Technical note: chromosomal and mtDNA analysis of Oliver". Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 105 (3): 395–403. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199803)105:3<395::AID-AJPA8>3.0.CO;2-Q. PMID 9545080. 
  4. ^ The Texas Monkey Project. Texas Monkey Project. Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
  5. ^ Anonymous (1996). "Mutant Chimp Gets Gene Check". Science 274 (5288): 727. doi:10.1126/science.274.5288.727e. 
  6. ^ Hill, WCO; in Bourne, GH (1969), Anatomy, behavior, and diseases of chimpanzees (The Chimpanzee, vol. 1, S. Karger, pp. 22–49 
  7. ^ Settlement looming for Primarily Primates by Cindy Tumiel San Antonio Express-News 04/25/2007 10:30 PM CDT
  8. ^ Lawsuit filed in Oregon latest battle over Texas animal sanctuary By WILLIAM McCALL, Associated Press Writer Tue, Jun. 26, 2007. Accssed June 28 2006
  9. ^ Calendar Of SubGenius Saints.
  10. ^ Oliver and the Humanzees at iSound Alt. Pop-Rock from Albuquerque, NM [US]. Accessed 2/29/07

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