Oliver The Chimp: Is He a Humanzee – Half Human, Half Ape?
This is the intriguing story of Oliver, a chimp that was under media speculation whether his peculiar behaviour and appearance meant that he was a humanzee, a hybrid of an ape and a human.
Oliver. After a media uproar from the 1970s, Oliver was given the status of a ‘humanzee’ or a cross between a human and a chimp. In other words, a hybrid. Journalists all over the world were amazed at this bizarre creature that had very peculiar characteristics that one wouldn’t normally associate with an ape.
They branded Oliver as a ‘humanzee’ or ‘Bigfoot’ or ‘the missing link’. The question whether Oliver is a hybrid or an ape still remains till now, although scientific evidence proves it has been answered.
Oliver, along with another chimpanzee, was brought by Frank Burger from Africa to New Jersey in the 1960s. From the very start, both Frank and his wife Janet noticed that Oliver was different from the other chimps they trained.
From a very small age, Oliver could walk on two legs, a feat that not many apes can achieve and even if they are taught to do so, they can only sustain it for a short duration. Oliver had many facial characteristics that weren’t common in other apes. He had a small bald head with pointed ears and a smaller nose. This physical difference meant that Oliver was excluded by the other apes that he was surrounded by.
But this didn’t stop Oliver indulging in human characteristics. Oliver preferred human company and would watch the TV and smoke a cigar. After Frank died, his widow, Janet was in charge of the performing apes that they trained and she believed that Oliver was a Humanzee. She believed that he was like “a little human”.
Some other people close to the Burger family believed that “something is in there”. What set Oliver completely different from the other apes was when he reached maturity, Oliver started to have a very strong attraction to his owner Janet Burger and at times he wouldn’t leave her.
With an ape who was a lot like a human vying for her love, Oliver was then sent off to an attorney Michael Miller who brought Oliver to the media exposure. Oliver reached such heights of media success that he was all over the papers and the news and was even transported to Japan.
The trip to Japan was a turning point for Oliver because even though his owner was told it was going to be for scientific purposes, it was clear that the Japanese media wanted to portray Oliver for entertainment. In a show that grabbed in almost 26 million viewers, Oliver was given through a set of very simple tests conducted on him. A test looking for the centre of gravity in Oliver concluded that he was more human than ape.
Another test on the chromosomes concluded he had 47 chromosomes. A human has 46 chromosomes and an ape has 48 chromosomes, meaning that 47 was in the middle, so the possibility of Oliver being a hybrid was high. Out of the 40 cells that had been tested, 38 cells had 48 chromosomes but 2 cells had 47. His media attention didn’t stop there as a Japanese actress said that she would sleep with Oliver and this even would be telecasted on TV.
But away from the media attention that Oliver had been given, in the 1980s, Oliver faded from the spotlight and ended up eventually in Buckshire Corporation, a laboratory that sent animals for testing. Oliver was never tested on but confinement in a small enclosure meant that after 9 years in the tiny cage, Oliver suffered with muscular atrophy once he came out. Now Oliver is blind and arthritic but enjoys freedom in Texas, in a sanctuary called ‘Primarily Primates’.
But back to the scientific value of Oliver, why is it that Oliver is like this? Is he truly a hybrid between a human and a chimp? Why is it that his characteristics so different to an ape but slightly similar to a human? Was he a human or an ape? The answers would come, but gradually. Most hybrids, like mules which are the result of crossing a horse and a donkey, are sterile.
They don’t have the ability to reproduce purely because this is nature’s way of preventing the cross breeding of animals in the wild. Clever, it seems. But Oliver wouldn’t be able to qualify for this test because firstly, Oliver was shunned by his fellow ape companions and secondly, Oliver preferred the love of a human being than a chimp. A very detailed test conducted on Oliver by the University of Chicago revealed that Oliver had 48 chromosomes and not 47. It did seem apparent that there was some sort of mutation but the conclusion remained that Oliver was an ape.
But just finding these results may not be the answer to everything. Questions rose as to whether Oliver was a mutation, resulting in a sub species present in the deep forests of Africa that we don’t know about and haven’t found out yet. Many years ago, humans and apes were exactly the same with a common ancestor. What set us as humans apart from the apes were our highly developed brain and our ability to walk on twos.
Could Oliver’s habit of walking on two legs mean that Oliver was an example from that transition stage where an ape began to walk like man? Could it possibly mean that if Oliver was able to breed, then eventually an offspring would be produced what we today call a human being? Questions will cloud your mind but watching the footage of Oliver just makes you want to believe that he is a hybrid of a human and an ape. There is no denial in it that Oliver will intrigue you.
There have been rumours (which are apparently true) that an ape and human hybrid has been created in the 1920s but the infant born was killed by the creators for fear of media exposure. This makes you wonder what really caused the fear. What was that infant like? In another incident, China created a similar being where a female ape was inseminated with human sperm and was impregnated with a human and ape cross but rioters destroyed the building and the surrogate ape died.
As Oliver’s present owner at ‘Primarily Primates’ says Oliver won’t live very long. So any tests to crack the human genetic code and the ape’s genetic code would be necessary to have them on Oliver now. I highly recommend you to watch the videos below to find out about Oliver. Even though tests conclude he is an ape, is our human technology so advanced that it can guarantee that Oliver is an ape? What is there is more technological advancement that makes Oliver a human and ape cross?
In a world of today, it isn’t true that we haven’t got the technology. We have more technology for science than we could imagine, but simple things, like religion, morals, ethics and media prevent intriguing questions like whether Oliver is a human and ape cross or an ape from brewing up and getting apt answers. Oliver truly won’t live long and we shall never find out the solid truth if we remain sceptical of the current findings, until we meet someone else like Oliver, the ‘humanzee’.
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13 Responses to “Oliver The Chimp: Is He a Humanzee – Half Human, Half Ape?”
On August 31, 2009 at 4:42 am
Excellent post!!! a very interesting article. ..Half Ape? No! ..its Full Ape..Thanks for sharing this wonderful work
On August 31, 2009 at 6:46 am
That is such an interesting article. He does look so human in the way he moves. Excellent work.
Christine
On August 31, 2009 at 8:01 am
Very interesting article.
On August 31, 2009 at 10:12 am
Wow! This was an interesting read. What made you interested in writing about this in the first place?
On August 31, 2009 at 10:23 am
Wow, great article. Very interesting topic.
On August 31, 2009 at 2:50 pm
great vids, good pictures and an even more interesting topic. Definitely something out of the ordinary and I must say I really enjoyed reading it!
On August 31, 2009 at 4:11 pm
What a strange creature! Fantastic article, your best yet!
On August 31, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Oliver was a different being thats for sure. Who knows what made him so unusual. Maybe it was an experiment that was hidden. The truth might still come out.
On September 1, 2009 at 12:42 pm
It seems that maybe Oliver is the missing link! Interesting post, photos, and videos.
On September 13, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Brain scans should be done to see if his brain works differently from other chimps.
I’m assuming structural differences were ruled out as an explanation for his preference for walking upright. I’d heard that chimps that had been injured when young would prefer to walk upright….
I’m glad Oliver is in a safe haven, as well as all those other chimps. His story will intrigue scientists for many years!
On September 18, 2009 at 8:43 pm
The article is inaccurate. Oliver has 48 chromosomes, he has a completely normal genetic make-up for Common Chimpanzee, he is most likely from Gabon. He is an abused chimp, who was forced to walk upright. A full genetic and phylogenetic analysis was conducted in 1998.
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.
“We performed standard chromosomal studies which demonstrated that Oliver had the diploid number expected for a chimpanzee (2N = 48) and that the banding patterns of his chromosomes were typical for a chimpanzee and different from both humans and bonobos.”
On December 16, 2009 at 11:19 pm
The notes above do capture much of Oliver’s public life, but only those elements specifically created by the government to gather open attention. There is much more to the story.
Hello. I am an older gentlemen now and while I prefer to stay in the shadows, my failing health and age continue to reduce the potential for reprecussions.
In the middle 70s, I ran an elite aviation/aerospace group in southern California for a little known agency. Located in the town of Upland, my team was quartered at a small private airfield called Cable. Our public front was that of a civilian aviation patrol club, ostensibly formed to conduct pilot training and air search, etc.
In the spring of 76, I was contacted through my channels and instructed to perform support assistance for what was then termed Operation BAKER BREAD. In short course, my team Squadron Two Five received ample funding, and received a liaison visit from the Op Controller who was known to me only as Richard. I meet with him in a small place on the Foothill Blvd., the Upper Crust, where I received my general tasking: design and test flight control and operating modules that could be understood and used by a chimp. According to Richard, the protocol was established as a Hot Sheet item, the desire being to preclude any further incident such as that which had befallen Gary Powers.
Over the months, my team commenced design and prototyping in a private hangar at Cable (N 2-4). We installed the controls and surrogate lifting surfaces onto a sled of sorts in order to permit a controlled examination of the operations without flight risk. In the fall of the year, I first met Oliver.
One our introduction, he merely strolled into our quonset hut, touched two fingers to his right brow without breaking gait, and helped himself to my package of Camel cigarettes. I was simply astonished. I had been working on a personal device, a machine designed to clean and polish Golf balls, that I intended to market to luxory hotels. Within several hours, Oliver had become familiar enough with the machine to safely operate it – he even adjusted a troublesome switch for the ejection/removal.
Over the winter months, we began testing our monkey piloted rocket sled. These tests occured far out in the desert; you may still visit the area now by driving 90 or so miles east of a small town called Halloran Springs. While the mechanical testing went well, I began to see the ugly side of Oliver – a side that perplexed and frightened me. A chronic smoker, he would slip into despondant periods during which he would drink alcohol heavily and show aggressive behavior. Several instances nearly shut down the project; one involved his brandishing an empty bottle and striking an assistant (it was poor old man Miller) over the head, apparently to take possession of his felt hat. As Miller lie in the sand, unconcious, I observed Oliver to exhault in the moment, wavering both limbs wildly and flashing his teeth while hooting. He wore the hat for several days, then filled it with his own urine and left it.
Still more troubling was his untoward sexual conduct. In another incident, a young support staff worker, Patty, fled the camp in a rush and did not return the following week. Months later I was to learn that Oliver had attacked her sexually, and that their union had in fact resulted in pregnancy. Richard arrived to discuss the matter and here revealed that Oliver was, indeed, a hybrid simian. Attempts to breed him to human females had taken place, with those results being termed horrible “pirates and ringmasters”. I learned only later that Patty had been spirited off from the area in order to deliver the offspring of Oliver. I was only to glad when testing was complete. I never heard another word regarding the Op or of Oliver until recently. The recent spate of news makes me wonder if it is all timed to coincide with the progeny of Oliver.
On December 16, 2009 at 11:19 pm
The notes above do capture much of Oliver’s public life, but only those elements specifically created by the government to gather open attention. There is much more to the story.
Hello. I am an older gentlemen now and while I prefer to stay in the shadows, my failing health and age continue to reduce the potential for reprecussions.
In the middle 70s, I ran an elite aviation/aerospace group in southern California for a little known agency. Located in the town of Upland, my team was quartered at a small private airfield called Cable. Our public front was that of a civilian aviation patrol club, ostensibly formed to conduct pilot training and air search, etc.
In the spring of 76, I was contacted through my channels and instructed to perform support assistance for what was then termed Operation BAKER BREAD. In short course, my team Squadron Two Five received ample funding, and received a liaison visit from the Op Controller who was known to me only as Richard. I meet with him in a small place on the Foothill Blvd., the Upper Crust, where I received my general tasking: design and test flight control and operating modules that could be understood and used by a chimp. According to Richard, the protocol was established as a Hot Sheet item, the desire being to preclude any further incident such as that which had befallen Gary Powers.
Over the months, my team commenced design and prototyping in a private hangar at Cable (N 2-4). We installed the controls and surrogate lifting surfaces onto a sled of sorts in order to permit a controlled examination of the operations without flight risk. In the fall of the year, I first met Oliver.
One our introduction, he merely strolled into our quonset hut, touched two fingers to his right brow without breaking gait, and helped himself to my package of Camel cigarettes. I was simply astonished. I had been working on a personal device, a machine designed to clean and polish Golf balls, that I intended to market to luxory hotels. Within several hours, Oliver had become familiar enough with the machine to safely operate it – he even adjusted a troublesome switch for the ejection/removal.
Over the winter months, we began testing our monkey piloted rocket sled. These tests occured far out in the desert; you may still visit the area now by driving 90 or so miles east of a small town called Halloran Springs. While the mechanical testing went well, I began to see the ugly side of Oliver – a side that perplexed and frightened me. A chronic smoker, he would slip into despondant periods during which he would drink alcohol heavily and show aggressive behavior. Several instances nearly shut down the project; one involved his brandishing an empty bottle and striking an assistant (it was poor old man Miller) over the head, apparently to take possession of his felt hat. As Miller lie in the sand, unconcious, I observed Oliver to exhault in the moment, wavering both limbs wildly and flashing his teeth while hooting. He wore the hat for several days, then filled it with his own urine and left it.
Still more troubling was his untoward sexual conduct. In another incident, a young support staff worker, Patty, fled the camp in a rush and did not return the following week. Months later I was to learn that Oliver had attacked her sexually, and that their union had in fact resulted in pregnancy. Richard arrived to discuss the matter and here revealed that Oliver was, indeed, a hybrid simian. Attempts to breed him to human females had taken place, with those results being termed horrible “pirates and ringmasters”. I learned only later that Patty had been spirited off from the area in order to deliver the offspring of Oliver. I was only to glad when testing was complete. I never heard another word regarding the Op or of Oliver until recently. The recent spate of news makes me wonder if it is all timed to coincide with the progeny of Oliver.
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