Tannhauser Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 One of the many random things I am interested in is animal attacks, Just out of interest, here are some bits and pieces I've come across on the chimpanzee's capability for inflicting damage. Why are chimps dangerous? They are unpredictable, aggressive and well equipped to inflict damage. Even male chimps that have been socialised with humans from birth get increasingly unpredictable and aggressive when they hit puberty. Many Tarzan actors received bites, for example, and celebrated research chimps like 'Nimh Chimpsky' bit and scratched their handlers. In the wild, male chimps will kill other males, females and young. They are highly territorial. Groups of males can act in concert to attack predators or rival troupes (if that is the correct collective noun). It's safe to say chimps are, on average, much stronger than humans. Hard data is difficult to come by, because it's hard to convince a chimp that it needs to make a maximal effort. There are some ridiculous exaggerations on the internet. One commonly quoted demonstration was from the 1920s (iirc) where a 165 lb chimp was tested for a one armed pull on a dynamometer. The figures were something around 800lb for the chimp and around 200lb for an equivalent sized man. So a conservative estimate is that on certain movements, chimps are maybe 3-4 times stronger than a similarly sized male. Male chimps seem to be in the 120-200lb range, which is 8-14 stone ish). The likelihood is that the nervous system is able to recruit more muscle fibres, whereas there is some inhibitory mechanism in ours that allows finer motor skills. Chimps have very powerful jaws and large canines. Three recent chimp attacks http://www.news.sl/drwebsite/publish/article_20052266.shtml Summary: In the Sierra Leone, four guys in a car were attacked by a group of chimps. They smashed the windscreen and pulled one of them out, dragged him 100m up a hill where "where he was bitten severally (sic) and torn to pieces". http://www.esquire.com/features/chimpanzee-attack-0409 Summary: St. James Davies was attacked at an animal sanctuary by two young male chimps. He was getting on a bit, but not a small guy (6'2" and a former football running back). Here's the relevant bit: One of the animals grabbed him in a bear hug before chomping into the bone above his right eyebrow. He then stuck his finger in St. James's right eye, gouging it out. The same animal clamped his teeth onto St. James's nose, biting it off, as the other chimp chewed away at St. James's fingers. In the melee, one of the chimps dug in his claws and ripped the skin off the right side of St. James's face, causing it to flop over and cover his left eye, temporarily blinding him. One of the primates sunk his teeth into St. James's skull. He then closed his jaws on St. James's mouth, ripping off his lips and most of his teeth. St. James tried to put one of his hands down the animal's throat, but the chimp just kept chewing on it and chewing on it, and he couldn't get it out. St. James fell to the ground, no longer able to defend himself, and for at least five minutes, the mauling continued as he lay helpless. One of the chimps gnawed on his buttocks and bit off his genitals. They ravaged his left foot, leaving it shredded. And here is the most recent attack, only a couple of months back: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/03/04/2009-03-04_charla_nash_woman_mauled_by_pet_chimp_tr.html Charla Nash, 55, lost her nose, lips, eyelids and hands when the 200-pound primate ripped her apart last month, her doctors said. She also suffered brain damage, possible blindness and several broken bones in her face from the brutal mauling, which shocked even hardened medical pros. Nash remains in critical condition. Doctors are unsure when - if ever - they can begin to rebuild her ravaged body. I read recently that she's lost her sight but regained some neural function. Conclusion Schwarzenegger is looking at a bill to outlaw exotic pets in California and you can see why.In the unlikely event of someone offering you a chimp as a pet, just say no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Class One Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 I think you need to get out more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Interesting... I am a bit scared of anything even vaguely monkey-esque tbh.. and I'm not great with horses either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Interesting I was reading this last month:- http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/chimpanzee-planned-stone-attacks-on--zoo-visitors-1641018.html I thought it was funny though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 I was attacked by a monkey once. That Mickey Dolenz sure does fight dirty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 I was attacked by a monkey once. That Mickey Dolenz sure does fight dirty. Who writes this crap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Raven Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Those things are scary strong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benkei Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Those things are scary strong Yeh, and mercilessly violent!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lbm Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 That's simply fascinating and of course, a bit scary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tannhauser Posted April 26, 2009 Author Share Posted April 26, 2009 I think you need to get out more. Au contraire. I need to stay in more so I can learn more about animal attacks. Next research topic: When sparrows attack seals and other large pinnipeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Are you planning for the uprise of the animal kingdom? I suppose it would be wise to know your options.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supradoopa Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Next there will be killer bunnys... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordy07 Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 If you think the chimps are bad you should try dealing with my wife,she is 6 months pregnant. They seem quite calm compared to her;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8qtip5 Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Chimps should be banned. They will literally rip off a mans balls and feed it to him before tearing his face off. However, chimps are not nearly as strong as a pissed off retarded kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lbm Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Chimps should be banned. They will literally rip off a mans balls and feed it to him before tearing his face off. However, chimps are not nearly as strong as a pissed off retarded kid. Yes. But which one is best? There's only one way to find out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p111ddy Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Chimps should be banned. They will literally rip off a mans balls and feed it to him before tearing his face off. However, chimps are not nearly as strong as a pissed off retarded kid. Yes. But which one is best? There's only one way to find out... pmsl thats just wrong but I'll have a tenner on the kid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt H Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Your learn something new everyday! :wierd: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Your learn something new everyday! :wierd: Brilliant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 One of the many random things I am interested in is animal attacks I said "Walkies", he said "~@?& off..." The bites are a week or so old here. I wouldn't like to have a chimpanzee attack me, that's for sure Dare we enquire of your other random interests? Chimp' attacks must be a fairly specialised subject to study! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tannhauser Posted April 27, 2009 Author Share Posted April 27, 2009 I said "Walkies", he said "~@?& off..." The bites are a week or so old here. I wouldn't like to have a chimpanzee attack me, that's for sure Dare we enquire of your other random interests? Chimp' attacks must be a fairly specialised subject to study! Jeez, they're nasty bites. I've lost track of your dogs - which one did the damage? I didn't mean to imply I have made a serious study of chimp attacks - it's more pootling around the internet or other sources, collating bits and pieces and keeping a critical eye on the quality of the evidence. A big interest of mine is non-scientific belief systems - everything from anti-oxidants to 'police psychics' to Chinese medicine to people who invoke quantum mechanics to 'explain' ESP to Zionist conspiracy theories. I'm also interested in how far a trained wildebeeste, using its nose, could roll an onion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt H Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 and keeping a critical eye on the quality of the evidence. Why?! Would they deliver a noble prize for such observation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt H Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Brilliant! It's about time you acknowleged that about me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbourner Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 I said "Walkies", he said "~@?& off..." The bites are a week or so old here. I wouldn't like to have a chimpanzee attack me, that's for sure Dare we enquire of your other random interests? Chimp' attacks must be a fairly specialised subject to study! That wasn't the cute puppy was it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 It was the big 8ugger on the left, who now has gained a few grammes of lead in his ear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tannhauser Posted April 27, 2009 Author Share Posted April 27, 2009 Why?! Would they deliver a noble prize for such observation? I'm not with you. It could be a joke - if so, sorry, I don't understand it. What I mean is this: where possible, I want to know the background story behind a piece of information before I accept it as being true. This is especially true on the internet, where there is zero minimum standard required for accuracy. For example, if I see someone write 'chimps are 7-8 times stronger than humans' (probably incorrect), I want to know how this was tested and how they came to this conclusion. It drives me nuts when - for example - someone posts the latest urban legend up without doing some basic fact-checking*. That's just contributing to the ever-increasing pile of informational bullshit that's threatening to bury us. *E.g. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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