Bili Ape
The so-called
Bili Ape, or
Bondo Mystery Ape, is a large
primate native to the
Bili Forest in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. "The
apes nest on the ground like
gorillas but have a diet and features characteristic of
chimpanzees," according to a
National Geographic report. While preliminary genetic testing with non-nuclear
DNA indicate a close relationship with
Common Chimpanzees (subspecies
Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii), a range of behaviors that are more closely related to those of gorillas have greatly intrigued
primatologists from around the globe. The mixture of traits has led to questions of
taxonomic classification. Initial results from
mitochondrial DNA analysis of fecal samples indicate that the 'mystery ape' is a chimpanzee. Although genetic studies do not support hybridization, neither do they rule it out.
In local parlance, the
great apes of the Bili Forest fall into two distinct groups. There are the 'tree beaters', who disperse high into the trees to stay safe, and who easily succumb to the poison arrows used by local hunters. And then there are the 'lion killers', who seldom climb trees, are bigger and darker, and who are unaffected by the poison arrows used by locals.
When
Karl Ammann, a Swiss photographer and crusader against the
bush meat trade, first visited the region in
1996, he was looking for gorillas, but instead discovered a skull that had dimensions like that of a chimpanzee, but with prominent crest like a gorilla. Amman purchased a photograph, taken by a motion-detecting camera, from poachers that captured an image of what looked like immense chimpanzees. Ammann also measured a fecal dropping three times as big as chimp dung and footprints as large as or larger than a gorilla's.
In
2000, Ammann returned to the area described by the bush meat hunter with a group of ape researchers. Although they did not find a live Bili Ape, they did find several well-worn ground nests, characteristic of gorillas rather than chimpanzees, in swampy river beds.
In
2001, an international team of scientists, including
George Schaller of the
Wildlife Conservation Society and
Richard Wrangam of
Harvard University were recruited by Karl Ammann to search for the elusive Bili Ape, but the venture came up empty.
Since a five year long civil war ended in
2003, it has been easier for scientists to conduct field research in the Congo. The first scientist to see the Bili apes, and also recruited by Ammann, was
Shelly Williams, PhD, a specialist in primate behavior. In the October 9,
2004 issue of the
New Scientist, Williams reported on her close - and chilling - encounter with Bili Apes, "We could hear them in the trees, about 10m away, and four suddenly came rushing through the brush towards me. If this had been a mock charge they would have been screaming to intimidate us. These guys were quiet, and they were huge. They were coming in for the kill - but as soon as they saw my face they stopped and disappeared."
"The unique characteristics they exhibit just don't fit into the other groups of great apes," says Williams. The apes, she argues, could be a new species unknown to science, a new subspecies of chimpanzee or a hybrid of the gorilla and the chimp. "At the very least, we have a unique, isolated chimp culture that's unlike any that's been studied," she says.
Scientists believe they are dealing with a very
inbred population, in which even a large number of animals could share identical or near identical
haplotypes. Bili Ape reports have also been investigated by
Esteban Sarmiento, who has said "I would think there is a strong possibility that south of Bili on the other side of the
Uele River there may be gorillas, and this would seem an important area to turn our attention to."
In June of 2006, British Science Weekly reported that Cleve Hicks and colleagues from the University of Amsterdam had completed a year-long hunt for these apes during which they were able to observe the creatures a total of 20 full hours. Cleve reported that he saw "nothing gorilla about them", stating that "they pant-hoot and tree-drum, and so on," and adding that "the females definitely have a chimp's sex swellings". DNA samples recovered from feces also re-affirmed the classification of these apes in the chimp subspecies Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii.
Cleve encountered a large community of the apes to the northwest of Bili that displayed interest in him and his colleagues reminiscent of previous reports. The apes, including adult males, apparently would surround their human visitors and show curiousity about them but would not attack or become threatening.
Cleve also noted, however, as previous scientists have, the gorilla-like skull crest in some males and tendency to howl at the full moon.
Further study is currently being undertaken by Cleve as of July 2006.
Behavioral characteristics
In some ways, the apes behave more like gorillas than chimpanzees. For example, they build ground nests as gorillas do, although with relatively elaborate construction compared to observed gorilla nests, using interwoven branches and/or saplings, bent down into a central bowl. However, they also display some common chimpanzee characteristics such as utilization of the occasional tree nest. Limited observations thusfar have seen two or three nesting on the ground with a few other nests nearby in low-lying branches. Their diet is also decidedly chimp-like, consisting mainly of fruits (fruiting trees such as
strangler figs are visited often).
Bili Apes make a distinct vocalization like a howl which seems to be louder when the full moon rises and sets.
They seldom bother to climb trees, do not succumb to the poison arrows shot by native hunters, and appear unafraid of predators like their gracile chimpanzee relatives (certain tribes in the vicinity have even referred to them as "Lion-Killers").
Behavior toward humans has baffled and intrugued scientists. There is little to no aggression, yet no fear either. "Gorilla males will always charge when they encounter a hunter, but there were no stories like that," about the Bili Apes, according to Ammann. Instead, they would come face-to-face with their human cousins, stare intently in half-recognition, then slide away quietly. Cleve's group later confirmed and somewhat expanded those observations, saying that when they encountered a large group of Bili Apes, they not only approached and then slipped awy from the humans, but would actually surround them with intent curiousity.
Morphology and physiology
The Bili Ape has been reported to walk upright, bipedally, at times, with the looks of a giant chimpanzee. Their footprints, which range from 28 to 34 centimeters, are longer than the largest common chimp and gorilla footprints, which average 26cm and 29cm, respectively.
According to Williams, "They have a very flat face, a wide muzzle and their brow-ridge runs straight across and overhangs. They seem to turn grey very early in life, but instead of turning grey-black like a gorilla, they turn grey all over."
Bili Ape skulls have the prominent brow ridge and
sagittal crest of a robust great ape, or gorilla, but other morphological measurements are more like those of chimpanzees. However, chimpanzee skulls are 190 to 210 millimetres long, but four of five Bili Ape skulls measured more than 220 millimetres, well beyond the end of the normal chimpanzee range.
Female Bili apes, however, have genital swellings similar to other chimpanzees. They have been classified as a subspecies of chimpanzee, Pan tryglodytes schweinfurthii.
The Bili Forest lies in the Congo's far north, about 200 kilometers east of the
Ebola River, where deep tropical
rain forests are broken by patches of
savanna. Dense
Jungles,
civil war and other barriers to mankind's encroachment have left the region relatively pristine. However, forests throughout the Congo have been hit hard by commercial poaching.
*
Mangani*
Sympatric speciation*
Michael Crichton's
Congo*[
1] - 'Mystery apes are chubby chimps, zoologists find',
ABC News, June 29, 2006
*
ChimpCollaboratory.org - 'Lost apes of the Congo: A Time reporter travels deep into the African jungle in search of a mysterious chimp called the lion killer', Stephan Faris,
Time Magazine (January 17, 2005)
*
Clara.net - 'The not so silly Bili Ape: The Dark Continent may yet harbour secrets long after its opening up by Western explorers', Karl Shuker,
Fortean Times (September, 2004)
*
Cryptomundo.com - 'Bili Ape Discoverer Shot: Shelly Williams, 49, the world-renowned primatologist credited with gathering convincing evidence of a new species of great apes, a cryptid primate known to cryptozoologists as the Bili or Bondo ape, was shot in the back around 2:30 pm, on November 7, 2005' (November 9, 2005)
*
KarlAmmann.com - 'The Bondo Mystery Apes: Winter 2004 Field Data', Karl Amman:*
KarlAmmann.com - 'The Beast with No Name: In the Depths of the Congo lives an elusive Ape unlike any other', Emma Young,
New Scientist (October 9, 2004)
*
NationalGeographic.com - 'Elusive African Apes: Giant Chimps or New Species?' John Roach,
National Geographic (April 14, 2003)
*
NewAnimal.org - 'The Cryptid Zoo: Ufiti', Jamie Hall (2006)
*
Primates.com - 'Seeking answers to big "mystery ape" Clues to new ape species?' Marsha Walton,
CNN (August 9, 2003)
*
Perthnow News - 'Mystery Apes of Central Africa ' June 28, 2006
Audio
*
NPR.org - 'Search of Congo's Bili Ape' (four part series, based on
NPR's Alex Chadwick's visit to Central Congo and the search for the Bili ape)
National Geographic Radio Expeditions (March 26 - 29, 2001)
