Submitted by vampgirl: An elusive giant ape has been spotted in remote forests in central Africa, sparking theories that it could be a new species of primate - a finding that would be the most astonishing wildlife discovery in decades, New Scientist says. In a report published in next Saturday's issue, the British weekly says the mysterious creatures have been seen in forests around the towns of Bondo and Bili, in the far north of the Democratic Republic of Congo. From the rare eyewitness sightings, bone discoveries and a video recording, the animals have large, black faces, are up to 2m tall and weighs between 85-102kg. That would put them in the size category of gorillas - but the region lies 500km from the edges of the known habitats of the western and eastern species of gorilla. The creature's face is gorilla-like and has a sagittal crest - a long bony ridge - that is typical of gorillas. But other aspects of the skull morphology are that of a chimpanzee, according to Colin Groves, an expert at the Australian National University in Canberra. As for behaviour, the apes make nests on the ground like gorillas, whereas chimpanzees prefer to make their homes in the trees. But, unlike gorillas, which hate water and prefer to build a new nest every night, these primates make their beds in swampy ground and reuse them night after night. Faeces recovered from the nest sites indicated an animal with a diet rich in fruit, which is typical of chimps.
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