Scientists believe they have discovered a new group of giant apes in the jungles of central Africa. The animals, with characteristics of both gorillas and chimpanzees, have been sighted in the north of the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to local villagers, the apes are ferocious, and even capable of killing lions. The UK magazine New Scientist is to publish its report about the mysterious creatures next week. If they are a new species of primate, it could be one of the most important wildlife discoveries in decades. The discovery of these apes "reveals just how much we still have to learn about our closest living relatives," New Scientist says. They stand up to two metres tall, the size of gorillas, and like gorillas, they nest on the ground, not in trees. But they live hundreds of km away from any other known gorilla populations, and their diet is closer to that of chimpanzees. Primatologist Shelly Williams is thought to be the only scientist to have seen the apes.

During her visit to DR Congo two years ago, she says she captured them on video and located their nests. She describes her encounter with them: "Four suddenly came rushing out of the bush towards me," she told New Scientist. "If this had been a bluff charge, they would have been screaming to intimidate us. These guys were quiet. And they were huge. They were coming in for the kill. I was directly in front of them, and as soon as they saw my face, they stopped and disappeared."

View: Full Article | Source: BBC News

I remember there was an article about this couple of years ago (two years ago I think) that stated that these apes are capable of being bipedals and they run quite easily on two feet.

Anyone remembers that article?

I sure do.

The thing is, why did these apes run away when they saw Primatologist Shelly Williams's face? Unless they are as smart as gorillas and recognizes that humans are dangerous, otherwise I see know reason for them to stop and beat the living hell out of her.

What do you guys think--smarter than the average ape?

Well, a giant (2 meters high) bipedal chimpanzee who is smart enough to kill a lion (after all, lions are well designed hunting machines, while these apes are mainly veggis), and is known to the local population, probably learned all those years not to trust humans.

Cool

This is an amazing discovery. I wish I could study this animal in person, hmmm.... maybe...

A human wouldn't be able to kill a lion if confronted by one. We'd need a weapon like sharp-edged sticks or large stones; assuming we aren't holding any guns or explosives.

Smart apes as these, I think naturally made weapons would possibly play a greater part in their capability to kill lions.

Could be - they might use stones and sticks (although never seen a stick capable of killing a lion ), though still - these veggie apes, which have no need to hunt (because they eat veggitables), are capable to out smart a well suited hunter - they must be extremely smart to accomplish that (and also being bipedal, and capable of running on two legs, proves they might be closer to us humans than the normal chimp).

I would really want to see how these apes do with sign language. That should be interesting.

yup, probably realised that getting its ass shot up isn't the smartest thing so they would avoid humans:P