Science & Technology

Are we a cross between a pig and a chimp ?

By T.K. Randall
December 1, 2013

Image: Pig
Credit: Steven Lek / (PD) Dr Eugene McCarthy has turned the conventional idea of human evolution on its head by putting forward a radical new theory suggesting that mankind is the result of a fateful encounter between a male pig and a female chimpanzee.

A leading authority in hybridization, Dr McCarthy has based this hypothesis on the fact that humans possess a great many features that do not correspond to those of any other known primate. Instead, he maintains that the common pig is the missing link in explaining where these traits came from."We believe that humans are related to chimpanzees because humans share so many traits with chimpanzees," he said. "Is it not rational then also, if pigs have all the traits that distinguish humans from other primates, to suppose that humans are also related to pigs? Let us take it as our hypothesis, then, that humans are the product of ancient hybridization between pig and chimpanzee."

There are many cases, such as when surgeons have used pig hearts and other organs for human transplant, in which pigs appear to be at least partly genetically compatible with humans. Could it be that pigs are a closer relative to us than we could have ever believed ?

"It might seem unlikely that a pig and a chimpanzee would choose to mate, but their behaviour patterns and reproductive anatomy does, in fact, make them compatible," said Dr. McCarthy. "It is, of course, a well-established fact that animals sometimes attempt to mate with individuals that are unlike themselves, even in a natural setting, and that many of these crosses successfully produce hybrid offspring."

Source: Times of India

Tags: Evolution, Pig, Chimpanzee