Bili ape

Common card · No. 286085

The Bili apes, or Bondo mystery apes, were names given to great apes said to inhabit the Bili Forest around the village of Bili in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Some of the reports and early investigations were criticized as sensationalistic and unscientific, making controversial claims such as the Bili apes being extremely large, walking upright for extended periods, killing lions, or being chimpanzee-gorilla hybrids. However, scientists determined the creatures in question were common chimpanzees, and part of a larger contiguous population stretching throughout that part of northern Congo. Genetic testing with non-nuclear DNA determined the Bili Forest chimpanzees were part of the eastern chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii), a subspecies of the common chimpanzee. Some of their behavior was atypical, with a 2003 National Geographic article stating: "The apes nest on the ground like gorillas, but they have a diet and features characteristic of chimpanzees".

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