Hicks, a researcher at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), describes the plight of the apes and other forest creatures in a new e-book to be released this week. Two of my favorite issues are chimpanzees threatened in labs and mountain gorillas threatened in the Congo. Let's combine the two and look at chimpanzees threatened in the Congo. Because they are in serious trouble there too. Warning: Heartbreaking pictures in this link.) MORE

Another way you can help right now (if you are American) is by writing your congressman in support of the Great Ape Protection Act, which not only will save chimpanzees from life in laboratories, but will also save millions of tax payer dollars! MORE

Today's nonhuman apes don't represent earlier stages in human development. Our common-ape like ancestor lived about 15 million years ago. Citing abilities such as nonhuman great apes' ability to learn human languages suggest that animal rights advocates seek nonhuman participation in human society. I understand the logic of that last one, but I also appreciate the intention of many activists to have great apes be a gateway of sorts. MORE

Their is a proposal to ban testing on apes in the EU. But some animal welfare groups and researchers accused the European Union of masking weak regulation with empty gestures, as no great apes have been used in EU research for six years. Tags: europe apes Is this a solution to a problem that doesn't exist? MORE

Hare suspects that the evolutionary pressures that turned suspicious wolves into outgoing dogs were similar to the ones that turned combative apes into cooperative humans. That’s a skill that seems to be limited to great apes and humans. Our ape cousins are simply too distracted by their aggression and competitiveness to fathom gestures easily. The Secrets Inside Your Dog’s Mind. By Carl Zimmer { source }. MORE

Then Dr. Kellogg would offer a banana, which the ape munched with evident enjoyment. For an explanation of this feature, click on “Moral Vegetarianism” at the bottom of this post. ARGUMENTS FOR MORAL VEGETARIANISM A variety of arguments have been given for vegetarianism. Sometimes they take such a sketchy form that it is not completely clear they are moral arguments. MORE

To the Editor: Re “An Ape Types in Iowa” (column, Aug. 9): Gail Collins writes: “Human-ape conversation was a very hot topic back in the late 1960s, when researchers first taught a chimpanzee named Washoe to use sign language. It lost steam once it became clear that while the apes could put together simple statements and requests, they were not prepared to have discussions about their deepest feelings, hopes and dreams. MORE

Bushmeat is horrific, especially the trade in apes. To me, eating apes of any kind is akin to human cannibalism. The Last Great Ape Organization in Cameroon is only one of them, but it's the only law enforcement nongovernmental organization in Africa. At least there are activists in African countries themselves that are working to stop this practice. MORE

Elephants, great apes, orcas, dogs, cats, and many other animals can experience depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and compulsive disorders. "There is no longer dispute among serious scientists that humans aren’t the only animals who have the capacity to suffer physically and mentally. MORE

I do not claim to have the answer, but I think it is certainly worthwhile to raise the question: Why, exactly, all over the civilized world, in virtually every major city, are apes in prison? I particularly question the use of chimpanzees in medical research. From what I recall, chimpanzees share at least 95 percent of human DNA, although the number that floats around the most is 98.6 percent. The following is from The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan. MORE

Deng Deng National Park extends 580 square kilometres (224 square miles), an area about the size of Chicago, and will help conserve some 600 western lowland gorillas, one of four sub- species of the great ape, said the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society, which helped in the park’s creation. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it provides effective protection. MORE

Many believe they are just as smart as dolphins and apes. Many people don’t realize just how amazingly smart crows are. This infographic from Capital Garden Services looks at just how smart and it makes for a really interesting read. wildlife MORE

There are only an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 orangutans left in the wild, 90 percent of them in Indonesia, said Serge Wich, a scientist at the Great Ape Trust of Iowa. The demand for palm oil in the US and Europe, is threatening to wipe out orangutans in Indonesia. The demand for palm oil is rising in the U.S. and Europe because it is touted as a "clean" alternative to fuel. Indonesia is the world's top producer of palm oil, and prices have jumped by almost 70 percent in the last year. MORE

Researchers tickled babies and six different kinds of apes, quantified their giggles, and found that the patterns fit a classic evolutionary tree. Those patterns hint at the ancient origins of human hilarity and suggest that other social species - including apes, dogs and rats - really, truly laugh as well. There are researchers out there who say that they do. I certainly think they can laugh and have fun. I've seen it. MORE

The bizarre incident in April 2001 began when the trio of apes broke out of Mike and Connie Casey's compound, the Missouri Primate Foundation. There has been so much said about Travis the chimp this week. It's 1) a gory story with 2) the bizarre tie-in to the New York Post's inexplicable use of Travis' image in a cartoon about the stimulus package. What were they thinking?) That image was wrong on so many levels. But let's stick to the animal rights issue. MORE

I believe that great apes do have that capacity. A couple of studies imply that chimpanzees may mourn their dead. I believe they do. I've read of the mountain gorillas in Virunga grieving over the loss of a silverback. Heck, even my cats visibly missed old Charlotte who died last August. If you jump to the comments at the bottom, people took issue with the implication at the end of the article that Jane Goodall would somehow question this grieving behavior. MORE

The way I see it, there are three camps on this one: People who think that dolphins or Great Apes or chimps could function as a gateway to other animals getting rights. My life-as-a-tweeter is less and less significant these days. It's just not all that interesting to me. Something about jockeying for position in 140 characters or less, rather than interacting and sharing, I guess. MORE

Europe banned the use of great apes in animal testing Wednesday as part of drastically tightened rules to scale back the number of animals used in scientific research. Under the new legislations, experiments on great apes such as chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans are to be banned and "strict" restrictions set on the use of primates in general. Tags: chimpanzees europe animal research apes primates Some may disagree, but I think this is a huge victory. MORE

Current trends indicate that African ape populations will decline by an additional 80% in the next 30 to 40 years. This week we will be sharing fun facts and other fun things to help get you excited to see the new Disneynature movie, Chimpanzee! You can help save real chimpanzees by seeing Chimpanzee during its opening weekend starting this Friday, April 20 (EARTH DAY!). Will you pledge to see the movie during opening weekend? Let us know in the comments! MORE

Here are the results of the EU flirtation with restricting research on primates. It's from a Reuters article from last May.I will try not to smash my computer screen in frustration. Researchers can continue most experiments on mankind's closest relatives -- chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans -- after European Union lawmakers watered down proposals to restrict testing. MORE

Also at Parade , which reader morganna alerted me to, is " Should Apes Be Allowed as Pets? So many things to say today. First, check out " The Vegan Solution: An Ideal Whose Time Has Come " over at Care2. And what do you think about the word "ideal"? But more important, commenter Daniel Manahan could use some gentle education. MORE

Nonhuman animals (even apes) are in category 3. All so-called duties to oneself, in so far as they deserve the name of duties, are indirect, and as such presuppose duties to other persons. With this finding we are safeguarded against the error of fallaciously extending the scope of our duties. But an opposite error is possible, that of fallaciously restricting the scope of our duties. MORE

She's the new Director of Public Affairs and she's already started lobbying for the Great Ape Protection Act, which would phase out invasive medical research on chimpanzees. Tags: chimpanzees activism apes medical research us For you international readers, she's Dennis Kucinich's wife. He's a US Congressman who has run for President twice.). MORE

We are so excited for the new Disney film, “Frankenweenie”! Not only do we enjoy Tim Burton’s movies, but of course, a story about a boy and his dog is sure to be a hit in our household. MORE

The Unalienable Rights of Chimps ,” by Adam Cohen (Editorial Observer, July 14): The Spanish Parliament’s decision to grant rights to apes is indeed groundbreaking, and will foster philosophical discussion about animal protection for some time. A bill now in Congress—the Great Ape Protection Act —provides many of the protections for chimps the Spanish resolution does, but without engaging (or attempting to resolve) the controversial and polarizing issue of granting legal rights to animals. MORE

End the use of chimpanzees in animal experiments. It's unconscionable. MORE

However, further research on animals such as whales and dolphins, although seemingly not in respect to monkeys, apes, chimpanzees, may yet reveal that man is not the only animal capable of being a bearer of rights. As regards animals, the position is clear. MORE

But this means that the apes appeal to animal-rights activists for precisely the wrong reason—namely, that they look like people and behave like people, while making no moral demands. The apes are re-made as versions of ourselves, purged of the guilt that comes from the attempt to lead the life to which we, as moral beings, are condemned: the life of judgment. MORE