Going Ape

Ape House
12.18.2011
(was 01.09.2011)

Imagine a relative who thinks sex is like a handshake.  Who organizes orgies with the neighbors, doesn't mind if their partner sleeps around and firmly believes females should be in charge of everything.  Actually, those ARE your relatives.  They're bonobo apes and they share almost 99 percent of your DNA. Makes Aunt Mildred seem... almost normal. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, going ape.  Stories about our closest living non-human relatives.

  1. Vanessa Woods on the Bonobo Handshake

    Vanessa Woods went to the Congo because she fell in love with a man. She stayed because she fell in love with bonobo apes.

    4.1
    Average: 4.1 (10 votes)
  2. Jane Goodall on Chimpanzees

    Jane Goodall is the name best known in the world when you talk about chimpanzees.

    4.57143
    Average: 4.6 (7 votes)
  3. Jon Cohen on the "Humanzee" Crossbreed

    Researchers opened the chimpanzee genome in 2005, raising a number of fascinating questions. Chief among them: if we share most of our DNA with chimpanzees, what is it that makes us different?

    4.375
    Average: 4.4 (8 votes)
  4. Laurence Gonzales on "Lucy"

    Laurence Gonzales tells Jim Fleming about "Lucy," in which a mysterious 15 year old girl is discovered in the Congo.

    4.666665
    Average: 4.7 (6 votes)
  5. Sara Gruen on "Ape House"

    In Sara Gruen's new novel "Ape House," a family of bonobo apes are captured to be the main attraction in a reality TV show.

    4.833335
    Average: 4.8 (6 votes)