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Bili ApeThe so-called Bili Ape or Bondo Mystery Ape is a primate native to the Bili Forest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. National Geographic reports that "The apes nest on the ground like gorillas but have a diet and features characteristic of chimpanzees." The apes resemble chimpanzees, though they have some gorilla-like features and behavioral traits, leading to questions of taxonomic classification. Initial results from mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis indicate the 'mystery ape' is a chimpanzee (subspecies pan troglodytes schweinfurthii). Scientists believe they are dealing with a very inbred and marginal population, in which even a large number of animals could share identical or near identical haplotypes. The mysterious Bili Ape has been reported to walk upright, bipedally, and looks like a giant chimpanzee, but acts like a gorilla. One skull has been recovered that has the prominent brow ridge and sagittal crest of a robust great ape, or gorilla, but other morphological measurements bolster the speculation it is a chimpanzee. The apes eat mainly fruit, and fruiting trees (such as strangler figs) are visited often by the apes. These apes build ground nests with relatively elaborate construction, using interwoven branches and/or saplings, bent down into a central bowl, in addition to the tree nests favored by other chimpanzees. The apes seldom bother to climb trees, do not succumb to the poison arrows shot by native hunters, and hoot at the rising moon - unafraid of predators like their gracile relatives. The indiginous people of the region call them "lion killers". Esteban Sarmiento and George Schaller have investigated the Bili Ape reports. External Links
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