In all likelihood, I’m pretty sure you’ve probably seen the video of the chimpanzee riding the Segway. That chimp’s name is Pan-kun. Anyway, he and his trainer (I guess?) seem to make frequent appearances on the Japanese variety show Tensai! Shimura Dōbutsuen (can be translated as Genius! Shimura Zoo). He’s usually shown doing “human” things to the amusement of the celeb panelists. In this video, he’s shown paying attention to some magic tricks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM-KQxgtOao
I’m really torn on how to react to this video and all other Pan-kun videos that I’ve seen. On a base level, gosh, the young chimp is just so cute. I mean, imposing some anthropomorphic qualities on the animal is just kind of fun to watch. You can tell there’s some genuine surprise with the magic tricks. It’s really cute to watch him go running to hug his friend when he’s scared, too. Despite all of this, in the back of my mind I can’t ignore the fact that this chimp is a wild animal. Consider that trick at the end of the clip. What if Pan-kun thought his friend was really in danger? Maybe he’s go nuts and start mauling the magician. Who knows? Pan-kun looks gentle now, but later on I can imagine that he’d become more prone to unexpected mood swings and all, know what I mean?
What immediately comes to mind is the recent chimp attack that happened in the States. In this case, the chimp didn’t have any indication that he’d snap. This chimp seemed well-trained and even appeared in a few commercials. In the linked article an officer associated with the case seemed to indicate that the chimp was used to doing a lot of anthropomorphic stuff. Then…bam. According to this follow up article, the victim “lost her hands, nose, lips and eyelids in the attack, which may have left her blind and brain damaged.” Jesus. Here’s another article: Worst Chimpanzee Attack Story Ever – Moe the Chimp Owner Attacked – Esquire. There are four pages to this one: take a look at the progression from page 1 to page 3. Those are some strong images.
Anyway, main point is: as cute as Pan-kun is, he’s still got wild instincts.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to watch a video of Pan-kun learning to dip strawberries in a chocolate fountain.
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