Dirty Hairy? Maybe a chimp can shoot a gun

[jpak]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43813914/ns/technology_and_science-science/

In a viral ad campaign, producers of the upcoming film "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" have released a series of videos showing weapon-wielding apes. Stylized to look like documentary footage out of Africa, one video features a chimp shooting an AK-47 at a group of off-duty soldiers who had been taunting it. Another clip shows a chimp hacking a carcass to bits with a machete.

The shocking footage is most likely intended to make the premise of the new film (intelligence-enhanced apes rising up and taking control of Earth, enslaving humans in the process) frighteningly plausible. But can chimps really wield weapons?

According to experts: yes. Though the footage in the videos is staged, the chimps involved are merely "actors," and the underlying message — that apes could rebel and use the advanced weapons we've developed against us — is extremely unlikely, chimps are indeed capable of being trained to use a diverse armory of weapons.

But would the apes know what to do with an AK-47, or use one to cause intentional harm? Probably not.

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[ManiacJoe]

1. Was there something in the article you wanted to discuss?

[RSillsbee]

2. Nope

he just googled "Guns" and cut and pasted it. Probably never even read it

[Remmah2]

4. Not all monkeys prefer AK's

Some post all day.

[Kennah]

5. It's true

[guardian]

7. YUP! n/t

[ileus]

3. I wonder if they walk around with their strap-ons poking out?

[Union Scribe]

6. Oh great. How are we going to do background checks on THEM?

[krispos42]

8. I understand that simians have very small genitalia for their size

Obviously they've been grumpy about it for millennia, but now they can do something about it.