domesticating chimps. why not
 

I was watching animal planet yesterday and there was a piece on chimps being endangered and going extinct. I got to thinking and it seems like chimpanzees would make a great animal to domesticate, perhaps even better than the wolf. They are smart, can be toilet trained and bond with humans. Plus they could be trained to do all sorts of helpful things that dogs can't do while still providing security.

So why haven't humans ever set about domesticating the larger monkies? Putting aside the animal rights concerns doesn't this seem like a worth while endeavor?

Re: domesticating chimps. why not
 

two words:
planet of the apes

Re: domesticating chimps. why not
 

They'll steal your stash and [censored] your woman and laugh about it.

Re: domesticating chimps. why not
 

I think the issue is that chimps are so intelligent and share so much of our DNA that there are ethical questions with treating them like pack animals or dogs. It's pretty amazing the range of personalities and capability to learn these little critters have shown.

Re: domesticating chimps. why not
 

They only work with very young chimps, basically just kids, in movies and t.v.'s because they get very cranky, even vicious, past just a few years of age. Biting stars and scratching them up actually does happen. They are also very strong even at a year or so old, so by the time they get a few years on them, they can basically tear us to pieces if they get the notion. And since their hostility and territoriality rises markedly as they come into sexual maturity and age, the notion they just very well might get. It's not worth the risk.

Re: domesticating chimps. why not
 

[ QUOTE ]
I think the issue is that chimps are so intelligent and share so much of our DNA that there are ethical questions with treating them like pack animals or dogs. It's pretty amazing the range of personalities and capability to learn these little critters have shown.

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Yeah I'm sure this is alot of it. I wonder if facing ever decreasing numbers would change that at all. Is having domesticated aragatangs or chimps better than having non or very few at all?

Re: domesticating chimps. why not
 

Blarg brings up excellent points as well. Think Sigfried and Roy, but with the added ability to use blunt objects as tools...

Edit: Which pretty much gets us to mostsmooths point.

Edit2: Except chimps can probably count to 4... [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

Re: domesticating chimps. why not
 

Sure, chimps are among the smartest of animals, no arguing that. However, intelligence isn't necessarily the end-all quality desired when training and domesticating an animal.

A primate requires a TON of effort since the animal is so intelligent and advanced socially, so I just don't know if the work required would outweigh the benefit for all but the most advanced tasks.

Swede

Re: domesticating chimps. why not
 

[ QUOTE ]
They'll steal your stash and [censored] your woman and laugh about it.

[/ QUOTE ]

The point is, how do you know the [monkey] isn't a crazy glue sniffer? "Building model airplanes" says the little [monkey], but we're not buying it. Next thing you know, there's money missing off the dresser and your daughter's knocked up, I seen it a hundred times.

Re: domesticating chimps. why not
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
They'll steal your stash and [censored] your woman and laugh about it.

[/ QUOTE ]

The point is, how do you know the [monkey] isn't a crazy glue sniffer? "Building model airplanes" says the little [monkey], but we're not buying it. Next thing you know, there's money missing off the dresser and your daughter's knocked up, I seen it a hundred times.

[/ QUOTE ]

Tell ya what, if you want me to domesticate a box and mark it "chimp" I will, I got spare time...