blue


Oliver the Chimp

For over two decades, evolutionists speculated that an unusual chimp could possibly be a missing link and proof that man evolved from apes. Over 26 million people paid to view the chimp named "Oliver" during a tour in the 1970s. Oliver appeared to be more intelligent and acted more human than other chimps. Was this chimp living proof of a half-ape and half-man as many believed? Although many people hoped this was a missing link, genetic testing proved otherwise.

"Missing Link Just a Chimp" January 22, 1997 (Associated Press)
Ending decades of speculation that he represents some kind of missing link, genetic testing has shown that Oliver the chimp is just that-a chimp. Oliver, now a resident of the Primarily Primates sanctuary in Boerne, was put on display throughout the world in the 1970s, touted as a mysterious man-ape perhaps the missing link.

But it turns out the freak-show attraction is no freak, at least genetically. "He's not a human-chimp hybrid. His chromosome number is 48, which is a normal chimp karyotype," said Dr. David Ledbetter, a geneticist at the University of Chicago who analyzed Oliver's chromosomes. Human beings have 46 chromosomes. For years, rumor circulated that Oliver had 47 and represented a biological amalgam between man and ape.

Ledbetter re-examined the chromosome studies done two decades ago in Japan. "That data was fairly clear. So the report of 47 chromosomes was either a misinterpretation or a purposeful misrepresentation."


Bible Study

Home