# Human chimp hybrid,remotely possible? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 11, 2003, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-chimp-hybrid-remotely-possible/187681 "2003-07-11T11:00:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![effac3d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@effac3d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/effac3d)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-chimp-hybrid-remotely-possible/187681/1 "2003-07-11T11:00:20Z")
Here is a link of dubious veracity: [http://www.rotten.com/library/cryptozoology/Humanzee/](http://www.rotten.com/library/cryptozoology/Humanzee/) But i have heard a lot of similar stories over the years,plus the close genetic relationship between chimps and humans. So is there any remote chance of a “humanzee” being possible? ---
**Author:** ![Tarantula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e274bd/32.png) [@Tarantula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarantula)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-chimp-hybrid-remotely-possible/187681/2 "2003-07-11T11:04:16Z")
[rotten.com](http://rotten.com) is not the bastion of scientific veracity that you would expect… I’d say a resounding “No” should answer this and any futher elaborations on this theme. Hope this helps. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-chimp-hybrid-remotely-possible/187681/3 "2003-07-11T11:26:10Z")
[Maybe.](http://www.bushorchimp.com/) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-chimp-hybrid-remotely-possible/187681/4 "2003-07-11T11:34:34Z")
Yes, of course there’s a remote chance of a chimp-human hybrid being possible, I once read a scientific study that found that ape sperm could penetrate the human egg, unlike other primate sperm. You can’t completely rule out the possibilty. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-chimp-hybrid-remotely-possible/187681/5 "2003-07-11T11:52:10Z")
No compelling reason why it isn’t possible. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-chimp-hybrid-remotely-possible/187681/6 "2003-07-11T12:40:36Z")
Of course it most likely won’t happen “naturally” but with the enormous strides being made in genetic engineering, if it hasn’t yet been done in the lab, I’m sure it will be. Oddly enough, I can’t remember where I read/heard this…I think Discovery Channel, someone help me here. Anyway, the genetic similarities between male and female humans are as close as a female human is to a female chimpanzee and likewise with the males. Not being any sort of geneticist, I would think that cross-species pro-creation just might be possible. But whoa! I’ve read too many science fiction novels to think that could be any kind of good at all. ---
**Author:** ![refusal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@refusal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/refusal)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-chimp-hybrid-remotely-possible/187681/7 "2003-07-11T15:04:21Z")
So how does the human-chimp difference compare to the horse-donkey difference, or the lion-tiger difference, both of which cross-breedings are possible? ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-chimp-hybrid-remotely-possible/187681/8 "2003-07-11T15:36:32Z")
The main reason this hybrid will not happen in nature is behavioural; humans will not attempt crossbreeding with chimps; an adult chimp is much stronger than a human, and you will have your arm (or worse) ripped off. [It may happen in the not too distant future in vitro, however…](http://www.orionsarm.com/clades/NeoChimps.html) * * * SF worldbuilding at [http://www.orionsarm.com/main.html](http://www.orionsarm.com/main.html) ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-chimp-hybrid-remotely-possible/187681/9 "2003-07-11T16:16:31Z")
Well, there is the strange case of Oliver. [http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/metropolitan/97/01/12/oliver.2-0.html](http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/metropolitan/97/01/12/oliver.2-0.html) [http://www.n2.net/prey/bigfoot/creatures/oliverabilene.htm](http://www.n2.net/prey/bigfoot/creatures/oliverabilene.htm) which… is mostly over now. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-chimp-hybrid-remotely-possible/187681/10 "2003-07-11T16:20:31Z")
So, is there any reason we can’t do it in vitro now? We have the technology to fertilize and implant an egg…what’s stopping us from implanting a human egg with chimp sperm and seeing what happens? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-chimp-hybrid-remotely-possible/187681/11 "2003-07-11T16:31:38Z")
> [@](#): > > So how does the human-chimp difference compare to the horse-donkey difference, or the lion-tiger difference, both of which cross-breedings are possible? Aren’t horses and donkeys the same genus or whatnot but just different “races”, if you will? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-chimp-hybrid-remotely-possible/187681/12 "2003-07-11T16:58:28Z")
Horses and donkeys are the same genus, but different species. Like chimps and humans, they also have a different number of chromosomes. I think that only ethics are preventing the experiment from being done. But that probably won’t keep it from being tried sometime soon. I’d franky be surprised if an cross species fertilization couldn’t be accomplished in the lab. Whether the organism would mature or not might be a different question. Camels and Alpacas have been cross-bred successfully and they are evolutionarily much more distant than humans and chimps are. BTW, this subject has been explored many, many times on this board, both in GQ and GD. Do a little searching and you’ll find a number of threads. I’m not up for rehashing all the discusion here. ---
**Author:** ![finette6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@finette6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/finette6)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-chimp-hybrid-remotely-possible/187681/13 "2003-07-11T18:15:36Z")
God, Schmod! I want my Monkeyman! ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-chimp-hybrid-remotely-possible/187681/14 "2003-07-11T21:04:48Z")
I recall that Michael Jackson had a chimp named Bubbles running around Neverland, and I’ll bet that…naw. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-chimp-hybrid-remotely-possible/187681/15 "2003-07-11T21:32:35Z")
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