MMA fighter offered $500,000 to fight chimpanzee warned injuries could be 'catastrophic'
An MMA fighter has claimed that he has been offered $500,000 (£370,000) to fight a chimpanzee one on one, prompting outcry over the danger he would face and animal cruelty in forcing the chimpanzee to fight for entertainment.
Cole Johnson is an amateur MMA fighter from Minnesota in the US, and said that the 'fight' would be on Friday after boasting online that he could 'beat a chimpanzee in a fight'.
It is not confirmed whether Johnson meant what he said or whether the scenario is some sort of elaborate prank, but experts have warned that such a stunt would be both incredibly dangerous for Johnson and cruel towards the chimpanzee.
A string of primatologists pointed out that chimpanzees are extremely powerful animals, possessing much greater upper body strength than humans and being capable of extreme aggression, as well as highlighting serious ethical concerns.
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Professor Joanna Setchel, a primate expert from Durham University in the UK, told the Daily Mail: "The important question isn’t whether a human could 'beat' a chimpanzee.
"It is why anyone would deliberately place an endangered, highly intelligent and socially complex wild animal in a frightening and potentially injurious situation for entertainment in the first place."
Her objections were echoed by Professor Michael Wilson from the University of Minnesota who warned: "The chimpanzee is unlikely to understand that the fight is a kind of game, rather than a struggle for survival."
In addition to the ethical objections, this would also mean that the chimpanzee would be likely to react to the threat with extreme aggression.
Dr Kimberley Jane Hockings is an Associate Professor in Conservation Science at Exeter University, and said: "Chimpanzees are wild animals with sophisticated social and behavioural responses, and when they perceive a threat to themselves or other members of their community, they can respond with extraordinary aggression."
Dr Hockings added: "Chimpanzees are extremely powerful animals, with substantially greater upper–body strength and dynamic muscle performance than humans.
"When chimpanzees do attack, the injuries can be catastrophic."
She went on to warn that a 'simple strength comparison' is not enough to communicate the level of danger, as chimpanzees also powerful jaws and large canine teeth, as well as being very intelligent and possessing 'a very different repertoire of aggressive behaviour' from humans, meaning that they are unpredictable.
Giving an example of this, Prof Wilson said that they have been observed to 'use their hands to twist and tear parts of their opponent's body' as well as causing 'severe bite wounds'.
Johnson took to TikTok where he shared a post claiming he could beat a chimpanzee in a fight, which was viewed 7.8 million times, with Johnson claiming people had started to offer him money to stage the stunt.
In an interview with SantaCruzMedicinals, Johnson said that an initial investor backed out, but he has since found someone else.
He added that the chimpanzee would not be sedated and that it would still have its teeth, but that there would be 'people with tranquillisers' there to stop it from killing him.
A website has now been launched which is advertising the event, which is also pushing a cryptocurrency that has been launched in relation to it.
While capable of extreme violence, chimpanzees are also highly intelligent great apes. They have been observed using tools in the wild, and Some individuals have been taught to recognise hand signals, though it is not clear if they understand the idea of a word representing something like humans do.
Chimpanzees have also been observed developing strong emotional bonds and pass knowledge down from generation to generation.
Topics: World News, Animals
Kit Roberts