They're pink under all that hair! : Pharyngula

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« No shout out for Jes at that speech | Main | Friday Cephalopod: Nothing vulgar about him »

They're pink under all that hair!

Category: Organisms
Posted on: April 17, 2009 12:11 AM, by PZ Myers

This sad chimpanzee at the Mysore Zoo has lost all of his hair. He looks rather Caucasian, I think…

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Comments

Posted by: Cyberguy | April 17, 2009 12:21 AM

Sad. Someone should give the poor old guy a blanket.

Posted by: hje | April 17, 2009 12:21 AM

Sad yes, but he has more dignity than Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck.

Posted by: Janine, She Wolf Of Pharyngula, OM | April 17, 2009 12:30 AM

He was naked under his fur.

Posted by: mythusmage | April 17, 2009 12:31 AM

Great muscle definition.

Posted by: DaveX | April 17, 2009 12:34 AM

I saw this at BoingBoing-- I was surprised at how many people were disgusted, freaked out, etc...

Posted by: Kel, OM | April 17, 2009 12:34 AM

Could all the troll mythology have stemmed from naked chimpanzees that liked to loiter under bridges? You know, because chimpanzees have fur in the same way that muslim women wear burkas...

Posted by: Archaneus | April 17, 2009 12:37 AM

Seeing him furless like that makes it very clear how related we are to these guys.

Posted by: Ichthyic | April 17, 2009 12:38 AM

The emperor's new clothes?

Posted by: SaintPaddy | April 17, 2009 12:42 AM

Calm down... It's just Karl Pilkington.

#10

Posted by: Larry | April 17, 2009 12:50 AM

Trying to remember who that was that wrote "The Naked Ape".
Was it Desmond Morris?? Just guessing.

#11

Posted by: Murray | April 17, 2009 12:50 AM

He looks more purple than pink on my screen. Is this some kind of chimpanzee alopecia?

Poor guy looks almost bashful.

#12

Posted by: TuxedoCartman | April 17, 2009 12:51 AM

Introducing Rogaine For Chimps!

#13

Posted by: mxh | April 17, 2009 12:59 AM

Seeing him furless like that makes it very clear how related we are to these guys.

Yep.

#14

Posted by: Atheist Chaplain | April 17, 2009 1:06 AM

I feel like he looks some days, maybe we could get an Atheist knitting bee organised and nit that poor guy some jumpers :-)

#15

Posted by: Naked Bunny with a Whip | April 17, 2009 1:13 AM

Maybe he's just wearing a skinsuit to the local HumanCon.

#16

Posted by: pcarini | April 17, 2009 1:19 AM

Poor guy looks almost bashful.

I heard about a similar case some time back and, iirc, it mentioned that the lack of fur also affected the poor chimp's status. I'm not having any luck digging the source up at the moment though ;(

#17

Posted by: RossM | April 17, 2009 1:23 AM

He looks like he's lost his Precious.

#18

Posted by: Aaron | April 17, 2009 1:33 AM

That's such a great photo. I love the original commentary by the guest blogger on BB: "Hobbies include eating fruit and making humans feel deeply uncomfortable".

I swear whenever I look at it out of the corner of my eye, I think it's an old man.

#19

Posted by: Goldenmane | April 17, 2009 1:37 AM

Here's a question: do chimps tan?

#20

Posted by: Meng Bomin | April 17, 2009 1:41 AM

He looks rather Caucasian, I think…

I think that the Azeris, Armenians, Georgians, Ossetes, Abkhazians, and Chechens among others may object to this statement.

#21

Posted by: Jim Bob Cooter | April 17, 2009 1:43 AM

He look so sad, I want to give him a hug. After which he would tear my arms out of their sockets.

#22

Posted by: Bride of Shrek OM | April 17, 2009 1:45 AM

With those thighs I imagine he'd be a shoe-in for the hill sections of the Tour De France. I think he's just gorgeous but I hope whatever is making him lose his hair isn't nasty for the poor fellow.

#23

Posted by: Paper Hand | April 17, 2009 1:55 AM

Poor guy. :-( What happened to him?

#24

Posted by: Blue-eyed Videot | April 17, 2009 1:55 AM

I squint my eyes a wee bit and he bears an uncanny resemblance to Rodin's The Thinker.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Thinker_close.jpg

#25

Posted by: Bill from Dover | April 17, 2009 2:14 AM

Gribbit?

#26

Posted by: medinari | April 17, 2009 2:17 AM

I really want to know how he lost all of his hair, I'm not sure what could do that.
As for the pinkish skin, chimpanzees get darker skin as they get older, so this could just be a teenager whose reached adult size, but not all of the other characteristics. Also, some of the subspecies are considered to have darker skin/hair then others, as well as longer hair, etc.

#27

Posted by: pradeep | April 17, 2009 2:23 AM

I was born in Mysore, India and my wife lived only about a mile from this zoo. I wonder what caused this chimp to loose all of his hair, as this zoo is an excellent zoo in India. I wonder if some type of tropical mange caused all of the hair loss. But aside from that, the homologous morphology between this "naked" chimp and us startling once the hair is removed.

#28

Posted by: stewall | April 17, 2009 2:41 AM

OK; who's been spying through my bathroom window while I was taking a ****

#29

Posted by: BlueIndependent | April 17, 2009 2:43 AM

I must say, without the hair he looks damn near human.

#30

Posted by: pcarini | April 17, 2009 2:52 AM

Or we look damn near like hairless chimps.

#31

Posted by: Noadi | April 17, 2009 3:13 AM

Without hair this chimp really drives home why we share 98% of our DNA.

Living in India he's probably not too cold but I expect he'd be prone to sunburn and skin cancer. Wonder what caused the hairloss?

#32

Posted by: Menyambal | April 17, 2009 3:24 AM

I'm re-reading Dawkins's The Ancestor's Tale, and just passed the part where he discusses sexual selection as a factor in the development of hairlessness in humans. I really thought he had a good point.

Now, I'm not so sure.

#33

Posted by: Helioprogenus | April 17, 2009 3:26 AM

@#20, Meng Bonim,

As an Armenian, it's getting tiring having to explain that being Caucasian has nothing to do with race, but everything to do with geography. So I appreciate your comments enlightening people on this situation.

Also, as a not-so-hairless Armenian, I must say that if I lost all my body hair like this poor Chimp, you would see the same sullen expression on my person. There are two different types of naked, and losing your body hair relegates you to the complete nakedness that I cannot fathom. It's like shaving your fluffy dog and realizing how different he looks.

#34

Posted by: DrClown | April 17, 2009 3:45 AM

Mysore? Moar leik Eyesore.

#35

Posted by: SAWells | April 17, 2009 3:49 AM

I know that's a distant cousin of ours, but without the fur he looks awfully like an ancestor. Strangely moving.

#36

Posted by: Richard Harris | April 17, 2009 3:49 AM

Bride of Shrek @ #22, With those thighs I imagine he'd be a shoe-in for the hill sections of the Tour De France.

No. He'd be better suited to a flat stage with a sprint finish, or, alternatively, track sprinting.

The mountain specialists have a wiry build. The well-muscled sprint specialists have a hard time getting over the mountains & finishing within the time limit for the stage.

#37

Posted by: Bone Oboe | April 17, 2009 3:53 AM

I'd run across this:http://www.blameitonthevoices.com/2008/02/bald-chimpanzee.html
a while ago, to be a different chimp.
http://www.belgraviacentre.com/blog/mysterious-death-of-bald-missouri-chimp-073/

#38

Posted by: Jeanette | April 17, 2009 3:56 AM

I've had dates with less goin' for 'em.

#39

Posted by: Prof. Henry Armitage | April 17, 2009 4:35 AM

Are we sure he didn't shave himself? If I had muscles like that, I'd want to show them off.

#40

Posted by: SEF | April 17, 2009 4:43 AM

He looks rather Caucasian, I think

I'd say he was nowhere near pale enough (though obviously not dark enough for the darkest of equatorial people). I'm not sure I've seen a human anywhere with quite that shade of skin. There's usually a bit more yellow (fat?!) in human skin tones.

#41

Posted by: toomanytribbles | April 17, 2009 5:00 AM

i went to the zoo yesterday and posted a picture. primates don't have to be hairless to see the intense resemblance. just look into their eyes, or, if you can, interact with them.

#42

Posted by: Rorschach | April 17, 2009 5:35 AM

Alopecia universalis in a chimpanzee.Looks.....different.Almost ...human.

#43

Posted by: Didac Lopez-Martinez | April 17, 2009 5:41 AM

I have alway thought that more important than "bipedestation" and "encephalization" naked skin truly characterize humans. It's a pity that the fossil record does not give us much information about the process of body hair loss. However, as a Mediterranean male I have not completed yet this evolutionary process.

#44

Posted by: Tony Sidaway | April 17, 2009 5:44 AM

A naked ape!

The resemblance to his first cousin, homo sapiens, is even more striking.

#45

Posted by: recovering catholic | April 17, 2009 5:56 AM

A built in butt cushion like he has would be really nice to have...

#46

Posted by: Peter B. | April 17, 2009 5:56 AM

Before I read the caption I was dumbfounded:
"How did my Dad manage to get his picture on Pharyngula???".

#47

Posted by: John Morales | April 17, 2009 6:02 AM

Looks more mauve than pink to me; looks ready for Uplift, too... or would that be immoral?

#48

Posted by: James F | April 17, 2009 6:04 AM

One of us might lose his hair
But you're reminded that it once was there
From the embryonic whale
To the monkey with no tail

So the warm blood flows
With the red blood cells
Lacking nuclei
Through the large four-chambered heart
Maintaining the very high metabolism rate they have

Mammal, mammal
Their names are called
They raise a paw
The bat, the cat
Dolphin and dog
Koala bear and hog

#49

Posted by: Happy Tentacles | April 17, 2009 6:14 AM

Bet he regrets volunteering to take part in 'How to Look Good Naked'.

#50

Posted by: vitriolage | April 17, 2009 6:26 AM

I don't really understand why would this make anyone uncomfortable, unless they're a fundie or something.

#51

Posted by: Lilly de Lure | April 17, 2009 6:29 AM

Poor guy looks almost bashful.

So would you if you woke up one morning looking that much like Duane T Gish!

Poor guy indeed - is this some sort of stress response and does anyone know if it's curable?

#52

Posted by: Holbach | April 17, 2009 6:32 AM

Bill Donohue, is that you? "Hey, who you calling names?"

#53

Posted by: Feynmaniac | April 17, 2009 6:44 AM

I remember Dawkins writing that we are are just juvenile apes. We have many characteristics of young apes, such as less body hair and enlarged skulls. The process is called neoteny. If you look at pictures of baby chimpanzees the resemblance is just as obvious as the naked ape and much less creepy.

#54

Posted by: Jason Dick | April 17, 2009 6:57 AM

I don't really understand why would this make anyone uncomfortable, unless they're a fundie or something.

Because he's in a zoo.

#55

Posted by: Strangest brew | April 17, 2009 7:32 AM

Fundyretardo attitude with regards to evolution....is displayed right there...no wonder they get all prudish and offended!

That is why the deluded make such utter fools out of themselves...the similarity is just to much for their sensibilities...they would have to admit that maybe creation as they like to boast is a crock of old codswollop...and if that is accepted then the rest of the literal crap is also fictious poppy cock.

Cos if their prat of a deity made man in said prat's own image then god must look like a monkey...and they would be monkey's following a supernatural monkey...that is just to much for the little dears...

All ID/Creationist mechanisations has that one premise to battle...and they are failing miserably...
All the irreducible complexity all the bogus lying false and misleading whining is all to do with that one fact...

That is the central nexus of their uncomfortable thought...they are just descended from a great grand daddy to the nth of both humans and that fellow with no hair...and what they really shit themselves over is that it really means that god is a figment of a twisted and severely stunted juvenile imagination...oh dear!...how sad!...never mind!

#56

Posted by: IST | April 17, 2009 8:14 AM

Feynmaniac> Gould goes on at length about neotony in Ontogeny and Phylogeny as well. I've not seen Dawkins commentary on it, although I'd like to if you can tell me where to look.

#57

Posted by: blueshifter | April 17, 2009 8:31 AM

another hairless chimp, with more pics:

http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/ashes-the-hairless-monkey.html

#58

Posted by: Jeff S | April 17, 2009 8:35 AM

I wish I could say this was the only chimp with less hair than me.

#59

Posted by: sizzzzlerz | April 17, 2009 8:58 AM

Kind of looks like Gollum of LOTR

#60

Posted by: MosesZD | April 17, 2009 9:06 AM

I find it both remarkable and unsurprising how similar his arms and shoulders are to ours. The chicken-skin at the elbows. The definition around the shoulders and biceps.

#61

Posted by: Joao | April 17, 2009 9:39 AM

I wouldn't trust the the apparent color of the chimpanzee. The entire color spectrum of picture seems to be shifted towards the pink/purple, as suggested by the purple colors of the exposed concrete in the wall and floor.

#62

Posted by: Psychodigger | April 17, 2009 9:46 AM

I feel very sorry for this poor guy to be in a zoo, especially since it is so incredibly obvious that we and the other apes are so very, very similar. We really are (more or less, judging by the comments above) hairless apes. Fascinating in a very awe inspiring way. I've seen him compared to cyclists above, but as a rugby player, he reminds me a lot of some of the more muscular forwards I have shared scrums with, especially in the leg and buttocks.

#63

Posted by: Carlie | April 17, 2009 9:55 AM

Ooo, I've been dying to use this.

Larry #10 - Let me Google that for you. :)

#64

Posted by: moneduloides | April 17, 2009 9:59 AM

The recently deceased chimp from the St. Louis Zoo had the same skin disease. You might be able to find pictures of her on google images; search for "Cinder".

#65

Posted by: Major Tom | April 17, 2009 10:02 AM

His name must be Jacob:

Alan Bennett (Beyond the Fringe),
"Take a Pew"
quoting the Bible (Gen 27:11):

Jacob answered his mother Rebekah,
"Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, but I am a smooth man."

#66

Posted by: Lilly de Lure | April 17, 2009 10:05 AM

as a rugby player, he reminds me a lot of some of the more muscular forwards I have shared scrums with, especially in the leg and buttocks.

As a rugby fan the same thing did cross my mind. Maybe we should shave Sebastien Chabal and put a photo of him along side for comparison? ;)

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44078000/jpg/_44078163_sebastien_chabal_416.jpg

#67

Posted by: withheld | April 17, 2009 10:24 AM

Dad?

#68

Posted by: catgirl | April 17, 2009 10:30 AM

Does anyone know why he lost all his fur?

#69

Posted by: Michael Fonda | April 17, 2009 10:32 AM

Frankly, he looks like me after I've been drinking.

#70

Posted by: PeterKarim | April 17, 2009 12:14 PM

Another hairless chimp here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bodybuilderchimp.jpg

Bodybuilder ? Hmm sure does not seem need to take injections of testosterone.

#71

Posted by: Feynmaniac | April 17, 2009 12:22 PM

IST

Gould goes on at length about neotony in Ontogeny and Phylogeny as well.

Oooh, gotta check that out.

I've not seen Dawkins commentary on it, although I'd like to if you can tell me where to look.

I don't have the book with me right now, but I'm pretty sure it's discussed in The Ancestor's Tale. A long, but enjoyable book.

#72

Posted by: JJR | April 17, 2009 12:57 PM

Cover up the face with your hand and show it to someone and I wonder if they can even tell it's not a human body....

#73

Posted by: Deiloh | April 17, 2009 1:16 PM

Without the face, really striking. How the heck did the guy go bald?

#74

Posted by: Shelley | April 17, 2009 3:11 PM

As others have mentioned, the chimp probably suffered from alopecia universalis. Our St. Louis zoo just lost our favorite chimp, Cinder, who suffered from the same heriditory disease.

Here's a photo of her:

http://shelleypowers.burningbird.net/reflections/rip-thinker

#75

Posted by: Shelley | April 17, 2009 3:14 PM

Sorry, make that hereditary. Typo.

#76

Posted by: Psychodigger | April 17, 2009 4:12 PM

@#72

That´s exactly what I said to e colleague this afternoon! Apart from the oodles of evidence on evolution and all that, when looking at a photograph like this, who can possiblt say we are not related.

#77

Posted by: «bønez_brigade» | April 17, 2009 4:12 PM

@Joao [#61],
If only if were a sign of convergent evolution with traits of the cuttlefish...

#78

Posted by: Menyambal | April 17, 2009 4:14 PM

He looks unhappy. He needs a hobby. According to the Kellogg cereal guy, monkeys learn to masturbate from "vile men and boys". I don't know the procedure, but if anybody is in the area, you might lend a hand.

#79

Posted by: «bønez_brigade» | April 17, 2009 4:14 PM

[*if* = *it*]

#80

Posted by: SEF | April 17, 2009 4:22 PM

Cover up the face with your hand and show it to someone and I wonder if they can even tell it's not a human body....

The prehensile feet and short legs vs long arms are a bit of a give-away.

#81

Posted by: Psychodigger | April 17, 2009 4:44 PM

@ #66
I am moe than elated to find a fellow rugby enthousiast here. therefore i hope you do not take offence, but as a number 8 Chabal barely qualifies as a forward, although in all fairness, he also played as a lock for France (quand je juge votre nom de plume correctement, vous etes peut-etre Francais ou francophone. Si je suis correcte, j´espere que vous me pardonnez ce affront. Ce n´est pas parce-qu´il est Francais, mais parce-qu´il est un numero 8). whether he qualifies as a forward or not, he´s a bloody good rugby player, that´s for sure.

#82

Posted by: Otto | April 17, 2009 7:03 PM

I think he could have played an orc in the Lord of the Rings.

#83

Posted by: Neil | April 17, 2009 7:35 PM

Carlie #63-that is hilarious, but I had to click the "back" button veryfastaboutadozentimes to get back to pharyngula. My slow computer at work can only take so much clever.

#84

Posted by: Qwerty | April 17, 2009 7:47 PM

He looks a little sad just like I feel when the barber holds up that mirror and I can clearly see my male-pattern baldness.

#85

Posted by: Mary | April 18, 2009 4:30 AM

awwww, he just needs a hug.

#86

Posted by: LRA | April 18, 2009 3:55 PM

Wow. What an incredible pic! Other than the face and the feet, he looks human.

#87

Posted by: Null Hypothesis | April 19, 2009 3:47 PM

The colour doesn't look cooked to me. He looks like my grandad