Chimpanzee

Chimpanzees are one of two species in the genus Pan of the family Hominidae (Great Apes), a family which includes gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, and humanoids. The common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and the bonobo (Pan paniscus) are the two species of chimpanzee native to Earth. Sentient, highly-intelligent chimpanzees exist on at least one alternate Earth and the planet Hephaestus.

The genetic similarity between Earth chimpanzees and Humans was 98.5 percent. (VOY - Spirit Walk novel: Enemy of My Enemy)

History[edit | edit source]

In the 20th century, humans on Earth learned how to communicate with gorillas and chimpanzees, but were unable to establish a true connection with dolphins or whales. Some chimpanzees were taught a form of sign language, one which was similar to that used by the Isitri. (TOS novels: A Flag Full of Stars, The Prometheus Design, Troublesome Minds)

In May 1974, experimental animals, including chimpanzees, were kept in locked cages at Dr. Sarina Kaur's Chrysalis Project base in India. Gary Seven smelt an odor while locked in one of the cages that he considered distinct to chimps. (ST - The Eugenics Wars novel: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 1)

In September 1995, Chen Tiejun spotted Augment Arcturus locked in a cage separate from others containing chimpanzees and rats at Muroroa Atoll in the South Pacific. (ST - The Eugenics Wars novel: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 2)

In 2052, Earth chimpanzee Harry was the first primate to be beamed, using an experimental transporter built by Colin Blakeney. (TNG comic: "Forgiveness")

In the mid 21st century, Earth chimpanzee Rosy flew aboard WD-1, a prototype warp drive spacecraft. (TOS reference: Spaceflight Chronology)

In the 2260s, an epidemic on Earth was fatal to chimpanzees and several other animal species. In 2267, the USS Enterprise retrieved some chimpanzees from other planets in order to repopulate them on Earth. During the trip back, one of them got out of his pen and had to be enticed with a banana. (TOS comic: "A Book to Color, third story")

In 2270, on an alternate Earth, Captain James T. Kirk met intelligent chimpanzees Cornelius and Zira. On that world, Commander Kor conspired to make the local government receptive to a Klingon alliance. (TOS comic: "The Primate Directive")

In 2274, Kirk and Spock met the simian Hephaestans. Kirk described them in his log as "a friendly and intelligent, but naive, people." They were not natively intelligent, however. A closely-guarded secret was that an unidentified alien race had visited Hephaestus ages earlier and provided them with subcutaneous symbionts which augmented their intelligence. They were taught how to manufacture the chips and surgically implant them over the base of the skull, done in a ritual shortly after birth. Klingon Captain Kagg of the IKS Kluggoth had discovered this, and plotted to destroy the Hephaestans' manufacturing center and remove their chips, thus creating a planet with non-intelligent inhabitants which could be conquered without interference from the Organians. (TOS comic: "All the Infinite Ways")