An amateur MMA fighter has shocked the internet by claiming he was paid more than $500,000 (£370,000) to fight a chimpanzee.
In a series of social media posts, Minnesota-born fighter Cole Johnson claimed he has arranged a fight with an adult male chimpanzee next Friday.
However, experts have warned that this supposed match is a disaster waiting to happen.
Although chimpanzees are usually remarkably tolerant of humans, primatologists warn that no amount of fighting skills can save Mr Johnson from ‘catastrophic’ injuries.
Besides the obvious concerns about animal cruelty and conservation, it is staggeringly dangerous for a human to deliberately provoke a chimpanzee into an attack.
Dr. Kimberley Jane Hockings, Associate Professor of Conservation Science at the University of Exeter, told the Daily Mail: ‘Chimpanzees are wild animals with sophisticated social and behavioral responses, and when they perceive a threat to themselves or other members of their community they can respond with extraordinary aggression.
‘Chimpanzees are extremely powerful animals, with significantly greater upper body strength and dynamic muscular performance than humans.
‘When chimpanzees do attack, the injuries can be catastrophic.’
Amateur MMA fighter Cole Johnson has shocked the internet by claiming he was paid more than $500,000 (£370,000) to fight a chimpanzee. But experts say his injuries could be “catastrophic.”
Mr Johnson’s bizarre mission to fight a captive animal began after he boldly claimed in a viral post that he could ‘beat a chimpanzee in a fight’.
The post was viewed more than 7.8 million times on TikTok, and Mr Johnson soon claimed members of the public began offering him money to back up his claims.
In an interview with Brendan Ruh of SantaCruzMedicinals, Mr Johnson claimed he was initially offered $500,000 to fly to an undisclosed country and fight a chimpanzee.
While that original backer eventually backed out of the deal, the fighter claims he has now found a “less sketchy” group willing to pay even more to arrange the fight.
The chimpanzee will likely not be stunned and left with its claws and teeth intact while the fight takes place in a large grass cage.
Mr Johnson also claims there will be ‘people with sedatives’ trying to stop the chimpanzee before it kills it.
While it is impossible to know if these claims are being made seriously, a website has now been launched to advertise the ‘battle’ and market the sale of a related cryptocurrency.
In a later message, Mr Johnson also claimed he was heading to the Democratic Republic of Congo to ‘try to work out a deal’.
While it’s hard to say if these claims are legitimate, a website has been created advertising the countdown to the ‘fight’ (pictured)
But for the sake of Mr Johnson himself, we can only hope that these claims are part of an elaborate hoax.
Dr. Hockings says: ‘The physical risks to the human participant are very real.’
In the wild, chimpanzees will occasionally engage in extreme violence during territorial encounters, especially between males.
These collisions often result in serious injury and even death to one or both animals involved.
Research has shown that chimpanzee muscle strength exceeds the maximum dynamic force and power output of human muscle by approximately 1.35 times.
Another recent study found that chimpanzees have a bite force of between 1,251 and 1,908 Newtons, which is about three times the force of a human bite.
Dr. Hockings adds: ‘It is persistently said that they are three or four times stronger than humans, although the scientific evidence is more nuanced than that.
“The danger cannot really be captured in a simple strength equation: chimpanzees have powerful jaws and large canines, exceptionally strong hands and upper limbs, and a very different repertoire of aggressive behavior.”
An adult male chimpanzee named Travis (pictured) caused devastating injuries when he attacked his owner’s friend, Charla Nash
Similarly, Professor Michael Wilson, a chimpanzee expert from the University of Minnesota, told the Daily Mail: ‘There are SO MANY reasons why it’s a bad idea for a human to try to fight a chimpanzee.
“It is unlikely that the chimpanzee understands that the fight is a kind of game, and not a struggle for survival.”
In addition to their long, sharp canine teeth that can cause “severe bite wounds,” chimpanzees also “use their hands to twist and tear parts of their opponent’s body.”
Professor Wilson added: ‘Chimpanzees appear to be easily provoked to extreme violence. A chimpanzee threatened by a human opponent can escalate into a fierce fight that could leave the human injured or dead.’
In addition to the incredible physical danger Mr. Johnson is willing to put himself in, experts also have serious ethical concerns.
Professor Joanna Setchel, a primate expert from the University of Durham, told the Daily Mail: ‘Chimpanzees are wild animals, not adversaries or entertainers. There is no responsible or ethical way to organize such a ‘fight’.
‘Treating a chimpanzee as an object for human entertainment is completely inconsistent with conservation efforts and modern standards for the welfare and ethical treatment of primates.
‘The important question is not whether a human can ‘beat’ a chimpanzee. It is why someone would deliberately place an endangered, highly intelligent and socially complex wild animal in a frightening and potentially harmful situation for entertainment in the first place.”
Likewise, experts point out that this spectacle threatens to set back years of progress in conservation.
Chimpanzees are generally extremely tolerant of humans and attacks in the wild are rare, but deforestation is making them more likely to come into contact with humans.
A staged fight with a captive animal is likely to portray these normally placid creatures as inherently violent or dangerous, turning people against wild populations.
Dr. Alexander Piel, associate professor of anthropology at University College London, told the Daily Mail: ‘The use of chimpanzees in publicity stunts is both ethically reprehensible and counterproductive to conservation efforts to protect them.
“For those of us who are committed to the conservation of chimpanzees in the wild, this stunt is particularly concerning.
‘Wild chimpanzee populations are already under great pressure from habitat loss, hunting, disease and human encroachment, and protecting them requires huge investments in habitat protection, research, law enforcement and engagement with local communities.’
