Iowa State chimp researcher reviews "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"

09-07-11

Iowa State chimp researcher reviews "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" from Iowa State University News on Vimeo and YouTube.

Contacts:

Jill Pruetz, Anthropology, 515-294-5150, pruetz@iastate.edu

Mike Ferlazzo, News Service, 515-294-8986, 515-450-2908 (c), ferlazzo@iastate.edu

Iowa State chimp researcher reviews "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"

AMES, Iowa -- The new motion picture "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" has been a box office blockbuster since it opened last month. One moviegoer who may have a more keen interest than most in the way chimpanzee intelligence was portrayed by Hollywood is Jill Pruetz, an Iowa State University professor of anthropology and world renowned chimpanzee researcher.

Pruetz earned worldwide acclaim for her studies on the behavior of savanna chimpanzees at the Fongoli research site in Senegal -- particularly the chimps' use of spear-shaped tools in hunting, and their reaction to wildfires.

She enjoyed "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," which builds the plot around the near human actions of one chimpanzee, Caesar. Pruetz now provides her review of the movie, as well as insight on what is fact and fiction about the chimps' portrayal and behavior.

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