Primate professors want TV's Pan-kun to start making like an ape man

[Anchorman]

A chimpanzee TV star has got animal experts going bananas as his roaring on-screen success threatens his chances of being able to ape his own kind and live in the wild, according to Josei Seven (5/10-17).

Pan-kun, the 5-year-old chimpanzee co-hosting with comic Ken Shimura on NTV's "Tensai! Shimura Dobutsuen," has become a cult figure amongst Saturday night viewers, thanks to his cute performance on shopping trips with a bulldog and other cuddly antics.

But now monkey experts want Pan-kun removed from the bright lights so he can live in trees and eat bananas like other chimps his age.

"Legally, chimpanzees belong to the same scientific family as humans. They're not pets, and they shouldn't be made to perform on TV shows for entertainment. It's damaging his chances of returning to his natural environment," Prof. Tetsuro Matsuzawa of the Primate Research Institute of Kyoto University tells Josei Seven.

Matsuzawa and the Environment Ministry have already complained to Pan-kun's owners Kadori Dominion about the chimpanzee's treatment. The ministry also issued NTV with a warning when Pan-kun showed up on screen in December last year.

"Chimpanzees aren't like cats or dogs, which have a 9,000-year history of being domesticated by humans. Chimps are wild animals. And they're an endangered species, having lost about 30 percent of their total population over the past 10 years," Matsuzawa tells the women's weekly. "Chimpanzees sleep 12 hours a day and spend three-quarters of the day in trees. They need seven meals daily. Making them walk around like humans all the time is too much."

Chimpanzees have a lifespan of about 50 years. They give birth from around 12 or 13, and breastfeed until the baby is about 5 or so. They become independent at around age 10. Primate expert Matsuzawa says making chimps into TV stars endangers their chances of ever returning to the wild.

"Chimps have an incredible growth spurt around age 6. They can grow to weigh around 60 kilograms and have too much power for an adult human to control them. By that time, they can't be sent back into the jungle," he says. "If they can't continue to be looked after, often they end up shut away in little cages. Making chimps into TV stars is robbing them of their right to live."

Teruyuki Komiya, head zookeeper at Ueno Zoo and chairman of the Japan Zoos and Aquariums Association, is also worried about the celebrity chimp.

"Pan-kun turns 6 this year," Komiya tells Josei Seven. "I'm worried about what sort of life he'll be able to lead from here."

NTV insists that it's not monkeying around when it comes to looking after Pan-kun's welfare.

"We're going to keep in close contact with the experts and those involved in the chimpanzee's care to make sure Pan-kun grows up properly," a spokesman for the network says.

Environment Ministry pen pushers say their hands are tied and they're doing all they can.

"We've repeatedly told the network and the park where the breeding took place," a ministry spokesman tells Josei Seven, "that we want it raised as a chimpanzee and not as a human." (By Ryann Connell)