The so-called “humanzee” (sometimes also called a “chuman”) refers to the hypothetical offspring between a human and a chimpanzee. Though our two species are similar enough, in theory, to result in successful hybridization, such an experiment has never actually taken place, primarily for ethical reasons. After all, if a being is created that further adds to the blurring between the proverbial lines of human and animal, how should that creature be treated? What if an accident were to occur as a result of mishandling, or if the “manimal” were to behave in wild and erratic ways that could be dangerous to others? Conversely, what if the individual were intelligent enough to exist within society; having only one human “parent”, what rights and laws would be applicable to this individual?
Indeed, there are a number of questions… and those are only a few pertaining to hybridization between humans and our closest living relatives in the animal kingdom. However, there are many other possibilities considering the vast array of fauna available on Earth, and previous tests in China and elsewhere involving combining of human stem cells with those of goats, as well as recent propositions that might allow integration of human brain cells into mice, are again raising the red flags of ethical outcry.
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