I actually stumbled upon Oliver on a totally unrelated leisure surf around the net, but while researching more about this humanzee I found out that....

…Caesar from RPA is actually based on him!!

How cool is that?! :O Andy Serkis (the actor for Caesar) stated it apparently!

…

Okayokayokay, let me explain.

Oliver, is a humanzee; i.e. he is a “hypothetical chimpanzee/human hybrid”.

You heard that right!

He was caught in Congo in the late 1950s and raised by trainers in 1960; received much international attention but now is retired.

In any case, Oliver is probably the closest to a real-life Caesar that you can find.

(Oliver in his younger days)

Oliver has a smaller head, flatter face, peculiar eye-colouring and voice, and higher-set ears than actual chimpanzees. He walked on two legs, preferred human companionship and also could do chores (refilling the coffee pot, working wheelbarrows, mixing dog food). He also displayed emotions (crying at temporary separations), something normally not associated with chimpanzees.

!!!

Can you believe it?

Chimpanzees (together with the bonobo) are actually the closest relatives to Homo-sapiens, so Oliver had been dubbed the “missing link” on many occasions.

One rumour was that he has 47 chromosomes in his DNA – one more than a human, one less than a chimp. Although tests conducted later on confirmed that Oliver has 48 chromosomes (hence fully chimp), recent studies on his genetic makeup’s show that his DNA sequence is different from an actual chimpanzee’s. Meaning, Oliver could very much be a mutant chimp!

There’s actually a documentary about Oliver on youtube (spread over 6 parts in a playlist). Although it’s not directly related to the movie per se, it’s still pretty interesting don’t you think? And it sure is intriguing, hinting of a possible Caesar :D

Watch the video below!