can humans and great apes interbreed ?

Answer 1

To begin with. Humans did not evolve from any existing apes.

Humans evolved from hominids, some relative of Homo Erectus, or Homo Erectus itself. Homo Erectus evolved from earlier hominids or even pre-hominids, specifically, something like Australopithecus.

The defining characteristics of the hominids and pre-hominids is biped locomotion. Essentially, walking upright on two legs, with feet adapted for ground travel.

Apes are a separate line of evolution, they are quadruped knuckle walkers, with their back feet still adapted to prehensibility.

If we trace hominid and ape lines back far enough, we can find a theoretical common ancestor for both groups. And indeed, we can find different common ancestors for when particular apes and hominids split off from the line at different times.

Meanwhile, if we trace things further back, we can find a common ancestor from which apes, hominids and monkeys all split off. Further back, a common ancestor whose descendants include apes, hominids, old world monkeys, new world monkeys and madagascar lemurs.

As to whether modern apes and humans can interbreed, despite sharing most of their DNA, they can't. The obstacle is different numbers of pairs of chromosomes. The chromosomes don't link up, no pairing takes place.

Answer 2

The current thinking is that an in vitro fertilisation would probably work between chimps and humans, and if implanted there would be some chance of a live birth. BUT, the child would almost certainly be infertile if male, and I'd expect it to be pretty sickly.

It's been claimed that someone has already done an in vitro fertilisation, and a live infant was born and euthanized in the 1920's at a primate park, but no-one has been able to prove it.

Although the given date for the human /chimp split is 7 million years, it's now believed there was still the odd interbreeding until four million years ago.

Horses and donkeys have a differing number of chromosomes like humans and chimps do, and still interbreed (mules). They even occasionally produce fertile female offspring. It's not a barrier to fertilisation.

http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:7qqk-VJgCkYJ:www.messybeast.com/genetics/hybrid-primates.htm+stalin+chimp+hybrid&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=uk

This link covers just about all the relevant ground. Apparently the 'Stalin experiments' never went beyond intorducing human sperm into three female chimps on one occasion. You'd be unlikely to get a human baby on just three attempts.

Please don't use Icabod's links, as one of them messed my computer up so much with pop-ups I had to turn it off. I'd email him to tell him, but I can't.

Answer 3

No, that's what makes us different species. If we could interbreed, then we would be the same species, by definition. Also, if I remember right, humans have two more chromosomes than our nearest relatives, the chimpanzees...That would make it really impossible for interbreeding to happen, because the offspring would have one more chromosome from the human parent than from the chimp parent, and the chromosomes have to be in matching pairs (one of each chromosome from each parent.)

Answer 4

Humans, and say chimp, have a different number of chromosomes, but so do horses and donkeys, and they can breed to produce a mule, which is supposedly sterile but there have been cases where mules have produced offspring.

To tell you the truth, no one has ever tried to actively produce a "humanzee"

Answer 5

Even though humans share about 97.7% of their DNA with ceratin types of apes they cannot sexually reproduce,due to the number of chromosomes and many other factors.

Answer 6

No, humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes & chimps, the closest living relative, have 24 pairs. Human chromosome #2, however, is nearly identical to 2 Chimp Chromosomes (although fused). Some have speculated that restructuring of the fused chromosome(s) would allow for fertile offspring... but this is highly speculative & other factors would have to be considered too.
While some animals with different #s of chromosomes can produce offspring, humans & chimps are not among them. The Y chromosome of humans has a number of genes (at least 1) that somehow moved from chromosome #1 to the Y chromosome. I've included a link that may explain some of this to you.

Answer 7

No.

While Chimpanzees share 95-99% of the same genes as humans, we split off from each other some 7-8 million years ago.

To quote one source, another problem is: ""post-zygotic reproductive isolating mechanisms," or those factors that would make it impossible for a hybrid animal fetus to grow into a reproductive adult. If a human were indeed inclined and able to impregnate a monkey, post-zygotic mechanisms might result in a miscarriage or sterile offspring. The further apart two animals are in genetic terms, the less likely they are to produce viable offspring. At this point, humans seem to have been separate from other animals for far too long to interbreed."
http://www.slate.com/id/2153600/

Recently there was "Humanzee" named Oliver. Supposedly, due to appearance and behavior he was claimed to be a hybrid, human/ape cross, However, DNA testing showed him to be a full chimpanzee.

Stalin in the 1920s funded a program to create hybrid ape/humans. They would be used as soldiers and as workers. Multiple attempts failed and the chief scientist was exiled to Kazakhstan.

In short, the humans and apes have been separate species for too long for any inter-breeding to occur.

Answer 8

No. Humans have 98% chimpanzee genes. Different from Apes.

But after the bars close, in the morning you will wish you had not asked this question when you see what you have done.

Answer 9

Yes, they're called "Evolutionists".

Answer 10

no we can't. Our species are too different