Out for justice: Scientists claim chimps can be trained to wield weapons like this animal in a viral ad for new prequel Rise Of The Planet Of The ApesOne video clip shows an ape firing a machine gun at a group of African soldiers, while another sees a chimpanzee wielding a machete and hacking a carcass to pieces.
The clips, shot to look like fly-on-the-wall documentary footage, appear scarily real.
But they are actually part of a viral advertising campaign for the new film Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes.
Could it happen? The clips, shot to look like fly-on-the-wall documentary footage from Africa, appear scarily real A prequel to the classic Planet Of The Apes movies, the new film shows how apes in the present day come to be supremely intelligent beings who take over Earth.
Although science-fiction, experts claim that real chimpanzees could be trained to use weapons.
Professor John Mitani, from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, told Life'sLittleMysteries.com: 'I wouldn't doubt that you could train a chimp to wield a gun in the manner shown.'
However, don't panic just yet. For while the sight of an ape holding an AK-47 would be cause for alarm, scientists are agreed that it's unlikely a chimpanzee would reach for a weapon to inflict intentional harm on a human.
Summer blockbuster? The new film is scheduled for an August release in the U.S.More likely, the animal would simply mimic how he had seen a man hold a weapon.
Professor Mitani added: 'When shooting the gun, I'd be hard-pressed to think that the chimp can really understand what he's doing.'
But chimps are aggressive animals, as Professor Mitani well knows.
Last year, he was lead researcher on a study of wild chimps and found that gangs of the apes routinely attack rival chimps to seize their land and massacre their young, preserving their dominance.
The finding shattered the popular myth of chimpanzees as peace-loving animals and highlights how they share the worst aspects of human behaviour.
You'll believe an ape can talk: Previews from Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes took the internet by storm earlier this year
Pop culture icon: Roddy McDowall as Cornelius in Escape From The Planet Of The Apes, the third film in the franchisesource: dailymail
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