12 October | ||
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1967: The Naked Ape steps out
Zoologist Dr Desmond Morris has stunned the world by writing about humans in the same way scientists describe animals.
His new book, The Naked Ape, was published today. It was so named because out of the 193 species of monkeys and apes on the planet only man is not entirely covered in hair. The former curator of mammals at London Zoo who is best known for planning to bring together Chi Chi the panda with Moscow's An An panda bear says he wants to popularise and demystify science. The provocative book sheds new light on our own behaviour and society, describing our ways of "feeding, sleeping, fighting, mating and rearing young". He highlights some surprising facts that are raising quite a few eyebrows in the scientific and non-scientific world. For example:-
The book has been serialised in the Daily Mirror - and with great success. It has already netted �80,000 in the USA and �70,000 in the UK and Europe. But critics of the book have labelled him "an inadequately informed amateur" who has oversimplified and distorted the way we behave by creating a zoological portrait of the human being. Tax exiles Dr Morris and his wife are now planning to leave Britain as tax exiles after learning that the Inland Revenue are to send him a bill of �180,000. He told the Daily Mail newspaper: "The speed and timing of all this has rather shattered me. I am now faced with the situation where I shall probably be turning to writing as my major activity. "It is pretty definite that I shall go abroad although I have not finally worked out the details."
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Stories From 12 Oct
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