‘You started a chimp conspiracy’: Chimps freaking out over a prosthetic leg might be the real origin of ‘Planet of the Apes’

Thousands of years from now, when chimps have taken over the earth, they will tell legends about the prosthetic leg their ancestors witnessed, maybe they’ll even start a religion.

I know we’ve already got another Planet of the Apes film on the way, but hear me out, because this video posted to TikTok looks like something from one of those films. Maybe we’re about to witness a Planet of the Apes remake IRL, but instead of shooting guns and riding horses they’ve become cyborg apes with prosthetic arms and legs — we could call it Rise of the Planet of the Cyber-Chimps. I’ll work on the name, but I know I’d definitely pay to see that.

If that future does come to pass, let it be known that it all started on the 11th of March 2024, when TikTok user Jess Collinson posted a video in which her family were visiting the chimp enclosure at Colchester Zoo. In the 30 second clip, we see her husband showing his prosthetic leg to the animals — and their reaction is unexpected, to say the least.

As the leg is revealed, the first chimp has an almost-human reaction; whilst backing away, you can practically see the shock on his or her face. They then appear to call over a few other chimps, who all have similar reactions upon seeing the artificial limb. 

Chimps are smarter than humans give them credit for; according to Business Insider, they’re capable of making and using tools, feeling empathy, and many more things that we previously only thought humans were capable of. So it makes sense that they would somewhat have an understanding of the prosthetic leg. They might not be able to entirely comprehend what it is they’re looking at, but they know that something is different about it.

Comments on TikTok ranged from poking fun at the chimps’ reactions whilst others suggested the husband detach his leg on their next visit to see how the chimps react to that; something which Jess promised to do in a part 2. Some commenters found it “troubling” that the animals were able to comprehend what they’re looking at. It does make you wonder if chimps are maybe a little too intelligent to be treated like any other animal at the zoo; after all, you would never get a reaction like that out of a hippo.

Maybe exposing them to our advanced technology has led the chimps to make a leap in intelligence. Either way, it seems they won’t be forgetting what they saw anytime soon — it’s the beginning of a conspiracy which could lead to the downfall of humanity, and the Rise of the Planet of the Cyber-Chimps (TM). I’m still working on that name.