AMES, Iowa -- The new motion picture "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" has been a box office blockbuster since it opened last month. One moviegoer who may have a more keen interest than most in the way chimpanzee intelligence was portrayed by Hollywood is Jill Pruetz, an Iowa State University professor of anthropology and world renowned chimpanzee researcher.
Pruetz earned worldwide acclaim for her studies on the behavior of savanna chimpanzees at the Fongoli research site in Senegal -- particularly the chimps' use of spear-shaped tools in hunting, and their reaction to wildfires.
She enjoyed "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," which
builds the plot around the near human actions of one
chimpanzee, Caesar. Pruetz now provides her review of the
movie, as well as insight on what is fact and fiction about the
chimps' portrayal and behavior.