Monkey business: Jilloch the chimp, who helped PG Tips become the No1 tea in Britain, has died aged 34

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By OLIVER PICKUP

Jilloch, shown here on the right, starred in the popular PG Tips adverts in the 1970s and 1980s


One of the hairy stars of a long-running advertising campaign that helped make PG Tips the most popular tea brand in Britain has died.

Jilloch was one of a family of chimpanzees to star for PG Tips, whose monkey-based plugs appeared on televisions from 1956 to 2002.

She starred in the popular adverts in the 1970s and 1980s, and was shown to be a haphazard TV repair man's dumb apprentice and, later, a father watching football on the box.

Scroll down for two classic PG Tips videos

But Jilloch suffered heart failure at Twyford Zoo in Staffordshire and died last Sunday aged 34 years - half the normal life expectancy of chimpanzees.

The humourous ads, inspired by the chimps’ tea parties held at London Zoo in the 1950s, propelled PG Tips to become the most loved tea in Britain.

In the space of only two years since the first advert was aired PG Tips moved from fourth in the ratings to top.

But after animal welfare campaigners successfully lobbied against the adverts chimps, who were dressed up in clothes and wigs to look like humans, have not been used for eight years.

The legendary adverts used the voices of many of the top stars of the time, including Peter Sellers, Cilla Black and Bob Monkhouse.

'Jilloch was one of our favourite chimps so we’re all saddened by the loss,' said Sharon Redrobe, director of life sciences at Twyford Zoo.

'The animal and vet team worked tirelessly to keep her as comfortable as possible.'

Neil Dorman, curator at the zoo, said: 'Jilloch had a lot of character and will be missed. She was shy but friendly. She’s never let fame go to her head.'





source :dailymail
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Kanzi the amazing ape who can 'speak' with humans and understands 450 words makes Oprah appearance

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By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Kanzi can 'talk' with humans by pointing at symbols on a computer


He has had countless articles written about him and has even been the subject of a book.

But now Kanzi the ‘talking’ ape has reached the pinnacle of his packed showbiz career – he has been the subject of a feature on Oprah Winfrey’s talkshow.

A 29-year-old bonobo, Kanzi is able to understand and communicate with humans and is believed to understand around 450 words – 30 to 40 of which he uses on a daily basis.

Kanzi has been a celebrity ape since the late 1980s when his astonishing ability to communicate was first discovered.

He lives at the Great Ape Trust in Iowa where expert Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh has been teaching him to ‘speak’ by pointing at symbols on a computer.

He speaks by pressing a symbol on the computer which then repeats the word out loud. Dr Savage-Rumbaugh says that he is even able to put together two-word sentences and shows remarkable invention when creating new phrases.

Oprah Winfrey correspondent Lisa Ling travelled to meet Kanzi at the Trust. On the show she told Oprah that the symbol for ‘flood’ was not on Kanzi's keyboard .


Lisa Ling traveled to the Great Ape Trust in Iowa to meet the famous bonobo


Kanzi's son Teco is also learning to communicate and may one day surpass his father, experts believe


She said: ‘So when Iowa was hit by the storm and was flooding, he would point out 'big water, She added: ‘He had a hard time chewing the kale, so he pointed at 'slow lettuce'.'’
For the word 'pizza,' he pointed at 'cheese,' 'tomato' and 'bread.'

Dr. Savage-Rumbaugh says she taught Kanzi to communicate the same way she taught her son to speak. 'I just talk to Kanzi like you see me talking now,’ she said.
'He just was around me and learned it like a child.'

Kanzi is also able to blow up a balloon, demonstrating that he has control over his own breath, something that it was previously believed that only humans were able to do.

The Trust also takes care of Teco, Kanzi's 3-month-old son. Teco’s mother passed him to another bonobo, who passed him to Dr. Savage-Rumbaugh .


Kanzi blows up a balloon, demonstrating that this remarkable ape can control his own breath


She said: 'For all practical purposes, I'm Teco's mother. Teco sleeps right with me. We're in that little room where we watch TV. We each have a futon.'

She believes that Teco may even one day be able to surpass his father with his linguistic ability as he has been around humans since birth.

Kanzi has been the subject of a book as well as features in National Geographic and Time magazines. He became famous after becoming the first ape to learn language naturalistically rather than being trained by following what his mother was doing.

The first ape to be able to show that he truly understands spoken English, Kanzi is also adept at stone toolmaking, helping scientists to better understand levels of skill in our early prehistoric ancestors.

source: dailymail
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Big Mac and fries? Neigh bother... Man turns up at drive-thru on a horse

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By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Horse sense: The hungry rider pulls up at the first window at the Swansea McDonald's


Staff at a drive-thru McDonalds were amazed when a late-night customer turned up - on a horse.

The mystery man - nicknamed the 'Lone Rider' - was captured on camera by amused bystanders and posted on YouTube.

The clip shows the man queuing up to order his Big Mac and fries at the drive-thru window, mounted on his trusty stallion.


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The horseman places his order as his steed stands perfectly still


He reaches into his pocket for some money to pay for his late-night meal


The horse correctly followed the ordering procedure, moving from the first window to the second.

Staff at the McDonald's in Swansea took it all in their stride.

A female worker at the second window was obviously quite taken with the horse, and a bag of carrots materialised.

'The things you see in Morriston!' said one.

Another revealed a lack of equine knowledge by asking, after hearing the horse was a stallion: 'Is it a boy?'

The spot came days after a second was spotted in Clase, Swansea, leaning down from his mount to use a cash point machine.


A McDonald's worker says hello to the horse as the man waits for his order




source: dailymail

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Christine Bleakley falls about in a fit of giggles as a hawk causes mayhem in the Daybreak studio

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By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Whoops! Christine Bleakley was unable to control her mirth on camera after the hawk soared into the studio rafters


The old adage 'never work with children or animals' came true for Christine Bleakley on Daybreak today when she found herself face to face with a temperamental hawk.

Cressy, a four-year-old Harris Hawk who appeared on Friday's edition of the ITV1 show, is used to keep seagulls at bay in parts of Rhyl, Llandudno and Conwy and stop them from attacking people for food.

She appeared on the show in the Something Cool Before The Kids Go To School slot.


Staying put: the hawk seemed reluctant to budge and had to be coaxed down by its trainer


And while Christine, who admitted she was 'a bit scared of birds', kept her distance, Cressy initially appeared to behave herself.

But when the creature was called upon to show off her flying skills, she had other ideas.

While she seemed quite happy to fly between her trainers Mike Espley and Rob Davis, when it came to landing on Adrian Chiles' arm she opted instead to fly up into the rafters of the studio and stay there.


In a fit of giggles: A clearly amused Christine joked about how the bird running away was 'the story of Adrian's life'


On the loose: It was mayhem on the set as the bird took flight


Christine appeared unable to control her laughter and burst into hysterics on camera as Adrian registered his surprise that the hawk had flown straight past him.

'Adrian you haven't had any luck with the female dog or the female bird,' she joked. 'Story of Adrian's life, ladies and gentlemen.

'That's all I'm going to say. They tend to go running like that, although not quite up into the ceiling!'

The bird was eventually coaxed down from the rafters by its trainers and was seen sitting on Chiles' arm a few minutes later.


That's better: the hawk was finally brought down from the ceiling and perched on Adrian Chiles' arm



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