A chuman is a chimpanzee/human hybrid. Humans and chimpanzees "...share perfect identity with 96 percent of our DNA sequence" (New Genome Comparison). This has led to the belief that it is possible for them to interbreed and produce offspring.

If this were possible we should occasionally see chumans in nature since human beings are known to attempt sexual intercourse with a wide variety of non-human animals including chimps.

There have been reports of chumans throughout history but no reports have ever been confirmed.

At this time it is possible and legal to create animal/human hybrid embryos for research but it is illegal to allow the embryo to develop for more than a few days.

However, laws can only make things illegal - they can't stop things from happening. It is possible that attempts are being made to illegally create and bring to term chimp/human hybrids in private underground labs or in government labs that are "above the law."

Also known as a humanzee or manpanzee.

See Also: Creatures by Type » Hybrids, Primates

References

New Genome Comparison Finds Chimps, Humans Very Similar at the DNA Level. NIH News. Web site: http://www.genome.gov/15515096. Retrieved on 03/26/2009.

Green light for hybrid research. BBC News. Web site: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7193820.stm Retrieved on 05/28/2008.