White Apes (Barsoom)

White Apes are animals that feature in the Barsoom universe.

History

The White Apes were ferocious predators that inhabited the planet Barsoom.

Large numbers of them were shown to reside within the Valley Dor. These did not attack nor were they attacked by the Plant Men. It was shown that they were part of the Therns cult of Iss, one of the original beings, and the repository of reincarnated souls of the devout.

Overview

In appearance, White Apes were colossal ape like creature, white and hairless except for an enormous shock of bristly hair upon their heads. The creatures were ten or fifteen feet tall, standing erect, and had, like the green Martians an intermediary set of arms or legs, midway between their upper and lower limbs. Their eyes were close together and non-protruding, their ears were high set, but more laterally located than the ears of Martians, while their snouts and teeth were strikingly like those of our African gorilla.

The White Apes are incredibly violent creatures. It is said that they are one of the primary causes of death among Martian children. But they are sociable among their own, gathering in mating pairs, or even tribes. They are also somewhat intelligent.

Some tribes of Great White Apes wear clothing or harnesses of thoat hide, they have a large social group, they take prisoners, engage in communal activities, wield weapons and seem to have a language unintelligible to the red Martians.

Notes

• The White Apes were created by Edgar Rice Burroughs with them making their first appearance in A Princess of Mars (1912).
• The non-canonical New Adventures on Barsoom (2012) published by Simon & Schuste gave the name Ilthur to the White Ape species.

In other media

Film

White Apes in the live-action movie John Carter.

• In John Carter, the White Apes made their appearance in the live-action movie. This version were shown to be blind and nocturnal creatures. The Jeddaks wear the fur of a white ape to signify their position, a custom that Thark, Helium, and Zodanga all seem to recognize. Tal Hajus took over the Thark tribe led by Tars Tarkas where he placed the former warlord along with John Carter and Sola on trial at the Colosseum. Once there, they were forced to fight to enormous vicious creatures that were the four armed Great White Apes. Carter managed to defeat the White Apes and later killed Hajus leading to him becoming the leader of the Thark tribes.

Appearances

• A Princess of Mars: (1912)
• The Gods of Mars:
• John Carter:

External Links

• Barsoom Encyclopedia

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