Even though chimps are absolutely terrifying, most people still see them as cute, sort-of-human-like creatures.

If the regular chimps are scary-strong, though, wait until you meet the Bondo Ape – because supposedly, even lions run away from them.

The Bondo – or Bili – ape lives in the Congo Rainforest, but the details about the large species of great ape have historically been a bit sparse.

Accounts state they stand on two feet, are as tall as a man, and nest on the ground like gorillas – this is in addition to being uber-aggressive, lion-killing machines.

Most biologists believe (or want to believe) that the reports are overstated, and that the truth is probably somewhat less sensational.

In 1996, photographer and conservationist Karl Ammann claimed to find a number of skulls at the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Belgium that had been collected in the town of Bili.

It sits 124 miles east of the Ebola river, in the northern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The skulls had a “mohawk” ridge down the center and were therefore originally classified as gorillas. Other aspects of the skulls, though, like shape and size, were more comparable to a chimp’s.

Not only that, gorillas were not known to live in the region where the skulls were collected.

Ammann went to the area himself and spoke to local hunters who told him about huge apes that killed lions and shook off poisonous darts like they were mosquitoes.

They also claimed the howled at the full moon.

Other than some big poop and large footprints, though, he found no evidence of the Bili ape.

In 2002-2003, a group of researchers went back to the northern DRC in the hopes of finding the Bondo chimp. Despite one of them giving interviews upon returning, the group also ended up having no actual proof or evidence of what she claimed.

This is part of the interview she gave to TIME.

“The larger animal had a much flatter face and straight-across brow like gorillas and turned gray early in life. Two or three would nest on the ground, with others low in nearby branches. They made a distinct vocalization like a howl and were louder when the full moon rose and set. The apes, she argues, could be a new species unknown to science, a new subspecies of chimpanzee or a hybrid of the gorilla and the chimp.”

In 2006, though primatologist Dr. Cleve Hicks and his team said the finally observed Bondo apes in the wild for at least 20 hours.

He argued they were not a new species or subspecies, but were just eastern chimpanzees displaying some interesting behavioral tendencies, as well as biological anomalies.

For example, they did have a ridge on their skull more common in gorillas, and also nested on the floor and were observed smashing termite mounds and using tools to crack open the shell of a tortoise.

These latter behaviors had never been observed in chimp populations before.

They have never been observed eating lions or walking on two feet, but there is still a lot we don’t know about them, and 20 hours of observation isn’t enough to give us a comprehensive picture of their lives.

The region has been steeped in tricky politics and wars over the past decades, making it hard for scientists to be able to learn more.

I imagine one day we’ll learn more.

But probably only if they want us to.

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