Anderson Cooper Dresses up for the Bonobos

We’ve loved Anderson Cooper ever since he hosted the reality series The Mole. Before he became the face of news for the modern world (alongside Jon Stewart), he was the perfectly smarmy star of the most underrated competition show of all time. But as his work at CNN amped up, the producers of The Mole asked Cooper to make a choice — either commit to them full-time or choose news.

We all know how that worked out, but we’re happy to see the anchor hasn’t lost his sense of humor. In fact he’s willing to go to extremes for a story that we’re sure Barbara Walters and Mike Wallace would never consider.

On a recent assignment for AC360, Anderson visited Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh and her primate pals Kanzi, Panbanisha, Nyota and baby Teco. The good doctor is a scientist at the Great Ape Trust and has been working with the bonobos’ language research program for years. Her goal is to prove that the apes are able to communicate just like humans, in this case by pointing to pictogram images that indicate their needs and emotions.

While conversing with Kanzi, Cooper found himself faced with an unusual request. Check it out as Anderson takes one for the AC360 team.