Primate Observations - Research Paper Example

?Zoo Assignment- Primate Observations Apes and monkeys Introduction Primates are mammals such as humans, apes, and monkeys among many others. They are of the order primates believed to have arisen from common ancestors who lived on trees in the tropical regions of Africa and East Asia. Different species of the order primates responded differently to their respective subsequent environments thereby resulting in unique adaptive features thereby becoming completely different animals. Humans are the most civilized of the primates and possess distinct features from the rest of the non-human primates such as monkeys, chimpanzees, and apes among others. However, some of the non-human primates possess characteristics similar to those of humans thereby corroborating the common ancestry theory and the theory of evolution all of which seek to explain the origin of the different animals (Waal and Frans 55). Apes are arguably the largest arboreal animals implying that they are the largest mammals living in trees. The primates are of the biological family known as Hominoidea of the family Homo thereby making them very closely related to humans. They therefore have numerous personality traits similar to those exhibited by humans. The primates are herbivores and natives of Africa and East Asia owing to the existence of large tropical services that provided adequate habitation. Currently, they live in different parts of the world owing to animal transportation by humans and their own migrations as conflict between them and humans heighten. However, some of the apes can eat other animals a feature that quantifies the primates as being both carnivores and herbivores. Monkeys on the other hand are a category of primates of the family cacopithecidae. Just as any other primate, they are natives of Africa and parts of East Asia and are of numerous species. The deferment species possess different features with a majority of the species being arboreal while others leave on the ground. Monkeys have tails that they use frequently in their daily survival activities. They are smaller than any other primate is and live in groups consisting of both males and females. Apes and monkeys as observed during the tour of the zoo exhibit a number of traits similar to those of humans while others are strange and therefore set them apart from the rest of human primates. Their different characteristics are results of their different habitats occurrences that validate the evolution theory and its elated adaptations. Apes and monkeys live in groups, they are social animals a feature that distinct the primates from the rest of other mammals. The animals are social and therefore live in societies consisting of males, females, and children. In their societies, the adults protect the young ones and provide them with food. This is typical of humans who are also very social and coexist peacefully with one another despite the constant competition for food among other resources. Additionally, humans show affection and protection to their children. The monkeys and apes showed great protection to their babies often carrying them below their bellies. In case they released their babies, the mothers ensured that the company was safe and only among other monkeys or apes. This way, the other apes teased the baby and played with it before sharing their meals with it. Additionally, the apes and the monkey showed affection to the old amongst them. While they fought for the food thrown at them, they never scrambled for those that fell close to the old. This is synonymous to human who are the most civilized primates and show great affection to both their old and the young. The theory of evolution and the evolution of humans assert that before inventing the upright position, humans just like the rest of the non-human primates carried their babies on their underbellies (Kinzey 34). This position proved convenient for walking on the four feet and for handling both food and tools. The primates at the zoo corroborated this claim. With their babies in their bellies, the animals moved efficiently and handled their food with ease. This is an adaptive feature of the animals since with the babies in their bellies; the female monkeys and apes can easily climb the trees without harming their young ones. Additionally, the baby stays warmer in the position and closer to the breast thereby making feeding easier. This rend corroborates the common ancestry theory which asserts that animals that share common ancestor exhibit similar traits learnt from their common ancestor. The fact that history explains that humans, monkeys and the apes at the zoo both carried their babies in their underbellies proves the accuracy of this theory inn linking humans to the other primates. Monkeys have longer tails than apes, from the observation of the behavior of the animals at the zoo; it was evident that monkeys used their tails more than the apes did. Most of the monkeys hand from the tree branches with their tails while their hands were busy peeling off their fruits. The apes on the other hand sat on their buttocks and used their tails purposely to cover their anuses. Thy therefore have shorter yet fatter tails. This validates the claims of adaptations, which is responsible for the development of different body parts in animals and plants. Adaptations are results of evolution a theory which asserts that as the environment changes, so do the animals and plants since their acquire features that best suit them to survive in their environments. This results in the development of different body parts and the demise of other parts that the animals do not use. The best-adapted animals thus live to maturity and reproduce thereby sharing their superior genes. With time, the combination of the best genes in their subsequent offspring results in the formation of new species of the animals. In the meantime, those least suited to survive in the changing environments die thereby leading to the extinction of their species (Ruse and Joseph 12). The two groups of animals at the zoo thus proved the theory of evolution and its common ancestry since the monkeys that use their tails the more have developed longer and stronger tails capable of bearing their entire weight. Their tails hang high when not in use thereby leaving their buttocks and reproductive organs naked. This is unlike in the apes who have developed shorter and wider tails capable of covering their genitals. Some ape species do not have the tail in its totality thereby epitomizing its uselessness among them. Animals with common ancestors should have similar anatomical features such as similar body parts. However, the theory of evolution provides for the different anatomies in the animals, as is the case with the two animals. Since humans share a common ancestry, they too supposed to have tails. However, because they never used it frequently, it grew vestigial an explanation corroborated by the theory of evolution as evident in the two groups of primates at the zoo. Intelligence is yet another life survival tactic. It is therefore an adaptive feature that the different groups of animals exhibited relatively. Of the three, humans are the most intelligent and the most civilized. Unlike the rest of the animal, humans do not adapt to their environment but have mastered the art of customizing their environment to suit their requirement. Monkeys on the other hand are more intelligent than apes. In fact, they are the most intelligent nonhuman primates. They peel their some of their fruits such as bananas and they have the ability of using sticks as tools in trapping ants among other rudimentary ways of operating tools. The apes eat their fruits indiscriminately without peeling and showed no knowledge of handling tools. The relativity of the knowledge in the three animals results from the complexity of their environments and the need to survive in such (Rose 45). In retrospect, the three animals live in different environment and therefore face different life survival challenges. They therefore exhibit different characteristics, which possibly result in their different classifications despite their common ancestry. Such occurrences substantiate the theories of common ancestry and evolution both of which explain the origin of humans and other animals. According to the two theories, animals of a similar family may reproduce of result in different species. The same is evident in the three primates all of who share a common ancestor. Nevertheless, due to survival requirements the three adapted thereby evolving to be completely different animals. Works cited Kinzey, Warren G. New World Primates: Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 1997. Print. Rose, Elizabeth. Animal Adaptations for Survival. New York: PowerKids Press, 2005. Print. Ruse, Michael, and Joseph Travis. Evolution: The First Four Billion Years. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2009. Print. Waal, F B. M, and Frans Lanting. Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. Print. Read More