A human-like monkey. Almost immortal: what a person can learn from a naked mole rat
The most developed, the most smart monkeys- humanoid. That’s how the word begs to be called – humanoid. And all because they have a lot in common with our species. We can talk about apes a lot, for a long time and with passion, simply because they are really close to our species. But first things first.
There are 4 types of these animals:
- gorillas,
- orangutans,
- chimpanzee,
- bonobos (or pygmy chimpanzees).
Bonobos and chimpanzees are very similar to each other, but the remaining two species are not at all similar to each other or to chimpanzees. However, all great apes There are many similarities, for example:
- they have no tail,
- similar structure of the hands of the upper limbs and by human hands,
- the volume of the brain is very large (at the same time, its surface is full of grooves and convolutions, and this indicates high level intelligence of these animals)
- there are 4 blood groups,
- Bonobo blood is used in medicine for transfusion to humans with suitable group blood.
All these facts indicate the “blood” relationship of these creatures with people.
Both species of gorillas and chimpanzees live in Africa, and this continent, as you know, is considered the cradle of all humanity. The orangutan, according to scientists, our most genetically distant relative among the great apes, lives in Asia.
common chimpanzee
Chimpanzee social life
Chimpanzees usually live in groups, with an average of 15-20 individuals. The group, which is headed by one male leader, also includes females and males of all ages. Groups of chimpanzees occupy territories, which the males themselves protect from incursions by neighbors.
In places where there is enough food for a group to live comfortably, chimpanzees lead a sedentary lifestyle. However, if there is not enough food for the entire group, then they wander over fairly long distances in search of food. It happens that the territories of residence of several groups overlap. In this case, they unite for some time. It is interesting that in all conflicts the advantage goes to the group that contains more males and which, therefore, turns out to be stronger. Chimpanzees do not create permanent families. This means that any adult male has the right to freely choose his next girlfriend from among the adult females, both from his own group and from the group that has joined.
After an 8-month gestation period, a female chimpanzee gives birth to one absolutely helpless baby. Up to a year of life, the female carries the baby on her stomach, after which the baby independently transfers to her back. For as long as 9-9.5 years, the female and the cub are practically inseparable. His mother teaches him everything she can do, shows him the world and other group members. There are cases when teenagers are sent to their " kindergarten ik". there they frolic with peers under the supervision of several adults, usually females. When the baby turns 13 years old, the chimpanzee enters adulthood and begins to be considered independent members of the pack. At the same time, young males begin to fight for leadership,
Chimpanzees are quite aggressive animals. Conflicts often occur in the group, which even escalate into bloody fights, which often end in death. Apes are able to establish relationships with each other through a wide range of facial expressions, gestures and sounds with which they convey their approval. These animals express friendly feelings through picking each other's fur.
Chimpanzees get their food in the trees and on the ground, feeling in their place in both places. Their food includes:
- plant food,
- insects,
- small living creatures.
In addition, hungry chimpanzees as a whole group can go out hunting and capture, for example, a gazelle for shared food.
Skillful hands and a smart head
Chimpanzees are extremely smart, they are able to use tools, deliberately selecting the most convenient tool. They are even capable of improving it. For example, to climb into an anthill, an ape uses a twig: it selects a twig of appropriate size and optimizes it by tearing off the leaves on it. Or, for example, they use a stick to knock down a tall growing fruit. Or to hit an opponent with it during a fight.
To break a nut, the monkey places it on a flat stone specially selected for this purpose, and uses another sharp stone to break the shell.
To quench their thirst, the chimpanzee uses a large leaf and uses it as a scoop. Or he makes a sponge from a pre-chewed leaf, dips it in a stream and squeezes the water into his mouth.
Hunting apes can stone a victim to death, a hail of cobblestones will await a predator, for example, a leopard, who dares to hunt these animals.
In order not to get wet when crossing a pond, chimpanzees are able to build a bridge from sticks, and they will use wide leaves as an umbrella, fly swatter, fan and as toilet paper.
Gorilla
Good giants or monsters?
It’s easy to imagine the feelings of the person who first saw a gorilla in front of him - a humanoid giant, frightening aliens with menacing screams, beating his chest with his fists, breaking and uprooting young trees. Such encounters with forest monsters gave birth to horror stories and tales about the fiends of hell, whose superhuman strength carries mortal danger if not for the human race, then for its psyche.
Unfortunately, this is not an exaggeration. Such legends, which pushed the public to the fact that these humanoid creatures began to be treated too incorrectly, at one time caused an almost uncontrolled, panicky extermination of gorillas. The species was threatened with complete extinction if it were not for the work and efforts of scientists who took under their protection these giants, about whom in those years people knew almost nothing at all.
As it turned out, it seemed these creepy monsters- the most peaceful herbivores who eat only plant foods. Besides they are almost completely non-aggressive, but demonstrate their strength and, moreover, use it only when there is real danger and if someone comes to their territory.
Moreover, to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, gorillas try to scare off offenders, it doesn’t matter whether it’s another male, a ruler of another species, or a human. Then all possible means of intimidation come into play:
- screams,
- pounding your chest with your fists,
- breaking down trees, etc.
Features of the life of a gorilla
Gorillas, like chimpanzees, live in small groups, but their number is usually smaller - 5-10 individuals. Among them there is usually the head of the group - the eldest male, several females with cubs of different ages and 1-2 young males. The leader is easy to recognize: It has silver-gray fur on its back.
By the age of 14, the male gorilla becomes sexually mature, and instead of black fur, a light stripe appears on his back.
An already mature male is enormous: he is 180 cm tall and sometimes weighs 300 kg. The one of the silver-backed males who turns out to be the eldest becomes the leader of the group. The care of all family members is entrusted to his powerful shoulders.
The main male in the group gives signals to wake up at sunrise and to sleep at sunset, he himself chooses the path in the thickets along which the rest of the group will go in search of food, regulates order and peace in the group. He also protects all his people from the impending dangers that tropical forest a huge variety.
The younger generation in the group is raised by their own mothers. However, if the baby suddenly becomes orphaned, then it is the leader of the pack who takes them under his wing. He will carry them on his back, sleep next to them and make sure that their games are not dangerous.
When protecting orphan cubs, the leader may even fight with a leopard or even with armed people.
Often the capture of a baby gorilla entails not only the death of its mother, but also the death of the leader of the group. The remaining members of the group, deprived of protection and care, young animals and helpless females also stand on the edge of the abyss if one of the single males does not take responsibility for the orphaned family.
Orangutans
Orangutan: features of life
"Orangutan" is translated from Malay as "man of the forest". This name refers to large apes that live in the jungles of the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan. Orangutans are one of the most amazing creatures on earth. They differ in many ways from other apes.
Orangutans are arboreal. Even though their weight is quite significant, 65-100 kg, they climb trees remarkably well even at a height of 15-20 m. They prefer not to go down to the ground.
Of course, due to the weight of their body, they cannot jump from branch to branch, but at the same time they are able to confidently and quickly climb trees.
Orangutans eat almost around the clock, eating
- fruit,
- foliage,
- bird eggs,
- chicks.
In the evenings, orangutans build their homes, and each one has his own place, where they settle down for the night. They sleep holding a branch with one of their paws so as not to fall down in their sleep.
Every night, orangutans settle down in a new place, for which they again build a “bed” for themselves. These animals practically do not form groups, preferring a solitary life or life in pairs (mother - cubs, female - male), although there are cases when a pair of adults and several cubs different ages They practically form a family.
The female of these animals gives birth to 1 cub. His mother takes care of him for about 7 years, until he is old enough to live independently.
Up to 3 years old, a baby orangutan eats only mother's milk, and only after this period the mother begins to give him solid food. She chews the leaves for him, thus making a vegetable puree for him.
She is preparing the baby for adult life, teach him to climb trees correctly and build a place to sleep. Baby orangutans are very playful and affectionate, and they perceive the entire process of education and training as an entertaining game.
Orangutans are very savvy animals. In captivity, they learn to use tools and are even able to make them themselves. But in conditions of free life, these apes rarely use their abilities: the incessant search for food does not give them time to develop their natural intelligence.
Bonobos
The bonobo, or pygmy chimpanzee, is our closest relative
Few people know about the existence of our closest relative, the bonobo. Although the set of genes in the dwarf chimpanzee coincides with the set of human genes by as much as 98%! They are also very close to us in the basics of social-emotional behavior.
They live in Central Africa, in the northeast and northwest of Congo. They never leave tree branches and move on the ground very rarely.
Characteristic behavioral features of this species are joint hunting.. They can wage war among themselves, then the presence of power politics is revealed.
Bonobos have no sign language, so characteristic of other creatures. They give each other vocal signals and they are very different from the signals of the second type of chimpanzee.
The bonobo's voice consists of high, harsh and barking sounds. For hunting they use various primitive objects: stones, sticks. In captivity, their intellect gets the opportunity to grow and express itself. There, they become real masters in mastering objects and inventing new ones.
Bonobos do not have a leader like other primates. Distinctive and characteristic feature pygmy chimpanzees is also what at the head of their group or the whole community is a female.
Females stay in groups. They also include cubs and juveniles up to 6 years of age. The males stay away, but not nearby.
It is interesting that almost all aggressive outbursts in bonobos are replaced by elements of mating behavior.
The fact that females dominate among them was revealed by scientists in an experiment when combined with groups of monkeys of both species. In bonobo groups, females are the first to eat. If the male does not agree, then the females join forces and expel the male. Fights never occur during eating, but mating always occurs just before eating.
Conclusion
As many wise books claim, animals are our smaller brothers. And we can say with confidence that apes are our brothers - our neighbors.
Great apes or hominoids are a superfamily that includes the most highly developed representatives of the order of primates. It also includes man and all his ancestors, but they are included in a separate family of hominids and will not be discussed in detail in this article.
What distinguishes an ape from a human? First of all, some features of the body structure:
The human spine bends forward and backward.
The facial part of the ape's skull is larger than the brain.
The relative and even absolute volume of the brain is significantly less than that of humans.
The area of the cerebral cortex is also smaller, and the frontal and temporal lobes are also less developed.
Apes do not have a chin.
The chest is round and convex, while in humans it is flat.
The monkey's fangs are enlarged and protrude.
The pelvis is narrower than that of a human.
Since a person is erect, his sacrum is more powerful, since the center of gravity is transferred to it.
The monkey has a longer body and arms.
The legs, on the contrary, are shorter and weaker.
Monkeys have a flat grasping foot with the big toe opposed to the others. In humans, it is curved, and the thumb is parallel to the others.
Humans have virtually no fur.
In addition, there are a number of differences in thinking and activity. A person can think abstractly and communicate using speech. He has consciousness, is capable of summarizing information and drawing up complex logical chains.
Signs of great apes:
large powerful body (much bigger size than other monkeys);
absence of a tail;
lack of cheek pouches
absence of ischial calluses.
Hominoids are also distinguished by their way of moving through trees. They do not run along them on all fours, like other representatives of the primate order, but grab branches with their hands.
Skeleton of apes also has specific structure. The skull is located in front of the spine. Moreover, it has an elongated front part.
The jaws are strong, powerful, massive and adapted for gnawing solid plant food. The arms are noticeably longer than the legs. The foot is grasping, with the big toe set to the side (like on a human hand).
Great apes include, orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees. The first are separated into a separate family, and the remaining three are combined into one - pongidae. Let's take a closer look at each of them.
The gibbon family consists of four genera. All of them live in Asia: India, China, Indonesia, on the islands of Java and Kalimantan. Their color is usually gray, brown or black.
Their sizes are relatively small for great apes: the body length of the most large representatives reaches ninety centimeters, weight – thirteen kilograms.
Lifestyle – daytime. They live mainly in trees. They move on the ground uncertainly, mostly on hind legs, only occasionally leaning on the front ones. However, they go down quite rarely. The basis of nutrition is plant foods - fruits and leaves fruit trees. They may also eat insects and bird eggs.
Pictured is a gibbon ape
Gorilla is very great ape. This is the most major representative families. The height of a male can reach two meters, and weight – two hundred and fifty kilograms.
These are massive, muscular, incredibly strong and resilient monkeys. The coat color is usually black; older males may have a silver-gray back.
They live in African forests and mountains. They prefer to be on the ground, on which they walk mainly on four legs, only occasionally rising to their feet. The diet is plant-based and includes leaves, grass, fruits and nuts.
Quite peaceful, they show aggression towards other animals only in self-defense. Intraspecific conflicts occur, for the most part, between adult males over females. However, they are usually resolved by demonstrating threatening behavior, rarely even leading to fights, much less murder.
Pictured is a gorilla monkey
Orangutans are the rarest modern apes. Currently, they live mainly in Sumatra, although previously they were distributed throughout almost all of Asia.
These are the largest of the monkeys, living mainly in trees. Their height can reach one and a half meters, and their weight can reach one hundred kilograms. The coat is long, wavy, and can be of various shades of red.
They live almost entirely in trees, not even coming down to drink. For this purpose they usually use rainwater, which accumulates in the leaves.
To spend the night, they make nests in the branches, and build a new home every day. They live alone, forming pairs only during the breeding season.
Both modern looking, Sumatran and Climantan, are on the verge of extinction.
In the photo there is an orangutan monkey
Chimpanzees are the smartest primates, apes. They are also the closest relatives of humans in the animal world. There are two types of them: ordinary and dwarf, also called. Dimensions even normal looking not too big. The coat color is usually black.
Unlike other hominoids, with the exception of humans, chimpanzees are omnivores. In addition to plant foods, they also eat animals, obtaining them by hunting. Quite aggressive. Conflicts often arise between individuals, leading to fights and death.
They live in groups, the average number of which is ten to fifteen individuals. This is a real complex society with a clear structure and hierarchy. Common habitats are forests near water. Range – western and central part African continent.
Pictured is a chimpanzee monkey
Ancestors of great apes very interesting and varied. In general, there are much more fossil species in this superfamily than living ones. The first of them appeared in Africa almost ten million years ago. Their further history is very closely connected with this continent.
It is believed that the line leading to humans separated from the rest of the hominoids about five million years ago. One of the likely candidates for the role of the first ancestor of the genus Homo is considered Australopithecus - great ape, who lived more than four million years ago.
These creatures contain both archaic characteristics and more progressive, already human ones. However, there are much more of the former, which does not allow Australopithecines to be classified directly as humans. There is also an opinion that this is a side, dead-end branch of evolution that did not lead to the emergence of more developed forms of primates, including humans.
But the statement that another interesting human ancestor, Sinanthropus - great ape, is already fundamentally wrong. However, the statement that he is the ancestor of man is not entirely correct, since this species already clearly belongs to the genus of humans.
They already had developed speech, language and its own, albeit primitive, culture. It is very likely that Sinanthropus was the last ancestor of modern homo sapiens. However, the possibility is not excluded that he, like Australopithecus, is the crown of a side branch of development.
The smartest, most developed monkeys are apes. There are 4 types of them: orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees and pygmy chimpanzees, or bonobos. Chimpanzees and bonobos are very similar to each other, but the other two species are completely different from either chimpanzees or each other. But, nevertheless, all apes have much in common. These monkeys do not have a tail, the structure of the hands is similar to that of a human, the volume of the brain is very large, and its surface is dotted with grooves and convolutions, which indicates the high intelligence of these animals. Apes, like humans, have 4 blood types, and bonobo blood can even be transfused to a person with the corresponding blood type - this indicates their “blood” relationship with humans.
Both chimpanzees and gorillas live in Africa, the continent considered the cradle of humanity, while the orangutan, our most distant relative among the apes, lives in Asia.
SOCIAL LIFE OF CHIMPANZEES
Chimpanzees live in groups of an average of 20 individuals. The group, led by one male leader, includes males and females of all ages. A group of chimpanzees lives in a territory, which the males protect from incursions by neighbors.
In places where there is plenty of food, chimpanzees lead sedentary image life, but if there is not enough food, they wander widely in search of food. It happens that the living space of several groups intersects, then they temporarily unite, and in all disputes the group that has more males and is therefore stronger has an advantage. Permanent married couples chimpanzees do not form, and all adult males can freely choose a girlfriend from among the adult females of both their own and the neighboring group that has joined.
After an 8-month pregnancy, a female chimpanzee gives birth to one completely helpless baby. The mother carries the baby on her stomach for up to a year, then the baby independently moves onto her back. For 9 years, mother and child are almost inseparable. Mothers teach their cubs everything they know, introducing them to the world around them and to other members of the group. Sometimes grown-up babies are sent to a “kindergarten”, where they frolic with their peers under the supervision of several adult females. By the age of 13, chimpanzees become adults, independent members of the group, and young males gradually become involved in the struggle for leadership.
Chimpanzees are quite aggressive animals. Quarrels often occur within the group, escalating into bloody fights, sometimes with fatal results. A wide range of gestures, facial expressions and sounds help monkeys establish relationships with each other, with the help of which they show dissatisfaction or approval. Monkeys express friendly feelings by picking each other's fur.
Chimpanzees get food both on the ground and in the trees, feeling quite confident everywhere. In addition to plant foods, their diet includes insects and small animals. Moreover, hungry monkeys as a whole community can go hunting and get, for example, a gazelle.
SMART HEAD AND SKILLFUL HANDS
Chimpanzees are very smart and know how to use tools, and they specially select the most suitable ones. handy tool and can even improve it. So, in order to climb into an anthill, a chimpanzee takes a twig and tears off all the leaves on it. They use a stick to knock down a tall fruit or hit an opponent during a fight. Getting to the core of the nut, the monkey can place it on a specially selected flat stone, and use another sharp one to break the shell. To get a drink, the chimpanzee uses a large leaf as a scoop or makes a sponge from a chewed leaf, dips it in a stream and squeezes the water into his mouth.During a hunt, monkeys are able to throw stones at their prey; a hail of stones awaits a predator, such as a leopard, who dares to hunt monkeys. To avoid getting wet when crossing a stream, chimpanzees can make a bridge out of sticks; they use leaves as umbrellas, fly swatters, fans, and even as toilet paper.
MONSTERS OR GOODNESS GIANTS?
It is not difficult to imagine the feelings of a person who sees a gorilla in the wild for the first time - a humanoid giant who scares the alien with menacing screams, beats himself in the chest with his fists, breaks and uproots young trees. Such encounters with forest monsters gave rise to legends about the fiends of hell, whose superhuman strength poses a serious danger to the human race. The emergence of such legends caused the ruthless extermination of gorillas. It is unknown what human fear and ignorance would have led to if scientists had not taken under their protection these huge monkeys, about whom they knew almost nothing at that time.
It turned out that the “monstrous” gorillas are peaceful vegetarians, eating exclusively plant foods; moreover, they are almost not aggressive and use their strength only in defense. To avoid bloodshed, male gorillas try to scare off an opponent - be it another male or a human. That’s when all means of intimidation come into play: screaming, roaring, beating yourself in the chest with your fists and breaking branches.
Gorillas live in small groups, usually 5-10 animals, including 1-2 young males, several females with cubs of different ages, and the head of the group - an older male, who is easily distinguished by the silver-gray hair on his back. By the age of 14, a male gorilla reaches sexual maturity and instead of black fur, a light stripe appears on his back. An adult male is huge: with a height of about 180 cm, he can weigh up to 300 kg. The eldest of the silverback males becomes the head of the family group, and the care of all its members falls on his powerful shoulders. The leader gives signals for waking up in the morning and going to bed in the evening, chooses a path in the forest that the whole group will follow in search of food, and maintains order and peace in the family. He protects his charges from all the dangers that the tropical forest conceals.
The cubs in the group are raised by females - their mothers. But, if suddenly the kids become orphaned, it is the silver-backed patriarch who will take them under his protection, carry them on himself, sleep next to them and watch their games. While protecting the cubs, the leader can enter into a duel with a leopard and even with armed poachers.
Often the capture of a baby gorilla costs not only the life of its mother, but also the life of the leader of the group. Having lost their leader and deprived of protection and care, helpless females and young animals may well die if some single male does not take care of the orphaned family.
JUST LIKE PEOPLE
The life routine of gorillas is very similar to that of humans. At sunrise, at a signal from the leader, the entire group wakes up and begins to search for food. After lunch, the family rests, digesting what they have eaten. Young males sleep at a distance, females with cubs are closer to the leader, juveniles frolic next to them - each has its own place. At night, gorillas build nest-beds from branches and leaves. Nests are usually located on the ground. Only light young animals can afford to climb low into a tree and make a bed there.
Cubs enjoy special love in the family. The kids spend most of their time with their mother, but the whole group participates in their upbringing, and adults are patient with the pranks of young people. Gorillas grow up slowly, only twice as fast as human children. Newborns are completely helpless and need maternal care, only by 4-5 months can they move on four legs, and by eight months they can walk upright. Then they grow up faster; surrounded by relatives, young gorillas quickly learn everything. At the age of 7, females become fully grown, males mature by 10-12 years, and at 14 years their back becomes silver. The silverback male often leaves the group and for a long time lives alone until he manages to start a new family.
THE MAIN ENEMY IS MAN
Huge and strong gorillas few enemies in nature. Even the largest predator of African forests, the leopard, rarely dares to attack a gorilla. But, like all animals, forest giants are powerless against the traps, snares and guns of poachers who obtain cubs for livestock traders, skulls and hands of adult males for lovers of exotic souvenirs and meat for gourmets and fans of African cooking. And although the strictest measures are being taken to protect these rare animals, gorillas continue to be killed, because sometimes poaching is the only form of income available to the local population.
"THE FOREST PEOPLE"
"Orangutan" - translated from Malay - means "forest man". This is the name of the great apes that live in the jungles of the islands of Kalimantan and Sumatra. Orangutans - amazing creatures and differ in many ways from other great apes. Firstly, orangutans lead an arboreal lifestyle and, despite their significant weight (70-100 kg), they climb trees well at a height of up to 20 m and do not like to go down to the ground. It is clear that such heavy animals cannot jump from branch to branch, but they are able to climb confidently and quickly. Orangutans feed almost all day long, eating fruits and leaves, as well as bird eggs and chicks. In the evening, orangutans build nests, each their own, and settle there for the night. They sleep holding a branch with one paw so as not to fall in their sleep. Every night these monkeys settle down in a new place and build a new bed for themselves. Unlike gorillas and chimpanzees, orangutans rarely form groups, preferring to live alone or in pairs (female - male, mother - cubs), but sometimes a pair of adult animals and several cubs of different ages form a family group.
A female orangutan gives birth to one baby, which the mother takes care of for almost 7 years until it becomes an adult. Until the age of 3, a small orangutan feeds almost exclusively on its mother’s milk, and only then does its mother begin to introduce it to solid food. Chewing the leaves, she makes vegetable puree for her child. Preparing the baby for adulthood, the mother teaches him to climb trees and build nests. Baby orangutans are very affectionate and playful, and they perceive the entire learning process as entertaining game. Orangutans are very smart; in captivity they learn to use tools and even make them themselves. But in nature, these monkeys rarely use their abilities: the constant search for food does not leave them time to develop natural intelligence.
When asked what species of monkeys belong to the group of anthropoids, many people answer without hesitation: “chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan.” Those who are more knowledgeable in zoology also call the gibbon. But few people know about the existence of our much closer relative, the bonobo, or pygmy chimpanzee. And this despite the fact that the set of bonobo genes coincides with the set of human genes by 98%!
Orangutans and gorillas are able to determine by the image of an animal whether it belongs to a certain class: they distinguish between mammals, birds, reptiles, insects and fish.
Orangutans and bonobos are capable of planning their actions. Both types of monkeys stored the necessary tools to obtain one or another reward in the future. Analyzing a series of carefully designed experiments, researchers have concluded that the ability to foresee the future is not a uniquely human trait. This trait is most likely embedded in the mental patterns of animals.
Alexander Markov
Primates have evolved many new genes (mostly by duplicating old ones), but very little is known about the functions of these genes or the details of their evolutionary history. One of these genes, CDC14Bretro, appeared in the common ancestor of great apes as a result of the activity of retrotransposons. Later, in the common ancestor of gorillas, chimpanzees and humans, the gene underwent rapid changes under the influence of selection, changing its “profession” and “place of work”.
Alexander Markov
The results of a study of the oldest and most ancient complete skeleton baby Australopithecus afarensis. The skeleton was discovered in December 2000 in eastern Ethiopia, in roughly the same area where the famous Lucy was found in 1974, and belongs to a three-year-old girl who lived 3.3 million years ago. Apparently, the girl died during the flood and was immediately covered with sand, which ensured exceptional preservation of the bones. A study of the unique find confirmed that Australopithecus afarensis were bipedal creatures with an almost human-like lower body, retaining many ape-like features in the structure of the arms and skull.
Of all the arguments that prove that humans are fundamentally different from animals, the most compelling concerns the ability of humans to understand the minds of others. Only people can not only perceive their own experiences, but also realize that the thoughts and views of other people are different from their own. However, the results of a recent study published in Science suggest that monkeys are endowed with the same ability.
Researchers have unearthed ancient hammer stones in Ivory Coast. Based on some features, scientists have determined that these tools were used by chimpanzees. And if the archaeologists' conclusions are correct, we have before us the earliest known example of such behavior of monkeys.
The formation of vocalizations (that is, sounds made) in newborn marmosets depends on whether they receive feedback from parents. At first glance, this result, of course, does not look like a sensational discovery. However, it is very important because it contradicts traditional ideas that sound signals in primates are strictly innate and do not depend in any way on experience and social environment. We decided to figure out what the new results mean for understanding the nature of language, what scientists currently think about its origins, and why it is so difficult to teach monkeys to speak.
Coco the western lowland gorilla was born on July 4, 1971 at the San Francisco Zoo. At the age of one year, animal psychologist Francine Patterson began working with Koko and began teaching her sign language. At the age of 19, the gorilla successfully passed the “mirror test”, which determines the ability of animals to recognize themselves in the mirror ( most of gorillas and other animals are incapable of this). Patterson admitted that at the beginning of her training she also believed that the gorilla unconsciously performed actions in order to receive a reward, but rethought this after Koko began to come up with ideas own words. The ring became a “finger bracelet,” and the mask was called the “eye cap.” Coco was one of the few known animals who had pets - kittens, which she herself chose the name of.
For the first time, scientists have documented wild gorillas using simple tools (sticks) to measure the depth of a swamp.
Apes include eleven species from three families: gibbons, pongids and hominids. Some families have only one species. Orangutans and most gibbons are on the verge of extinction. All species of great apes are listed in the International Red Book.
Evolution of monkeys
Apes are the closest relatives of humans. They have 32 teeth and no tail. Their limbs resemble human arms and legs, but their feet are not adapted to walking on the ground for long periods of time. Despite this, these animals can still move on their hind limbs. Another “human” trait of great apes is their flat chest.
It is possible that humans and African apes had common ancestors. Great apes, similar to primitive man To get food, they are able to use simple tools, such as stones and sticks.
Great and little monkeys
For certain reasons, some scientists tend not to include gibbons in the group of great apes. Today, the gibbon family is included in the superfamily of apes. Gibbons live exclusively in Asia from Indian state Assam to Indochina. In some species, males and females have different colors. Male Hoolock Gibbons, Hoolock Gibbons, and Kloss's Gibbons have black coats, while their females and cubs have light brown or gray coats. Large apes in Asia are represented only by the orangutan, whose range is limited to the forests of Kalimantan and Sumatra. Chimpanzees, pygmy chimpanzees and gorillas are found in West and Central Africa. All large apes sleep in nests that they build in trees, and only gorillas sleep on the ground.
Gibbons have calluses on their buttocks, so they can sleep while sitting on hard tree branches. Apes, who do not have such calluses, sleep lying down in a nest, which is lined with leaves. Apes live quite a long time: gibbons - about 25 years, large species- up to 50 years.
Methods of movement of monkeys
The smallest representatives of the group of apes are gibbons, whose mass reaches 8 kg. With extraordinary ease, they deftly jump along tree branches. When moving, monkeys cling to branches only with their hands. Swinging like a pendulum, they can jump up to ten meters. When jumping, monkeys reach speeds of about 16 kilometers per hour. Hanging on a branch with one arm and swinging, gibbons move far forward, using both paws when landing. They have very mobile shoulder joints that rotate 360°. Most apes are good tree climbers, selecting thick branches that can support their body weight. Orangutans distribute their weight on all four limbs; they do not jump. Pygmy chimpanzees, or bonobos, behave like real acrobats in the treetops. All apes have long arms and rather short hind limbs. Most of them move on the ground on all fours. Gorillas and chimpanzees, as well as bonobos, walk using the fingers of their forelimbs, while orangutans rely on their fists.
Sounds made by monkeys
The largest gibbon, the siamang, has a throat pouch that it can inflate. The leathery sac plays the role of a resonator, which amplifies the sound. Usually the monkey makes sounds that resemble a dull bark. Members of the same herd within their territory also communicate using sound signals, and the females are the most active - their first long barking sounds gradually shorten until they calm down completely, and then the monkeys begin the “conversation” again. The males respond with low cries that turn into a roar. Obviously, the cry serves siamangs not only to indicate boundaries of the territory, but is an element complex system communications. Adult male orangutans also have throat sacs called resonators. Their loud voices can be heard at a distance of one kilometer. The male gorilla, sensing danger, rises to his hind limbs, beats his chest with his hands and shouts: “tok-tok-tok.” This behavior is called a demonstration. Chimpanzees and pygmy chimpanzees (bonobos) communicate with each other by crying, grumbling, squealing and snorts. The chimpanzee's danger signal is a very high-pitched, loud sound that can be heard over a long distance.
Ape food
Gorillas eat leaves, fruits, bark, mushrooms, buds and shoots. One of the subspecies, the lowland gorilla, lives in West Africa, eats insects and their larvae. Gibbons feed mainly on ripe fruits. Orangutans eat fruits, leaves, insects, and bird eggs. Chimpanzees are omnivorous apes. The basis of their diet is fruits, leaves and seeds, but chimpanzees readily eat ants, termites, larvae and bird eggs. Sometimes they destroy bee nests by eating larvae and honey. Chimpanzees hunt baby antelopes, baboons and wild pigs. They crack nuts with stones.
Reproduction
Apes enter puberty late. Gibbons begin to mate at the age of 6-7 years. A female chimpanzee gives birth to her first baby between the ages of 6 and 9 years. Males of large apes reach sexual maturity somewhat later - at 7-8 years. Female chimpanzees mate with different males from the herd. In gorillas, only the leader of the herd has the right to mate with all females. Orangutans live alone, so the female mates with the male she meets during the breeding season. Pregnancy lasts approximately 7 months for gibbons and 9 months for gorillas. The female gives birth to one cub; twins are rarely born. Gibbons feed their young with milk for several months, more than large monkeys- longer.
A baby chimpanzee often feeds on its mother's milk for 4 years, and then lives for a long time with its mother, who carries it long distances on her back. Female gibbons usually give birth to cubs every 2 years, gorillas every 2-3 years, and chimpanzees every 5-6 years. A baby in a herd of gorillas feels safe because all members of the herd protect him from enemies.
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Russian scientist turns Darwin's theory inside out
Meet him - perhaps this is your fifth cousin! Or his eighth cousin... Look how handsome he is: his coat is smooth, his teeth are strong. And he's great at climbing trees. So what if it's a chimpanzee? We will have to get used to the idea that it was not man who once descended from the monkey, but quite the opposite - the monkey from man. And not only monkeys, but also other vertebrates.
Traditional Darwinian teaching may be untenable. The entire history of life on Earth threatens to be turned upside down: for millions of years on our planet it was not the evolution (development) of living beings that took place, but their involution (degradation).
This is precisely the course of events that Moscow paleoanthropologist Alexander Belov proves in his research. And he gives the following arguments.
- I believe that at a certain stage of existence the human body could be transformed into the body of a vertebrate animal. Convincing proof of this is a fact that for some reason Darwin and his followers ignored, but which even a schoolchild can easily verify.
Although we are accustomed to the term “quadrupeds,” in reality there are no four-legged animals in nature: the structure of the front and hind limbs is different. A gopher, a dog, a hippopotamus - each of them has two “legs” and two “arms” that are dissimilar both anatomically and functionally. The most obvious external difference: “leg” in knee joint bends backward, and the “arm” at the elbow bends forward. Exactly like a person's.
For homo sapiens, this design is quite understandable. The hand turns just so to take something, bring it to the face, to the mouth. And the legs bend in the opposite direction to push off the ground and take steps. But in vertebrates, the anatomy as a whole is human, and the functions are non-human. It turns out that for some reason the animals adapted their “armed” and “legged” bodies to move on four limbs. The same gorillas, traditionally called among our “closest relatives,” use their “human” arms mainly as additional support when walking. But they, like other monkeys, do not really know how to move on their two hind limbs.
The structure of the hand, with a thumb opposed to the other four, allows a person to manipulate even small objects. But if you look closely at the skeletons of animals, it is easy to detect a similar structure of the forelimbs of a monkey, bat, crocodile... Even the whale with its front fins and the Permian stegocephalus, which lived more than 300 million years ago.
The question arises: why did all these animals get on all fours and turn their arms into legs? Why do vertebrates need an anatomical structure similar to the human hand if it is used only as a primitive support? It is much more logical to have a pair of “normal” legs both in front and behind.
And that is not all. The same monkeys adapted their hind limbs to perform grasping functions, changing the anatomy of the human foot “to suit themselves” (in fact, disfiguring it). Thumb on the monkey's legs it is bent to the side and has a greater degree of mobility. It is, of course, convenient to tear fruits with such paws and cling to branches, but they are of little use for normal movement “on foot.” What kind of evolution is this...
- “Arms are like legs” – is your most important argument?
- There are other very killer facts. IN last years Scientists have made amazing discoveries. For example, in 2000, the remains of a “proto-man” who lived 6 million years ago were excavated in Kenya. Analysis of the discovered bone fragments showed that this creature was most likely upright - it moved on two “human” legs. Meanwhile, 6 million years is precisely the point when, according to evolutionary scientists, the final divergence of the line of development of apes and humans occurred (before this period, fossil remains of the ancestors of modern apes with their characteristic “grasping” abilities are not found) thumbs on foot).
The most ancient anthropomorphic creatures suddenly reveal signs of a very close relationship to the type modern man. In 2002, the skull of a fossil creature was discovered in the African Republic of Chad, which was called “sahelanthropus.” The researchers of the find found that the prehistoric aborigine walked on two legs and had many other signs of a human, but at the same time his skull was similar to that of a chimpanzee. The age of this hominid is 7 million years.
It turns out that he lived before the great apes and earlier than australopithecines previously considered transitional form from ape to man. Try to explain this “trick” from the standpoint of Darwin’s theory.
- Does your hypothesis eliminate such inconsistencies?
- Certainly. The monkey is not the ancestor of man. She is his descendant. We are, of course, not talking about our contemporaries, but perhaps the great ape is, for example, a descendant of those very Sahelanthropes.
I’ll make a reservation right away: I don’t know where the person came from, and I just take it for granted. It can be assumed (this version is supported by many modern scientists) that our current community of homo sapiens is by no means the first. In different geological periods appeared on Earth independently of each other different types of people. However, these Paleozoics, Mesozoics, and Cenozoics existed for a relatively short time, and therefore did not leave a trace in the paleontological record of the planet known to us now.
The existence of society in each of the previous cases had a cyclical nature: the communities of our “human” predecessors went through a phase of development and a phase of the so-called final transformation, after which comes the stage of the return of the intelligent inhabitants of the Earth to the source that gave birth to them. But not everyone goes there, beyond this Rubicon. Some part, not wanting to return to the immaterial world, remains on Earth. These are Mowgli, who, no longer able to fully exist as a person, begin to degrade, caring only about fulfilling primitive personal goals - to survive, to adapt to the environment.
Such “debris human society”, losing their minds, and turned into what we now call vertebrates. The human body was only a kind of matrix.
- In your opinion, are their further transformations possible?
- Each animal species occupies its own ecological niche. An attempt to transform, to get out of it, means an inevitable collision with those creatures that occupy neighboring niches. So our smaller brothers, having adapted well to certain conditions of existence, seem to be locked into them, preserved for thousands, millions of years...
- Where did the huge diversity of vertebrate species that now surrounds us come from?
- I already said that communities intelligent beings appeared on our planet more than once and disappeared just as many times. From each such civilization, degraded living beings were preserved, transformed as a result of the process of involution into various animals. Some of the involutionary branches led to the appearance of, for example, horses, some gave rise to dolphins, the third - bats…
- What about flies, spiders, mollusks?
- In a more distant, Precambrian period, there could well have existed on Earth, replacing each other, non-human civilizations. So, as a result of the degradation of those intelligent creatures unknown to us (their remains were not preserved, most likely due to the passage of time) insects, crustaceans, and arthropods appeared on the planet.
- According to your theory, the great-great-great ancestors of the neighbor domestic cat were representatives of a certain human civilization, maybe even more developed than the current one? But why did they, so advanced, need to get on all fours and adapt to grab food with their mouths, if it is so convenient to walk on two legs and use their hands?
- The main thing here is loss of mind. And as proof of my assumptions, I can give a real example from our time. Flipping through one of scientific journals, I read that in a remote area of Iran, a small settlement was discovered, all the inhabitants of which - father, mother, their children - move exclusively on all fours, doing it very quickly. But at the same time they wear clothes, use traditional tools labor and life... Researchers encountered a similar phenomenon in another corner globe, in the Dominican Republic.
- It’s hard to imagine that losing one’s mind could be a voluntary action...
- According to Freud's theory, two principles are constantly fighting in a person - the animal, with its inherent passions, and the human, associated with rational behavior. Reason often inhibits the manifestation of feelings, becomes a kind of internal censor, suppresses the very thought of the free manifestation of one’s “base” desires. An intrapersonal conflict arises, which can result in protest behavior against the dogmas and foundations of society. Further split personality is fraught with the manifestation of two mutually exclusive ways of thinking: sensual and rational. Some of the homo sapiens eventually abandon the rational perception of reality, free their souls from the norms and decencies accepted in society and are completely immersed in the elements of feelings and emotions. In our time, we are already faced with similar manifestations: drug addicts, drunks, those “crazy people” who “out of the blue” carry out bloody mass shootings in schools, shops, on city streets...
- What are these, the first bells of the coming brutality? And are there times ahead when people will begin to run on all fours and grow claws and tails?
- There are no standards in the process of involution itself. Everyone degrades as best they can. But in my opinion, without emotions and desires there will be no random physiological accumulations. The structure of the human body is very plastic. It must correspond to the internal needs of its owner, and therefore the body can change in one direction or another: you can, for example, for ease of movement and getting food, gradually turn your arms into wings, or you can transform them into flippers; you can give up your teeth and turn your jaws into a beak, as happened in birds... Transformation human body limitless. Endowed with freedom of behavior, living beings themselves remake their bodies as they wish. In the process of involution, they acquire adaptations that are convenient for living in a specific environment, in a specific ecological niche. And they become hostages of this habitat.
- In your correspondence duel with Darwin, do you have like-minded people?
- Evolutionists have been criticized almost since the appearance of this doctrine. Even the founding father himself in his book “The Descent of Man...” mentions a certain count who claimed that the monkey is not an ancestor, but a descendant of man. The famous American paleoanthropologist Osborne expressed the idea that the hominid (“man of the dawn”) appeared on Earth immediately, without intermediate evolutionary stages, and that apes descended from him...
“It’s hard to come to terms with the idea that our future generations will face such a sad fate - turning into animals.”
- I do not at all want to prophesy the human community currently existing on the planet with an inevitable fall into the abyss of involution. It is clearly premature to talk about the causes of degradation. It is necessary to comprehend this problem from all sides. Let us believe that with the help of powerful intellectual potential modern science we will eventually be able to find the key to this process.