Similarities Between Humans and Chimpanzees

“In their natural homes in the wild, chimpanzees humans’ closest living genetic relatives”, who are more like us than they’re like gorillas are never separated from their families and troops . “Profoundly social beings, they spend every day together exploring, crafting and using tools to solve problems, foraging, playing, grooming each other, and making soft nests for sleeping each night” . They care deeply for their families and forge lifelong friendships . Chimpanzee mothers are loving and protective, nursing their infants and sharing their nests with them for four to six years . They have excellent memories and share cultural traditions with their children and peers . They empathize with one another and console their friends when they’re upset . They help others, even at a personal cost to themselves . When one of another

Humans evolve from apelike ancestors approximately five million years ago. Most closely related to us are our non-human primates such as African great apes, chimpanzees and gorillas. Scientific studies reveal that more similar traits are being share by human and our non-human primates compared to other animals. As human evolve from our apelike ancestors, changes in our DNA differentiate ourselves from our non-human primate. Even though we evolve from our non-human ancestors and share similar anatomical structures and characteristics, we are unique in our own ways. We possess specific qualities and abilities that differ from other species. There is a substantial gap between non-human primate and fully developed human. Here we will discuss

Not only did Jane discover their tool making abilities, but also they eat both plants and animals, such as bush pigs and termites (Goodall 1971). This fascinated many other primatologists because chimps were once thought of as herbivores. Jane also realized chimpanzees seem to express the same feelings humans do, though it is not certain (Goodall 598). Examples of such emotions are love, confusion, fear, and aggression. They often show love and care to

Goodall, J. (1971). In the Shadow of Man. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. The author’s goal in writing this book is to discuss her experiences and what she had learned from studying wild Chimpanzees. Goodall wrote this book in order to convey her knowledge of a species of animal she loves very much, so that others may become educated and join her in protecting them. She dreamed of going to Africa to see them, and was offered a job by Dr. Lewis Leakey. Goodall wanted nothing more than a chance to help. Her experiences in surrounding herself with them have completely changed the way scientists conduct field research. Whether she intended to or not, the data she has collected has debunked myths and uncovered truths about chimpanzees, while bringing more light to human behavior.

Whether in the wild or in captivity, chimpanzees will benefit from the behaviors of other chimpanzees in a social learning environment (Hirata, 2009). Chimpanzees in the wild are known for behaviors involving tool use such as nut cracking, ant dipping, termite fishing, pestle pounding and many other techniques (Tonooka, Tomonaga & Matsuzawa, 1997). The skills are seen to be transferred culturally between communities and across many generations. An example of tool use behavior was studied in West Africa, where chimpanzees are known to crack nuts using stone or wooden tools. In Bossou, chimpanzees crack the nut Elaeis Guineensis” which is an oil palm nut, whereas in the Nimba mountains 10 km away from Bossou, chimpanzees would crack a doula nut called Coula edulis. Matsuzawa and others experimented by giving the doula nut to the Bossou chimpanzees, who had never seen or eaten this type of nut before. Besides one adult female, most of the chimpanzees sniffed the nut, picked it up but did not eat it or try and crack the shell. Through observational learning of the adult female that cracked the nut right away, two chimpanzees learned to crack the new nut that was put in their environment. This proved the first evidence of cultural transmission between communities and generations, where the adult chimpanzee grew up in a community nearby that had the same tradition of doula

Within this essay, we will study more in depth the behavioral as well as physical traits of two primates at a zoo from their interaction with their peers to their place in the group. This observation would enable us to further understand the possible existing correlation between humans and primates. First, I studied a female chimpanzee with her baby, and then, a dominant male gorilla, in San Francisco Zoo at about noon, on May 23, 2015, for an hour each. Even though they share some similarities such as having a large brain, living for a long time, and being bored in their enclosure, they are still different; when gorillas are the largest, chimpanzees are the smartest. In fact, chimps use tools to catch food, they would not be able to reach

Opening the documentary with scenes of chimpanzees navigating the forest while wielding rudimentary spears is quite frightening. Often, it is thought that humans are the only species on Earth that can make and utilize tools (such as weapons), and that is largely attributed to humans' advanced bipedalism. However, chimps have begun to use stripped down branches that are then sharpened by their teeth to hunt and catch a variety of prey. This means that chimps took distinct steps to create a weapon and conduct a hunt, and that can be related to humans' early ancestors and their rudimentary ways of life. This has major implications for two reasons: the first being that chimps are advancing intellectually and possibly socially as they seem to organize

Primate diversity can be strongly seen amongst the Bonobos and Chimpanzees; however, each primate species shares similar social traits that are common among the human species. In the various short videos on Bonobos and Chimps indicated that Chimps are violent creatures where males must assert social dominance by abusing their female counterpart. If a group of chimps were to encounter another group of chimps then there would be war amongst the two group. On the other hand, bonobos are the complete opposites of the chimp cousins. Bonobos are female dominant primate species and disputes are handled with intercourse. Intercourse for the bonobos species is also used to solidify relationships amongst both males and females. When two different groups of bonobos meet one another there are friendly interaction and the two groups would

Primates share many human-like factors, and over time, studies are able to now show that non-human primates have become even more like humans in terms of culture and lifestyle. Primates are intelligent, which allows parents of mammals to teach their young, and the young learn much like humans do. From detailed studies of ape behavior, it is concluded that apes, like humans, use tools and patterns to adapt from what they learn in social groups, rather than it being biological. Primates have been found to laugh, support each other, learn how to medicate themselves and others when in need, have family traditions, show off, grieve, and the list goes on. Learning such things, whether it be human or ape, varies from culture to culture, through social

New technologies and advancement in the area of field research has allowed biologist and primatologist to analyze information more effectively and efficiently. Through the non-invasive collection of fecal samples, researchers are able to extract and analyze DNA to help determine individual attribute, as well as population dynamics. In addition to DNA, fecal samples also contain hormones and parasites that help in determining the overall health of the depositor (Newton-Fisher NE, 2010). Other technologies include the use of Geographic Information Systems allows for mapping the ranges of chimpanzees, and satellite imagery is used to view the

This book included a large section of information on orangutans with observations about basic traits as well as mechanical and social behaviors. It is interesting to note that the section also notes the various methods these orangutans were being hunted, killed or used by its enemies. It concludes describing an old misconception of how an orangutan’s “great strength and ferocity render them dangerous.” We now know that these animals are actually very rarely aggressive, but rather solitary social creatures. The common theme of primates being dangerous and monsters can be across various historical writings.

The use of tools by chimpanzees increased a lot during the past few decades and the likely cause of that was the growing number of habituated chimpanzee populations combined with a large number of long-term committed projects that investigate chimpanzee populations in different parts of Africa (Toth and Schick:2009:294). Chimpanzees would use tools for termite fishing with twigs or grass, leaf sponges to scoop brains from a cranium or fruit from a husk and would use stone, wooden hammers and anvils to crack open hard-shelled nuts. In terms of male or female chimpanzees, females would use tools during arboreal feeding whereas males would use tools to help harvest terrestrial resources. (Toth and Schick:2009:295).Capuchins are observed to have use sticks to club a snake and shells to crack open oysters(Westergaard 1995:2). They have also spontaneously used and modified sticks as probes and stones and bone fragments as cutting and nut cracking implements(Westergaard 1995:2). Mandrills have been shown to use small wood splinters as tools.(Pansini and de Ruiter: 2011)

She was responsible for the studies of chimpanzees. Ironically, she did not have substantial knowledge of science and particular scientific method to conduct explanation or experiment. But unsurprisingly, she end up discovered something that many experienced male researchers unable to accomplish. Goodall’s major discovery was the new observation of how chimpanzees use tool to survive. At the time, many primatolgical scientists still stuck on the old framework that only human can use tool so that we can become the king of species. But Goodall overturned the majority in 1960s when she conducted several observation in chimpanzees, include how chimpanzees feasting on a wild piglet after hunting and process of chimpanzees using twigs as a tool to extract termites from its nests. Behaviors like these could explain chimpanzees has the capable ability to use tools surrounding them and use it to survive, just like human beings. The major reason that Goodall can observe such unexpected discovery may due to her “empathy” to chimpanzees. Empathy can influence how she ask questions and make lateral procedures on the studies. But while she has such success on discover new founding of primates, she was under attack by many other male dominant field workers, like objection, disagreement, criticism on her unskillful report and unprofessional scientific method. But overall on the Goodall’s research, she

     Jane Goodall’s books, Through a Window, In the Shadow of Man, and The Chimpanzees of Gombe, recount her many years as an observer of chimpanzees and other species of monkeys. In Through a Window, she gives her account of thirty years with chimpanzees in the village of Gombe, off of Lake Tanganyika. During those thirty years with her son and husband, she observed and researched the chimpanzees with the help of other researchers. This book is a collection of the observations and data, in addition to the emotions she felt during this era. The theme of Through a Window is that chimpanzees have very human characteristics and feelings, and she

First, Chimpanzees are able to modify their lives like us humans. Creating tools to gather their meals. Similarities between us, we out smart their prey. They use sticks to gather termites and they also use sharp sticks as we would a spear to stick in the trees prey on animals. Just like humans, we use fishing tools, etc. to gather our food.