Orangutans
In Malay orang means "person" and utan is defined as "forest'. Thus
Orangutan literally means "Person of the Forest". Orangutans are found in the
tropical forests of Sumatra and Borneo. They are the most arboreal of the great
apes and move amongst the safety of the trees from one feeding site to the next.
They are so well adapted to arboreal life that they cannot place their feet on
the ground, instead they walk on the outside of their curved foot.
There is a scattered population of orangutan in Indonesian Borneo,
Malaysia Borneo and northern Sumatra. The different habitats have isolated the
orangutan reproductively and geographically from one another creating a "degree
of difference" or two subspecies. There are several different characteristics
between the two subspecies of orangutans and it has recently been suggested that
they may be a separate species. The Borneo male has relatively large cheek
pads, a tremendous laryngeal sac and a square shaped face. The Sumatran male
has small pads and laryngeal sac, a ginger coloured moustache, a pronounced
beard, and a diamond shaped face. Individuals can also be distinguished
chromosomally, biochemically, and by their cranial characteristics.
There is a great deal of individual variety in the orangutan. "Each
orang-utan had a distinct personality and in dealing with such highly
intelligent animals in captivity, the keeper's knowledge of the individual was
probably more important than the knowledge of the overall behaviour patterns "
(Markham, 1980). Orangutan males, however, appear to be totally intolerant of
one another, especially the Borneo males who are even aggressive towards females
and infants. Male orangutans' participation in social groups is limited to
sexual "consortship" with females. However, the Sumatran males tend to stay with
females for a longer period of time usually until the birth of the infant.
They may stay longer with their partner because of the presence of large
predators absent in the Borneo habitat. The orangutan has a menstrual cycle of
29-30 days, menstruation lasting 3-4 days. The Gestation period lasts slightly
less than nine months. Offspring pass through three stages, infancy (0-4),
juvenile (4-7), and adolescents (7-10). Mother young relationship lasts for a
long time, the young usually stay with their mother until they are mature.
Female Orangutans are not sexually mature or fully grown until the age of twelve
and will not have their first offspring until they are at least fourteen. Males
become sexually mature and fully grown at the age of fifteen. The cheek flanges
of the male easily recognize the differences between adults and semi-adults. The
flanges in the Boreal male curve out ward from the face and develop around the
Tool-use is regularly reported in chimpanzees. They use many different tools to carry out many different tasks. They use sticks to fish for insects, stones and wood to crack open nuts, leaves to soak up liquid, and branches used as weapons to dominate opponents and frighten off predators. In making tools, they may use a variety of different materials to make the same kind of tool. For example, they use sticks, twigs, bark, and vines to fish for termites. They also may use the same material for different purposes. A leaf could be used as a termite probe, a napkin, or a sponge.
The second step shown in these monkey’s evolutionary progress is that now these animals appear to be goal oriented. Like mentioned previously, these monkeys had been working for themselves. They would do what ever they could to benefit themselves, get food, and have a nice place to sleep. Yet, once the changes begin and they have a leader, the monkeys begin to act as a group. They are more coordinated and it seems that their living style has changed from anarchy to monarchy. They attack a larger animal and kill it as a group. In turn, the raw meat is then split between the monkeys and everyone gets a share.
...out so the animal can travel farther. There would be a lot more trees but not enough were the animal felt crowded.
They do not posses enough muscle to perform everyday tasks that are second nature for
In his book, Planet Without Apes, Stanford introduces readers to apes, shows why the apes are endangered, how similar we are to apes, and why we should protect the apes. He does so in nine chapters – “Save the Apes”, “Heart of Darkness”, “Homeless”, “Bushmeat”, “Outbreak”, “In a Not-So-Gilded Cage”, “The Double-Edged Sword of Ecotourism”, “Ethnocide”, and “May There Always be Apes”. Stanford strategically chooses the name Planet Without the Apes, as a parody of the Hollywood franchise, hoping such a title would capture potential readers’ interests. Stanford does not simply tell us why we need to save the apes – he brings us on a journey with the apes and by the end of the book, we feel compelled to save the apes.
Killer whales are one of the most fascinating displays of ocean life. The killer whale has characteristics that are important to its survival in the ocean. It is interesting to know that killer whales have a plentiful diet. It is astounding to see how killer whales behave in the ocean. I plan to tell you about the killer whale, its characteristics, its diet, and its behavior in the ocean as well as the predation of the orca.
...ro-Magnon. The chin however recedes slightly behind the teeth, which is typically a Neanderthal trait. The age of the fossil is interesting also, because 25,000 years ago Neanderthals weren’t around anymore, so the boy is essentially a modern human with Neanderthal traits (Kunzig, 160).
The monkeys of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book are a very unique group of characters. They are viewed by the other animals of the jungle, or the Jungle People as they call themselves, as outcasts and outlaws. The most prominent chapter they occur in, “Kaa’s Hunting”, shows their lawless, shiftless, and uncivilized way of life. This image in itself does not give off any racist undertone. However, Disney’s adaption of The Jungle Book carries this view of the monkeys, while also giving them strong attributes that are commonly associated with African-Americans.
Our earliest ancestors are primates. They are our closest relatives which is why we can see our behavior’s and practices in them. If we observe them we can get a better understanding of them and us, human beings. But unfortunately we all don’t get the chance to see a Primate right in our backdoor. So the best thing I could do for my observation was to visit them at the zoo.
them. They were able to sustain their survival from the living plants and animals that lived among
Mayans The Mayans believe that Mother Earth is a gigantic monster. It was an alligator, toad, and turtle combined. Above her was a sky with a layer for each planet and spheres of movement for the sun and the moon. Below her was the underworld where heavenly bodies passed when out of sight.
Jane Goodall Among the Wild Chimpanzees Jane Goodall is a woman who has and still does work with chimpanzees in Tanzania, South Africa. The first time she went to Tanzania was on July 14, 1960 when she was just 26 years old. Because of her research and studies of many different chimpanzees, we as humans will be able to better understand ourselves and other primates. At first, Jane just sat on a peak at the top of a mountain, so that she could observe the chimps. The chimpanzees would keep a safe distance away so they were able to watch Jane and make sure that she wasn’t going to hurt them in any way.
Non human primates’ social organization can provide useful information how human social evolution occurs. We will go over main points of how similar and different non human primates such as chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas’ society are compared to ours, humans.
own roots (not just the plant kind), this meant they needed a structure that was different than
Baboons belong to the Old World monkey family, Cercopithecidae. They are found in Africa, south of the Sahara as well as in the Saudi Arabia desert (Class Notes 6/12/01). There are five subspecies of baboons including the hamadryas, the Guinea, the yellow, the chacma, and the olive baboons.