Phylum chordates are a taxonomic rank below kingdom that includes organisms such as mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, all vertebrates, tunicates, and cephalochordates. To be in the phylum of chordates you must at some point in your development of life have a dorsal nerve, or hollow nerve cord which is in the central nervous system that acts as a support to the locomotion system. I will discuss the different kind of organisms along with some characteristics of the organisms found in the chordates phylum, I will then break down some specific species within the phylum group and will discuss their individual characteristic such as what they eat, where they are found, how and when they reproduce, and if they are social or solitary. There …show more content…
Gorillas can live to be about 50 years old, male gorillas can weight up to 450 pounds whereas female gorillas weigh up to 200 pounds. Male gorillas while stand upright are about 5 feet 5 inches to six feet tall whereas the females are about 4 feet 5 inches to 5 feet tall when standing upright. Gorillas are considered herbivores and vegetarians, they love to eat stems, leaves, bamboo shoots and fruits. Gorillas live in a group about 6-12 but some depending on where they live up to a group of 40. They have a dominant male gorilla that us usually dominant for years. Gorillas do not have a specific mating season they can reproduce anytime throughout the year; they usually carry their babies or young for about eight and a half months. Gorillas usually have one baby per birth and their young are only about three to four pounds and are helpless until the time they can walk which is around eight to nine months. Gorillas usually nurse there young until they are three years old. Gorillas only reproduce a baby about every four to six years. Most gorillas live in the tropical rain forest in Africa specifically central and east Africa. I do feel that gorillas are social animals not solitary. An interesting fact about gorillas is that they share about 98.3% of their DNA with …show more content…
Elephants are the largest land animal on earth they grow from 8.2 to 13 feet from shoulders to toes and they weigh anywhere from 5,000 to 14,000 pounds. Elephants usually eat grass, fruits and bark and an adult elephant can eat up to three hundred pounds of food a day! Elephants that are around the ages of 13-20 will reproduce, they are pregnant for about 22 months and when their young are born they weigh about two hundred pounds and are about three feet tall. They reproduce about every three to four years. While doing my research, I found that elephants are social animals among the female elephants and stay very close like a tight knit family and usually stay close to the eldest adult female elephant but most male elephants are solitary. Elephants live to be about 50-60 years
...ve with her powers. In general no matter the conflict that arises the elephants always stick together and never become mad at one another. This collectiveness/family unity is a great message to any reader searching for life answers.
For the lowland adult male gorilla measure up about 66.9 in. tall and weigh an average of 374 pounds, while adult female gorillas measure up about 59.1 in. height and her weigh is no more than 160 pounds. On the other hand, adult male mountain gorillas may weigh up to 484 pounds, and adult females weigh about 215 pounds. The adult male bonobos measure up to 4 feet tall and weigh an average of 85 pounds, while adult female bonobos measure up over 3 feet tall and weigh an average of 68 pounds. The adult male chimpanzees measure up to approximately 4 feet high, and weigh between 90 and 120 pounds, while the female chimpanzees weigh between 60 and 110 pounds. The adult male orangutan measure up to typically 4 ft. 6 in. tall and weigh around 165 pound, while the adult female orangutan measure up to 3 ft. 9 in. and weigh around 82 pounds. Male orangutans are approximately twice the size of the females. It is believed that the bigger size of males is because of the strong competition among males for females. The 12 species of gibbons are classified as lesser apes. They are relatively smaller, slender, and more agile than other apes. They exhibit many characteristics of primates, including flat faces, enlarged brain sizes, grasping hands and feet, arms longer than legs, no tails, and broad chests. Male gibbons are just under 3 ft. in length and weigh about 15 pounds. Furthermore, the evolution of Homo erectus showed more human examination
Most surviving Cross River gorillas reside in The Takamanda National Park and the Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary. They avoid humans in captivity, this is shown in the sanctuaries distribution. In a 2006 journal, the author shows the gorillas solitary nature that “nest distribution was clearly influenced by anthropogenic factors within the sanctuary, with the disturbed southern section of the park avoided” (Bergl & Vigilant, 2006; Furuichi et al., 1997). The Cross River Gorillas avoidance of man is “due to a combination of past taboos and present wildlife laws. Gorillas are likely to avoid humans where they encounter them” (De Vere et al., 2011).
Each author has the same purpose in writing about the elephant studies and there are many similarities and differences in which the elephants behaved.
Bonobos and gorillas are often found socializing in groups but orangutans are more solitary primates usually keeping to just the children they have (Absolutely Apes). Most scientists believe that bonobos are the most intelligent of the primates(Absolutely Apes). They share many of the behaviors us humans do day to day, like teaching...
Gorillas are a species of Apes. They are the largest species of the apes. They can grow to the height of an average person, but can weigh two to three times as much. According to www.allaboutwildlife.com, there are several species of gorillas, one is known as the Western gorilla and the other is the Eastern gorilla with subgroups. The Eastern gorilla are also known as the mountain gorilla. They live in the higher areas where it is colder. There is also an Eastern lowland gorilla and just as their name is stated, they live in in the lowlands. Both species live in tropical east-central Africa. Gorillas are now on the endangered species list for many reasons.
The evolution of the elephant specie initiates the modification in the genetic traits of an elephant through sequential generations; hence the independent species divided into separate divisions. The subspecies therefore evolved and developed independently, and ultimately expanded and branched out to form advanced species, resulting in the formation and evolution of the modern elephant specie. The current elephant is a large herbivorous mammal, native in Southern Asia and Africa. The elephant species is the largest existing land animal, belonging to the family Elephantidae, and the order of Probiscidea. The elephant is characterised by the possession of a versatile trunk, capable of grasping objects and ivory tusks.
...t only is a gorilla completely different from us, but it is also one of the smartest species. By hearing a different point of view of our society, it opens up people’s minds. Everything changes when an individual not living in our society tells us that we are wrong.
Elephants Can Lend a Helping Trunk is a passage about a study preformed to test elephants' abilities to collaborate. It explains the basic process of the experiment, and provided in-depth analysis of the results. It made many comparisons between the study and other studies and research and noted the opinions of numerous professionals, which helped show the significance of the test's findings. The purpose of this passage was to primarily to be an entertaining article, and secondarily to inform the reader about the experiment. It was very similar to Elephants Console Each Other in tone and style, but differed more from Elephants Know When They Need a Helping Trunk, mainly because it was less informational, and more enjoyable.
I went to the Oklahoma City Zoon and I became interested in the gorilla’s exhibit because of the different facts they had all over the room. Gorillas are similar to human in many ways. Although many people hate to think of it that way, it really is true. The zoo did a great job at informing the visitors about the gorillas within the exhibit and also the different characteristics all of them share in general. This exhibit provided probably the most information out of any other exhibit. I thought I would share what I learned and the notes I took from my visit to the zoo.
The physical characteristics of a gorilla are, the male may be from a height of 5.5 ft and a weight of about 400 lbs. The female can be as tall as 5 ft. and weight almost about half the weight of the male. Their skull is pretty much similar to ours, but their bones are thicker. The gorillas spin...
Cohn, Jeffrey P. "Do Elephants Belong In Zoos?" Bioscience 56.9 (2006): 714-717. Academic Search Premier. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
The common name is the African Elephant, the scientific name is Loxodonta Africana, the phylum is Vertebrata, the class is Mammalia, the order is Proboscidea, and the family is Elephantidae. The Closest Relatives to the African Elephant are: the Asian Elephant, mammoths, primitive proboscidean (mastodons), sea cows, and hyraxes. Scientists believe that the African Elephant evolved from one of its closest relatives, the Sea Cow. The geographical location and range of the African elephant covers all of central and southern Africa. In Ethiopia there are isolated populations that exist around Lake Chad in Mali and Mauritania. Also in Kenya, Rhodesia, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Zaire, and in National parks located in South Africa, as well as several other countries. African Elephants, originally, were found in all of the Sub-Saharan African habitats except desert steppes. Elephants still occupy diverse habitats such as: temperate grassland, tropical savanna and grass lands, temperate forest and rainforest, tropical rainforest, tropical scrub forest, and tropical deciduous forest despite their drastic decline in numbers. However, their migratory patterns and habitat use have changed, due to the fact that they are restricted to protected areas. The elephant can exist in many types of environments but it prefers places that have many trees and bushes, which the elephant needs both for food and shade. They also like warm areas that have plenty of rainfall.
Elephants should not be killed because they help the environment. Elephants actually help the environment by acting like a bulldozer and knocking down dead trees that would stand dormant otherwise. Africa does not have the time or money to bulldoze these dead trees that take up land that could be used for some well needed shelter. There are too many homeless people in Africa to have dead trees taking up in some cases large parts of land. Elephants work as construction equipment that Africa does not have the money for. Without these elephants dead trees would take up many miles of that that could be houses sheltering the poor population of Africa.
Baby animals bring in more revenue for the zoo, and they become over populated. In the article “Arguments For and Against Zoos” written by Doris Lin an animal rights expert, states, “Surplus animals are sold not only to other zoos but also to circuses, canned hunting facilities, and even for slaughter.” Zoos are not the best solution for animal conservation because they can lead to animal cruelty and human dependence for survival. In the BBC video, “Should we close our zoos” also reported that many animals suffer from depression due to the lack of space they are limited to in their habitats. In fact they informed that female asian elephants live 19 years when their average life span in the wild is 42 years. This brings into light a question about the deplorable living conditions that lower their life expectancy. Zoos are supposed to help animals live longer and ‘healthy’ lives but there are many holes in the zoo's goal to conserve