Intelligence Is The Most Intelligent Of The Primates

“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

Many species of wildlife continue to be mistreated and neglected even when they show many signs of being intelligent creatures. In the article, “A Change in Heart About Animals” author, Jeremy Rifkin discusses many instances where animals prove smarter than people give them credit for. One of many discoveries evaluated by Rifkin where crows, that were able to manipulate a wire in order to retrieve food. The crow was able to adapt to the situation using its critical thinking skills, similar to humans. Since these crows showed immense skill and have characteristics similar to people they should, like people, be protected and not experimented on. Another humanlike quality shown in an animal, explained by Rifkin, is the ability to communicate with human beings. Koko the gorilla was taught

As scientists continue to their research, fundamental questions about intelligence are brought to the surface.


Humans and non-human primates have many behaviors and characteristics in common. Apes and chimpanzees have been studies and closely watched for many years. Scientist and researchers and found many similarities between the apes and chimpanzees with humans. All three are hard working and work with tools. They also make these tools. Another similarity is the fact that they are very social with others of their breed. This is also true about other primates other than apes and chimpanzees, like lemurs, lorises, pottos, and tarsiers. Apes and chimpanzees are able to learn sign language and elementary math skills. All primates have nails instead of claws on their fingers and toes. Both non-human primates and humans all have opposable thumbs. They use these thumbs to be able to pick up things better and they are thumbs that are able to move and touch other parts of the same hand. Non-human primates, including humans, learn by watching their mothers and other family members. For example, chimpanzees learn to make stick tools to stick into holes to get termites to eat. They do this because the mothers never teach them

Textual Evidence: “While the behavior of elephants of elephants provides clear evidence of high intelligence, there has been little definitive experimental evidence. However, one capacity that has been of interest

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

One study attempted to observe capuchin monkey’s ability to recognize cause and effect relationship in regards to tool use. An article in the international journal or primatology by Anthea Lavallee, describes the tests she conducted in a captive naturalistic environment on capuchin monkeys, as she writes, “I tested tufted capuchins' ability to conceive solutions to a probing task in a naturalistic captive setting” . The results showed at 3 out of the 5 capuchin monkeys displayed an ability to make and use tools that were presented to them from a wide variety of natural materials presented. Another study on the manipulation and tool use in captive yellow breasted capuchin monkeys was published in the “International Journal of Comparative Psychology” . This experiment consisted of six capuchin monkeys, who were placed in an environment where their tool using was tested and observed. The tools that were made available to the monkeys were transparent 9mm Plexiglas boxes with 3mm Plexiglas lids as well as different size stones. A piece of food was then placed into the box with the stones next to it and left for the capuchins. Each test subject was left isolated with the tools and box from the other test subjects, the subjects where successful if they used the stones to try and

Gottfredson, (1997) stated that intelligence is ‘a very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience.

Intelligence is an interesting concept and whilst we understand and can agree that it is what differentiates us from other all the other animals it is almost impossible to agree exactly how to measure it.

This paper aims to study the traits of non-human primates. By observing two types of primates including Common Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri sciureus) and Western Gorillas (Gorilla Gorillas), I try to find out their characteristics, pattern of their behavior, and differences between these two primate species. Especially, characteristics and behavior such as social interaction, food acquisition and intelligence will be discussed and compared in this paper. In order to enhance the persuasiveness of my observation, I recorded and examined at least 25 distinct characteristics of both Common Squirrel Monkeys and Western Gorillas. It is also helpful for me to compare these two primates. Apart from exploring the primates’ traits and differentiation between them, this paper will discuss the effects of captivity. How being in captivity and on display in a zoo would influence their behaviors and emotions? The observation was a great success and I have successfully derived with a hypothesis base on our observing data. The ultimate goal of this paper is arousing humans’ awareness of the importance of studying primates.

Primate intelligence correlates to primate cognition which is the study of the intellectual and behavioral skills of primates (Low). In the book Human Evolution and Culture, chapter five "Human Evolution Biological and Culture" states that primates share a lot of common features with mammals but what makes them uniquely different than many other mammals is that primates have a wide range of physical and social traits (86). The social relationships of primates are unique because just like humans, they relationship begin with the mother and other adults that the younger dependable primates. "The dependency of infant primates offers an evolutionary benefit that allows infant primates more time to examine and master the intricate behaviors necessary to survival while enjoying the care and protection of mature adults."(87) Primates have the privilege of having a large brain the size similar to body size to learn the culture and the way of life they live. Larger brains give primates the advantage to obtain an enormous amount of learning and integrate data. Primates have a special gift in areas of their brain that's dedicated to speech and language. (94) Primates have the special ability to communicate with each other as well as with humans and are the "only habitual toolmaking animal" (96). Although primates are more cognitively advanced than many other animals/mammals, researchers and critics still debate on how to define, compare and study intelligence and the growth of

Many attributes found in humans are also found in chimps. Similar to humans, chimps have long childhoods which involve long term affection, bonds and learning. Like humans, chimps display nonverbal communication through Kissing, holding hands and fist shaking. They also show emotion and personality which is thought to be a human attribute (Goodall, 2002). They say we are only 4% smarter than chimps, what defines smart? If we are so smart, why are we destroying our planet? Chimps have been doing the same thing for millions of years without damaging their environment. Maybe we should not ask who is smarter, but who is wiser.

The rarity of human uniqueness no longer exists in the thoughts of scientists believing that human ability skills lie within the construction and use of tools. As declared by Goodall in which chimpanzees used straight sticks after removing the leaves and branches to collect termites or ants for consumption. (Goodall, 1986) Other species both primate and non-primate demonstrate successful abilities., which include a sense of self as well as the theory of mind, by which other species recognize that other individuals contain different information than themselves. Different species also have the ability to communicate symbolically to one another through the sounds of vocalization. (Sapolsky R. M., 2006)

One of the main reasons why we are so interested in the other primates is that by looking at them we can obtain some ideas of what our ancestor must have been like a few millions years ago. Even though, we are not descended from any modern-type monkey or ape, our lineage does appear to have gone through stages in which we were a medium-sized, reasonably intelligent creature with good binocular vision, hands that were good at manipulation and the ability to climb trees. An evolutionary trend in primates involves the development of offspring both before and after birth and their integration into complex social systems. Another trend in primate evolution has been toward a more elaborate brain. In addition to brain size and gestation periods,

Empirically, however, this is not true. Although most humans fall within a collective realm of intelligence, there are outliers in humans that are profoundly cognitively disabled, some non-human animals, namely primates, would probably be at a higher level of intelligence than said severely impaired humans.