Primate Observation

Primates are one of the most interesting mammals on earth, not only because of their complex social structures, but because they hold so many similar characteristics to humans. Primates are often cited as our closest living relatives and on two separate occasions I observed four separate species of primates at the San Diego Zoo that can justify their use of their physical characteristics and behaviors that may be similar as well as different to the other primates and ours.

What makes a primate a primate? A primate is defined by its many incredible features. A primate is a mammal that has certain characteristics such as: flexible fingers and toes, opposable thumbs, flatter face than other mammals, eyes that face forward and spaced close together, large and complex cerebrum, and social animals. What makes a primate a primate is its characteristics. Some of the physical features primates are identified by is their teeth, snouts, eyes, ears, arms, legs, fingers, and toes. Human evolution is a big part of humans being primates, and having similar features and characteristics make humans to be considered to be a primate, but both humans and non-humans have differences.

Since the beginning of time, man has evolved through primate evolution. Each primate has acquired different characteristics over a period of millions of years. The ecosystem has experienced an enormous change in this phase. Most major changes have occurred due to the phenomenon of continental drift. Other such factors are deforestation, natural calamities and, more recently, global warming. These changes have caused primates to become less arboreal and more and more terrestrial. In order to survive the pressures of natural selection, terrestrial life and other factors primates have developed more upright locomotion, changes in body configuration, increase in size and loss of hair.

They are very fast and can be able to run within short distances using the most minimal time. It takes less than 10 seconds to run within a distance of approximately 100 meters. While the animals move around they try to monitor the environment as quadrupedally and monitoring of the environment can be able to take as much as up to ten minutes in any case they have doubts of where they are, this alerts them of any predators. Consortship is a situation where the two animals would stay close to each other and monitor the movement and environment of each other. This is done as long as the animals are out in an environment that is not seen as being friendly. The patas can be seen to be less vocal and they move around in silence, they make certain noise only once when they have seen a predator. The noise or the sound takes just a few seconds as long as the danger is taken away

Orangutans (Figure 3) are our first cousins since they share 97 percent of our genetic material. Contrary to other apes, orangutans are semi solitary which is unique in its social organization (3). Adult males which are the most solitary, and they associate with only their current, former, and potential consorts. For the semi-solitary orangutans, the only playmate is its mother. Even female adults are more social than male ones, rarely they groom, touch, hold hands, chase, or fight. On rare occasions, female adults may groom; however, it lasts only few seconds. Sometimes, female adults meet and travel with one another to express the close relationship. The long call by a male orangutan expresses an alert to others about his presence. Usually, other orangutans only react if the call is close by or aggressive towards them. Male orangutan can use vocalization to express that he is angry and frustrated, and that call signals a threat to another male (3). Female orangutans also produce vocalization when they get upset by the presence of another male.

The studies of primate evolution have been developing throughout the years and now scientists are able to compare and contrast between several types of primate groups. One notable primitive characteristic that non-human primates and human primates have retained is the development and evolution of their dentition. Due to primates having long growth periods, scientists are able to research how primates have different dental characteristics and specializations in modern time (Larsen, 2008). By analyzing teeth, scientists are able to determine several factors, such as similar dental formation, growth, development, and diet preferences (Larsen, 2008).

When I was taking psychology 101, we were tasked with an animal metacognition research project. Metacognition is the ability to anylize our thoughts. In other words, to be aware of our existence and our selves in the world. While conducting research, I found a very special case of a primate. This primate's name was Koko. It's thought that Koko has been one of the few primates that has been able to master a certain degree of sign language. Many think its only a case of watching and repeating, but many experiments have been conducting to reinforce the idea that Koko can actually make her own decisions based on physical cues. A very interesting case, yet theres still not a clear answer among scientists as to weather any non-human species poceses

“Monkeying around” is a common phrase associated with energetic kids who are participating in horseplay or being rambunctious in general. This metaphor draws similarities between children and monkeys (a generalization for primates) through their behavior/play patterns. They pull this connection because kids who are bouncing off the walls seem uncivilized and unmannered like that of monkeys. At face value, it may seem like an ignorant joke, a connection that is circumstantial and ironic. However, these connections are revealed to be legitimate and unnervingly accurate--even when children are not being rambunctious. Kids, in particular, very blatantly portray behaviors of actual primates--Chimpanzees especially. These conclusions can be drawn

Evolution distinguishingly changed how humans live and primates and survived according to their environments. For this reason, in lab three we are analyzing the relationships between Tooth Shape, Diet Quality, and Daily Travel Distance in humans and primates. These aspects respectively related to one another in humans, other primates, and fossil hominins. In humans, our tooth shape replicates how we eat in our diet quality. Most people today eat meat, which sculpts our molars to be much smaller as compared to other primates. Also, our daily travel distance marks our diet quality score. The longer the travel distance, the higher the diet quality score will be to have enough calories for our travels. As for fossil hominins, their diet quality

The term “ape” has been associated with imitation based on the behavioral research carried out on apes that has shown that apes are good imitators. Many primatologists who are against animal culture have argued that the learning of behaviors by apes is not a form of social transmission but rather simple imitation. De Waal seems to refute the scientific meaning of imitation which is defined by goals, rewards and punishments. I think de Waal makes a compelling argument for the complexity of imitations. He proposes three criteria for one to imitate which include; identification, understanding the goal and having background knowledge on the task. Imitations contain learning aspects within them. If they did not, human beings for example would be able to do any physical activity that they wanted to, which is not the case.

A primate is a level of classification of organisms with similar characteristics Primates are animals so they are classified in the animal kingdom. They are vertebrates so they fall under the phylum of chordate. They are also mammals so they are in class Mammalia. Primates all belong to the primate order because they all have opposable thumbs, binocular vision, and arm rotation. Opposable thumbs allow primates to grasp objects and use them as tools. Binocular vision occurs when the eyes are place in the front of the skull and allows one to see objects in front. Primates have arms that can rotate around in their sockets to swing from trees. Examples of primates include lemurs, tarsiers, monkeys, apes, and humans. There has been continuous change

After doing quite a bit of research and findings, I’ve selected my first observation to be focused on a film about a pack of gorillas that are found at Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay. I fully understand that the behavioral habits of those that are within a small proximity are much different than those out in the wild. An institution such as Busch Gardens would not be allowed to host a group of primates together if they had personality conflicts and showed signs of aggression. While observing this video, I took this information into consideration and applied it towards a close-knit family while monitoring the playful and or aggression towards one another and labeling the leader out of the tribe. The scientific name for gorillas is “Gorilla beringei beringi.” This observational video featured two silverback gorillas and a female gorilla that hid the entire time under the far back trees in the enclosure. Gorillas have dark brown to black pelage and black skin. The two dominant adult males, called silverbacks, have a prominent sagittal crest and striking silver coloration from their shoulders to rump. For the sake of confusion, I’ve selected the names

Macaque species constitute a family Macaca that is a gathering of old world monkeys of the cercopithecinae subfamily. The species has twenty-two individuals all living in distinctive environmental specialties. The principle engages that researchers have with the species is the social structures that the species display. Inside their groups, there is a reasonable chain of command complete with obligations and obligations. In this way, the species does show an expanded discernment remainder.

Based on my observation's, there are some differences in behavior between chimpanzees and humans. First off, when I was observing one male chimpanzee at the zoo, his feet were much more different than human feet. Chimpanzees have opposable thumbs in their feet that allow them to climb and grab things with their feet. Humans do not need to grab things or climb using their feet. Chimpanzees are also much hairier than humans. Some chimps are bald, but most of them are hairier than humans. Humans walk bipedally and not on all fours. Chimpanzees walk on their knuckles and sometimes stand bipedally. Humans do not groom each other like chimpanzees. Chimpanzees groom each other for socialization and to build closer bonds. Humans’ do not pluck other

[Nonhuman] Primates are some of the most interesting animals to observe whether in captivity, in their natural habitat or in documentaries/ films. One good reason is their similarities they share with humans like, walking on two legs, use of tools, and social life amongst others. After observing two different species through a live camera located at the San Diego and Houston Zoo, I gained a little insight into a human behavior and their heritages. I will be discussing the behavior and interaction observed of orangutans and chimpanzees and how these species share some similarities with humans, but first I will like to start by defining primate, listing the characteristics, then I will share some facts about the two-species observed.