• Question: If we adapted from apes why are apes still here?

    Asked by Gracie#Future-Scientist to Aileen, Christopher, Stephanie on 16 Mar 2018.
    • Photo: Aileen Baird

      Aileen Baird answered on 16 Mar 2018:

      We didn’t actually evolve from apes, we share a common ancestor with them. We can describe this using a tree. There was an chimpanzee-like animal, this is the trunk. Then from this chimpanzee-like animal, 2 different kinds of animals evolved. There were apes, and then there were humans. The apes and the humans are 2 different branches on the tree, but they share the same trunk.

    • Photo: Christopher Nankervis

      Christopher Nankervis answered on 16 Mar 2018:

      Some species like apes have advantages over humans. They are very good at hunting and gathering, finding food and water and looking after themselves in the wild. Apes are also better adapted to defend themselves from other animals, as they are much stronger than humans. Intelligence and creativity are also very useful for us, as we can build tools to help us do a lot that apes can do and better. Without our machines and smart phones I don’t think we’d be able to survive as long as an Ape in the wild.

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