With all the love in recent Daily Kos diaries for our cute, adorable mammalian companions, namely cats and dogs, I thought it was about time for a diary that keeps it in the family. That is hominidae, or the Great Apes, the family of mammals to which homo sapiens belong. Join me below the fold for pictures of humanity's closest living cousins, as well as some videos demonstrating how remarkably intelligent they are, and concluding with a poll.
Our first picture is of an orangutan and her baby in the trees. Unique among the Great Apes in that they are native to Indonesia and Malaysia rather than Africa, probably explaining why humans are so much more closely related to chimps and gorillas. However, there is a surprising new theory that throws a monkey wrench (pun intended) at the prevailing theory on human evolution, by claiming that humans descended from an orang-like ancestor, rather than a chimp-like ancestor. That pun reminds me of my last trip to the zoo. When looking at the orangutan display, I heard someone behind me say to his kid, "do you see the monkey?" To which I wanted to (but did not) reply, "he's an ape, not a monkey, you idiot!"
Next up is the gorilla, the largest of the Great Apes. Though not quite as bright as the chimpanzee, the gorilla is rather intelligent in her own right. Using sign language, gorillas can be taught an impressively large vocabulary, as the video below the next picture shows. Thus, while the gorilla has the reputation for being the brawn, rather than the brain, end of the Great Apes spectrum, I selected a picture of a gorilla appearing to be deep in thought, perhaps contemplating the great mystery that is life.
Now, as promised, a video excerpt from PBS's "Ape Genius". In addition to discussing the vocabulary of gorillas at the 5-6 minute mark, the video also shows how chimpanzees can be taught to understand numbers, and explores possible reasons for the limitations on their mental capacities.
Ape Genius
The full 50-plus minute video of "Ape Genius" can be found here. It is well worth it if you have the time.
Last but not least is the chimpanzee, which ranks behind homo as the second most intelligent genus in the animal kingdom. Below is a picture of a chimpanzee holding a white tiger, to throw a bone to the "pootie diary" enthusiasts.
One of the most frustrating things I've discovered about new internet intelligence tests is their addition of sections on short-term memory. I had always associated intelligence with the extent to which one is capable of conceptualizing, and viewed the capacity to hold perceptions in one's immediate memory as irrelevant. However, I did come to admit that brainpower is required to possess strong short-term memory, as the ability to recall facts is an important aspect of intelligence. Nevertheless, if I ever run into such a test again, I will now be equipped with the retort, "hell, if you go by short-term memory, then a chimpanzee is smarter than a human!" Indeed, just below is a short video proving the superiority of the chimpanzees in this regard.
Chimpanzee Short-Term Memory
And don't make the claim that the chimpanzee in the video did not understand the numbers he was putting in order. As the video excerpt of "Ape Genius" showed, chimpanzees can indeed be taught the meaning of numbers.
The amazing intelligence of chimpanzees does not stop with their sharp short-term memory capabilities. They also demonstrate a complicated ability to solve problems. The video below shows a chimpanzee using water, a shapeless object, as a tool to retrieve food from the bottom of a flask, by pouring it in the flask and letting the food float on top of it. I think there are plenty of humans who may not have figured that solution out if placed in the same situation.
Chimpanzee Using Water as Tool
A big part of what actually does separate humans from chimpanzees is our capacity for social co-operation. Part of that shortcoming may be due the limited abilities of chimpanzees to employ language. Another part may be their impulsiveness and inability to control emotions. Nevertheless, recent experiments have shown that chimpanzees do have the ability to co-operate, if not at the same level as humans.
Chimpanzee Co-Operation
From these videos, it is safe to conclude that while chimpanzees are far behind us in their mental capacity, they are much smarter than most people give them credit for.