My Science School

        All primates live in societies. Much like humans they build up a family, play roles in the community and enjoy each other’s company. Chimpanzees have the most complex life among all the apes.

        A chimpanzee community consists of loose and flexible groups of males and females. Scientists call it ‘fusion and fission’ societies. They live in a fixed home range, led by a dominant male. It is not necessary that the members of a community should stick to it forever. One can leave or join these communities at will. However, all these depend on their reproductive status and the availability of resources.

        Chimpanzees have a complex set of communication mechanisms. Zoologists have observed that, through innumerable facial expressions, body postures, gestures, signs and sounds, these animals can work out how to solve simple problems in the wild and in captivity.

        Chimpanzees seem to be the link between the world of animals and our human world, as they are our closest relatives. The body structure, genes, behavior patterns and intelligence of these animals and their history of evolution suggest that chimpanzees are Man’s cousins!

Picture Credit : Google

        Every organism has a vital and indispensable role in nature. Every time an animal species becomes extinct, it adversely affects the equilibrium that nature sustains on Earth. Orang-utans have a key role as they are known as the ‘gardeners of the forest.’

        Orang-utans play a significant role as they help disperse seeds in forests. They are also important in maintain the health of the forest ecosystem. They fulfill this important task and animals like tigers, Asian elephants, Sumatran rhinos and we, human beings, benefits from this. Therefore, conserving the habitat of orang-utans is essential for local communities of human beings, and other animal species in the ecosystem.

Picture Credit : Google

        Although primates are generally fond of trees, not all apes prefer staying up on a tree. Among apes, the largest tree-climbing mammal is the orang-utan. A male orang-utan grows to 1.4 metres tall, and weighs about 75 kilograms. A female ape weighs around 37 kilograms only. An orang-utan’s arms are strong and powerful. Its hands can grow longer than their legs, and can reach 2 metres in length! Therefore, when an orang-utan stands upright, its hands touch the ankles of its feet.

        Two different types of orang-utans are generally identified: flanged and unflanged. Flanged male orang-utans have prominent cheek pads and throat sacs. These animals can make loud verbalizations called ‘long calls’, using the throat coat of dark hair on their back.

        Orang-utans are facing a bleak future as their forest habitats in Indonesia and Malaysia are rapidly disappearing due to human intervention.

Picture Credit : Google

 

        We all know that humans are the most intelligent of all organisms. A proof of our intelligence is our ability to use sophisticated tools. Among animals, there are a few that can use simple tools. Gorillas are considered highly intelligent, as they are capable of using tools.

        Some gorillas have displayed a capacity to learn some sign language too. A gorilla named Koko started learning sign language from the age of one and the time she was 40, she had acquired about 1000 signs, and could understand about 2000 words in English.

        Their intelligence is evident in their communication skills too. Gorillas have been said to produce about 25 different sounds with diverse meanings.

        Do you know that gorillas can laugh? Apes in general have that ability. In fact, the great apes laugh, express grief, have individual colour preferences, make use of tools and think about the past and the future.

Picture Credit : Google

        The gorilla is the biggest and strongest ape among all primates. They have heavy-built bodies with broad chests and shoulders. They possess large hands, and their forearms are shorter than the upper arms.

        A gorilla is black in colour. It has a hairless black face. Its eyes are small, and are placed close together on the face. It has broad, prominent nostrils. An adult male gorilla weighs up to 200 kg. Females come to only half the size of the male. A gorilla is tall with a height of 1.2 to 1.8 metres when standing on both its feet.

        Gorillas are intelligent animals. Do you know that Man used to hunt down gorillas for sports? They were considered trophies in hunting expeditions. Their number is on the decline due to conflicts with human beings.

Picture Credit : Google

        We may have heard several times that humans came from monkeys. However, have you observed that the little monkeys that you may see on either side of a forest path have little resemblance to us? Our immediate relatives are apes. Apes and monkeys, although related, have many differences between them.

        Apes are the most highly evolved primates. They lack tails, while most monkeys have them, Apes are bigger than monkeys. Their noses are short and broad. A monkey’s nose is more like the snout of a dog. Apes have flattened fingernails, just as humans have. In terms of intelligence, apes are superior too. Apes have larger brains and they possess the ability to use tools. They can even understand languages!

        Monkeys, on the other hand, are less intelligent than the apes. They have tails, and can climb up tall trees with ease. Their food consists primarily of plants during the day. Apes prefer moving about upright, unlike monkeys.

Picture Credit : Google

      Apes are known for their exceptional resemblance to humans. Great apes are those animals that have a close similarity to humans. There are four of them: the orangutan, gorilla, chimpanzee and the pygmy chimpanzee.

      Great apes are the largest of the order of primates. Another category, the lesser apes are one step away from the great apes in their likeness to humans. These apes are gibbons and siamangs. All these animals have fingers and thumbs and can use their hands as humans do. They all belong to the family hominidae.

      There are two categories of gorillas; the western and the eastern gorilla. Orangutan too has species: the Bornean orangutan and the Sumatran orangutan. Among the chimpanzees are the common chimpanzees and the pygmy chimpanzees.

Picture Credit : Google

 

       Have you heard people using the word ‘donkey’ as a derisive term? The donkey has been a synonym for stupidity, ignorance and stubbornness.

       However, in truth, donkeys are more intelligent than some of the members of their own family. Generally, three main types of donkeys are identified: wild, feral and domesticated.

       Wild donkeys are the biggest among them. They grow about 125 centimetres from hoof to shoulder. They weigh about 250 kilograms too. Domesticated donkeys are those that are used by Man for domestic purpose. They vary in size, depending on how they are bred.

       Oklahoma State University lists eight different types of domesticated asses. Their weight varies from 180 kg to 225 kg. Their height is about 92cm from hoof to shoulder.

       Feral donkeys are those that had been once domesticated, but have now turned wild.

Picture Credit : Google

       There is a popular misconception that donkeys are slow-moving animals. They are portrayed as stupid and sluggish in stories. However, there is barely any truth in it. The fastest donkey can run almost as fast as a horse, and reach speeds between 64km/h to 70km/h!

       Asiatic wild asses are the fastest breed of donkey. They are known as onagers. They can reach the speed of a thoroughbred racing horse when in good shape! A German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas discovered and described onagers in1775. Onagers are closely related to the African wild ass. Both these breeds share a common ancestry. There are other domestic donkeys that can beat a horse in a race. In fact, in Europe, there are contests in which horses and donkeys compete with each other in certain timed events such as pole bending.

       However, donkeys, very often, refrain from running fast. They prefer to go at a slower pace than horses.

Picture Credit : Google

       Mules and ponies are relatives of horses and donkeys. Do you know that a mule is the offspring of a donkey father and a horse mother?

       A mule runs faster than a donkey and is intelligent than a horse. It has a longer life span too. If an offspring is born out of a donkey mother and a horse father, then it is called a hinny. They are not generally as strong as mules.

       Ponies are horses, except that they are a miniature variety of horses. A fully-grown pony will be as short as 1.44 metres at its back, which is known as the withers, the highest part of a horse. Pones are very strong animals. In olden times, children and women used ponies for riding. Children typically learned the tricks of horse riding on a pony. However, all ponies are not necessarily very small. There are bigger varieties too.

Picture Credit : Google

       Have you ever wondered about the similarity between a horse and a donkey? In their appearance and strength, both animals have striking resemblance. However, these two animals are quite different from each other.

       Both the horse and the donkey have been domesticated by Man from ancient times. While donkeys have long ears, horses have shorter, erect ears. Horses tend to have longer faces. A donkey’s hooves are smaller than those of a horse.

       Both these animals live in groups. However, horses are naturally herd animals. They are stronger, and live in a larger society. Donkeys tend to pair off with other donkeys and develop a strong bond with their partners. Horses can be easily scared off and take to flight when they smell danger. However, donkeys stick around and consider the risk factors before deciding to run.

Picture Credit : Google

        The horse is a special animal because of its stamina and speed. You must be familiar with the unit of power of an engine, measured in terms of horsepower. In olden times, there was hardly anything that matched the power of a horse.

       The horse is the largest member of the equidae family. A horse can weigh up to 1000 kilograms. The male horses, known as a stallion, and the female horse, called a mare, do not have much difference in terms of weight. Stallions have a fighting technique that involves trying to bite the legs of the opponent. This needs extreme agility and strength.

       The largest horse in the world was a horse named Mammoth, which was born in 1848. In its health state, it weighed 1524 kilograms. The smallest horse in the world is Thumbelina, a fully mature horse, which is ailing from dwarfism. Do you know how much she weighs? Just 26 kilograms.

Picture Credit : Google

      From time immemorial, Man has been using the horse for various purposes. In battle, the horse used to be an indispensable element. It is not only a powerful animal; it is also the fastest animal Man has ever domesticated. The horse is the fastest in the equidae family too.

      A horse can achieve a speed of about 70 kilometres per hour! Domesticating a horse meant that the prehistoric Man had the advantage over his rivals in terms of speed and efficiency. In fact, it was an important phase in the development of human civilization to have domesticates horses. They helped Man to move to new territories and settle down there, to hunt more efficiently, and to score over foot soldiers during conflicts.

      Zebras are fast too. However, the maximum speed they can reach is 64 kilometres per hour. They are not as strong as horses and can be easily exhausted in a prolonged run. This may be the reason why they were not tamed by Man. Some donkeys, on the other hand, can reach up to 70 kilometres per hour. They have the ability to carry heavy objects on their back too.

      Do you know that donkeys and horses belong to the same family? Yes, the horse family, known as equidae, consists of horses, donkeys and zebras. This family belongs to the order Perissodactyla.

      The rhinoceros, the tapir, which has only five species that exist today, and several extinct families belong to the Perissodactyla order.

      The members of the horse family have an odd number of toes, and a relatively simple system of digestion, which can digest fibrous plant materials. These animals are known as hoofed animals because their toes are hidden under a heavy horny covering called a ‘hoof’. While horses and donkeys have been domesticated by Man, the zebra remains in the wild.

Picture Credit : Google