Scoop on Primates

Are humans smarter than chimpanzees or vice-versa? It has been established for quite some time that great apes have a theory of mind.  They can relate to others, anticipate on their actions or perceived thoughts - like a chimpanzee pretending to be looking for a treat in a part of the enclosure where she knows the treat isn't in order to induce another chimp in error. Pushed by curiosity and a fascination with our fellow primates, we, humans, have dedicated a lot of time and thought to compare ourselves to them.  I recently stumbled upon a serious (yet funny for us in 2012) article in 1902 in Pearsons' Magazine, which dealt with the similarities of human babies compared to primate babies.  The goal was to explain the theory of evolution and the author ( Sydney Savory Buckman - geologist and palaeontologist 1860-1929 ) was trying to prove that humans did descend from an extinct monkey-like ancestor.  He was careful to emphasize:  "A man cannot be descended fro...

Last October, we started exploring how primates were perceived in various cultures and how they were depicted in art.  If for the most part, primates had a bad reputation in the Western world as symbols of the devilish functions in humans; in other cultures they were revered as gods. The Sacred Baboons In Ancient Egypt, hymadryas baboons were associated to Thoth and the Sun God Re. Hamadryas baboons are are not native to Egypt but were imported from Somalia, Ethiopia, Erithrea, Saudi Arabia and Yemen for the pleasure of the wealthy Egyptians. They were considered as vessels who could be inhabited by deities and were treated as such. Illustrations of baboons were found in tombs; baboons were mummified and many artifacts representing Thoth show a god with a baboon head. Even though baboons depicted on papyrii or in sculptures perform human tasks, there is no evidence that baboons were trained. King Sun Goku In Asia, Monkey King Sun Goku is a well known traditional chara...

I am very sad to write this post.  The Wildlife Waystation - a unique organization I am grateful to be volunteering at is in urgent need of financial support. For over thirty years, the Wildlife Waystation has rehabilitated wild animals, educated adults and children alike about wildlife, wild and exotic animals and has provided a shelter for exotic animals who would not otherwise be alive.  It is the home of many varied species, lions, tigers, bears, wolves, primates, but also pigs, lamas, exotic birds and many more. I urge anyone reading this post to please, forward this information to your friends and families, visit the Wildlife Waystation website, visit the Wildlife Waystation Official Fan Page on Facebook and if you can, make a donation today . Thank You in advance.  Anything you can do, will be appreciated and tremendous help for this worthy non-profit. onlinecourses.net

In my last post I talked about primates making art.  Today, I want to talk about primates featured in artwork and how different cultures perceived (and maybe still do) perceive primates. There is no shortage of paintings featuring primates and many come to mind. They tell us about our history.  The painting below by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543) depicts Prince Edward of Wales with a monkey.  The monkey is not represented realistically.  It has a striped tail, similar to that of ring-tailed lemurs and ears we often see in mythical creatures found in Gothic art, possibly ears of a dragon.  It was customary for foreign dignitaries to offer exotic animals to European royalty, so it is possible that the prince possessed a monkey at one time. In his book "Henry VIII: the king, his six wives and his court", Nick Ford specifies that the monkey the prince is holding is a guenon "which signifies wealth and exotic taste". Kuntsmuseum collection, Basel, Swit...

When visiting Lascaux and admiring the beautiful rendition of horses, one cannot help wondering how primitive humans became such beautiful artists.  The paintings date back about 17,000 years; yet the people of Lascaux knew what they were doing.  For instance, they deliberately chose to use protruberances in the stone to add relief to the rumps of the creatures they were depicting. Where does art come from?  Do we have an innate ability for it?  Can other creatures make art?  Could our primate cousins create art and deliberately choose to depict what they see or experience on paper? A couple years ago, I visited with "Cheetah", a chimpanzee residing in Southern California and I bought a painting he made.  The strokes are very free and colorful.  Some are strong, others are light - and I must say the composition is not bad for monkey art. In the 1950s and 1960s, when psychologists and primatologists teamed up to teach chimpanzees how to sign or use p...

I recently read a paper published by Dr Hope R. Ferdowsian in which she and her team explore the effects of captivity on primates and their use in research.  "Since nonhuman animals, including chimpanzees, are frequently used in research, there is an ethical imperative to understand the potentially adverse effects of captivity and their use in research.  The association of pathological behaviors with captivity in nonhuman primates has been noted for decades" says the report. It goes on to explain that symptoms of PTSD, depression and anxiety disorders have been proven to result from severe repeated trauma in humans.  However, no study of psycho-pathology has ever been conducted on nonhuman primates. Since chimpanzees, like all great apes, demonstrate abilities of self-awareness even in infancy, they have strong attachment to their mothers and have a great memory of events and places, it would be logical to find out if captivity and experimentation can lead them to exhib...

In times when a word is stubbornly stuck on the tip of my tongue, or when I accidentally call my neighbor Steve when his name if Jack, I seriously wish I were a chimp! Especially since I found out that chimp brains do not age the same way as human brains do. According to a study published by Chet Sherwood of The George Washington University, humans are paying a price for evolution - i.e. brain shrinkage.  Sherwood and his team set about to determine whether chimps' brains also experience noticeable aging. Using MRI to measure various brain areas in groups of humans from age 22 to 88 and chimpanzees from age 10 to 51, the scientists discovered that chimpanzee brains age with much less degeneration than human brains do. Sherwood's conclusion is that "the high energy cost of a large brain in humans leads to more wear and tear that cannot be easily repaired because most neurons are not renewed", thereby making human brains more vulnerable to degenerative diseases such...