Humans micro-lesson

Sometimes, we only hear of four great ape species: the gorilla, the orangutan, the chimpanzee, and the bonobo. However, there is another great ape species, us. Like the other apes we've just mentioned, we are covered in hair, not fur. We have opposable thumbs. We are highly intelligent, and we lack a tail. The scientific word for humans is Homo sapiens which means wise man or person. Where we differ from the other apes is that our brains have evolved so much that we are able to solve very complex problems. We can learn from good and bad experiences. We can reason and we can make decisions that benefit us and those around us. And for good or bad, humans have adapted relatively quickly to changing environments. But how are we similar to our relatives, the other great apes? Well, other than the orangutans, we live in family groups which are led by older members. Like all apes, we feed on milk when we are born and when young, we are like completely on the care of our mothers, parents, or guardian. We also learn from older members of the family much like all the other apes. However, as we have evolved to be more intelligent, we have also lost some of the skills that the other great apes have. Humans are not nearly as agile as the other great apes, especially when climbing. We also have a far less developed sense of smell, and we are notably less strong than the other great apes. Perhaps the greatest advantage the other great apes have over humans is that they can get all they need right from their immediate environment. They don't need to farm or visit the shops to get food and they can get all the exercise they need just by doing their daily tasks. Despite our differences, humans and the other great apes share much of the same DNA and even share similar blood types.