The link below is to a story I’ve been meaning to post for days, especially concerning my recent post on possible human-ape hybrids.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3828123.ece
Being able to swim and catch fish with homemade spears doesn’t thrust these unique primates into the category of hybrids (or anything else, really). Still, these unique actions defy a handful of long understood and accepted “facts” about orangutans, especially the fact that they weren’t thought to be capable of swimming.
So far as being able to use spears (which they sharpen with their teeth) to catch fish, I’m particularly excited, as this is a clear example of conscious, intentional crafting of a tool. Previously, some orangutans and chimps have been witnessed using twigs to retrieve small insects like ants out of their nests, but questions have always surrounded whether or not using a stick in this manner could be likened to any sort of tool, seeing as how the stick wasn’t modified in any way before use. In the case of these new spear-fishers of Borneo, the sharpening of the spears before use details clear modification of the device, which shows that they are intentionally crafted for this purpose.
Now, back to the subject of hybrids… this display of intelligence and adaptability by the orangutans of Kaja may not prove any greater likelihood that hybridization between “us and them” is plausible. However, I do get a little chill at the realization that these creatures show such overtly human behavior… though I’m not entirely surprised, either. If anything, it does provide a glimpse at greater possibilities, stimulates our imaginations, and showcases just how similar the two species actually are, making it less difficult to imagine how a real-life “humanzee” might behave.
June 25th, 2008 at 12:23 am
[…] world of the higher primates, specifically involving chimpanzees who have learned to use tools, and even swim. another reoccurring theme here has involved the concept of “Humanzees”, that is, […]