• Question: I've asked this question to many people, many times, but it has never truly been answered. If the theory of evolution states we as homo sapiens evolved from apes or monkeys of the sort, then why are there still apes, monkeys e.t.c. nowadays? When will they evolve?

    Asked by slickdragon64 to Helen, Ian on 24 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Ian van der Linde

      Ian van der Linde answered on 24 Jun 2011:


      The monkeys that are alive today are not our ancestors. They are on a different branch of the family tree, and they SHARE a common ancestor with us that is no longer alive today. It probably looked a little more like them than us, but it certainly wasn’t a chimp, gorilla, or anything that still exists today. Monkeys are just as evolved as humans, it’s just that their evolution has lead them down a different path. Remember, evolution is all about survival of the fittest – in the jungle where monkeys live, they are probably better equipped to survive than we humans would be! If you dumped me in the middle of the Amazon rainforest without any high-tech equipment, I wouldn’t last 5 days! … Also, monkey species ARE still evolving – there are “selection pressures” that mean that any monkey that is a little better than other monkeys is more likely to survive and pass on its genes.

    • Photo: Helen Fletcher

      Helen Fletcher answered on 24 Jun 2011:


      We didn’t evolve from modern days apes- we all just share a common ancestor. So you can think of that common ancestor as our grandparents(who was a type of ape, just like us, chimps, gorillas and orang utans) and other species of primates as our distant cousins. All apes are currently evolving but the way they evolve depends on the changes in their environment. Evolution doesn’t lead to better organisms, just ones that are better adapted to their current environment. So for example, if you are up against a new type of virus, your immune system genes may evolve to deal with it. Or if the ladies start to prefer shorter men, then we may all decrease in height. For example…

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