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GIBBONS |
There are two groups of apes which are
lesser or smaller apes like the gibbons and the great apes like the chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orang-utans. The apes are more intelligent
than monkeys.
GIBBONS
Gibbons are the smallest of the apes
and are fantastic in their acrobatic aerial display. They swing from branch to
branch with ease and swiftly. Their long arms and hands enable them to move
fast. They feed on fruit which are on the outer branches. They pick their food
with the thumb and index finger. Gibbon can move perfectly and fast on two legs.
There are nine species in that group
of gibbons and they live in the forest of South-East Asia. Apart from the size,
they all have long hairy arms and body with dark faces. Their weight can range
from 5 to over 10kg. The largest gibbon and the noisiest is the siamang. The
male gibbon screams and the female barks. Different species have different
calls. They whistle, hoot, grunt, and bubbling thrills. These bubbling thrills
are sung in duet by adult pairs. These different ways of calls are to recognize
other species.
Each species live in their own
territory to avoid food-shortage. Only the siamang gibbon lives alongside the
lar gibbons or agile gibbons. A fine example is the moloch gibbon which live
only in West Java and there is no other gibbon to be found.
Their colour of their coat also
varies. One gibbon is amazing because the coat of the male is completely
different to the female. It is the hoolock gibbons. The male has a black coat
while the female has a golden coloured coat.
The chimpanzee has a unique
creativity. It had been seen to reach for leaves and pluck it with its
fingers. Then it pressed the leaves into a wad of other leaves. It
pushed the lot into a hole of a tree. This invented sponge soaked up
water which collected in the hole. The chimp than quenched its thirst
sucking the water.
CHIMPANZEE -- MOTHER AND BABY
CHIMPANZEE
It has been established, by DNA, that
the chimpanzees are our nearest relatives.
There are two groups -- the common
chimpanzee and the bonobo also called pygmy chimpanzee.
The chimpanzee is to be found in
forests of Central and West Africa as well as in the open dry Savannah areas
near a woodland.
Chimpanzees have solid bodies with
long, powerful arms. Their head is rounded on the top. The teeth are large
apart from the molars. The male is much larger than the female and also has
larger teeth to be used to fight and defend their harem of territory.
Chimps leave in groups of 15 or more.
They also had been seen in groups of up to a 100. Males stay with the group of
their birth but females join new groups when they become adults
Their main diet is flowers, leaves,
seeds, resin and bark. They are also very fond of fresh meat but only now and
than. The meat diet consists of monkeys and pigs. They eat it alive and
lots of screaming as well as kicking breaks out when a group of males caught
one. It is sheer mayhem when female and male savagely tear pieces off the
victim and trying to keep and eat it. An awful lot of shrieking
accompanies the meal.
The Chimp society is made up of
cliques, hierarchies and shifting allegiances. Youngsters learn from adults by
watching them cracking a nut with a stone. When they are born it clings to the mother’s
belly. A baby has a pink face but it darkens as it gets older. At the age of
5-7 it clings to the mother's back. After the age of 4 it walks next to the
mother until it is 5-7 years old.
Groups of males patrolling their
territory. They also sit down and listen to the calls of nearby males. They
will attack lone males.
In the chimp society the grooming,
each other, are very important. Males groom to reinforce their status.
Sometimes the troops are calling with
a noisy hoo, hoo, hoos. It is done first thing in the morning and
last thing at night. They make a sort of nest bending over branches which give
a springy bed.
BONOBOS FISHING FOR TERMITES
BONOBOS
The bonobos differs from the common
chimp in having long limps, blacker face and is smaller built. In height it
does not vary a lot to the common chimp height. It weighs up to 40kg and is
therefore not much less than the common chimp. It has also a smaller head and pink
lips.
They live in large groups in the tense,
humid rain forests in the centre of Zaire. Males do not fight over females and
therefore there is not a lot fights braking out in a troop. They live and eat
mostly in the trees and cover long distances to find food. Their diet consists
of ripe fruit, leaves, flowers, seeds, resin, bark and insects. They are
especially fond of termites and ants.
They are an endangered species.
They are victim of loss of habitat and also hunted for bush-meat. Due to
the civil war which caused a shortage of food, there are now only a few
thousands left. Since 1996 the first and second Congo war had also an
impact on the bonobos. The US allocated $54 million and the Congo has now
set up an 11,000 sq miles of rain forests to protect the bonobos.
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