Chimpanzees Caught Hunting With Spears

[NJS 4456]

I've read a lot about evolution in the last couple of years and it had previously puzzled me how if we and the chimps had a common ancestor then how come we "left them behind".

 

As I understand it animals only evolve when they need to - things like crocs have stayed the same for about 200m years as they are "perfect" for their notch in the environment. Also we evolved as the forests of Africa gave way to savannah and we had to adapt.

 

My point is that maybe the "pressure" we are putting on the chimps by changing their environment could cause them to evolve at an increased pace with examples like this illustrating it - unless of course we make them or us extinct all together we could see them "join us" in a couple of million years.

 

Then again I was flicking through a Sci-Fi anthology I hadn't got around to reading which has stories which complement "epic" series of novels and the synopsis for one of them has a future in a few hundred years time where we have genetically "uplifted" Chimps and Dolphins to our intelligence level - I can imagine that being feasible.

[Super_Steve_Howey 0]

I've read a lot about evolution in the last couple of years and it had previously puzzled me how if we and the chimps had a common ancestor then how come we "left them behind".

 

As I understand it animals only evolve when they need to - things like crocs have stayed the same for about 200m years as they are "perfect" for their notch in the environment. Also we evolved as the forests of Africa gave way to savannah and we had to adapt.

 

My point is that maybe the "pressure" we are putting on the chimps by changing their environment could cause them to evolve at an increased pace with examples like this illustrating it - unless of course we make them or us extinct all together we could see them "join us" in a couple of million years.

 

Then again I was flicking through a Sci-Fi anthology I hadn't got around to reading which has stories which complement "epic" series of novels and the synopsis for one of them has a future in a few hundred years time where we have genetically "uplifted" Chimps and Dolphins to our intelligence level - I can imagine that being feasible.

 

basically what you are saying is we need to kill all the chimps?

[Jimbo 175]

I've read a lot about evolution in the last couple of years and it had previously puzzled me how if we and the chimps had a common ancestor then how come we "left them behind".

 

As I understand it animals only evolve when they need to - things like crocs have stayed the same for about 200m years as they are "perfect" for their notch in the environment. Also we evolved as the forests of Africa gave way to savannah and we had to adapt.

 

My point is that maybe the "pressure" we are putting on the chimps by changing their environment could cause them to evolve at an increased pace with examples like this illustrating it - unless of course we make them or us extinct all together we could see them "join us" in a couple of million years.

 

Then again I was flicking through a Sci-Fi anthology I hadn't got around to reading which has stories which complement "epic" series of novels and the synopsis for one of them has a future in a few hundred years time where we have genetically "uplifted" Chimps and Dolphins to our intelligence level - I can imagine that being feasible.

 

basically what you are saying is we need to kill all the chimps?

 

 

The fucking Yanks will want to take them out if they know they have weapons, although they do have more than just a passing resemblance for their leader.....

 

[Missed Sticks 0]

Other primates use sticks covered in saliva to catch grubs and insects. Big deal tbh.

[Fop 1]

I've read a lot about evolution in the last couple of years and it had previously puzzled me how if we and the chimps had a common ancestor then how come we "left them behind".

 

As I understand it animals only evolve when they need to - things like crocs have stayed the same for about 200m years as they are "perfect" for their notch in the environment. Also we evolved as the forests of Africa gave way to savannah and we had to adapt.

 

My point is that maybe the "pressure" we are putting on the chimps by changing their environment could cause them to evolve at an increased pace with examples like this illustrating it - unless of course we make them or us extinct all together we could see them "join us" in a couple of million years.

 

Then again I was flicking through a Sci-Fi anthology I hadn't got around to reading which has stories which complement "epic" series of novels and the synopsis for one of them has a future in a few hundred years time where we have genetically "uplifted" Chimps and Dolphins to our intelligence level - I can imagine that being feasible.

 

 

 

I think you're thinking of evolution as more a ladder, but its not it's more like a tree (with lots of dead ends and only a few that carry on from each junction).

 

 

We share a common ancestor with chimp, but it was likely considerably different to BOTH our species and it's quite likely that the common ancestor in was in some way tool using, and that chimps have been tool using for a very long time too.

 

 

If left alone maybe chimps (or the speices that decended from them anyway) could follow a similar path to us, but the chances of that occuring are slim unless we kill ourselves off (a possiblity I guess).

 

TBH genetic engineering IS just evolution (or at least it uses the same building blocks) but cutting out the "middle man" and the time.

[Fop 1]

Other primates use sticks covered in saliva to catch grubs and insects. Big deal tbh.

 

Chimps do that too.

 

But it IS a fairly big deal to seem them using sticks as active weapons as spears, it's not such a big leap from that to active proper tool creation (they do kinda do that too with stones for opening things as well).

[Park Life 71]

Sell gold buy monkey nuts!!!!11

[Rob W 0]

Other primates use sticks covered in saliva to catch grubs and insects. Big deal tbh.

 

 

Aye - see the same thing in Quayside restaurants every night TBH