• Question: Why did only some apes evolve whilst others didn't?

    Asked by Anya.uk to Susan, Rob, Rebecca, Josh, Chris on 18 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Susan Cartwright

      Susan Cartwright answered on 18 Jun 2015:

      All apes evolved: everything now on Earth has been evolving for the same length of time. However, evolution changed some species of early ape more than others, because they lived in different environments. Proto-humans learned to walk upright and replaced body hair by fat under the skin because they lived on the plains and hunted animals like antelope, whereas chimpanzees stayed in the forests and remained adapted to life in trees.

      (It is believed that losing our hair and developing sweat allowed us to stay cool in the African heat, and thus to outlast antelopes, which run fast but only for fairly short distances. We are built to be marathon runners, or at least 10000 m stars!)

    • Photo: Rebecca Dewey

      Rebecca Dewey answered on 18 Jun 2015:

      All apes have evolved to the same level of adaptation to their surroundings. Some apes live in trees, and so have developed features that are well suited to living in trees, such as body hair, long strong arms, etc. Humans live on the ground and have developed features that is suited to that lifestyle, such as walking upright, hair on the top of the head, etc.

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