• Question: if we evolved from monkeys than why do monkeys still exist? thank you xx

    Asked by ella-jade to Adrian, Gaia, Jim, Scott, Vicky on 10 Mar 2016.
    • Photo: Gaia Andreoletti

      Gaia Andreoletti answered on 10 Mar 2016:

      Hi Ella,

      Good question.
      Monkeys still exist because our common ancestor was able to descend from them with some transformations. It is like saying that monkeys are our cousins with different properties from us. Some old species do not exist anymore because of climate changes, as did most Homo species. They didn’t die out because Homo sapiens (we) suddenly evolved.

    • Photo: Adrian Buzatu

      Adrian Buzatu answered on 10 Mar 2016:

      We didn’t evolve from monkeys. Humans and monkeys both evolved from a common ancestor.

    • Photo: Scott Lawrie

      Scott Lawrie answered on 10 Mar 2016:

      Hey Ella-Jade. There is no ‘end goal’ for evolution. Some individuals are adapted to do something better than others or can survive in a different environment. These adapted creatures then evolve into entirely different species. The other ones don’t just stop existing just because a few adapted to do something different! Monkeys are perfectly happy doing what they do.

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