Why+don't+apes+and+other+primates+go+to+school?


 * __WHY DON'T APES AND OTHER PRIMATES GO TO SCHOOL?__**

Answer the question below, append new answers to the top of this page. _ __Response 1:__ Although apes and other primates don’t necessarily have a school system as we humans do, many individual animals are selected for studies. During some of the studies, such as one that Susan Savage-Rumbaugh conducted, they analyze and manipulate the intelligence of the primates. This is in essence schooling, as they are being educated. One of Susan’s studies is based on the Bonobo, a species that lives exclusively in the Congo and one that she describes as “egalitarian and empathetic”. This species is unique in that it can walk upright, even in the wild for long distances, and as shown by Savage-Rumbaugh has a walk very similar to that one that an early australopithecine would have had. In the study, the scientists find that, after decades of studying the Bonobo’s in a human-Bonobo environment that the monkeys are able to create tools such as knives, comprehend the pedals of a gold cart, start their own fire using a lighter, play PacMan and most astonishingly communicate with some of the scientists using symbols.
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__(11:01 - 16:30) []__

As you can tell, the Bonobo’s are one of the few species that are following a similar evolutionary path to that of humans. So, in time, it may very well be possible that the Bonobo’s are able to communicate to each other in an understandable and complex language and even educate their younglings using a school like system. But for now, apes and primates in general don’t have the trained brain for such complex systems. I wouldn't go as far as to say they are without any schooling at all, for now, their education is limited to what they learn from scientists and other human influences. But again this is in essence schooling, but far less deep and intricate compared to the process we as humans use.

Answer by: Emily B __[]__

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