Where did we come from? A question that will always be asked by every human on this planet. Some say that we are of God’s creation and some say that we have gone through a long process called evolution and that humans and apes share a single common ancestor. Here I am going to compare and contrast between two of my favorite types of animals: The Lemur and the Gibbon. What is a Lemur? Ask someone that question and you’ll be surprised how silly the answer may be. From being a fruit to a body part, it is sad how the general public does not know that the Lemur one of our oldest primates, an order which includes monkeys, apes, and us humans.
There are about 32 different types of lemurs on our planet today. They originated from Madagascar, a large island that sits just off the coast of Southeast Africa. To fully grasp the differences between lemurs and primates you have to take things step by step. Primates can be broken down into two suborders: Anthropoids and Prosimians. We with the monkeys and apes are Anthropoids. Lemurs, Lorises, and Tarsiers are Prosimians. Unlike all primates, Prosimians have most noses like dogs and rely on their sense of smell to find the differences between individuals in their groups.
Like other primates, Lemurs groom themselves and each other. They unfortunately can’t use their fingers like you and I so they have teeth that act as a comb. Their diet consists of mostly fruits and leaves. They are about 15 inches high and they weight 3 to 4 pounds. Their average life span is about 20+ years. They have a thick coat of mostly brown, gray, white or black. Some of them have rings on their tails and are called Ring Tailed Lemurs. They live mostly in trees and are quadrupedal.
They use their hands and tails to get from one tree to the other and they live in groups from 3 to 20. And the female lemur is dominant. Lemurs are known to be very intelligent. They are highly adaptable to our climate and conditions. They eat a lot and try to get a bit fat before the harsh winter arrives. And they have a cool excellent sense of balance. But since humans arrived in Madagascar some 1,500 years ago they have been endangered. Sixteen different species of lemurs have gone extinct because of habitat destruction to hunting by humans.
I personally think its very unfair because these gentle non aggressive animals were their before humans and even before monkeys. Prosimians first appeared about 55 million years ago while apes been around for only 35 million years. In 1987, World Wildlife International declared that the lemurs are the most gravely endangered group of primates in the world. The Gibbon is a truly unique animal. Gibbons are anthropoids like humans and gorillas. They look somewhat like the Lemur but it has special features that make it different from the Lemur.
Gibbons apes come from Southeast Asia and the island of the Philippines. Some people will get this cool creature confused with the Lemur because of its attributes. The head may look the same and it move the same but are quite different. Gibbons are the smallest of the apes; they weigh around 5-6 kg. , and are about 3 feet in height. In the wild, gibbons eat fruits, birds, and mammals. Gibbons also live in trees and swing with their arms. They don’t build nests or beds they sleep upright in their trees. Gibbons live in family groups of males, females, and young ones. They are highly oral.
It is said that their very high pitched calls can be heard about 5 miles away. They use it to warn each other of a possible danger or something that might wrongly occur. Gibbons have a hairless face with dark eyes, small nostrils, and jet-black skin. They are mostly active during the day. And their lifespan is about 35 to 40 years. There are about 5-9 species of Gibbons. This is little or no sexual dominance in the group. Mated pairs produce an average of 5-6 offspring during their reproductive lifespan. Males are active fathers, frequently grooming and handling infants.