If humans evolved from apes(even though we are apes), then why is the apes still here?

Question

If humans evolved from apes(even though we are apes), then why is the apes still here?

Answer 1

So, which minister put this nonsense into your head, little girl? I am no more evolved from gorillas than my dog is. But Mr Grayback & I do share a common ancestor, millions of years ago. Evolution is a VERY slow process...... But is you want to see how similar humans and the other great apes are, go to a zoo, and watch the chimps at play.

Answer 2

This question was asked before. I would like know myself. It drives me crazy.

Answer 3

We just evolved from a branch of the apes. But the problem is, we should have eliminated them because of competition. That means that evolution didn't happen.

Answer 4

We wonder about Perfection's plan. We imperfect humans can not fathom the depth of Perfection.

Answer 5

because we didnt evolve and God wanted us like we are and so he made humans and all of the othe amimals

Answer 6

Ah, the weekly post of this question. It's the same as asking: If dogs are descended from wolves, why are there still wolves?

From the National Academy of Sciences:

"If humans evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

     Humans did not evolve from modern apes, but humans and modern apes shared a common ancestor, a species that no longer exists. Because we share a recent common ancestor with chimpanzees and gorillas, we have many anatomical, genetic, biochemical, and even behavioral similarities with these African great apes. We are less similar to the Asian apes--orangutans and gibbons--and even less similar to monkeys, because we share common ancestors with these groups in the more distant past.

     Evolution is a branching or splitting process in which populations split off from one another and gradually become different. As the two groups become isolated from each other, they stop sharing genes, and eventually genetic differences increase until members of the groups can no longer interbreed. At this point, they have become separate species. Through time, these two species might give rise to new species, and so on through millennia. "

http://www.nap.edu/html/creationism/appe...

From Straight Dope:

Why isn't this argument used against evolution? Well, it is--it's just used incorrectly. Let's start with a quote from the recently re-released publication, Science and Creationism: A View from the National Academy of Sciences (Second Edition).   In the section on "Human Evolution," the publication notes, "today there is no significant scientific doubt about the close evolutionary relationships among all primates, including humans."

Evolution doesn't work as a simple find-and-replace function. Have you ever seen the evolutionary "tree" diagrams in a science book?  Those trees show how different species branch off and go in different evolutionary directions. That doesn't necessarily mean everything else dies. As the National Academy of Sciences document notes, archaeological finds "reveal a well-branched tree, parts of which trace a general evolutionary sequence leading from ape-like forms to modern humans."

The NAS publication actually answers your question directly in its Appendix of Frequently Asked Questions. It says:

"Humans did not evolve from modern apes, but humans and modern apes shared a common ancestor, a species that no longer exists. Because we share a recent common ancestor with chimpanzees and gorillas, we have many anatomical, genetic, biochemical, and even behavioral similarities with these African great apes. We are less similar to the Asian apes orangutans and gibbons and even less similar to monkeys, because we share common ancestors with these groups in the more distant past.

"Evolution is a branching or splitting process in which populations split off from one another and gradually become different. As the two groups become isolated from each other, they stop sharing genes, and eventually genetic differences increase until members of the groups can no longer interbreed. At this point, they have become separate species. Through time, these two species might give rise to new species, and so on through millennia."

In other words, the "ape-like" animals that eventually gave rise to humans split up into several branches, all of which evolved in different directions. Some of those lines became become extinct; others survived. One of the surviving groups includes you and me (and in theory P.E. teachers, although one wonders). Other survivors include the various species of monkeys and apes we find today.

So, John, I've convinced you, right? Attaboy--always nice to have another ally in the fight against ignorance. Incidentally, you can find the NAS publication on the web at http://books.nap.edu/html/creationism/. Lots of good info in there!

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mevo...

Answer 7

For the same reason that you "evolved" from your parents, and they may still be here!

It doesn't necessitate that old things must disappear, just because new things arrive!

That's kind of a Self-Centered way of looking at things!

Though, if you keep asking the same question, over & over again, they may want to disappear!

Answer 8

Good question! You're realizing how completely ridiculous the theory of evolution actually is. We did not evolve from apes. We were created by God as humans. =)

Answer 9

because not every apes undergoes the same process of evolution since evolution probably occurs at different point of time at different types of environment randomly, there's no telling how the DNA changes.. therefore probably only a small group managed to do it...

Answer 10

first of let me share with you the honest and good news

humans DID NOT come from apes

humans are not apes

humans came from  the LORD GOD so did apes

but humans aren't apes if we evolved from apes why are humans giving birth  to humans or why are apes still apes

have you ever heard  of a present day human that came  from apes

[may i suggest you read the bible]

Answer 11

'Lucy' and her predecessors went along different branches of the evolutionary tree....many branchings...a lot of them extinct now. Humans and apes go back to a common ancestor...the Mitochondrial DNA will soon prove when that divergence occurred.

Answer 12

im assuming you mean evolution

no we did not evolve from apes

that is why apes are not evolving into humans now

Answer 13

The ape to human evolution theory is often oversimplified, evolution occurs because traits that enable better adaptation to an environment take on and create new species. Going back into the past ancestral ape populations will have been forced to adapt to new environments and this would have createded many different species of ape. Whilst the apes that are ancestral to humans were outcompeted by their more adapted offspring and are now extinct.

There will have been many ape species ancestral to humans which will have given rise to many that are not, hence there can be both apes and humans

Answer 14

You have it right, we are apes, but we are bi-pedal apes. The "bush" of evolution has many great apes on it &  it is not known if the ancestor of both Chimps & modern humans walked upright or was a knuckle walker. Further down the branch Gorillas split off from humans & Chimps. Still further down the branch, baboons & gibbons split off & formed a branch.  Our knowledge is limited by the small number of fossiles we've recovered, but DNA has offered a wonderful tool to "back track" evolution.

Now as to why apes (the quadra-pedal ones) are still here? They too have evolved for millions of years & look little like their ancestors. Evolution is a constant process but it simply creates diversity in animals. The overriding factor is something that creates a survival &/or reproductive crises, whereby only those with specific abilities to adapt to the crises survive. Those ancient apes are long extinct, but their modern descendents are still here.  That is a bit like asking, "if my cousin & I descended from grand pa, why is grand pa still here?"

Answer 15

Properly speaking we did not evolve from apes, they are our cousins.  We share common ancestors, but they are on a different branch of the family tree.  For that matter, we evolved from a common ancestor to the Elm Tree as well.  We even share genes with the might Oak and the lowly rat.  Often when new species are formed, especially when it is due to geographic isolation, both species continue to exist.  One eliminates the other only when they are competing for the same singular resource and one has a comparative advantage over the other.

Answer 16

Congratulations! This is about the fifth time I've seen this SAME EXACT INANE IGNORANT QUESTION asked in the past week or so!

I know you're too stupid to understand the concept of evolution, but are you also so stupid that you can't even search the extant answers for a response to your query?

I don't mean to assail you in particular, but the same boneheaded ignorance over and over and over again gets a wee bit frustrating.

Why are there still apes? Because there have got to be some creatures on this earth that you can look up to. Happy?