Over the years physical anthropologists have studied primates to understand ancient and modern social cultural behavior of human beings. By studying them in their natural setting, it is possible to draw conclusions that can be related to individuals without actually studying people. Observation of the primates enables the primatologist to compare the findings of man closest living relatives to humans. A two-hour observation was carried out for the mongoose lemur and wolf guenon. The Oakland Zoo was selected due to its wider array of primates, and each species was recorded for an hour. The zoo was initially contacted to know the feeding time and when the primates tended to be most active to be able to observe the animals adequately. The study was carried out at 10:30 to 12:30 on June Saturday the third. The aim of the assignment was to observe two different primates in a zoo while comparing their behaviors to each other and relate the findings to human. The behavioral and physical observation was employed and aspects like staying together, body size, eating habits, energy, and adaptation and living conditions observed.
Primate Comparison
The two-hour observation of the primates helped in identifying common features affecting both species. The mongoose lemur prefers to stay close to each other because it makes them feel safe in the cage contrary to the wolf guenon that is affected by the limited space making them anxious. The two species have similar observations key among them they are omnivorous and would like to stay away from people as this makes them feel safe. Similarly, the two are also getting used to being around people and lastly, they rarely move because they have everything they need at their disposal.
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From the observation of the mongoose lemur, the following aspects were observed. The primates had small furry soft bodies and liked to stay close to each other. They have a longer tail compared to the rest of the body. They have big eyes and are full of energy. Their mouth is extended like a fox’s. They feed on apples, petals, and cookies and at times grasp lice and stuff them into their mouths. They lack incisors and have different adaptations like the tail, face and body colors.
Wolf guenon has equal limbs, rarely goes on the ground and is full of energy. They have bright colors, prominent mouth and make different calls. They have two stout jaws and a forward leaning nose. Their hands and feet have five fingers including the toe with flat nails. They have white necks and meniscus eyebrows and beards. They have white arms and a white mark on their thighs. Additionally, the primate has a black or dark gray tail with a diameter of three to four centimeters and sixty centimeters long. They can stand upright but often like to stay at the top of the canopy inside their cage. They eat bananas, petals and have sophisticated eating habits. They can store food in their cheek. Similarly, they have a flat tip.
The Mongoose Lemur is a social animal that consumes less food and is affected by weather. Its tail helps them to balance on trees, and their eye size enables them to see better at night. Their coat allows them to adapt to extreme weather conditions while their ears make it possible for them to heart better. The nature of their food determines their dental formula while their color enables them to camouflage in the jungle. Sudden shouting ensures that they can alert each other of an imminent threat.
Wolf guenon is primates that are adapted to limited food areas. Their limbs help them to climb better, and their color is ideal for camouflage. The nature of food that they consume indicates that they are omnivorous. They ability to make different calls enables them to send a variety of warning signals depending on the predators. The shape of their nose indicates adaptation to the environment they live. The fingers allow them to quickly grab something while constant fighting is an indication of an intensely competitive environment. Their color allows them to camouflage while their desire to stay on top of the canopy indicates that they like to stay away from danger.
Effect of captivity
The mongoose lemur likes to stay close in contrast to the wolf guenon that often fights with each other. However, both species have similar observable traits like eating cookies, always staying on top of trees or cages, looking at people but are not afraid of them and limited movement. The mongoose lemur likes to stay close to each other as this makes them feel safer in the cage. Their eating style shows that they are omnivorous while staying on top of trees indicates adaptation to limited space. When they look at individuals and are not afraid, it indicates that they are getting used to their situation. They barely move because they have everything at their disposal and therefore they do not have a motive.
Wolf guenon often fights because the limited living space makes them anxious. Eating of cookies indicates that they are omnivorous while staying at the top of the canopy demonstrates that they desire to get away from people enabling them to feel safe. At times they look at people and are not afraid, and this indicates that they are getting used to them. Limited movement is as a result of ample supply of everything they need and therefore no need to move.
Insight into human behavior
From the observations, it is possible to draw an insight into human behavior. It demonstrates how ancient and modern individuals are adapted to their environment and how different stimuli affect their daily activities. Effect of captivity on the primates shows strong similarities to people with restricted movements like correctional centers and work environments. Similarly, it is possible to relate such observations to human behavior in different settings and how the environment can affect such reactions. Studies of primates can be helpful in understanding human behavior because it is hard to expose people to some situations without changing their normal behavior. Similarly, when individuals are aware that they are being studied, they often behave differently resulting to biased results. However, different species hold unique traits, and therefore it is hard to generalize the conclusions based on a single observation. Similarly, this holds true for human beings as each one has unique characteristics and they behave differently in different circumstances.
Conclusion
Observation of the behavior of primates to understand ancient and modern social cultural behavior of human beings has been in use and continues to be employed. It is possible to draw conclusions about human behavior by observing the way primates behave in their natural settings. However, such observations differ among species and should not be applied to draw a generalized conclusion of the behavior of human beings. Other aspects that affect behavior should also be considered in arriving at a generalized conclusion into the human behavior.
Reference
Boos, M. (2011). Coordination in human and primate groups . Heidelberg: Springer.
