Apes are us

Very few people know that apes (except gibbons) sleep in a nest high up in a tree.

Every evening, each ape takes two to twenty minutes to construct a cozy new nest.

Some even make simple «day nests» to take a nap.

They bend several branches and weave them together so that they can support their weight.

Then, they add softer plant material to make the nest more comfortable.

Nest making is more intricate than one would expect and young apes learn how to do it from their mother.

Sleeping on the ground would be too dangerous, so only some male gorillas do it.

Knowing about nests is important for us humans because we have also slept in them for the major part of our history.

Chimpanzees, along with bonobos, are our closest living relatives.

Contrarily to us, they have hair on the forehead and none on the eyebrows.

Chimpanzees are totally dependent on their mother until they are five, become adults at thirteen and can live up to fifty.

They live in communities of ten to sixty individuals in a hierarchised society dominated by an alpha male.

During the day, they separate into smaller parties to look for food. The composition of these groups changes fluidly.

Chimpanzee behavior is stunningly similar to our own; they indulge in fighting, alliances, betraying, murder, hunting, warfare, ...

Bonobos look very much like chimpanzees, but they are a bit slender.

Just like humans, they have diverged from the chimpanzee line, but they have done so lately; about one million years ago.

Their darker, longer hair is parted in the middle.

Bonobos are particularly interesting for us because of their distinctive behavior and lifestyle.

They have a female dominated society, where seniority is the important factor.

They live in communities of 25 to 75 or more, but are much less aggressive than chimpanzees.

Bonobos are known as the «free-love» chimp because of the role sex has come to play in their everyday lives.

You may agree or not with them, but they prove that male domination is not inscribed in our genes.

There are two species of gorillas, both containing two sub-species.

They are the largest living primates.

Mature males are twice the size of the females and grow large canines.

The hair on their back turns grey, that's why they are called silverbacks.

They are so big and heavy that the branches won't support their weight anymore.

In spite of their frightening looks, gorillas are shy, peaceful vegetarians.

They form harem type societies, where several females with their youngs will search the protection of a silverback.

Gorillas are also highly intelligent.

Orangutans can only be found on two islands; Borneo and Sumatra, and this isolation has created two sub-species.

The words «orang hutan» mean «man of the forest» in Malay and Indonesian.

As with gorillas, there is a marked difference in size (dimorphism) between the two sexes.

The males still live in trees, but often have to come down to the ground to go from one to another.

They develop huge fleshy pads circling their face.

Orangutans lead lonely lives; food sources where they live being too limited to permit grouping.

Orangutan mothers take care of their child all by themselves for seven years before the next is born.

They teach them everything they need to know to survive.

Orangutans are also known for their wise intelligence.

There are several species of gibbons. They are not considered as great apes, but as lesser apes.

This is a bit insulting. Their faults include being smaller and having diverged earlier, but they are as tailless as the other apes.

Only gibbons can perform «brachiation», swinging from branch to branch, at high speed and over great distances, making them the most agile mammal in the trees.

Gibbons are monogamous, for a while at least. They form pairs and raise the children together.

Every day, the couple sings a duet of elaborate calls and rarely goes down from the trees.