Common myths.

1. Man is distinguished from animals the ability to speak and to think abstractly.

In fact, chimpanzees and gorillas can be taught human language (sign language, for example). The level of proficiency they can reach the level of 2-year-old child. Most of them are actively used up half a thousand words, and understood more than 2 thousand. And they could even make new words, concepts from the familiar words, swearing and even make fun of people

"You dirty bad toilet!" - So the gorilla Koko cursed at the young male named Mike, after he broke her favorite doll. Once Coco said that it is "good bird" and is able to fly, but later admitted that it was fun. It is well distinguish between past and future, I could tell that he misses and tell impressions of what he sees. So Coco saw the horse with the bit in his mouth, he immediately said, "The horse is sad," said the source - "Teeth." When he died, her favorite kitten, she said sadly - "The kitten has left and will not return."





2. Man is the only animal creates and uses tools for different purposes.

Indeed not so long ago it was thought that many animals and even birds, can be selected and used for the production of food items, but not the process and create from them guns. However, in the second half of the XX century it has been proven that apes are not simply find and make these stone tools, sticks, branches, and, moreover, consciously taught the younger generation.





3. Man has the biggest brain in animals. Yielding in the amount of brain giants of wildlife - elephants, whales, one exceeds them and everyone else in the ratio of brain weight to body weight.

Indeed the weight of the human brain is an average of 1/40 of the weight of the body is twice larger than that of our nearest relatives chimpanzees. In most of the dolphins tadpole brain than a man, but why they figure significantly inferior to man - 1/80. In most mammals, this ratio is far smaller. However, there are exceptions - Sajmir or squirrel monkey, it is the ratio of 1 to 17, which is two times higher than in humans. But champions in this respect are the birds (except flightless - penguins, ostriches), many of them the relative size of the brain more than a man - from 1/20 or higher. Record Breaker - hummingbirds they relate to brain size to body weight, 1 to 12.





4. Man is distinguished from animals social life. Only available to man the division of labor, the construction of cities, a complex social structure. On the ground, there are over 7 billion. People and most of them cities. If you throw the microorganisms no animal species has not reached such a success, and the more this level of social development. It is a complex social life of man has created a metropolis, metropolitan area and even sverhaglomeratsii. In one such sverhaglomeratsii Tokaido in Japan 83 million lives. Man.

Man is currently the most successful species of mammals. As the number of them can compete with only rodents, such as mice and rats. But the complexity of their social life, compared with a man is not great, and they do not organize a coordinated large flocks for survival and successful reproduction. Their principle of success is quite simple - omnivorous, short term pregnancy, a large number of offspring. But without the human population in rats and mice drop in thousands, if not tens of thousands of times, they were, in fact, our "domestic" animals and are completely dependent on the person.

However, there are social animals which in many ways a person can argue - it is ants. They are familiar with the division of labor - because of it, they create a viable and developing colonies with tens, hundreds of thousands of individuals. The division of labor - is not just a sexless individual soldiers and workers, the queen of the uterus and males. Soldiers are divided into super-soldiers and ordinary soldiers. Ordinary soldiers guarding an ant hill and attack strangers. Super soldiers with huge heads caulk entrances to the nest and keep the defense. Working individuals are divided into groups that are engaged in various activities both inside and outside of the anthill. And the development of their "agriculture" - the ants grow fungi in burrows underground, guarded and "milking" the aphids on the plants near the anthill, creating conditions for their reproduction. Ants share information, coordinate their activities, feed offspring, queens and workers inside the anthill. Complex social unit! Some nests grow to enormous size, and account for up to 5 mln. Individuals. Their total number is much higher than the total number of people on the planet.

In some species of ant colonies can be placed in dozens of anthills built. Until 2000, the largest discovered ants supercolonies Linepithema humile (Argentine ant) ​​was known in the coastal part of the county Ishikari, Hokkaido, Japan. The colony consists of about 306 million and a million ants queens that live in ant hills on 45,000 Square 2.7 km². This is one colony, the ants attack the colony of ants of the same species of ant unrelated and learn their own. Is not the state?

But this is not the end, not so long ago were found supercolonies ants of the same species in California (lane along the coast 900km) and another - along the Mediterranean coast of Spain, France and Italy (the band length of 6 thousand. Km), their population is estimated at tens of billions individuals.

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5. Man unique construction. It creates huge skyscrapers, super-deep mines obstructing rivers dams

Indeed people in the XX and XXI century has achieved great success in the construction industry. The highest skyscraper in the world - 163-storey Burj Khalifa Dubai, whose height is 828 m (on the spire) and 643 m (on the roof) (construction completed in 2010). The deepest mine in the world - are in South Africa - "Tau-Ton" and "Vitvateersrand", their depth of over 4,500 m. The largest dam blocking the river - a dam in China "Three Gorges" - a grandiose construction 2309 m long, 600 m in width and 185 m in height (still under construction). Who in the animal world can be compared with such builders?

Once again, let alone micro-organisms and organic precipitation thickness not wake up to talk about the Great Barrier Reef corals created hundreds of thousands of years - it can not be compared with more than one building humanity. We will compare only structures by social animals. Do human competitors in this regard?

There - it is termites. Termites are sometimes confused with ants, but in reality their immediate families cockroaches. Maximum height of the mound officially measured 12, 8 meters - nearly the height of a 5-storey building. Does not impress? But remember that the size of these blind builders mini niboskrebov no more than 1cm. So, the relative height of the mound exceeds all the highest buildings in the world. If we translate these dimensions in the human, the tower vzmetnetsya mound for more than two-kilometer altitude. And the size of the construction, the area of ​​its premises and the length of the corridor, every human building will fall behind in the tens, even hundreds of times from the usual mound. And what about mine? And here we are back - just mounds tower ground part of the building, most of which is located deep underground. One mound moves left on the depth of 34 m, based on the human dimension - the depth of 6-7 km. But scientists believe that the moves termites may go much deeper, up to 70 m and more.

As for the dam? Calm down, termites do not build dams, and here we are out of the competition. Stop. Not really - in Canada, the two families of beavers built a dam for 10 years, the length of 853 meters. Compare tens of thousands of construction workers in China, armed with the latest technology and only two families of industrious beavers. Given their size, beaver dam is comparable with the Chinese, though, and does not exceed it. Yet from personal sympathies I would give primacy hard worker-beaver.

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6. Man has a unique sexual behavior. Women almost always (if they want to, of course) to have sex, and female animals mate only short periods (during estrus, or, more simply, heat) and exclusively for the production of offspring. Accordingly, sexual life does not possess a variety of animals.

In fact, this statement is true for the majority of the animals, but there are exceptions - the chimpanzee-bonobo pygmy. Their sex life is a very important part of the social dialogue, perhaps even more than a man. Bonobo females are ready to mate. Having sex greatly reduces the number of conflicts and aggression in the pack when compared with all the other monkeys. Principle «Make love, not war» flourishes bonobo. Oral and anal sex, kissing with tongue bonobos discovered much earlier human rights and practicing all this with less gusto. Homosexual sexual acts they are less common heterosexual, but they are common. Especially those addicted to females, which allows them to create a more robust social ties. This allows females dominate males stronger - not the carrot (sex) or whip (to join the group and beat the male). About monotonous sex life bonobos, as you understand, even to say no. They practice almost all sexual positions (including the classic missionary, once considered exclusively human), well, natural agility and flexibility allows them to get up so that people do not even dreamed of.

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I think it's time we feel the respect for the natural world and to realize that we are just a part of this world. Our uniqueness is beyond doubt, but the unique and all life that exists on our planet is beautiful and amazing.

© LysyyKamrad

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