Submitted to: DR.

JAVED IQBAL SIDDIQUI

Submitted by: ABDUL AZIZ (26210)

Class: BS (Hons.) Zoology 7th Semester (Morning)

COMPARISONS BETWEEN CHIMPANZEES AND
HUMANS:
Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives, and yet they were unknown to most
of the world until Charles Darwin wrote about and popularized them in 1859.
Much about them has only been discovered recently, and misconceptions abound
due to the exaggerations and artistic license used in works of fiction. Nevertheless,
our similarities and differences are not what many people think. By learning about
our relatives we can better understand ourselves.

1. EYES:
Humans have white around their irises, whereas chimpanzees usually have a dark
brown color. This makes it easier to see where other humans are looking, and there
are several theories as to why this is so.

 It may be an adaption to more complex social situations, where it is an

advantage to see whom others are looking at and thinking about. It may help
when hunting silently in packs, where eye direction is vital to
communication.
 It may simply be a genetic mutation with no purpose – white around the iris
is seen in some chimpanzees also.
 Both humans and chimpanzees can see in color, helping them to choose ripe
fruits and plants to eat, and have binocular vision; their eyes point forward in
the same direction. This helps see in depth and is crucial to hunting, rather
than eyes on the side of the head like rabbits which help avoid being hunted.
 2. BRAIN SIZE:
The brain of a chimpanzee has a volume of 370mL on average.

In contrast, humans have a brain size of 1350mL on average. Brain size alone,
however, is not an absolute indicator of intelligence.

 There have been Nobel Prize winners with brains ranging from below
900mL all the way up to over 2000mL. The structure and organization of the
various parts of the brain is a better way of determining intelligence.
 Human brains have a high surface area because they are much more
wrinkled than chimpanzee brains, with greater numbers of connections
between many of its parts. These, as well as a relatively larger frontal lobe,
allow us much more of the luxury of abstract and logical thought.
 3. WALKING UP RIGHT:
Both humans and chimpanzees are able to walk bipedally (on two legs).
Chimpanzees will often do this to see further ahead, but prefer to move on all
fours. Humans walk upright since infancy and have evolved bowl-shaped pelvises
to support their internal organs while doing so.

 Chimpanzees, leaning forward during movement, do not need to support

their organs with their pelvis and so have broader hips. This makes
childbirth much easier for chimpanzees than for humans, whose bowl-
shaped pelvis is in opposition to a large birth canal.
 Human feet are straight with toes at the front to help push directly ahead
when walking, whereas chimpanzee feet have opposable big toes and are
more like strong hands than feet. They are used for climbing and crawling,
involving sideways, diagonal, or rotating movements.
 4. LANGUAGE AND FACIAL EXPRESSIONS:
Chimpanzees have complex greetings and communications which depend on the
social statuses of the communicating chimps.

 They communicate verbally using a variety of hoots, grunts, screams, pants,

and other vocalizations. Most of their communication, however, is done
through gestures and facial expressions.
 Many of their facial expressions surprise, grinning, pleading, comforting are
the same as those of humans. However, humans smile by bearing their teeth,
which is for chimps and many other animals a sign of aggression or danger.
 A much greater portion of human communication is done through
vocalizations. Humans uniquely have complex vocal chords, allowing us a
great range of sounds, but preventing us from drinking and breathing
simultaneously like chimpanzees can.
 We have very muscular tongues and lips, allowing us accurate
manipulations of our voices. This is why we have pointy chins whereas
chimps have receding chins – we attach our many lip muscles to the
prominent lower chin, but chimpanzees lack many of these muscles and so
do not need a protruding chin.
 5. SEX:
Bonobos are renowned for their sexual appetite. Common chimpanzees can
become angry or violent, but bonobos defuse any such situation through sexual
pleasure. They also greet and show affection to each other through sexual
stimulation.

 Common chimpanzees do not engage in recreational sex, and mating only

takes ten or fifteen seconds, often whilst eating or doing something else.
Friendships and emotional attachments have no bearing on with whom a
common chimpanzee mates, and a female in heat will generally mate with
several males, who sometimes patiently wait their turn directly after each
other.
 Humans experience sexual pleasure, like bonobos, however even sex for
reproduction only takes much longer and requires more effort; long-term
partnerships naturally form as a result. Unlike humans, chimpanzees have no
 concept of sexual jealousy or competition, as they do not take long-term
partners.

6. DNA:
It is often said that humans and chimpanzees share 99% the same DNA. Genetic
comparison is not simple due to the nature of gene repeats and mutations, but a
better estimate is somewhere from 85% to 95%.

 This figure may still sound impressive, but most DNA is used for basic
cellular functions which all living things share. For example, we have about
half the same DNA as a banana, and yet people do not use this to emphasize
how similar bananas are to us! So 95% does not say as much as it first
appears to. Chimpanzees have 48 chromosomes, two more than humans.
 It is thought that this is

Because in a human ancestor, two pairs of chromosomes fused into a single pair.
Interestingly, humans have some of the least genetic variation of all animals, which
is why inbreeding can cause genetic problems.

 Even two completely unrelated humans are usually genetically more similar
than two sibling chimpanzees.
 7. DIET:
Chimpanzees and humans are both omnivorous (eat plants and meat). Humans are
more carnivorous than chimpanzees, and have intestines more refined towards the
digestion of meat.

 Chimpanzees will occasionally hunt and kill other mammals, often monkeys,
but otherwise restrict themselves to fruit and sometimes insects.
 Humans are much more dependent on meat humans can only obtain vitamin
B12 naturally through eating animal products. Based on our digestive system
and the lifestyles of extant tribes, it is thought that humans have evolved to
eat meat at least once every few days.
 Humans also tend to eat in meals rather than continuously eating throughout
the day, another carnivorous trait. This may be due to meats only being
available after a successful hunt, and so are eaten in large quantities but
 infrequently. Chimpanzees will graze on fruits constantly whereas most
humans will eat no more than three times in a day.

8. NUMBER OF SPECIES:
Chimpanzees are often incorrectly called monkeys, but they are actually in the
great ape family just like us.

 The other great apes are orangutans and gorillas. There is only one species
of human alive at present: Homo sapiens.
 In the past, many scientists tried to argue that there were several species of
human, and would often hasten to add that they
 They belonged to the ‘superior’ species.

 All humans can produce fertile children and so we are all the same species.
Chimpanzees, on the other hand, are actually two species: pan troglodytes,
the common chimpanzee, and pan paniscus, the gracile chimpanzee or
bonobo. These two types of chimpanzee are completely separate species.
Humans and both chimpanzee species evolved from a common ancestor,
possibly sahelanthropus tchadensis, between five and seven million years
ago. Only fossils of this ancestor remain.

9. SOCIABILITY:
Chimpanzees spend a great deal of time socializing. Much of their socializing is
grooming each other. Juvenile and adolescent chimpanzees will often play with,
chase, and tickle each other, as will adults with their offspring. Shows of affection
include hugging and kissing, which are done between chimpanzees of any age or
gender.

Bonobos are especially frisky, and nearly every show of affection is done sexually,
regardless of gender. Chimpanzees strengthen friendships by spending extensive
time grooming each other. Humans spend a comparable time socializing, albeit
more through talking than grooming.

 Nevertheless, much of the vast amounts of inconsequential chatter we

produce is simply a more sophisticated version of chimpanzee grooming – it
serves little other purpose than to strengthen our relationship bonds.
Humans also demonstrate stronger relationships through physical contact –
a pat on the back, a hug, or a friendly shove.
 Primate social group sizes closely reflect their brain sizes. Chimpanzees
have about 50 close friends and acquaintances, whereas humans have
between 150 and 200.
 10. TOOL USE:
For many years, humans were considered to be the only tool-using animal.
Observation in 1960 of chimpanzees using sharpened twigs to fish for termites has
since changed this. Both humans and chimpanzees are able to modify their
environment to forge tools to help with daily challenges. Chimpanzees will make
spears, use stones as hammers and anvils, and mash leaves into a pulp to use as
makeshift sponges. It is thought that as a result of walking upright, our front limbs
were much freer to use tools, and we have refined tool use to an art. We live
constantly surrounded by the products of this ability, and much of what people
consider makes us ‘successful’ is rooted in our tool making.
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