Apes and Monkeys

Information about Apes:

An ape is any member of the biological superfamily Hominoidea (hominoids). Within this superfamily are two familes of hominoids, the first being “Hylobatidae.” This includes the species like the gibbon and siamang, or more commonly called the “lesser apes” and then there is the family of “Hominidae” and this includes the chimpanzees, gorillas, humans and orangutans, and these species represent the “great apes.” Apes are omnivorous, good problem solvers, highly intelligent and usually very adept at climbing trees (except the gorillas and humans.)

Apes have prehensile hands and feet, and their arms are generally longer than their legs. They are mostly native to Asia and Africa, however they have spread across the world due to various reasons. In the family of the great apes, most are threatened or endangered, usually due to habit loss and illegal capture and poaching. There was a time that humans were not included in this family, however studies have shown that we are closely related to this animals, and share much of the same DNA.