If man evolved from monkeys and apes, why are there still monkeys and apes?

Answer 1

The monkeys and apes we see to day are decendents from the species we've decended from. That is, the original species is extinct. Humans and apes evolved seperately and independently from that parent species - each has evolved their own traits.

Answer 2

The correct answer as some have stated is that your question is in fact wrong. Dont be disheartened though it is important for progress that questions are asked. The fact is that no evolutionary biologist has ever stated that humans evolved from monkeys or apes or any other animal existing today. Apes and humans (we are actually a species of african ape ourselves) once shared a common ancestor from which we both evolved, evolution doesnt result in more complex organisms but better adaptated ones. All organisms alive today are as evolved as us, your misunderstanding is common. Unfortunatly all those above who said something about the length of time or not having to evolve much are equally ignorant. As a genetics graduate undertaking post grad research I am disturbed by the lack of understanding on such an important area one day maybe a good education system will make your question a thing of the past.

Answer 3

According to the evolution theory, man shares a common ancestor some way back in history with the other primates (monkeys and apes). Man did not evolve directly from the chimpanzee in the zoo. Although man and chimps share an astonishing 98% of their genetic make up. There are still monkeys and apes for the same reason we still have lizards and frogs e.t.c. Somewhere along the line, every now and again ( which may be anything from hundreds of thousands of years to millions of years). A new species branches of in every tree ( evolutionary tree) but this species can always be traced back to an increasingly distant ancestor. Factors like mutation, genetic drift and gene flow are involved. Adaptation to an environment is also a major factor. For example, lungs are necessary for man to breathe in air but fish on the other hand use gills because the environment they need to adapt to is water and gills are more effective at taking oxgen out of the water. evolution has led to diversity and though some species do get extint for many reasons such as inability to adapt to a changing environment, any species that adapt reasonably well will still be around. Hence monkeys and apes. Hope that answers your question.

Answer 4

Because we didn't evolve from monkeys and apes, monkeys apes and humans all evolved from a common ancestor, which explains why we share a suite of commone characteristics.

Monkeys, apes and humans all still exist today because each primate species has adapted and evolved to fill a unique biological niches. The niches filled by monkeys, apes, and humans all still exist (although maybe not for much longer) so all three groups are still extant today.

Maybe if you took just a few minutes to look through some of the previously asked questions you'd realise this comes up a lot and gets more than thoroughly answered every time.
Personally I, and I'm sure lots of others, am more than happy to help shed some light on things for people, but it would be nice if people could move on from this one and then maybe we could all learn something new.

Answer 5

we didnt evolve from monkeys. we do, however, share a common ancestor with the present day great apes, astralopithecus. man went one way, chimps went another, as did other great apes. its like the letter Y. astralopithecus is on the bottom. humans on the top right and chimps on the top left. did you know that bears and dogs share a common ancestor as well? do some research. you may not belief it but dont take religion or anything else for its word. you need to question your world. learn to think for yourself and not what everybody tells you to. be a free thinker. without free thinkers wed still be living in the dark ages
also, did you know darwin believed in god? he believed god created earth and allowed evolution to happen(no adam and eve and all that bull crap) that's an eye opener, but we'll leave the big bang theory for another question

Answer 6

We evolved from isolated populations of monkeys, and later, isolated populations of apes. Our ancestors were pushed into marginal areas where selection pressure (and genetic drift) favored a change.

The main populations, well adapted for their situations, gave rise to the monkeys and apes we see today.

Here's a question for you: If Christians are evolved from Jews, why are there still Jews? It's the same principle.

Answer 7

They have evolved a little bit since then too but not much because they are perfectly adapted to their niche environment so no need to change. The humans are the apes that evolved to meet the requirements of living on the savannah plains of Africa. It forced us to become more cooperative in hunts and dependent on tools. This led to more brain power which eventually made us adaptable to any environment on earth almost.

Answer 8

We all evolved from a common ancestor millions of years ago. Evolution took us along a different branch from the great apes. We have evolved fairly quickly compared with our nearest cousins.

Answer 9

because man evolved from another species of ape that was separated from all of the other apes about 4-10 million years ago.
this ape must have died out (or we maybe killed it) to make humans the dominant ape on the planet

humans (homo sapiens) share about 98% of their DNA with chimpanzees, gorillas DNA is only 97% similar to chimps, so we are more chimp than a gorilla is. that was just a little extra piece of info for you, hope you liked it.

Answer 10

They didn't START OUT as monkeys and apes, they evolved differently from a common ancestor!
Jeez, you creationists do SO miss the obvious!