If we share common ancestor with apes, why are there still monkeys???

Answer 1

To watch them fling feces in the zoo.

Answer 2

Because they evolved from our common ancestor too. We humans got smarter. The great apes, including chimpanzees, got stronger. They are stronger than us humans. (A 180-pound chimp would wipe the floor with a 180-pound human, even a college wrestler.) I don't expect you to believe that, but if you try hard enough you can understand it.

Here is a little something extra for you, what the Cajuns call "lagniappe", like the free cookie the baker gives the kids when Mom buys a big birthday cake:

Back in 1776, monarchists (Monarchists are people who want to be ruled by a king or queen, not butterfly fanciers.) argued against democracy as a form of government. They said it was absurd to believe that "All men are created equal" because anyone could see men came in different heights, weights and colors. Case closed.

My point is not about democracy. It is about debate. Before you argue about something, you should understand it. If you don't understand it, you'll look foolish. One night on the "Saturday Night Live" TV show, Gilda Radner argued vehemently against the "Deaf Penalty", instead of the "Death Penalty". She looked absurd and we all laughed until the beer came out our noses, which was what she wanted. You don't want people to laugh at you.

In a serious debate, you should understand the other side. Note that I didn't say "Believe". Understanding is not the same as believing. If you were to study 20th century European Political history, you would have to understand several forms of government: communism (the USSR), fascism (Germany, Italy), socialism (Lots of countries), socialist democracy, capitalistic democracy and constitutional monarchy. You would not believe in all of them; you COULD not believe in all of them at once. If you tried, your head would explode. You would, however, have to understand their basic concepts.

If you were to study comparative religion, you would have to understand what Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Taoists and Confucians believe. You would not have to convert to a new religion every week, but you would have to understand the other ones. You would not get very far in your studies if you dismissed all the other ones as "wrong". They believe their path is the right one just as strongly as you believe your path is the right one.

99% of the biologists alive today believe that species evolve, and that the theory of evolution is the best explanation we have for the diversity of life. Christian biologists, Jewish biologists, Muslim biologists, Hindu biologists, Buddhist biologists; Australian, Bolivian and Chinese biologists; 99% of them believe it is the best explanation. Yes, it is only a theory. Planetary motion - the theory that the earth went around the sun, not vice versa - was only a theory for a long time. Some people still don't believe it.

Your question has been answered, hundreds of times, by people more versed in biology than I. It gets answered ever week here at YA.

If you are truly curious, ask your minister to give you a short, reasoned explanation of evolution. Tell him you don't want to believe it, of course; you just want to understand it. If he says he can't because it is wrong, he is as ignorant as those monarchists I mentioned above.

By the way, this question gets asked so often that some answerers have made a drinking game of it - much like the TV show "Frasier", when Frasier, Niles and Martin all watched "Antiques Road Show" together. In the episode, every time someone said "veneer" they would all take a drink. You may get some answer that say "Swig" or "Gulp" or "Thanks for the excuse to drink". If you do a search on "still monkies" you'll get roughly 2 - 3 per day since YA started.

Answer 3

Some species continue to adapt and others don't. Notice how many species have become extinct just in the past 100 years. Notice that a number of primates are under extinction pressure? We are from the same line as chimpanzees, but it seems quite likley that chimpanzees in the wild will disappear in this generation. What does that prove? The fact that one familial branch is a dead end and the other isn't. Now extend this process across 3.5 billion years to thousands of branches that have failed and thousands which have adapted.

But I take it you think the continued existence of monkeys proves or disproves something about our common ancestry when it doesn't.

Answer 4

It's called speciation. It's how one species, the common ancestor, gave rise to many. As in there was one common ancestor, and many resultant species. It's complex, do your research!

Answer 5

Dogs share a common ancestor with wolves so why are their still wolves? Come on...

Answer 6

If you and your siblings share a common ancestor (your parents), why does your sister or brother still exist?

Answer 7

Cheers!

Answer 8

Think about it.....you answered your own question.....still nothing?.......we SHARED a common ancestor....ding ding ding yet?

Answer 9

Drink!

Answer 10

we dont, I do though, your common ancestor is dirt