If humans evolved from apes/monkeys, then why are they still here?

Answer 1

think of evolution as a large tree with many branches. the humans are one branch of a large tree. another branch is baboons, another is gorillas, another is chimpanzees. one branch doesnt mean the other branches die.

its like snakes, there are hundreds of species of snakes. they all share one common ancestor, but evolution branches in many different directions creating all of the hundreds. one species doesnt necessarily replace another . they all can exist.

Answer 2

This question gets asked so often that some answerers in Religion & Science 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; Niles and Frasier of a fine wine, Martin of Raineer Ale. You may get some answers that say "Swig" or "Gulp" or "Thanks for the excuse to drink". That's what they mean. If you do a search on "still monkies", "still monkeys" and "still apes" you'll get roughly 2 - 3 per day since YA started.

Here is a short answer:

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.

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.

Answer 3

It took millions of years to evolve, and not all apes became humans. There was a variety of spieces before Homo Sapiens. The clearest answer is that our DNA changes due to 'natural selection' and because smarter apes were needed near the ice age to stay alive we evolved from them. Apes in other parts of the world did not become extinct that is why.

Answer 4

Because monkeys and apes evolved to suit their niche in the environment, and they were not killed off. They are a successful species and will continue to reproduce. Humans, also, have been successful. It's possible for more than one type of creature to survive, even if they have evolved from a common ancestor.

Answer 5

We did not evolve from monkeys and apes that are alive today. The primates that we evolved from are not still here. They died out 3 mi8llion years ago.

Answer 6

Good question! What a rotten break for those monkeys who were left behind in the zoos! Ha

Human beings did not 'evolve' from lower life forms.

Animals act according to instinct. Human have a conscience and a choice in what form of action to take.

Answer 7

Those were different apes taller & more akin to humans. They lived almost 3.4 milion yrs ago. The present lineage is a different generation ( however even today the way that some humans behave one is not sure whether the evolutution is complete)

Answer 8

Ridiculous question- humans didn't evolve directly from apes, and even if they had, that wouldn't preclude there being apes in the current world.

Answer 9

We evolved from a certain species of apes that are no longer here. We didn't evolve from all species of ape. They are similiar in DNA yes but not exact. Now how about quit asking this question find something else to bother us with.

Answer 10

Because apes/monkeys are not extinct yet. Caterpillers dont become extinct just because Butterflys have evolved from them.