If we as humans are said to have evolved from monkeys, why are there monkeys still around today?

Answer 1

Actually you want to ask why there are still fish, or lizards, or birds etc etc

Truth is no one knows, scientists just pretend to because after all that 'theorising' for so long they have to appear to have not wasted all their time only to end up where they started.

Answer 2

Why wouldn´t there be monkeys?
Humans didn´t evolve from monkeys. Humans monkeys and apes evolved from a common ancestor that was much like a lemur. And this ancestor does not exist today. But still. Even if we did evolve from a monkey that doesn´t mean evolution works by spontaneously transforming one creature into another like a popcorn. Evolution is gradual. One group of animals might get separated from the main group. They migrate maybe looking for food. If they would find themselves in a harsher environment they might become extinct. Or they might survive long enough for genetic changes to kick in giving them a chance to survive. If the genetic change is so great they cannot mate with a member of the main group a new species will have arisen while the maingroup with a lesser amount of genetic change, the ancestor, remains. But they would also have experienced genetic change as evolution never stops.

Answer 3

Humans did not evolve from monkeys. That is a misconception of evolutionary theory.

Humans and monkeys evolved from some common ancestor who happened to be an ape.

However there are missing links as humans are bit different than any other creature on the planet. Mainly the thinness of body hair and the extreme amount of head hair that humans can grow. Also our abnormal intellegince compared to any other creature on the planet except for dolphins and whales.

Answer 4

Yes, we did evolve from monkeys -- but our last monkey ancestor was about 23 million years ago.

We're descended from an isolated population of monkeys, with different selection pressures than the main population (and other species of monkey) were experiencing.

Here're a couple of questions for you:
Australians and Americans are descended from Europeans, so why are there still Europeans?
Christians are "evolved" from Jews, so why are there still Jews?
Your second cousins look more like your great-grandparents than you do, so why do your second cousins exist?

Answer 5

IF (big emphasis) we did evolve from a monkey (and im not sayin we did) - we would have come from one type in one area and would not have wiped every other type in every other area out.

We are not good at living in dense forests whereas they are so some would have kept there "monkey-like" attributres to use the resources that were still available in the forests.

This is assuming we did evolve from monkeys - which i doubt we did.

Answer 6

Not this one again! It's because not all monkeys evolved in the same way. Some mutated and eventually turned into humans (after many millions of years and varrious mutations) and others stayed the same.

Answer 7

We didnt evolve from today´s monkeys, that is like saying "I am my brother´s son"
lets put it like this: one day monkey-man and monkey-woman had 2 children who they called "man" and "monkey". Understand?

Answer 8

Welcome to the 455th asking of this question, everybody and the 455th set of answers pointing out that humans, monkeys and apes have common ancestors. At least this time the asker had no misplaced apostrophes in the question.

Sorry, your question is not original, it has been asked before at least 450 times and it's about time that you realised that your sources of information are lying.

Alternatively, arrest that woman for old jokes!

Answer 9

We did not evolve from monkeys. We and the apes have a common ancestor,that´s all.

Answer 10

Humans and monkeys had a common ancestor. From this ancestor, two species originated. That's why there are both humans and monkeys.

Answer 11

Do you have any cousins?
Are they "still around today?"
Well it's the same with humans and monkeys.