Thomas 1 James Thomas Mrs. Tyree English III AP, Per.

5 4 December 2013 Humans in the Line of Animals Humans have been on the top of the food chain because humanity has evolved so much farther than any other creature in the animal kingdom. Our evolution has led humanity to rational thinking, an array of different languages that humans can all speak, and opposable thumbs. Homo sapiens have been in the classification of mammals because people have hair, are warm blooded and give birth to live young. Other species in the mammal classification are slowly moving up the evolution ladder to try and match human abilities. Some of the better known examples are the dolphin, which have created family-like systems and have their own amazing language, the elephant, which have similar evolutionary characteristics to the dolphin but also use their trunks like a fully functional arm, and the chimpanzee, which have all of the characteristics that any other animal has and they even have opposable thumbs. According to public television and common intelligence, these unique animals all fall into the mammal classification of the animal kingdom alongside homo sapiens, but human have more similarities than differences with animals in special categories such as brain activity, communication, and how we use our limbs. Dolphins, the fun and energetic water mammals, have been around humans since we were both put on this earth. We have lived side by side and have even grown close enough to hunt together in the wild. The dolphin is a beautiful and graceful animal which has emotional feelings similar to ours. Dolphins have very close family ties that reflect human families. If a

Thomas 2 member of the dolphin pod dies, the whole pod mourns their death for days. This characteristic proves that dolphins have either learned about families from humans or humans have learned about families from dolphins. The dolphin also has a brain that is slowly becoming more and more advanced to where dolphins have a very amazing and complex language that is almost like our own. Dolphins can communicate with each other from miles away with a sound that is very high-pitched, and the animals can understand exactly what the other is telling them. This allows dolphins to warn others about dangers in the waters or to hunt together in their pods, or families. Humans also have this same evolutionary ability that allows us to be safe from harm and to hunt more effectively. Dolphins may not look like people, but they are slowly becoming more and more like homo sapiens. Elephants, the aggressive and dangerous mammal that can crush nearly anything, are individually of the smartest animals on this earth and are also the largest and most powerful of all of the creatures in the animal kingdom. Elephants have brains that are much less complex than humanity but elephants brain is also developing in similar ways as humans have. Elephants have the same characteristics as the dolphin does when dealing with family. Elephants travel in herds, or large families, that have very close family ties. When the herd is threatened, the adults circle around the young and protect their children until the bitter end. When a family member dies, the herd will mourn for days and even in some cases will stay with the body until the fallen member starts to decay. Elephants also communicate like dolphins do, with sounds that cannot be heard by other animals but can travel for miles in every direction in order to communicate to lost members or to find new ones. Animal specialists have observed elephants in captivity building structures and even painting pictures, when given paint and a canvas, that have been sold for a lot of money. Their brains are still far from ours but they are still developing in the same way.

Thomas 3 The elephant also has a very unique appendage that no other animal uses in the same way that the giant creature does: the trunk. An elephants trunk is essentially a nose, but the elephant uses the appendage like an arm. The nose can grasp objects of almost any size like grass in order to eat and can also hold water to bring to the mouth to drink. This amazing appendage is similar to a primates arm, even though the trunk does not have hands like humans. Elephants are amazing creatures but are still not as close to humans in the mammal classification as primates. The chimpanzee is the most advanced animal in the animal kingdom next to humans. Chimpanzees are so close to human DNA that there is only a difference of 1.6 percent (Quammen). Scientists have discovered that chimps have a very complex brain that nearly mirrors ours, except chimps cannot think on the same logical level that humans can. Chimps have all of the characteristics that every other animal in the mammal classification has and more. When animal specialists conduct tests on chimpanzees in captivity, the monkeys can solve simple problems, create structures and communicate with their families in a more intelligent fashion. In the wild, chimps travel in communities that can hold up to 80 members. They communicate on a lower level than some of the other mammals but their language is still just as complex. The chimpanzees most prominent feature though is their opposable thumb. An opposable thumb is a thumb that has full rotation and is fully functional. Every species of monkey has an opposable thumb but the chimpanzee uses the thumb like homo sapiens do. They use their hands to build items, to communicate, and to fight. Chimps have extremely powerful muscles and are very aggressive, just like humans. Chimps are only a few thousand years behind our evolutionary jump, but compared to the rest of the animal kingdom that is a very thin gap. Chimps will one day be so close to our classification that we will have to acknowledge them as a very low category of homo sapiens.

Thomas 4 Humans may be part of the animal kingdom, but we are the most advanced of all of the creatures. Some of our brethren in the mammal classification are slowly becoming more and more advanced as the years go by. Soon enough, some of the animals that we call animals will be right next to us in the evolutionary pool.