Humans and apes, on the other hand, must learn to swim. The tree-dwelling ancestors of apes had less opportunity to move on the ground. They thus developed alternative strategies to cross small rivers, wading in an upright position or using natural bridges. They lost the instinct to swim.
Various theories have been advanced to explain the lack of inborn swimming ability in apes. One is that they lack buoyancy, unlike humans, who have a higher fat-to-muscle ratio (4). But other terrestrial mammals with negative buoyancy have developed the ability to keep their heads water while moving through it.
No floaties required. Researchers now have the first video evidence that apes can learn to swim and dive. Like humans, wild apes exposed to deep water will fumble and flail. Our uncoordinated movements bear little resemblance to the tried-and-true doggy paddle that most other mammals use instinctively.
Swimming. "Orang-utans are famous for their fear of water," says Russon. "They have high body densities and can't help but sink." They're such lousy swimmers that some zoos have stopped surrounding enclosures with moats – too many orang-utans have drowned.
For example, most apes may have an instinctive fear of predators or drowning. Interestingly, fear of water is one of the most common phobias in humans; along with similar phobias such as those of spiders and snakes, it has been proposed to be an “evolutionarily relevant” phobia that could confer a selective advantage.
Also, the gorilla is naturally very shy creatures. Like shy humans, staring directly into the eyes of gorilla make them feel uncomfortable and insecure and when disrupted by your direct eye contact, they can charge aggressively at you to defend themselves.
Monkeys and apes lack the neural control over their vocal tract muscles to properly configure them for speech, Fitch concludes. "If a human brain were in control, they could talk," he says, though it remains a bit of a mystery why other animals can produce at least rudimentary speech.
Humans and apes, on the other hand, must learn to swim. The tree-dwelling ancestors of apes had less opportunity to move on the ground. They thus developed alternative strategies to cross small rivers, wading in an upright position or using natural bridges. They lost the instinct to swim.
Like the other apes and humans, gorillas cannot swim naturally, therefore they avoid large bodies of water and rivers. However, in zoos and sometimes even in the wild, young and adult animals like to play with water.
Other examples include gorillas, chimpanzees, camels, tortoises etc.
The short answer is no. An individual of one species cannot, during its lifetime, turn into another species. But your question is so interesting because it helps us think about life, evolution and what it means to be human.
mountain gorillas like other primates and humans are scared of water and some insects like caterpillars and reptiles like Chameleon. Gorillas like other apes including humans find it hard to swim naturally which prompts them to desist from expanse water masses (big water bodies) like Lakes and Rivers.
Because the connection between the upper thigh and hip bones is short in chimpanzees, the hip muscles cannot contract effectively to provide support for upright walking. The connection between the upper thigh and hip bones was longer in early humans than in chimpanzees, and its base thicker.
Humans — the weakest of all great apes. The team performed biopsies on thigh and calf muscles collected from three anesthetized chimps housed at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. The samples were painstakingly separated into individual fibers then stimulated so the force they generate could be measured.
The emanating drumming sound can be heard over one kilometre away. The presumed function of gorilla chest beats is to attract females and intimidate rival males.
Due to the much larger evolutionary distance between humans and monkeys versus humans and chimpanzees, it is considered unlikely that true human-monkey hybrids could be brought to term. However, it is feasible that human-compatible organs for transplantation could be grown in these chimeras.
There have been few cases where gorillas attacked and even killed humans, although such incidents are rare and the human was always to blame. Gorillas can attack if surprised or threatened or if a person behaves in the wrong way in front of them or makes an unexpected movement.
Highly unlikely, if no firearms or tranquilizer guns are involved. A gorilla can reach speeds of 20 mph to 25 mph. In comparison, Usain Bolt's record in the 100-meter dash roughly translates into 23 mph (Bolt reaches peak speeds of around 27 mph—but still).
The only predator to prey on gorillas is the leopard. Walter Baumgärtel found the remains of several gorillas after they had been killed by leopards in the Virunga Volcanoes. Another case has been confirmed in Gabon, where a sick young gorilla was killed by a leopard.
There are humans (Bajau Laut- sea nomads) who can hold their breath for longer durations (up to some minutes) underwater. However, it is biologically impossible to evolve (or devolve) to live underwater in a short period.
It is not true that babies are born with the ability to swim, though they have primitive reflexes that make it look like they are. Babies are not old enough to hold their breath intentionally or strong enough to keep their head above water, and cannot swim unassisted.
Archaeological and other evidence shows swimming to have been practiced as early as 2500 bce in Egypt and thereafter in Assyrian, Greek, and Roman civilizations.
Myth: Chimps can smile like humans do.
Chimps make this expression when they are afraid, unsure, stressed, or wanting to appear submissive to a more dominant troop member. The closest expression chimps have to a smile is a play face.
Monkeys, apes and other simians have nothing quite like our tears. They have tear ducts to help keep their eyes lubricated and clean. But they don't drain when they're sad. Chimps will scrunch up their faces and make noise when they're in distress, but they don't connect the tears and the wailing.
Chimps, like all primates, have tear ducts, but their tear ducts serve only to lubricate and clean the eye. Unlike humans, they do not shed tears when distressed. "Chimps don't cry." Chimps, like most primates, can cry, if crying is defined by emitting certain vocalizations that co-occur with distressing situations.