In our modern day. Research points to the fact that humans may be distantly related to the modern ape family. We all know that apes Have similiar traits to human beings. we learn this at a young age. We also learn that apes are still different from us Despite out similaritys.Now we know that apes are kept in zoos and as circus acts but it is rare for an ape to live in a home with humans for more than short periods of time. But what would happen if an ape was kept in a home for ten years as an experiment and raised as a human girl?
The story of lucy is about just that. Lucy was taken from her chimpanzee parents at two days old and for the next ten years she lived as a human girl, a rather spoiled human girl at that. She lived that way for ten years but as chimppanzees get older they get stronger up to ten times stronger than human males. The family that she was with loved her as their own daughter so when she got so strong that she couldnt live in a house anymore they searched the world for a good place to put her. They eventually found a place in gambia on and Island. They left lucy on this island with one human to watch after her and other chimpanzees. The care taker left the island after three years leaving lucy to live on her. Unfortunantly one time when she visited she found lucys skeleton, she was presumably poached.
Lucy taught us that chimpanzees are similiar to humans and have similiar traights to them. They can communicate they can be toilet trained they can even show attraction to humans. They are not however as evolved as humans are and they are much stronger which makes it hard for them to live in the same enviroment as humans. This story really changed my perspective on chimpanzees I had always known that we both evolve from a common ancestor but I didnt unerstand the differences and similarities. I Didnt think that a chimp could become sexually attracted to a human this was a bit of a new concept for me. Before hearing this I knew that animals had emotion but I had no idea that chimps could so vividly express their emotions as lucy did to her care taker while she was on the island. It really made me think about human nature and how we try to connect at more than a social level with other species but at a deeper level as well. Ithink that the lucy experiment was worth while because it showed to me that chimpanzees have to potential to evolve as humans have and become even more intelligent than they already are. The story of lucys makes me feel intriuged because I didnt think chimpanzees were capableof what lucy did and how she lived. It made me think about how if she could live with humans like this maybe someday apes could be interjected into our society in some way. The possiblities for chimpanzees an there advancements are endless.
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