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.
For decades it has been a textbook fact that monkeys cannot speak because their throats and mouths are not set up for it. Their very anatomy prevents them from synchronizing diaphragm, tongue, cheeks and vocal cords in the way humans do when they talk.
Many linguists still believe that apes have no real grasp of human language, but are merely imitating their human companions. They insist that while apes may understand individual symbols or words, they do not understand the concepts of syntax, or how words are put together to form a complete idea.
According to Lieberman's research, which uses models of primates' vocal tracts, monkeys and apes are unable to produce the range and succession of vowel sounds required for human speech because of the way their vocal tracts differ from humans'.
Primates are unquestionably clever: Monkeys can learn how to use money, and chimpanzees have a knack for game theory. But no one has ever taught a nonhuman primate to say “hello.” Scientists have long been intrigued by the failure of primates to talk like us.
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.
It was long assumed that only humans can distinguish the living from the dead. Renewed interest in this question over the last decade has led several authors to assert that non-human primates are also aware of death.
The Scientific Reason Dogs Can't Talk
Your dog can vocalize in different ways to notify you of different wants and needs—plus, dogs combine body language with these vocalizations to convey meaning. However, since their cognitive functioning hasn't evolved, they are unable to master the complexity of human language.
Please just don't smile at a gorilla or chimpanzee. Humans, perceive smiles as being friendly. Even though gorillas and chimpanzees are also primates, they perceive smiles or showing teeth as being acts of intimidation or as a threat.
Animals that are able to talk like humans are all “vocal learners,” BBC explains. They hear sounds and learn how to imitate them. Besides humans, some of the most skilled vocal learners include parrots, songbirds, dolphins, and beluga whales.
Probably not. Ethical considerations preclude definitive research on the subject, but it's safe to say that human DNA has become so different from that of other animals that interbreeding would likely be impossible.
It's no secret that monkeys are some of the most intelligent animals on the planet. For centuries, scientists have used them for research and experimentation due to their high intelligence and ability to learn new tasks quickly.
Even the dog owners out there, you betrayed your best friend? Well yes, chimps have way more brainpower than dogs. They can use sign language, drive cars and perform complex tasks.
“If you smile at a rhesus monkey it may interpret your show of teeth as an aggressive gesture and respond violently.”
But studies have shown that direct eye contact with macaques can be taken as a sign of aggression or threatening behavior. This is not the first time the Corps has put out a warning about wildlife on or near its installations.
Not only do humans have evolved brains that process and produce language and syntax, but we also can make a range of sounds and tones that we use to form hundreds of thousands of words. To make these sounds -- and talk -- humans use the same basic apparatus that chimps have: lungs, throat, voice box, tongue and lips.
To Mountain Gorillas, anyone who keeps a direct eye contact is a challenger and an enemy who has come to disrupt the family. Direct eye contact will, therefore, trigger the silverback to charge and fight you in defense of his family. If you want peace with Gorillas, therefore, avoid direct eye contact.
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.
Your dog might not understand everything you say, but he listens and pays attention similar to the way humans do. The researchers discovered that dogs — like humans — respond not only to the words we say to them, but also to the emotional tone of our voices.
Due to modern recordkeeping and an increased interest in dogs, the chances of any breed disappearing completely are slim.
Theobromine, a caffeinelike molecule that increases blood flow to the brain, is so hard for dogs to process that they can easily eat enough to be poisonous. Few dogs eat fatal amounts of chocolate, but smaller doses can still cause seizures and other symptoms.
“I believe we are now justified in thinking that chimpanzees have some kind of awareness of death,” says psychologist James Anderson of Scotland's University of Stirling, who has been studying chimp responses to the dying.
Ever since researchers sequenced the chimp genome in 2005, they have known that humans share about 99% of our DNA with chimpanzees, making them our closest living relatives.
Dosa, Oscar appeared able to predict the impending death of terminally ill patients by choosing to nap next to them a few hours before they died. Hypotheses for this ability include that Oscar was picking up on the lack of movement in such patients or that he could smell biochemicals released by dying cells.