NOVA | The Last Great Ape

[gadget133]

Hmmm... I usually like NOVA... But the fact that they are referencing chimpanzees as the "last" great ape really pisses me off. Are they now not into science at all? Do we forget about gorillas, orangutans and of course HUMANS as being great apes also???

Please NOVA. Wake up.

[junenicolemay]

The Apes featured in this clip are Bonobos, not chimpanzees.

[gadget133]

Ummm... Ok... Bonobos are one of two species in the Pan genus which consists of the Bonobo (Pygmy Chimpanzee) and the Common Chimpanzee. So, technically, it actually IS a chimpanzee.

[junenicolemay]

Bonobos and chimps are very closely related.

[gadget133]

Right... so Bonobos are closely related but are not chimpanzees at all? Does this mean that they are not great apes then? So NOVA lied? Because if you are really wanting to get semantical about the issue it is NOVA who is placing the Bonobo as the last great ape. The great apes consist of only four names and Bonobo is not there... I'm being sarcastic of course. There are two chimpanzees. The common and the pygmy. The Bonobo is the Pygmy. Please... Look it up. It is a very common misconception.

[junenicolemay]

I have looked up information about bonobos and chimpanzees. From what I researched, bonobos live in smaller family groups than other great apes. Bonobos, just like the other great apes, are under siege by poachers and the bush meat trade. I'm not entirely sure what Nova means as the "Last Great Ape" either. My guess is that their population is small, but the other great ape populations are also in decline. I going to watch this documentary tonight and maybe I will find out more.

[waterdamnaged]

because at one time they were classified as a pygmy version of the Chimpanzee. Now they are known to be a different species altogether ... hence they are the last species classified as a great ape.

[gadget133]

again... The Pan genus is commonly called the chimpanzee family. It has two species in it. The Bonobo and the Common Chimpanzee. Both are still classified under the Pan genus and hence, are commonly called Chimpanzees... Now anyone show me a reference to an article that states different, please, let me know.

Thanks for the clarification on why it was called "The Last Great Ape." I did not know that.

[waterdamnaged]

ultimately you are not wrong, however the term "pygmy chimpanzee" is an imprecise misnomer. It was the name commonly used for them when it was first believed that they were nothing more than a subspecies of Chimpanzee (incorrectly grouped with the masked, long-haired, black-faced, and eastern chimpanzee). Despite the name still being used interchangeably with Bonobo, They are in fact NOT Chimpanzees.

[gadget133]

The Pan genus is called the chimpanzee family. It has two species. Bonobo and the Common Chimpanzee. Both are still classified as chimpanzees under the Pan genus.

[waterdamnaged]

err... A Genus is part of a Family. A Genus is not a Family all by itself. The Pan Genus is part of the Hominidae Family (along with Pongo, Gorilla, and Homo)

[FreethinkingJim]

@junenicolemay Bonobos are a sub-species of chimpanzees.

[junenicolemay]

I know that.

[Krumbz2003]

I'm a fan.

[netsoj]

Well we just like the apes and monkeys are primates...

[JixMa]

The last Grape Ape? LOL! I'm defineitly catching this Nova episode! I love apes and monkeys. 5*****

[FIGHTFANNERD3]

aps are not monkeys

[fcdog555]

@FIGHTFANNERD3

but monkeys are apes(:

[JixMa]

@fcdog555 No, they're not. Monkeys have tails. Apes don't.

[fcdog555]

@JixMa

that is not what classifies a monkey, a monkey is part of the prime-ape family, hints they are apes

[JixMa]

@FIGHTFANNERD3 Where did I say they were? And you misspelled "apes", bub.

[dabatjelly]

prime-apes??? <-- name of a news letter

primates... <--- mammals

same thing...

WTF?!?!?! XD

I think this guy skipped 5th grade science... XD

[JixMa]

@dabatjelly "...I think this guy skipped 5th grade science... XD "

Nah, I doubt he even made it *that* far. These chimps are probably smarter than this bozo (or should I say Bonzo?), fcdog555, is.

[culwin]

I like pudding.

But pudding is not monkeys.

[JixMa]

@culwin Your brain is pudding.