Erin Faith C. Miranda - Social Climbers

Erin Faith C. Miranda                                                                                                          Social Climbers

STS

            We watched a documentary titled Life of Mammals: The Social Climbers. I believe that it’s the 9^th episode of a 10-episode documentary about nonetheless, the life of mammals.

            To admit the truth, I’ve never been so fascinated by monkeys my whole life up until I’ve watched this show. What I only know about them is that they can jump from tree to tree, they could catch lice, they could be violent monsters when they’re provoked and they are man’s earliest ancestors. And these facts were what tv shows, people, books, and zoo visits plugged in my mind. So while watching this show, I was really amazed and shocked by what I saw.

            First, whoa, they were really man-like! From their eyes to their mouths, teeth and hands, their fingers and nails, even their movement! They resemble humans in almost every single way! They even think like us in the way that they think LOGICALLY. They can distinguish colors and textures; they know what to do with a thing. They know how to operate and use things; they could tell which is which. They are intelligently smart. And this makes me think, could monkeys be trained so that they could really live, act, speak and think like a human? I guess probably yes. The chances are so big it makes me afraid. Afraid of what? That maybe someday monkeys would think to go into the city and take on our society. You might think that this is a crazy fantasy but what if some group of people utilize these monkeys to take on and lead the world? Nothing is impossible with the advancement of technology today. With what DNA technology, cloning and stem cell technology could do, this scenario is not that far from possible.

            Second, monkeys don’t seem that scary. I guess they could be violent when they’re provoked. Actually I and my classmates found them adorable and cute. And also, there’s a very big difference between the monkeys I’ve seen in the zoo and the monkeys I watched in the show who were in their natural habitat. The zoo monkeys seem to be agitated, lonely and violent at times. I guess it’s because of the visitors in the zoo who made them this way. They poke fun and throw things at the monkey. While on the other hand, the monkeys in the forest seem to be behaving, oblivious to the scientist observing them. They seem to be so free and happy, able to move, eat, and go wherever they want.