The Life of Mammals: Social Climbers and Food for Thought

by Christel Castro

2013-56016

The documentary entitled "The Life of Mammals: Social Climbers" talked about how special monkeys are and the distinct qualities they possess. It discussed about the different species of monkeys and how they are different from other species. There were also other aspects in their lives featured like how to get a mate, how they find food and how they adapt to their changing environment. The other part entitled “Food for Thought” on the other hand is mainly about how we humans evolved from apes and that until now, we still exhibit proofs that we are indeed a lot like them in our ways of living. There were also monkeys shown that are doing the activities of people like rowing boats.

As I watch the documentary, I was really amazed. The monkeys were so patient in finding food, nuts and clams and there were even times when the shells have nothing inside them and their effort was wasted. Another thing is that every distinct characteristic of different species of monkeys help them to survive. They are not just accessories or aids in classifying species. Moreover, what seemed to be a disadvantage became an advantage like the small size of the pygmy marmoset which helped it climb over trees with thin branches. No other species can do that because the branch will surely break. These qualities actually help monkeys to survive in their respective habitats. And, social skills are very important. When the members of a group are united, they can fight any predator or overcome any threat to their survival.

I was also surprised, seeing those monkeys act almost the same way as we humans do. They learned skills necessary for survival on their own, like rowing boats and cracking nuts and they became bipedal creatures because they need to adapt. And those bipedal creatures started developing into humans. They’ve started a civilization though it’s not as advanced as what we have now.

All these conclusions boil down to the fact that we, humans, are a lot like monkeys. We possess unique features which help as adapt in the places we live in. And, having social life is really important. We have our families, friends and other loved ones who help us surpass the trials that can threaten our survival. The fact that we humans are believed to have evolved from monkeys just implies that we were once part of the environment we are disregarding right now and that we are still part of it and we will always be. But it seems like majority of the population has forgotten that. Like what Mr. David Attenborough has said during the end of the documentary, the population always uses the environment for its own benefit. It’s time for the population to do something for the environment’s survival. It just means that we took advantage of what the environment can give, but now that it cries for help, we disregard it. We are forgetting that we owe our lives to it.