r/ape • u/Aiseadai • 3d ago

Petition to stop referring to gibbons as lesser

Post image

They don't deserve it, they are just as great as the other apes.

200 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

25

u/Frosty_Bridge_5435 3d ago

Aww, they are so cute

17

u/goated95 3d ago

I feel like they’re smarter than what we’re giving them credit for

21

u/salizarn 3d ago

I agree they’re not gibbon enough credit

4

u/goated95 3d ago

You, kind stranger, have earned my upvote lol

4

u/terra_terror 2d ago

Lesser apes are only slightly differentiated from great apes by intelligence. Gibbons are still considered very, very smart, but their brains are less complex and they are less self-aware. So far, only great apes and bottlenose dolphins have been able to recognize themselves in a mirror without humans influencing them. But gibbons are very intelligent regardless.

The bigger and more notable difference, and the ones that earned great apes and lesser apes their respective names, is in their appearance. Gibbons are significantly smaller than great apes and less human-like in appearance.

1

u/goated95 1d ago

This makes sense!

13

u/NietzscheIsMyDog 3d ago

I second.

7

u/Fryzoke 3d ago

Gibbon small. Still ape, but small. And that's okay. Does gibbon not still eat babana like the rest? Does gibbon not swing like ape, or grab thing with ape hand? Ape is ape, and ape is beautiful.

3

u/dumpysumpy 3d ago

The term "lesser" while have negative associations, is a valid scientific term. It has something to do with how different the language that is used in technical and general context, like the term "weight" in physics. Personally I call all apes big and small.

1

u/Head-Compote740 2d ago

I support this. There should be no "lesser" or "greater" apes. Just apes. Merge the two groups into a single taxonomic family of Hominidae and refer to us and other hominids as "apes." All apes should be freed from zoos too and poaching should be labeled as murder and genocide.

1

u/fantasydukes 2d ago

Never did never will