Here are 2 photos that I took of Mikey before he went to the Little Rock Zoo in October of 2008. I wanted to share with you what a Chimpanzee's hand and foot looks like up close. I find them fascinating and thought that not too people have ever had the opportunity to see them close. I do apologize for the foot photo being sideways. I have tried many different ways to turn it, however the program is not allowing me to.
Here is a photo of Mikey's foot at the age of 6 yrs old. Notice how small the "thumb" is on his foot and the large gap between that one and the toes. This is to help grab things and to climb. The nails are also very dark, the skin is tough and the hair grows on the foot, not the toes.
Here is a photo of Mikey's hand at the age of 6 yrs old. Notice how much smaller the thumb is then the rest of the fingers. The reason for this is so that when they are knuckle walking, the thumb is easily tucked into the rest of the fingers. Because the thumb is so much smaller the the rest of the hand, small motor skills are difficult. Notice the large pads on the knuckles to protect the knuckles when walking. These pads grow larger and thicker the older and heavier the chimp becomes. The palm of the hand is softer then the knuckles, though not as soft as ours. The nails on the hands are also black and with age, dark spots start to appear on the fingers and the palms. My hand is in the background as a comparison of the knuckles.
No comments:
Post a Comment