An evolutionary tale of the tail

Thousands of years ago, our ancestors were monkeys and the tail was very useful for their survival. Some monkeys in Central and South America, known as "New World monkeys," use their tails like an extra hand.

- The writer is an author and retired director, Odisha Text Book Bureau.

For instance, if they want to displace a log, they can use their tail to grip one end of the log while moving it with their feet. Monkeys can also wrap their tails around a tree branch and hang upside down to exercise. The tail is strong and powerful enough to support their entire body weight. However, humans’ closest living ancestors are the "Old World monkeys," which live in Africa, Asia, and Southern Europe. These are known as the large baboons and macaques (a type of monkey with cheek pouches). In the human family tree, they are special because, unlike earlier monkeys, they are largely unable to hold objects with their tails. Despite not having a prehensile tail, they climb, sleep, and eat on trees. Macaques from the Western Ghats of India have a tuft of hair at the ends of

their tails.