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Why you might try peeling your bananas the way monkeys do

Our primate friends are onto something here.

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Monkeys and humans peel their bananas very differently.

Modern humans really like to argue about how to do simple things around the house. Families have fractured over how to load the dishwasher, or whether to hang the toilet paper roll over or under. We have strong opinions, get set in our ways, and refuse to change even in the face of compelling evidence.

There's a new debate raging and, believe it or not, it's all over the humble banana. For example, a recent Reddit thread with over 10,000 comments featured a wife and husband fiercely arguing over how, specifically, a banana should be peeled.

If you're like me, you didn't even know there were multiple ways to peel a banana. I've always grabbed the stem, angled it downward until the peel cracked open, and then peeled. Admittedly, it's not a perfect method. Sometimes the banana, if not perfectly ripe, with get smushed in the process. Or the stem may bend without splitting the peel open, leaving you wiggling back and forth until you give up and go get a knife.

Apparently, there is a better way. And all we have to do is watch how the monkeys do it.

YouTuber Anthony Crain of Cooking For One explains: "They ought to know. They know bananas." Instead of cracking the peel at the stem, primates squeeze the bottom end together (sometimes playfully referred to as the butthole of the banana) and the peel pops open, as if by magic.

"If you go from [the bottom end], it always works, no matter how ripe or unripe the banana is."

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Though the bottom-first method of banana peeling works great—and some even swear you get less stringy things (called "phloem bundles") this way—not everyone is convinced.

Though no official statistics exist as to what percentage of people peel their bananas from the stem, almost everyone I've ever met does it. And many of them are not looking to change their minds or methods any time soon.

"Monkeys also fling [poop]. Just cause monkeys do it doesn't automatically make it correct," one Redditor wrote.

"I am not a monkey; I will open it how I like," said another.

Others swore that once they tried the monkey technique, they never went back:

"When I heard you could do it by using the B side I tried it and it's super easy. Works every time and doesn't damage the inside. I've been using B ever since."

"This post ... is going to start a civil war," one user joked.

"Honestly this is one of the most interesting comment sections I’ve seen. I would never guess it was this divided," another added.

Top or bottom aren't the only banana-opening options available. Some people break bananas in half in the middle and peel from there. Others snap it open like a matador cracking a whip.


@yunggecko_

Magic banana? 🪄🍌 #fyp #foryoupage #magic

For as many different varieties of edible fruit that exist in the world, there seem to be just as many fascinating ways to access them.

Have you ever seen the pomegranate whacking method of removing those pesky seeds?

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Or how about the no-knife method of popping out avocado pits with just one hand?


@bearenger

#stitch with @_mynameischo OMG WHAT 🥑 #healthyrecipes #plantbased IB @tracesoats

As an apple connoisseur, I'm always interested in cool ways of slicing or coring an apple. I recently learned you can scoop the core out with a tablespoon or melon baller in about five seconds!


@jessicaygavin

2 Easy Ways to Core an Apple! #core #applestothecore #fruit #apples #easytips #cheflife

Truthfully, there's no wrong way to enjoy your fruit. You can peel your bananas like a monkey, or buy that little pointless doohickey from Amazon that slices it for you like knives don't exist.

Fruits of all kinds are delicious and contain tons of amazing nutrients for your body. What keeps it fun is always exploring new fruits, and yes, even new ways of peeling, coring, and eating them.

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The 'Big 5' were trophy hunters' most prized kills. Now there's a 'New Big 5' to 'shoot.'

Photo by Mike Marrah on Unsplash

The "Big 5" is an old term from the colonial era, denoting the five wild animals in Africa that were the most sought-after kills for trophy hunters. Killing those five—lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo—meant ultimate success in the big-game hunting world.

Now there's a "New Big 5," but instead of a barbaric goal for trophy hunters, it's a beautiful goal for wildlife photographers.

The initiative was created by British wildlife photographer Graeme Green with the goal of raising awareness about threats to the world's animals including habitat loss, poaching, illegal animal trade, and climate change. In a global call for votes, 50,000 wildlife lovers shared which animals they most wanted to photograph or see in photos. And the winners are:

Elephant. Polar bear. Lion. Gorilla. Tiger.

These five animals will serve as global ambassadors for all the world's wildlife, including the one million species currently threatened with extinction.

The New Big 5 of Wildlife Photography - The Resultsyoutu.be

New Big 5 project founder Graeme Green said in a statement, "The 5 animals that wildlife lovers around the world have voted to include in the New Big 5 of Wildlife Photography — elephants, gorillas, tigers, lions, and polar bears — are not just some of the most beautiful, incredible animals on the planet. All 5 also face serious threats to their existence. The New Big 5 are the tip of the iceberg. They stand for all the creatures on the planet, so many of which are in danger. From bees to blue whales, all wildlife is essential to the balance of nature, to healthy ecosystems and to the future of our planet."

Jane Goodall has also praised the initiative, saying, "We now have the results of the New Big 5 project. These 5 animals — elephants, polar bears, gorillas, tigers, and lions — are such beautiful and remarkable species, and are wonderful ambassadors for the world's wildlife, from iconic species to little-known frogs, lizards, fish and birds. So many face threats to their survival from issues such as poaching, habitat loss and climate change. A million species are at risk of extinction. If we work together, we can stop this from happening. There is always hope. Change is possible if we each play our part."

The New Big 5 project encourages travelers to visit the places where these animals are found and support conservation efforts in those areas. Ultimately, it's a celebration of wildlife and nature photography and a call to action to save species under threat.

Humanity has learned a lot since the original Big 5 days, but trophy hunting still exists and there's much to be done to protect the world's wildlife. Hopefully the New Big 5 will inspire more people to work on conserving the environment and protect ecosystems so that animal life large and small can flourish.

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Mom's viral video shows encounter with gorilla who looks enamored with her 5-week-old baby

Michael Austin/YouTube

Humans and gorillas may look and live quite differently, but we share a whopping 98% of the same genes. Of all mammals on Earth, only the bonobo chimpanzee is closer to humans in terms of genetic makeup.

A viral video of an interaction with a gorilla mom at the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston has people marveling at the maternal similarities we share with the primates. The video shows Emmelina Austin kneeling in front of the glass barrier of the gorilla enclosure, holding her sleeping 5-week-old son, Canyon. The gorilla mom, Kiki, who gave birth to her own son, Pablo, via c-section in October, comes and sits right up close to Austin, gazing at the newborn and gently touching the glass as if she wants to touch the baby.

The video, shared by Emmelina's husband Michael Austin, shows Kiki sitting close to Canyon for nearly five minutes. At one point, she moves her body out of the way as if to show off her own baby, who is standing behind her. It's almost like you can hear her saying, "Enjoy this sleepy newborn phase while it lasts. Soon he'll be running around like my little rascal here."

"Her face was just so in love," Austin told News Center Maine. "She was showing her baby my baby."

"I was just in awe," she said. "Trying to pet his face through the glass, and trying to hold his hand ... just the most beautiful thing. You could see the emotion in her eyes."

The whole video is just incredibly sweet.

Mother shares unique maternal bond with gorilla (FULL VIDEO)www.youtube.com

Of course, the sweetness of the interaction is colored by the controversy of keeping primates in captivity. Some people feel that keeping any animals in captivity is wrong and have ethical issues with zoos in general. However, the reality is often not so simple. For one, interactions like this one can lead people to care more about gorillas in the wild, as people see up close how connected we are.

Many animals that are kept in captivity are unable to safely be released into the wild, and observing and studying animals in zoos can help scientists learn how to improve the lives of their counterparts in the wild. In addition, focused breeding programs in some zoos have led to the successful reintroduction of endangered species to the wild and increased numbers that were dwindling close to extinction. As Dr. Robin Gannert, president and CEO of the American Human Association, wrote, "Blunt and sweeping indictments of zoos and aquariums fail to account for how ethical institutions enrich and ultimately protect the lives of animals, both in human care and in the wild. Responsible zoos and aquariums exist to facilitate and promote the conservation of animals." Zoos also work in concert with conservation groups such as the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, which is one of the most well-known gorilla advocacy organizations in the world.

Franklin Park Zoo announced in March that a new $8.1 million gorilla habitat will be unveiled this summer, giving the zoo's six gorillas a 360,000 cubic foot space to enjoy. Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered in the wild, and cooperative, inter-zoo programs like the Gorilla Species Survival Plan (SSP) help ensure the survival of endangered species in zoos and aquariums as well as support conservation efforts in the wild.

"We are thrilled to open the new outdoor gorilla exhibit, which will be an enriching experience not just for the gorillas, but for our guests as well," said John Linehan, Zoo New England President and CEO in a statement. "We want to reach people through their hearts to build empathy for wildlife and habitats. As you observe the tender moments between a gorilla mom and her baby, or gorilla siblings playing together, you develop a better understanding of the family dynamics and social structure of these animals. Through this opportunity, guests can also better understand the importance of biodiversity and ecosystem health."

However people feel about animals in zoos, this interaction between Kiki and baby Canyon should prompt all of us to do more to protect these magnificent creatures.

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Mountain gorillas were just taken off the 'critically endangered' species list.

On Thursday, the Conservation of Nature announced a major win in fight to save mountain gorillas.

The gorilla population has been designed from "critically endangered" to "endangered" as their population has nearly doubled over the past decade. The latest numbers say there are over 1,000 mountain gorillas in the wild, up from just over 600.

After teetering on the brink of extinction, mountain gorilla numbers are on the rise. That's awesome news.

Living in East Africa's Virunga Mountains and highlighted in the movie "Gorillas in the Mist" (in which Sigourney Weaver played primatologist and conservationist Dian Fossey), critically endangered mountain gorillas have been battling extinction for decades.

Image via Brent Stirton/Getty Images.

In 1981, when their numbers had plunged to 242, Fossey doubted that the species would survive into the 21st century. Thanks in large part to concerted effort from conservationists, however, their population has slowly but steadily grown. In 2010, there were 480 animals, and as of a June 2016 census there were 604. With an estimate of several hundred uncounted gorillas roaming the forests, that number could be close to 1000.

But they are not totally out of the woods yet.  

Habitat loss and poaching are the biggest threats to gorillas.

Human encroachment and deforestation due to agriculture, livestock grazing, and firewood collection threaten the mountain gorillas' habitat. In addition, people are burning trees inside the forest to create charcoal — a commodity that makes up a massive illegal trade industry in an area with limited economic options.

Poachers going after other animals, such as antelope or bush pigs, also catch gorillas in their wire snares. When a gorilla can't remove a snare, it can end up losing a limb or dying from gangren.

Such threats are a byproduct of an overarching reality: human economic strife.

Battling economic inequality is a key to saving endangered species.

In order to mitigate threats to endangered species, we need to understand why those threats exist in the first place. Most people aren't on a mission to kill animals or destroy the environment; they're on a mission to live. When economic options are limited, people do what they have to, which often means sacrificing long-term sustainability for short-term survival.  

In other words, we can save endangered species by eliminating the economic need that drives the industry that threatens conservation.

Patrick Karabaranga, a warden at Virunga National Park, plays with an orphaned mountain gorilla in the gorilla sanctuary east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Image via AFP/Stringer/Getty Images.

Researchers at Canada's McGill University highlighted the correlation between poverty and species protection in a 2007 study of 45 countries and 45 U.S. states. They found that income inequality actually predicts the number of threatened species in an area. The greater the unequal distribution of income, the greater the loss of biodiversity.

This correlation has clearly played out in the story of mountain gorillas. Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo — the two countries bordering the Virunga Mountains — have some of the highest economic inequality in the world. However, Rwanda in particular has made significant strides to reduce inequality — and as it has made those strides, gorilla populations in the region have increased.

For this very reason, Dian Fossey's organization uses the tagline: "Helping People. Saving Gorillas."

Folks at the Dian Fossey International Gorilla Fund understand that economy and ecology are intertwined. That's why a significant part of their work is helping develop the communities in the regions near gorilla habitats.

"When people have to focus on basic survival, this puts additional pressure on the environment, such as using the forests for hunting, firewood, water, or crop land," the organization's website says. "The Fossey Fund has programs targeted at meeting basic needs in these communities, which not only helps people, but also supports effective conservation efforts."

Economic inequality is a complex issue, and certainly not the only driving factor threatening endangered species — but it's a big one. "With biodiversity loss, if we don’t link the science to the social causes, we will never solve the problem" said Dr. Andrew Gonzalez, associate professor and Canada Research Chair in biodiversity.

Mountain gorilla research has offered a real-world example of this truth. As the Fossey Fund states, "Only when people are thriving can gorillas, other wildlife, and their habitats thrive, too."

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