Why HUMANS don't have tails

WHY HUMANS DON'T HAVE TAILS

Tails are similar to viewpoints.

Basically, fish, birds, the majority of reptiles, and even some of our closest ancestors have them.

Why do we therefore miss out?

Tails have evolved to serve every function imaginable since they originally appeared at least 500 million years ago.

They serve as fat depots for geckos.

Rattlesnakes utilize them to frighten away predators, and birds use them to navigate through the air.

But balance is their main function for the majority of mammals.

However, tails vanish as you approach humans on the evolutionary tree.

They are absent in gorillas, chimpanzees, and all other apes, including us, of course.

Examine how we walk to comprehend why.

As primates, some of us crouch with our chests held perpendicular to the earth. Other animals, including humans and gibbons, can walk completely upright.

Having two legs allows us to take advantage of gravity, which helps with some of the labor, giving us a significant advantage over animals with four legs that must exert energy into every stride.

You see, gravity pulls us forward with each step we take.

As a result, when we walk, we expend around 25% less energy than when we are crawling.

Additionally, in the wild, every calorie you conserve can make the difference between starvation and survival.

However, this method of transportation also completely does away with the need for a tail because, despite the fact that a human head weighs a hefty 5 kilograms, it rests on top of the body rather than in front when you walk, negating the need for a tail to act as a counterbalance.

Very discouraging, huh?

However, there is still evidence of a time when our prehistoric primate ancestors had one.

Just take a peek at a spine.

The final few bones are somewhat cemented together as may be seen.

Your tailbone is there.

It is all that is left of our tail, and although it is pitiful and sad, you cannot wag it.

Now, occasionally, babies are born with what appears to be a tail, but that's not the real situation.

These tails are typically cysts, tumors, or even parasitic twins.

Even less frequently, they are a true outgrowth of the spine, but they are a soft tube made entirely of fat and tissue and have no bones at all.

Spina bifida, a spinal malformation, is a birth abnormality that causes these specific tails to develop.

In these cases, the tails will be surgically removed without harming the infant. We are who we are now, however nice it might sound to have an additional limb to swing through the trees or ward off bugs, because, well, we don't.

Animals typically only develop tails when they are absolutely necessary to their survival. For example, our monkey friends primarily use their tails to help them balance in those tall trees. Other animals also use their tails to help them communicate, such as dogs who wag their tails to talk. Some animals even use their tails as weapons. Kangaroos have no issue slapping someone with their enormous tail, porcupines swing their tails to stab predators with their quills, some reptiles, like komodo dragons, swing their flexible tails around to strike.

and that's only the beginning. Animals all over the world use their tails for a variety of different survival strategies, so why don't humans have tails? Animals only typically have them when they actually need them for something, and given that we walk around upright, it just wouldn't be practical for us to have tails. However, they might be kind of fun, or maybe just weird.