Mangani

The Mangani are a species of great apes located deep in equatorial Africa. it is so elusive that there were no pictures of them, however, due to conservation, mangani populations exploded from just few groups to about 500,000 manganis living in their native range. Manganis were made popular after the fictional story was made about a mangani group raising a fictional feral common human, Tarzan.

Biology/Sociology
From what we can tell, the mangani can best be described as the common ancestor between Chimpanzees and Gorillas.

Their skin is usually dark as a gorilla. Their body is provided with a thin fur as located in the head and body, in colors as black, dark brown, gray and sometimes white. This coat is denser on the arms and legs, which helps them to not be readily identified among the bushes.

Their head is in the shape of an oval. The brain is smaller than the human's but larger than that of the chimpanzee. His skull bone as a whole is normally composed of a frontal bone, two parietal, two temporal and occipital. The face is more prominent, which makes their nasal septum long and narrow. They have delineated factions and their eyes can be brown, red or gray. Their ears are not very large. They have sharp teeth, both in the upper jaw and bottom, showing normal canines, incisors protruding molars and a set of considerable size, which makes their mouth prominent.

The cheeks of mangani are spacious and provided with locks of hair on each side from dark to clear color. This depends on the state of maturity, which also differentiates the largest youth Mangani, so also those who acquire more experience and learning.

Its neck is short but muscular. The chest is broad with big pectorals. Their grasping hands and feet are large with flat nails and strong opposable fingers. As an adult, its weight ranges from 120-180 kilos (240-360 lbs), height of 1.60 to 2 meters (4.8 to 6 ft), but not this one special characteristic between males and females.

The Mangani use front and rear limbs to move, the latter being a bit shorter, allowing them to move from branch to branch. In times of struggle or fight, they take an upright position. They are devoid of tail, so their spine is like the humans' ends. It differs from this in that cervical vertebrae form an arc extending from the spine, making the neck more voluptuous. The explanation for this is because their head is very heavy, leading to a slight forward body lean. The remaining vertebrae, thoracic and lumbar spine are spread, forming a solid. Overall, the column shows slight curvature characteristics of an ape, as the texture of muscle mass is greater, allowing it to bear more weight than the human, without losing his agility and elasticity. Their hip is more articulate than their ancestors enabling them to stand up and maintained maximum time span and walk in that position, though a bit unbalanced.

Seven years after birth, females are suitable for reproduction. They are over protective of their young which makes them excellent surrogate mothers. This stimulates and calms the babies for the sole contact or clinging to her body with their big arms, creating a bond of belonging, which is maintained until some time, as the young seek independence from an early age to prepare to become independent members of the tribe. Females have litters over a period of nine months with a calf on average, which from 6 months old, crawling and curious, they begin to feed on other products offered by nature and develop motor skills.

According to the fictional story of Tarzan, Kala on one of her voyages lost her newborn baby who falls from many meters high. But she picks it up and continues to carry his arms against her chest along the path. When she hears the anguished cries of a human baby, Kala lightens her step and takes the little creature, exchanging it for her dead baby. By nature in real life, a female in this state of postpartum is subjected to various hormonal changes which bring about changes in her body, both in activity and daily interaction. Mangani females delayed a reasonable time to have babies, which should seek to normalize their body to protect the life of the newborn and its reproductive cycle. When this is disturbed, many females may die of sadness or even be rejected by the males.

This is why, in Tarzan, Kala welcomes Tarzan instinctively, though not being of the same species, has the weight, movement and care needs similar to those demanded by her son.

As in all species of apes, learning is based on imitation, mimicking what others do, but with the tendency to explore and reason as in humans.

Unlike the other animals, Mangani developed an ability to solve problems in certain situations, being able to call this "an intelligent behavior." They are instinctive, receive sensations and associated images; they are not reflective about their actions, making them use this “intelligence” for useful or harmful purpose. The development of this behavior occurs depending on their biological heritage and the environment where they have developed or live (West Africa, overlooking the plain and the coast), which is why Mangani are divided into two groups according to the phylogenetic order.

Those located in rugged and remote places. (Manganni Celsus Petra). They live in high places, where there are rocky caves. Their temperament is aggressive, they are noisy, and they seem in a bad mood. Their union is complicity to harm or kill and face everything. Their loyalty is based on a survival mechanism because even if they are found in groups, are independent. They are excellent hunters with ability to observe and monitor, and see the opportunity to descend upon their prey.

Those living among trees in the rainforest. (Manganni Arboreous). It is the largest group, remain mostly hidden, are stable groups of many members, up to 70 individuals, but their union does not allow disintegration. Their daily activity is to go looking for food and shelter. Usually his temperament is gentle, but when something upsets them they beat their chests, show their teeth and throw whatever is around them very aggressively.

Psychologically the Mangani reached a better evolution -- unlike other apes, since apparently in ancient times they had contact with man. Around them there were human tribes which had to defend and attack. For many years, the Mangani could have observed and imitated them in their daily activities as in the case of tools used for food. There were also specialized tools for defense and hunting, gait, security, defense and attack, hitting logs at night in the rituals or issuing sounds every full moon. Their natural psychology is based on the repetition of experiences which have provided them a unique identity as a species.

The Mangani do not have not a religion, but follow many doctrines and commands which allow them to live in society and think about their preservation. We could say that it is not a religion based on the mythological aspect but one which explains the phenomena of nature, which is taken for their own benefit, as the light of the moon and hunting rituals, rain as a sign to take advantage of food, sun for nourishment, and many more that are not associated with luck, omens, superstition or offerings such as followed by humans. Death for the Mangani is synonymous with old age, defeat in war or disease. They are not afraid of death, they don't cling to life and there’s no lengthy ritual for the eventual death of a member.

The Mangani are hierarchical and gregarious, which leads them to learn certain social norms and limits by way of discipline. Their form of interaction is the game and learning. Whoever takes the command is a dominant male (King) who directs and gives its name to the tribe. In the hierarchy he is followed by older females, young adults and teenagers eventually. This means that they respect each other for age and experience, but not by force. But in some cases, this has its exception, especially when the life of one of the leading members is at stake.

Rarely, they are organized militarily for security, despite the hierarchy they follow, which indicates that the principle is not the conquest or protection of land, but life in society.

His daily activity is to go looking for food and shelter. Usually his temperament is gentle, but when something upsets them they beat their chests, show their teeth and throw whatever is around them very aggressively.

Those who live in the cliffs and caves are less mobile but require more time to look for food, because they are located in strategic places (visible and high) where they sit, wait and watch. Because of their proximity to waterfalls and valleys, they can select and capture a wide variety of animals. To hunt large animals such as mammals, they form a group and surround them. They then use thick sticks and prepared stones (sliced) to immobilize them, hitting them again and again or sometimes by strangulating them. They drag them down and with the help of their powerful teeth they tear the flesh, taking the portion they wish.

For fishing, they approach the water's edge looking for low spots, where they can fish with ease. Their skill is such that they sometimes capture them by hand, sometimes even reaching into the water from tree branches.

As a tool, they use woody stems, with a pointed end, similar to a sharp spear, and with some skill and aiming they successfully catch fish.

When meat is part of the diet, as in this group, they supplement it with a variety of juicy and tender foliage, because the fruits are not readily available. In the place where they live are abundant flightless bird nests, so that eggs are a good food.

Among the dry dead tree trunks, they hunt small invertebrates with aid of long poles, thin or hollow. They use these poles to suck up larvae and worms or to lick off ants and termites that adhere to them. But their main eating tools are their fingers and toes, which they use with great ability.

With regard to the group living in wild places, they base their diet on fruits, stems, insects, mammals and fish. Their tools are not as elaborate but equally functional as there is a wide variety of food on hand. They prefer land birds because they are easy to catch in the bushes. Here they use large sticks to  immobilize them. Hunting for them is not necessarily a planned physical or mental effort, rather an action that conforms to what they find on the road. They cover large areas in searching for food, so this task takes between 8-10 hours per day.

Mangani of the rocks prefer caves to make their nests which protect them from wind and rain. The nests are made with mounds of earth and dry leaves used as a cushion. Mangani of the other group, make their nests on platforms of branches in trees, 6-8 feet high, or in some cases on the ground, using leaves collected around them.

Although Mangani are noiseless, they emit particular sounds, which are a sign of recognition that guarantees their survival in the jungle. Their ability to communicate is based on guttural sounds that are manifestations according to their feelings (bad mood, anger, fear, desire, love, hunger, trial, etc.). Generally they produce many gestures that, unlike those of other apes, can be associated with a nearly human interpretation.

However, the Mangani have developed the ability to understand a lot of short and strong human words, images and sensations associated with time and space by repetitive method, whose capacity determined the importance of this form of communication as a language known as the Language of the Great Apes.

The coexistence of the Mangani with human beings such as one of the famous US presidents, Theodore Rosevelt (before he went back to Washington D.C.), was more developed than that of previous generations because they acquired an almost human sagacity raising them to a certain level of behavior. While it is true that Theodore was in search of their identity, his human intelligence caused him to be respectful, noble and fair to the conduct and principles of a more primitive group. These individuals, of different species, welcomed him (temporary) in the same way to be part of this great family called Mangani.