[Animals] "I climbed like an ape, walked like a human": this is how humans began to walk on two legs

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Human bipedalism did not begin in the African savannas: rather, it seems to have started among the branches of trees, with chimpanzees.
For decades, as part of Charles Darwin's legacy to the scientific gaze, hominids were thought to have begun to walk on two legs in Africa. As the 'Cradle of Humankind', human bipedalism most likely began in the broad desert savannahs, where hominids had to stand upright to find food. It seems that it was not so.

For 15 months, scientists from University College London observed a group of chimpanzees in Issa, Tanzania. Although this space has far fewer trees than tropical forests, it has enough for researchers to document an unusual phenomenon. The chimpanzees walked upright among the branches of the trees.

In search of the juiciest fruits

Contrary to what was thought for years, it seems that human bipedalism began in the treetops. In search of juicy fruits, the chimpanzees stretched out between tree branches on two legs, "climbing like apes, but walking like humans," the authors explain.

However, what most surprised the research team is that the chimpanzees stayed longer on two legs among the branches than on the ground. This is how Alex Piel, one of the study's leading researchers, explains it:

“IN ADDITION, BECAUSE MANY OF THE TRADITIONAL DRIVERS OF BIPEDALISM (SUCH AS CARRYING OBJECTS OR SEEING OVER TALL GRASS, FOR EXAMPLE) ARE ASSOCIATED WITH BEING ON THE GROUND, WE THINK WE WOULD NATURALLY SEE MORE BIPEDALISM HERE AS WELL. HOWEVER, THIS IS NOT WHAT WE FOUND”, DETAILS THE SPECIALIST IN SCIENCE ADVANCES.

This implies that chimpanzees are not as terrestrial as originally thought. In fact, more than 85% of bipedalism cases occurred in trees. This behavior completely contradicts previous theories about how human bipedalism developed in the African savannah. Instead, we seem to have evolved to walk on two legs among the treetops.

https://www.ngenespanol.com/animales/cuando-empezo-el-bipedismo-humano/