“ | Homo Habilis, our next ape. | „ |
— Allen Johnson, about Homo Habilis in The Walking Ape |
Homo Habilis (name meaning "Handy Man") is a species of the Hominini tribe, which lived from approximately 2.33 to 1.44 MYA, during the Gelasian Pleistocene period. They were among the first hominids to make tools and earliest member of the Homo genus.
In the Series 3 episode "The Walking Ape", a group of Homo Habilis were brought to the park from Early Pleistocene Africa, 2 million years ago. They reside in the Ape-Man Jungle Enclosure other hominid species. A group of them were already spying on the team when they arrived.
Facts[]
Era & Discovery[]
Homo Habilis lived in Africa during the Early Pleistocene from 2.33 to 1.4 million years ago. They lived alongside other animals such as Deinotherium, Ancylotherium, Saber-Tooth cats such as Dinofelis and even other Ape-Men such as Paranthropus and Homo Rudolfensis. They were the first hominids to make tools which we used today.
The first Homo Habilis fossils were discovered in Tanzania in 1959 by Kenyan-British palaeoanthropologist and archaeologist Louis Leakey and his wife Mary who found two teeth in Olduvai Gorge.

Homo Habilis skull
Physical Attributes[]
Homo Habilis stood 3 ft. and and weighed about 70 Ibs. (32 kg).
Unlike other Ape-Men they coexisted with such as Paranthropus, Homo Habilis found a long dry season tougher due to their lack of specialism that Paranthropus has. To make up for their lack of specialist eating equipment, Homo Habilis had to take a different tack, and that is that they have developed into the archetypal Jack-of-all-trades.
Unlike Paranthropus who mostly ate reed roots, acacia pods, and termites, Homo Habilis ate meat from animals that were killed by predators. At certain times when they scavenge on carcasses, Homo Habilis would frequently be driven to fight for food with other Ape-Men such as Homo Rudolfensis.
Homo Habilis were the first hominids on Earth to be able to make stone tools and was hugely important leap forward because their scavenging inquisitive lifestyle made these hominids quick-witted and inventive which lead to a real breakthrough in human evolution.
Behavior & Traits[]
Homo Habilis lived in groups led by a dominant male depending mainly his ability to find food. Compared to Paranthropus, Homo Habilis found long dry seasons tougher and struggled to find food due to their lack of specialist eating equipment. Their inquisitive gave these hominids a few tricks such if they saw vultures gather together, then that would mean that Homo Habilis spotted food. Usually the dominant male of the group would often approach a carcass warily, particulary one so fresh. Homo Habilis were remarkably similar to Homo Rudolfensis, a slightly bigger rival species of apemen and are frequently driven to fight for food.
Homo Habilis were the first humans to be able to make stone tools and was a hugely important leap forward, for stone tools meant that they could live off an amazing range of different foods. Eating meat brought Homo Habilis the essential protein and fat to allow the development for their brains, in fact Homo Habilis' brain were almost half as big as those of Paranthropus. They were smart enough to work as a team to scare off predators such as a lion to get the meat from a carcass.
Journal Entry[]
“ | The first hominids to make tools and one of the earliest members of the homo genus, Homo Habilis found a long dry season considerably tougher than other apemen like Paranthropus. The reason why was that they didn't have special adaptions that Paranthropus had and without big teeth and powerful jaws, Homo Habilis couldn't live off the kind of tough vegetation seen at the end of a dry season. To make up for their lack of specialist eating equipment, they had to take a very different tack. Homo Habilis developed into the archetypal Jack-of-all-trades, in other words inquisitive scavengers.
Unlike Paranthropus who mostly ate the roots of reeds, Homo Habilis ate meat. Sometimes while eating meat of a carcass, they would go into confrontation with other apemen species such as Homo Rudolfensis which was a rival species that was remarkable similar. They were the first hominids on Earth to be able to make stone tools. Eating meat brought Homo Habilis the essential protein and fat that allowed the development of their brains. In other words eating meat enabled them to grow smarter. |
„ |
— Allen Johnson, in his journal about Homo Habilis |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The sound effects of Homo Habilis are that of chimpanzee sound effects as the monkeys from Jumanji.
- Homo Habilis are the first species of ape of the homo genus to be brought to the park.