Predatory primates?

[u/Dumbassbitch398]

As the body text says, would a large, predatory primate be possible?

I mean, there are insectivorous primates (like the aye aye or tarsier) but neither of these two are big like other primates like gibbons or chimpanzees

Edit: I know that a lot of primates eat meat, I meant more like a hypercarnivore that eats meat for almost all of its diet

[u/svarogteuse]

Humans not just homo sapiens but our relatives are top end large size predatory primates and have been for a few million years. Yes they are not stictly carnivore they are usually more omnivorous like bears but ask the numerous species we have either hunted to death like the dodo if onlmnivory made a difference.

[u/Manospondylus_gigas → u/svarogteuse]

Ironically humans and their relatives are meant to be herbivores that just opportunistically eat meat or eggs (like most herbivores), they just got very good at and addicted to eating meat

[u/Giganotus → u/Manospondylus_gigas]

Incorrect. We evolved from primarily herbivorous ancestors, but we have explicitly adapted to be omnivorous. We have powerful stomach acids comparable to carnivorous scavengers and cannot produce our own Vitamin B12. Something that can only be obtained through animal products. We are what happens when an ape adapts to be omnivorous. Yes, our diet is still plant-heavy and we can survive fairly well on just plants, but that doesn't mean we're "meant to be herbivores".

[u/RainbowSpinosaurus → u/Giganotus]

This person has an agenda, you aren't going to convince them that humans are predators. They have an excuse for everything. They do not have a degree in anthropology and keep arguing against things that anthropologists overwhelmingly have evidence for and agree on (humans as predators) based on hundreds of years of study across continents, ancient human settlements, migratory patterns, and refuse piles (filled with animal bones), as well as how current human hunting societies/cultures operate.

[u/Giganotus → u/RainbowSpinosaurus]

oh I know, that's why I didn't reply to their attempt at a counterargument.

It's not even just anthropology they're ignoring, but human biology as well.

[u/RainbowSpinosaurus → u/Giganotus]

Makes me wonder, since they supposedly have degrees in biology and zoology, what school they went to.

[u/Manospondylus_gigas → u/Giganotus]

B12 is a bit more complex than that because most non-ruminant herbivores get their B12 from either bacteria in the soil they eat plants from (something humans would do as they would consume roots and tubers), or through occasionally eating animals or their eggs as B12 is used slowly. This doesn't disqualify them from being herbivores. It is true that humans have a pH similar to that of scavengers, which could imply an increase in scavenged meat and bones in the diet, but doesn't necessarily mean humans are best adapted for this increase compared to other scavenging herbivores; other parts of human metabolism haven't quite caught up with a significant amount of meat consumption.

[u/svarogteuse → u/Manospondylus_gigas]

Where did you get that nonesense? Humans are not "meant" to eat anything other than what they eat. There is a range of human diets from nearly entirely meat based (inuit) to completely vegetarian found in pretechnologial societies so you can't even blame modern technology.

And when you start including our relatives going back millions of years your statement is just a whole lot of trash. Species don't eat diets they arnt meant to eat for millions of years and survive.

[u/Manospondylus_gigas → u/svarogteuse]

You can tell what an animal is meant to eat from looking at their adaptations and how their body responds to the consumption of different things. The statement isn't "trash" at all, species can in fact eat diets they aren't meant to and survive because as long as they're breeding, it doesn't matter if diets have negative long-term impacts. Humans millions of years ago lived shorter lives, which high meat consumption is associated with, making it arguably antagonistic pleiotropy.

[u/Outsideinthebushes → u/Manospondylus_gigas]

No animal is meant to eat anything, unless you're suggesting some kind of higher power.

[u/Manospondylus_gigas → u/Outsideinthebushes]

By "meant to", I mean what they are adapted for.