A family from Turkey that walks on all fours amazed the world (8 photos + 1 video)

The Kurdish Ulas family, who walk on all fours, were discovered in a village in southern Turkey back in the early 2000s. Since then, the unusual family has attracted interest throughout the world, and scientists have debated the reasons for this anomaly.





In the early 2000s, a scientific article was published about the five Ulas siblings from Turkey and their strange way of moving - on all fours. Since then, experts have disagreed about the cause of this anomaly. A few years after the article was published, psychologist and professor Nicholas Humphrey from the London School of Economics traveled to Turkey to meet this unusual family.



It turned out that the Ulas mother and father had 18 children, but only six of them were born with quadrupedalism (a form of locomotion on four limbs), which had never before been seen in modern adults. None of the scientists have yet figured out the reason for the strange walking style of these people. Some experts suggest that it is caused by a genetic trait that "undid the last three million years of evolution," while others reject the idea of a special "gene" and suggest something else is at work.

"I never expected that modern people could return to an animal state, even in the most unusual scientific fantasies. What distinguishes us from the rest of the animal world is that we are a species that walks upright and on two legs. We are distinguished by language and other things, but we are still different. These people cross this border,” said Nicholas Humphrey in an interview.





The scientist also noted that all six siblings (five of whom are alive and are between 22 and 38 years old) suffer from a special form of brain damage: they have damage to part of the cerebellum. However, other people with similar damage can walk upright without any problems. Someone even compared this family to monkeys, but there is a significant difference in the gait of primates and Ulas: primates walk on their knuckles, Ulas use their palms. Humphrey also suggested that no one simply taught them how to walk. In the Turkish village where they grew up, there are no health services that care for such children.



Another interesting observation: during his visit, Humphrey provided the Ulas with a special metal walking frame, and within a few hours, several of them were successfully using it. People who had never taken a single step on two legs used the frame with undisguised delight. He says it shows how people in the most disadvantaged circumstances can overcome adversity while maintaining their self-esteem.