Nay. The chimpanzee would not want to escape. After all, the wild is the wild. Even if it escaped back to the jungle, he is still faced with the dangers of predators and the fight for food. Why not just stay? He can still scavange there, can't he?

For the man, all he wants is to get back to his family in the city, drink some beer and snuggle in his warm bed. The man will probably have more cause to escape.

Who knows, the man may just befriend a dog and chimpanzee and they may together escape utilizing each other's strength. Teamwork!

The chimp would seek safety on high, so would gravitate to the cage wall and be better equiped to climb it.
Man, no matter what his intent would neither be able to outrun nor outfight any predator he met on his way to the cage, then if lucky enough to get there, it is debateable that he would be able to climb well enough to get to the top, and certainly not fast enough to avoid being plucked like an apple by a hungry Grizzly/lion/tiger.

Where does it say in the initial premise that escape is possible? its a cage not a playpen

One of man's strength is making use of other animals. He can find a domesticated horse, considering most horses are domesticated, and ride swiftly to the boundary.

Once there, not necessarily must men climb its way out. It can dig its way out too. Together with a domesticated dog, a teamwork may just worked. Digging solves the problem of the cage, unless the floor is made of cement.

There is only one of each mammalian (sp?) species? I ass-ume they are all male, well-fed (depending on the carrying capacity of the environment), the water is constantly replenished, and that lacking any social structure that would support territorial behaviour (no females, no troop, etc.) they are all pretty content.

Where's the fight? A bunch of lolling males...the last one to drink is the slowest to get there.

or maybe he could tame a tiger, using a snake as a whip, and a small goat as a chair. Having tamed the beast, it could be set upon all other animals at his command, until all threats are removed. Whilst the tiger is doing his thing, our man could become 'king of the moles' and get them to create an elaborate subteraenean escape tunnel system for him, his stripey protector, and all other creatures wise enough to acknowledge his mastery to flee to a new utopian tarzanocracy.
Or he could just get eaten because his opposeable thumbs and big brain wont mean $hit unless he happens to have a gun and a lot of ammo with him

Sorry, but you can't tame a tiger...it's different. Horses are mostly domesticated. What do you know? Man may not even need the horse. It is just 500m consider the run from the center to the boundary. Even without the dog, the man can dig a hole for himself. Anyway, chimps aren't necessarily faster than man though...unless there are trees for them so swing about. Technically, man are better evolved to run than chimps.

Still, I would bet on the man to be the first to escape...well even though chances are that he may not. Man are not like food for those carnivores. These carnivores would rather eat deers, giraffes or other large mammals considering that man does not provide much protein. Not saying that it is definite, but chances are, they would eat the larger herbivores.

I am not telling a tale or anything. Just trying to weigh things on probability. Anyway...let's not get too off-topic shall we. What do you think is the mammal that drinks last?

The man would drink last.

Using his greater intellect he would find the most expeditious way to pollute the water so as to accomplish his goal of dominating all other lifeforms. Consistent with past behavior patterns he would realize too late that while he had succeeded in dominating other lifeforms (instead of living equally with them) he had also polluted the only source of water and would then die from disease as he drinks the polluted water in a thirst-driven madness.

BTW: It is recorded countless times that animals of widely varied species will "co-habitate" around a waterhole during during drought in Africa without exploiting the situation to their advantage. Only Humans prey on each other during times of desperation. Only Humans would see any reason for doing so. FWIW.

Best Wishes,

Bruce

Sorry, but how is it that the man can pollute the water? I don't think even his waste and urine can do much of a harm in a large pond. Even if he does that, I bet the animals are too stupid to even know that the water is contaminated, much less submit to him.

Well, this time I got to agree with Cord. It is too small for the animals to you know...co-habitate. Don't forget that they too need to eat. Mices will be the last to drink and man will be the first to escape is still my stand.

good points so far.
some thoughts and qualifiers:
Reptiles are not mammals.

Quote:

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Mammal - Any of various warm-blooded vertebrate animals of the class Mammalia, including humans, characterized by a covering of hair on the skin and, in the female, milk-producing mammary glands for nourishing the young.

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I used the term 'mammal' and 'animal' interchangable...sorry. I meant just mammal.

* the water supply is continuous.
* the cage cannot be escaped.
* each mammal is male.
* the temp stays 70F/20C and it does not rain. normal day/night cycles.
* each are well fed, are in the middle of their average life cycle, and in good health at the start of the scenario.
* none of the mammals are domesticated (except perhaps the human of course).
* the average size human has any background of training/skill which exists today, except enters with no weapons.

* the mammal drinking last will be the ultimate survivor. ie: nothing else in the cage will be alive when that mammal drinks again.