As members of the animal kingdom, we can search for similarities that we share with any other species in the kingdom; however, the striking amount of likeness between humans and chimpanzees–both the common chimpanzees and bonobo chimpanzees–is remarkable and allows us to find possible connections as to how our common ancestors lived millions of years ago.

The film “The New Chimpanzees” really gives viewers an inside look on the living habits of chimpanzees, showing how similar our everyday lives are to theirs. It is one thing to read about these similarities and recognize them but given the opportunity to view these habits in natural situations makes it that much more clear that our underlying mannerisms and instincts are not far off from those of the chimpanzees. In this movie, it specifically stood out to me how the tendencies of humans are sometimes a mixture of the behaviors that the common chimpanzees and the bonobos exhibit; these human propensities may be more visible to me because I am a human, but, nevertheless, they do exist in variations. For example, some humans use sexual intercourse strictly for reproduction while others have no problem performing the action for recreational purposes, commonly with multiple individuals. Although variety such as this may also be present among these species as well, researchers generalize that bonobos participate in recreational sexual relations while common chimpanzees perform intercourse only when reproduction is likely and wished for. Additionally, trends of violence–or the lack thereof–in social groupings is also a topic where humans follow the behaviors of both species of chimpanzees. Common chimpanzees are known to be very aggressive toward others even inside of their social groups; in our world today, we see events common to this all over the news, as awful and horrifying as that may sound. However, the majority of humans would rather live–and do live–in egalitarian societies among comrades whom they would never dream of harming just like the bonobos do.

Due to the many similarities humans share with both of these opposing species of chimpanzees, it is clear that studying these animals is a very effective method to understand how Homo sapiens came to be. Paying extra attention to the habits of these primates has and will continue to show us humans the origins of our behaviors. Additionally, as we are unable to go back in time, the minimal evolutionary changes to chimpanzees over the last couple thousand years–in comparison to the rapid change in humans due to the growth of technologically-advanced societies–proves to be our gateway to the past we can no longer access. Seeing as our genetic material is, basically, one in the same with chimpanzees, we cannot neglect that we are so similar to these primates nor can we allow their extinction. Although evolutionary discoveries focus on the events of the past, the future of the chimpanzee population is inherently important in order for these animals to serve as our source of research into our ancestry.