We are all primates

Chimpanzees can’t talk, but if they could, what would they say about the photo titled “Monkey business” in the March 16 issue of The Chronicle? Well, some chimpanzees actually can talk, but their communication consists mainly of requests, such as, “Food, food, more” or “Tickle, hurry.” (This interspecies communication comes from the few apes who know American Sign Language or use coded “lexigrams” to convey their wants.) But if chimps were more loquacious, they would probably note that they are not, in fact, monkeys. As the saying goes, chimpanzees eat monkeys. This semantic error may seem trivial. But it is this kind of error that perpetuates our ignorance, not only about what it means to be a human, but also about other species and the threats to biodiversity and our environment.

So let me clear a few things up. Chimpanzees are apes, along with bonobos, humans, gorillas, orangutans and gibbons. Apes don’t have tails. Monkeys have tails. All apes (besides humans) are endangered, mainly due to deforestation and hunting caused by human overpopulation. The threats facing nonhuman apes are inextricably linked to the threats facing other species including humans (think poverty, lack of health, global climate change, etc.). Duke is a leader in sustainability, global health, law, genetics and more. Let us connect these issues to issues of biodiversity. And let us remember that every Duke student, faculty member and staff member is an ape, and that is a reason to be proud.

Aaron Sandel

Associate in Research, Evolutionary Anthropology