Expanding the Circle: Embracing Our Place in the Great Ape Family

In a world often fractured by prejudice, nationalism, and division, it's worth pausing to remember something humbling and profound: we are not alone in our evolutionary journey. We are members of an extended family—a family of great apes that includes chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans. Our shared ancestry stretches back nearly 20 million years, a lineage rooted not in the boundaries of nations or the color of skin, but in the branches of trees, the pulse of wild rainforests, and the deep intelligence of our kin.

Yet despite this ancient bond, humans have used superficial differences—language, culture, religion, and race—to justify exclusion, oppression, and even violence. Ultrantionalism has drawn lines where nature drew none. Racism has festered in minds disconnected from the deeper truth: we are all cousins in a broader biological tapestry.

It is time to expand the circle of inclusiveness—within our species and beyond it.

Our fellow great apes express joy, sorrow, curiosity, and empathy. Orangutan mothers tenderly care for their offspring for up to eight years—longer than any other mammal besides humans. Bonobos resolve conflict through compassion rather than combat. Chimpanzees mourn their dead. These are not alien creatures, but relatives whose lives reflect the emotional and cognitive depth that we cherish in ourselves.

And yet, they suffer at our hands. Their forests are burned, their families torn apart, their bodies trafficked or displayed for entertainment. What we do to them mirrors what we have too often done to each other—failing to honor the sacredness of life, the right to exist free from harm, and the dignity inherent in all sentient beings.

To heal our world, we must start by recognizing this connection—not only to one another, regardless of nationality, race, or creed, but to all members of our extended family.

Let us celebrate our similarities: our need for love, belonging, and play. Let us accept our differences: in skin, language, or nesting habits. These are not barriers—they are the beautiful variations of life evolving to meet the needs of place and time.

When we expand the circle of moral concern to include the great apes and, by extension, all of nature, we expand the best parts of ourselves. We grow in empathy, humility, and wisdom.

Our ancestors were not kings or conquerors—but tree dwellers and wanderers. They passed down a legacy not of flags, but of flexibility, cooperation, and endurance. This is our truest inheritance.

Let us reclaim it.