1 step away

 

I actually find it quite fascinating, quite telling: 

According to science, we - the homo sapiens, the human being - share 93% of our DNA with the chimpanzees. There goes the theory of  "creation". 

The great apes are where we come from...and some of us haven't  made it very far. If DNA is all that matters to you, the chimpanzee rules the pages, but where it all becomes blatantly, glaringly, and to some - painfully, clear, is when we look at the mighty Orangutan. 

Looking at Orang Utan, as he's known in his native Indonesia, is like looking at yourself in the mirror on a sunday morning when you just woke up, and where the chimpanzees differ from orangutans - where the human connection is most clearly evident, is in behavioural patterns. The chimpanzee takes the price when it  comes to DNA, but the orangutan sure as hell rules supreme when it comes to  behavioural science and patterns. Orang Utan is the only ape, i.e., who, just like the humans, prepare his bed every night and do many other "human" tasks. Where it gets really interesting, is when we ask ourselves if it's the orang utans who look, act, think and behave in a human way...or is it us who looks, act, think and behave like orangutans? Fact remains, there not much of a difference.

If you have ever seen Orang Utan in action, you would agree with me. The similarities are striking. The way the homo sapiens use tools like forks and chopsticks to get to our food, is no different from the way Orang Utan will break off a stick and use it to get to the sugar-water in a crevasse and if you look at our hands, fingers and all, it tells you all you need to know. They are identical and so is the way we use them. Are we just great apes, or are the great apes us? Barely any difference.

Look at the learning curves of Orang Utan. With a  little practice, he will learn every trick in the book, just like the homo sapiens. Why? Because of  how our brains work. Again, is it us who have monkey brains or the them who has "human brains"? Somebody please tell me the difference.

In Indonesia, they have an "Orang Utan School" where rescued orangutans are being "re-wilded" and given a second chance of survival and a life in their normal, natural habitat, which is being destroyed at an alarming rate, by...of course...the human being. Watching the Indonesian Orang Utan school, is like, well...watching myself in grade 3 in Denmark, teachers and all. Right down to the structure of the classes and the personalities in the class room. Talk about deja-vue.

In Orang Utan school, one student (let's just call him Brian, for good measure)
had problems doing "the stick trick" to get to the honey water. When school was over for the day, rather than joining the other kids in the "playground", he isolated himself in the corner and worked on the stick trick and after less than 5 minutes, he had it nailed down to an art form. Amazing how our brains are similar.

So while the Homo Sapiens are busy marching backwards, the Orang Utan is marching forwards. It's just a matter of time before we again meet up with the others in the gang of great apes. We're almost there. We almost made it all the way back. Just one step away, now.

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