When you read a lot of early natural history you notice that a lot of explorers comment on how “human” the great apes are. (They also say the same thing about the native human civilizations in the area, because colonization sucked.) The explorers comment on how kind the apes are to one another. How both the male and female parents share the parenting duties. How patient they are with one another, and how they work through their issues instead of going straight to savagery.

Looking at them with modern eyes, though, it’s striking just how different from humans they are, mostly because of how kind they are to one another. How both sexes share the parenting duties. How patient they are with one another, and how they work through their issues instead of going straight to savagery.