If you haven’t already seen this limited docuseries on Netflix, its a must. They follow the world largest group of Chimpanzee’s in a rainforest of Africa, Ngogo. The close up imagery of these primates is so impressive. The fact that the people filming can get up right close as they go about their day to day lives like there isn’t a whopping camera in there face is insane. But its not just what you learn about how they live that’s so extraordinary, its how much they relate to us. There’s drama, there’s politics, hunting and leisure. Its like a reality tv series but for chimps.
So as I am human and I’m constantly changing, growing and learning, I’m still not 100% set that we entirely come from chimps. I don’t know if its growing up with Christian faith or just pure stubbornness, but boy when you watch the show and see how they act, its pretty hard to deny it. Also I think before the access to information and recourses we have today, it was a little easier to just have faith in what we want to believe instead of just looking at the facts. We share 98% of our DNA with them and sure you look at them like they’re animals but when you learn and understand the particular things they do for good reason and not, it all sort of makes sense.
You ever stop and think about how bizarre humans are sometimes or think about why they do stupid things that just don’t make sense? Well after watching the doco, now I know. We’re just like these crazy animals! All the unexplainable crap that we ponder over, they do. It totally makes sense. When other animals do unquestionable things, we don’t question it. But when we wonder daily about the difference between the sexes, why people behave the way they do, we can’t help but try and understand it. Maybe its just the way it is, no explanation at all. Just animals behaving like animals with a mask of societal constructs.
Why do men in power start wars over land and recourses when the world is so big? There’s plenty to share! Why do we have to be greedy? Well that’s what chimps do.
Why females tend to be more attracted to the males who are higher up in the hierarchy? Or the “loner” types are more likely to be shunned from the group? Chimps.
Why do men usually (without even realising) have to have a pack leader? An alpha that calls the shots? Sometimes with a close ally that’s secondary in rank? Well that’s what chimps have.
Why although most people who hunt, do for meat/resources also do for fun/the enjoyment of catching something? A sport if you will. Well you guessed it, chimps do the same with monkeys.
I’ve even thought about the whole primate eating primate situation and how that’s pretty far removed from humans today. But then looking at it from the angle of the chimps, although the same animal and extreme similarities, they still see themselves superior to the small monkeys. And I can definitely see some similar situations where humans treat nearly identical beings as inferior which shouldn’t make sense but alas, animals being animals.
Without spoiling too much of the work, if any of the off characteristics that can’t be explained of humans interests you, I think you’d enjoy the series. Its worth having a peak at.
A theory of evolution that interests me also is Mekena’s ‘Stoned Ape’ theory, believing that a group of protohumans ate psychedelic mushrooms and that caused the brain to increase in size and therefore, these “apes” to evolve and advance. If you do the research, that’s a pretty promising theory. Psilocybin not only cause nueron activity in the brain to increase and strengthen the connections in the brain, but also create new nueral pathways that weren’t there before. Insane right? Also if you think of an already high functioning societal animal introduced to such a tool, you can kind of connect the dots.
Anyway… watch it.
Or don’t.