Foreword
When dawn breaks tomorrow on this small planet, seven types of great ape will get up out of their comfortable beds, stretch their limbs and start contemplating the first meal of the day. Six of these apes are on the verge of extinction; one is an unparalleled success. The six that are about to disappear are the western and eastern gorillas, the chimpanzee, and the bonobo, all of tropical Africa, and the two orangutan species of Borneo and Sumatra. The one that is on the verge of exterminating them is the naked ape, the animal usually referred to as the human being.
If this statement sounds melodramatic, consider the population figures. In the early years of the 21st century there are 6,600 million naked apes, occupying almost every corner of the Earth's landmasses. Forty years ago there were only 3,300 million of them, so their numbers have doubled since then. And they are still increasing. Current estimates predict a rise to 9,000 million by 2050.
Many species have ways of controlling their breeding rate, so that their populations stabilize and they do not outstrip their resources, but naked apes seem to lack these controls. Their numbers rise and rise and nothing is allowed to stand in their way. On a vast scale, wild places are tamed, forests become plantations, and grasslands become fields.
As a result of this human population explosion, each year there is less and less space for the other great apes and their present population figures confirm their increasingly desperate situation. At present it is estimated that there are probably fewer than 200,000 chimpanzees and bonobos, 140,000 gorillas and 40,000 orangutans alive in the wild. This makes a total of less than 400,000. To put it another way, for every hairy ape there are some 20,000 naked apes. So, in evolutionary terms,we are the winners and can congratulate ourselves on having almost obliterated our biological rivals. They may have retreated into the depths of the tropical forests and in this way escaped the attentions of our prehistoric ancestors, but it has failed to save them from our modern hordes: the loggers, the bushmeat hunters, the encroaching farmers and the rest.
If we do exterminate them, as now seems likely, it will be a sad day, a Pyrrhic victory, for two very special reasons. First, they are fascinating animals in their own right and, like all dramatically unusual species, enrich our lives on this wonderful little planet, where thanks to a host of astronomical coincidences, life forms have been able to develop and grow into more than 10 million distinct kinds. Of these, very few indeed have made the grade to become large, complex organisms, and we should cherish them, if only for their dramatic presence alongside us.
Second, and more importantly, we should respect our great ape relatives because they are a constant reminder to us that we are a part of nature and not above it. Genetically they are so close to us that their existence makes it impossible for any rational person to imagine that we humans have nothing to do with animal evolution. They force us to accept that we are part of the biosphere rather than being a separate, mystical creation.
Half a century ago, when scientists first really began to insist that we should view human beings as risen apes rather than as fallen angels there was an outcry. Many people were still clinging to the old idea that only humans have souls and that animals are brute beasts placed on Earth for us to use as we see fit. For centuries this arrogant philosophy had led to endless animal abuses and untold cruelties. From the mass animal slaughters of the Roman arena, to the torturing of animals as a royal entertainment in Elizabethan times, to the big-game hunting of the 19th century (which saw gorillas first killed in large numbers), few people gave a thought to the suffering of the creatures they were assaulting. If these animals were only brute beasts then obviously they had no feelings, other than rage and savagery when they were cornered and tormented.
But then, after Darwin introduced the concept of evolution, and animal-welfare societies began to flourish, attitudes slowly began to change. More and more people started to go out into the field to study natural history and to marvel at the wonders of nature. Instead of hunting, capturing, and killing wildlife, they watched it, and recorded what they saw.
At first, this was done mostly near to home. For a long time,we knew much more about British pond-life than we did about the exotic species that inhabited tropical forests. Africa was still a 'Dark Continent' full of mysteries and mortal dangers. In particular, the great apes, especially the gorillas, were looked upon as far too violent and dangerous to study at close quarters.
It was not until the middle of the 20th century that all this changed. Then, at last, observers began to penetrate the tropical forests and bring back first-hand accounts of great ape behaviour, and it was not what people were expecting. Gorillas turned out to be amazingly gentle giants and chimpanzees, although more volatile and irascible, were discovered to be inventive tool-users with a complex and subtly organized social life.
If explorers wanted to shoot wild animals now it was done with a camera rather than a gun. In particular, television documentaries opened everyone's eyes to the fascinating world occupied by our animal relatives. For the first time, voices were raised against the use of apes in medical research. And zoos were forced to provide their apes with social companions in large, complex enclosures. Solitary confinement in bare cages became a thing of the past in all reputable zoos, with the backward ones now looking increasingly primitive and out of step.
It was as though, without quite realizing it, the public was slowly accepting its close affinity with the great apes. Now, at last, people were beginning to worry about the survival of their primate relatives, rather than wanting to hunt them, experiment on them, or giggle at them dressed up as clowns. The hairy great apes had finally come of age in the consciousness of humankind. Attitudes of fear and ridicule were being replaced with respect and an intense curiosity about their lives. It is this curiosity that Planet Ape sets out to satisfy and in doing so will, I hope, also help in the struggle to save these magnificent animals before it is too late.
Desmond Morris
