Brutal Kinship

Michael Nichols

Magnum Photos

The eerie closeness of the chimpanzee to man (just one-percent genetic difference) has found it in a special relationship as the closest of the three great apes to humankind. Over the next two centuries, chimpanzees were acquired by princes and potentates, by zoological gardens and amusement parks, and with the publication of Darwin's theory of evolution in 1860, became the subject of intense study, a fascination continuing to this day. Today they face extinction in nearly ten countries while in seven others the numbers are critically low. The wild chimpanzee is now an endanged species. We are watching man's closest relative slide toward extinction. In Zambia, where no wild chimps exist. The Siddles have 19 chimps confiscated from either poachers or pet owners, pictured here are orphans in a tree.

Michael Nichols, "Brutal Kinship," in POYi Archive, Item #20252, http://archive.poy.org/items/show/20252 (accessed November 24, 2024).