Choose Love!

And again, let’s hear it for “love!

Chimpanzees share 99% of our DNA, and thus are our closest genetic relatives. Still, to see a chimp feeding a baby leopard is startling — animals don’t usually look out for any offspring other than their own unless there’s something in it for them. But a recent study of chimpanzees has shown they may have something in common with humans that goes beyond DNA: the trait of altruism. In 2010, scientists working in Ivory Coast observed chimpanzees actually adopting young chimps not related to them whose parents had died. Looking out for orphans is the sort of philanthropic behavior we thought, until recently, only humans were capable of. But perhaps this 1971 photo should have been a clue.

Always choose love!