Recently I returned from a medical mission in Tanzania and was able to visit the amazing Chimps of Mahale National Park. What an honor to see these remarkable beings in their own community. Human and common chimpanzee DNA are very similar: chimps take the prize as our nearest living relatives, sharing approximately 99 percent of our DNA, with gorillas trailing at 98 percent! In fact, Chimpanzees are rarely represented in African culture, as the locals regard them as too similar to humans and thus "too close for comfort." …see more