Chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos, and orangutans share over 96% of their DNA with humans, have highly complex social and cognitive needs, and face welfare threats ranging from habitat destruction to bushmeat hunting.
Great apes sit at the intersection of conservation crisis and welfare priority. Their cognitive complexity — the same complexity that enables tool use, empathy, and culture — also creates the capacity for profound suffering from the threats they face: habitat destruction that eliminates food and safety, hunting that kills adults and orphans infants, captivity in inadequate environments. Sanctuaries for orphaned apes provide essential welfare rescue, but the scale of need overwhelms sanctuary capacity. The most welfare-impactful interventions address the primary causes: reducing demand for bushmeat, protecting remaining habitat, and eliminating great ape use in entertainment and research.