is compassion exclusive to (some) human beings?

A recent article in the journal PlosOne (an amazing journal everybody in the world can access for free) describes the recent finding of a new type of monkey. It lives in the lowland rain forests of central Democratic Republic of Congo, between the middle Lomami and the upper Tshuapa Rivers:

Right at the heart of Africa........ where we all come from....

This new species has been called Cercopithecus lomamiensis, or "lesula", its common local name.

Looking at his picture, one cannot avoid seeing some kind of "compassion" in his face....or at least some kind of natural "goodness".

(Citation: Hart JA, Detwiler KM, Gilbert CC, Burrell AS, Fuller JL, et al. (2012) Lesula: A New Species of Cercopithecus Monkey Endemic to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Implications for Conservation of Congo’s Central Basin. PLoS ONE 7(9): e44271. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0044271)

what is freedom?

What is freedom?

and....what is fear?

and also....what is compassion?



(the video is a homage to "tank man", the human being who stood up in front of a tank line in China on June 5th, 1989. From Wikipedia:The incident took place near Tiananmen on Chang'an Avenue, which leads into the Forbidden City, Beijing, one day after the Chinese government's violent crackdown on the Tiananmen protests. The man stood alone in the middle of the road as the tanks approached. He held two bags, one in each hand. As the tanks came to a stop, he appeared to be trying to wave them away. In response, the front tank attempted to drive around the man, but the man repeatedly stepped into the path of the tank in a show of nonviolent action. After blocking the tanks, the man climbed up onto the top of the lead tank and had a conversation with the driver. Video footage shows that anxious onlookers then pulled the man away and absorbed him into the crowd and the tanks continued on their way).....nobody knows who was or what happened to this human being.....