The Nature of Man

“The laws of nature are just, but terrible. There is no weak mercy in them. Cause and consequences are inseparable and inevitable. The elements have no forbearance. The fire burns, the water drowns, the air consumes, the earth buries. And perhaps it would be well for our race if the punishment of crimes against the laws of man were as inevitable as the as the punishment of crimes against the laws of nature, â€"were man as unerring in his judgment as nature,” â€"Longfellow

The most horrific dangers of the jungle come from man. All other creatures live in harmony, killing only when they need to. Man is the only beast that kills when it is not necessary and the only animal that takes pride in his brutality.

A team of anthropologists from the New York City Museum of Natural history venture into the Congo where they discover a new species of ape. Through their interactions with this new primate, the Poole anthropological team learns many things, not only about the new primate, but also about their own human nature.