Which of the following animals is the closest living relative to modern humans?

The closest living relative to modern humans is the chimpanzee. Chimpanzees share approximately 98-99% of their DNA with humans, making them our nearest relatives in the animal kingdom. This close genetic relationship highlights the shared ancestry that humans and chimpanzees have, which can be traced back to a common ancestor that lived around 6 to 7 million years ago.

Chimpanzees not only share a significant amount of genetic material with humans but also exhibit complex social behaviors, use of tools, and problem-solving skills that align closely with human traits. This makes them a focal point in understanding human evolution and the behavioral traits that humans also possess.

Others in the list, such as gorillas, orangutans, and baboons, are also primates but are more distantly related to humans compared to chimpanzees. While gorillas are related and share a considerable percentage of DNA, the genetic evidence shows that chimpanzees are more closely related. Orangutans, being in a different branch of the evolutionary tree, and baboons, which are part of a different lineage altogether, are even less related. Thus, the evidence strongly supports the idea that chimpanzees are the closest living relatives to modern humans.