Why are there no human apes alive today?

That's not an answer to his question. The lad wants to know the means and mechanisms, not non-specific statements no better than "because God said so." He wants to know why a chimp or orangutan was better suited to its environment than Neanderthals.One fraction of the answer may be that lesser primates never competed with humans like Neanderthals may have and were on the loosing end of that struggle. Edited by Hyroglyphx, : TypoEdited by Hyroglyphx, : No reason given.

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"The problem with Socialism is you eventually run out of other people's money." --Margaret Thatcher--

They do. Who else do you think is poaching them? Well, there are cases of ferrel children being born in the wild and raised by wolves, so it is conceivable that they could survive.But where are you going with this?

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"Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind." -- Bertrand Russell

I don't see where you are going with this, though? Are you using this an explanation for why and how neandethal's were competed out of existence versus gorilla's?What is the greater point you are trying to make, in other words?

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"Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind." -- Bertrand Russell