Human uniqueness?

A book I'm reading - actually for light reading, it wasn't meant to supplement my spiritual/religious research at all - brings up an interesting point and I'm curious where others stand on it. It discusses Yogis and how "true Yogis" view the world, all of it, as a manifestation of "God." (term used loosely here) Everything is divine, but humans are unique, "special," because only as a human can "God-realization" occur. Other forms of life do not have this opportunity.

This is something with which I fundamentally disagree. Personally I find nothing "special" about humans and I do not hold a view in which humans are above other forms of life. In an article somewhere (about dolphin communication), a researcher said, "It's only due to our lack of knowledge that humans remain this exclusive species." I can't for the life of me remember her name, but that resonates very deeply within me.

So...thoughts?