Do we overvalue human life?

My biology professor had a guest speaker come in and he presented us with a way of thinking that I had never truly delved into but I found kind of interesting and different, so I decided to make it a topic here and get other opinions. If this is stupid I will definitely delete though haha.

Basically he was saying that as humans we value human life over other lives simply because we feel that we are superior. He gave the example of not blinking an eye when putting down an animal that had attacked someone yet opposing the death penalty in humans, and using benefitting as a human as an excuse to mistreat other living beings/life in general around us (pets, other animals, the environment, etc).

Do you believe that we overvalue human life? If we do, do you think it is justifiable to live in such a way?

Bonus:

If there were a species of life that were more advanced than us would you think we would still live/act with the same mindset as we do now?