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00:00This is a production of the U.S. Department of State.
00:31In the great tree of life,
00:35one branch of the mammals has a particular fascination for us,
00:39for we belong to it.
00:43Primates.
00:53Primate hands provide a firm grip,
00:58and forward-facing eyes accurately assess distance.
01:07Both are crucial for a lifestyle that began in the trees.
01:19Intelligence among primates can excel that of all other animals.
01:28Primates can solve difficult problems,
01:32develop thoughts and ideas,
01:38and build long-lasting relationships.
01:44But most importantly, primates remember what they learn during their lives.
01:51This film reveals how intelligence helps our closest relatives
01:55to tackle the many challenges of life.
02:20There are more than 350 primate species on Earth.
02:43Since they first appeared over 65 million years ago,
02:47these clever animals have become adapted to an extraordinary range of habitats.
02:58The Awash region of southern Ethiopia.
03:07The harsh, remote scrubland.
03:11But primates have learned how to make it their home.
03:27Hamadryas baboons are waking up from a night spent high on the cliffs.
03:34These monkeys live in groups up to 400 strong, with no single leader.
03:42Theirs is a very complex society, made up of dozens of small harems, each governed by a male.
03:53Every morning, they leave the safety of the cliffs to find food.
03:59Top-ranking males lead the way.
04:04They can be very severe with their females, if there is the slightest misdemeanor.
04:14The Awash tribe is the largest tribe in the world,
04:18and the largest in the world.
04:21Despite their individual strength, Hamadryas baboons prefer to travel as a troupe.
04:28It's safer that way.
04:33The Awash tribe is the largest tribe in the world,
04:37and the largest tribe in the world.
04:42The Awash tribe is the largest tribe in the world,
04:48It's safer that way.
05:02On this particular morning, something stops them in their tracks.
05:08Another troupe is using these cliffs as a barracks.
05:23More than a thousand baboons can overnight here,
05:26and a rival faction is heading directly their way.
05:30More than a thousand baboons can overnight here,
05:33and a rival faction is heading directly their way.
06:00In the chaos of warfare, males settle old scores.
06:07In the chaos of warfare, males settle old scores.
06:18This is also their best chance of stealing females.
06:30This is also their best chance of stealing females.
06:54When the fighting is over, the harems reform.
07:01Lead males punish any of their females who had dared to stray.
07:20Strict discipline is essential if order is to be maintained.
07:31It's a harsh social system,
07:34but it works for Hamadryas baboons here on these arid plains.
07:49In other parts of the world,
07:51primates have had to organize their societies in a different way.
07:55Primates have had to organize their societies in a different way
08:00to cope with different challenges.
08:08Midwinter in the Japanese Alps.
08:15The Kamikochi Valley is the haunt of the most northerly-dwelling monkeys.
08:26To live here, you must be able to survive temperatures
08:29which plunge to minus 20 centigrade.
08:44The Japanese macaque.
08:56Dense, thick layers of fur help to insulate these snow monkeys
09:00in this testing environment.
09:08But they still feel the cold.
09:18At this time of the year, food is scarce.
09:26But macaques are adaptable and clever.
09:36The troop has learnt that this river stays ice-free the year round.
09:46This female knows it's a good place to gather insect larvae from under the rocks
09:51using her versatile hands and nimble fingers.
10:03In winter, this troop spends most of its time searching for food.
10:14The same underground forces that prevent this river from freezing
10:18bring great comfort to others.
10:27The Japanese Alps were built by volcanoes.
10:30Many of them are still active.
10:34And in a region called Hell's Valley,
10:37some snow monkeys have found the perfect winter resort.
10:48A thermal spa where the water temperature is a blissful 41 degrees centigrade.
11:19Everyone wants in, but primates being primates,
11:23there are poolside politics.
11:35This is an exclusive members-only club.
11:41Only the highest-ranking females and infants are allowed in.
11:49Everyone obeys this male, who guards the pool and vets the entrance.
12:06These youngsters, born of the right bloodline,
12:09don't know how privileged they are.
12:19Lower-ranking individuals are literally left out in the cold.
12:32Japanese macaque society is very divided.
12:38There are those that have...
12:42and those that have not.
12:49And that is a harsh division,
12:52because the 60 degrees that separate the steaming water
12:56from the freezing surroundings
12:58can make the difference between life...
13:01and death.
13:12But by far the majority of the population
13:16But by far the majority of primate species
13:20live in warm, tropical forests.
13:30Among them...
13:32are the largest of all.
13:40Gorillas live in stable family groups
13:43with just a single leader.
13:48A silverback male.
13:59This one, here in the Congo basin,
14:02is the guardian of his family,
14:04which includes five females and their infants.
14:14He has the responsibility of protecting them
14:17from the dangers that abound on the forest floor,
14:20where they feed.
14:30To sustain his huge size,
14:32he must consume up to 30 kilos a day.
14:38It's mostly plant food,
14:40but Western gorillas also enjoy a sprinkling of termites.
14:50The youngsters need to eat far less than their father,
14:53so they've got time on their hands.
15:02They like to play for the same reasons we do,
15:05for fun.
15:07And it helps build long-lasting relationships.
15:12Their protector keeps a watchful eye on them.
15:25But then...
15:28it's time for his siesta.
15:38SIESTA
15:50Something shatters the peace.
15:59This silverback's territory is one of the best,
16:02but it has borders with at least eight other gorilla groups.
16:08CHEST BEATING
16:21The sound of chest beating
16:23travels more than a mile through the tangled understory.
16:26CHEST BEATING
16:36It's a territorial drumbeat.
16:43Everyone must know who is boss around here.
16:51CHEST BEATING
16:56CHEST BEATING
17:01Other, smaller primates are rather more secretive.
17:07One of the most unusual is found in Sulawesi, Indonesia.
17:17It lives among the aerial roots of this strangler fig.
17:27CHEST BEATING
17:30Its ancestors were daytime hunters,
17:33but they found that there was less competition
17:35if they looked for food in the twilight.
17:48Now, they only stir after dark.
17:56CHEST BEATING
18:00Nonetheless, there's a lot of insect food around.
18:21The spectral Tarsier.
18:27CHEST BEATING
18:30Tarsiers are the only totally carnivorous primates on Earth.
18:38They've hardly changed in 45 million years.
18:44Their huge eyes can see in even the faintest light.
18:49These eyeballs are so wide, they can't swivel in their sockets.
18:55Tarsiers have to rotate their heads.
19:01Their mobile ears can detect the faintest sounds.
19:07And their powerful legs enable them to jump 40 times their own length.
19:13The family group fans out to hunt.
19:21Prey is not hard to find.
19:24The Tarsiers are the only carnivorous primates on Earth.
19:30They've hardly changed in 45 million years.
19:35Their eyes can see in even the faintest light.
19:40Their mobile ears can detect the faintest sounds.
19:47Their powerful legs enable them to jump 40 times their own length.
19:54CHEST BEATING
20:00But the Tarsiers must be watchful.
20:04For a primate just five inches tall, life in the forest is full of danger.
20:14The male sounds the alarm.
20:23And everyone retreats.
20:54Back in their family tree, the senior male and female send out piercing calls.
21:07These calls guide in a straggler's home, and there they renew the family bonds.
21:13Good communication is one of the hallmarks of primate society.
21:26Few communicate more musically than La Gibbons in the forests of Thailand.
21:32Their songs carry for many miles across the canopy,
21:36proclaiming that this piece of forest is their home.
21:42The Tarsiers are the only primate family on Earth.
21:48The Tarsiers are the only primate family on Earth.
21:54The Tarsiers are the only primate family on Earth.
21:58Few communicate more musically than La Gibbons in the forests of Thailand.
22:04Their songs carry for many miles across the canopy,
22:08proclaiming that this piece of forest is theirs.
22:29Most primates have excellent colour vision,
22:32and colour, too, can be used in communication.
22:40Adult fairs' leaf monkeys might seem rather drab.
22:49But not so their newborn.
22:53Bright orange fur makes the babies very conspicuous,
22:57so the adults can easily keep an eye on them.
23:08Close friends and relatives are eager to help the mother with baby food.
23:13Close friends and relatives are eager to help the mother with babysitting.
23:17It's a good chance for the younger ones to practice parenting.
23:29As a result, the baby is never left on its own for long.
23:34As a result, the baby is never left on its own for long.
23:45When it's a few months old and more independent,
23:48it will turn the colour of its mother and blend in with the group.
23:53But until then, it can't be ignored.
24:11Smell is of particular importance to the primates that live in Madagascar.
24:16Smell is of particular importance to the primates that live in Madagascar.
24:21The lemurs.
24:25They have pointed snouts and wet noses.
24:32These are ring-tailed lemurs.
24:35The males have sharp pads on their wrists,
24:38with which they scratch the trunks of young trees.
24:44The males have sharp pads on their wrists,
24:47with which they scratch the trunks of young trees.
24:54Glance on their wrists impregnate the cut bark with a pungent smell
24:58that appetises the Amerindians.
25:01their wrists, impregnate the cut bark with a pungent smell that acts as a
25:05territorial marker. Females make smelly marks in their own way. This one's scent
25:16carries another signal as well as the territorial one. It tells males that
25:23she's coming into heat.
25:26But she will only be sexually receptive for 24 hours or less.
25:40So tensions run high among the males.
25:56Amid the commotion, some males sneak off. They have anointed their tails with
26:13scent and wafted towards her in an attempt to persuade her to mate. She's
26:21ready, but fussy.
26:34This male adds more of his wrist-glammed perfume to his tail.
26:41It seems to work, for they leave the party together.
26:59And he wafts his way to victory.
27:11A willingness to mate is a relatively straightforward message. But primates are
27:37capable of much more complex communication.
27:46It starts between a mother and her baby.
27:54The rainforests of Sumatra.
27:59This female orangutan is 42 years old. Her third child, a six-year-old daughter,
28:13is still with her. Orangs look after their children for longer than any other
28:24primate, except ourselves. It will take her nine years to teach her youngster
28:31everything she needs to know about this complex treetop world. She must learn how
28:41to collect ants and termites.
28:45How to identify at least 200 kinds of edible plants, and how to avoid the
29:00poisonous ones. And how to judge when fruit, like this durian, has ripened to
29:09perfection.
29:15A child must be able to judge which branches can carry her weight.
29:38And which insect nests are safe to raid.
29:45Building up a complete guide to the foods of the forest is a long process.
30:16Her lessons, of course, aren't limited to food. There are other crucial skills she
30:34must learn if she is to survive in the treetops. Building a secure nest in
30:41which to spend the night, for example, takes years of practice. And this is, of
30:51course, a rain forest. So all orangs must learn how to make a shelter early in
31:01their lives.
31:11It rains almost every day, so this six-year-old has already had plenty of
31:32practice. She might live to be 50 years old, and if she too becomes a mother,
31:48she'll pass on all this expertise to her own children.
32:03Remembering your lessons is a vital part of primate life.
32:10It's not just learning how to exploit your environment. Just as important is
32:25knowing when to do so.
32:29This is Africa's Cape Peninsula. It's the furthest south that monkeys have
32:40managed to settle.
32:52There's a wide range of plant food here, but because the soil is so poor in
32:57nutrients, chacma baboons find it difficult to get the range of
33:01sustenance they need, however much they eat.
33:16So they have had to become quite adventurous in what they will tackle.
33:28The waters around the Cape are among the richest in the world,
33:46and the wily baboons have become tidal experts.
33:57If you rely on the tides to expose your food, you have to work to fairly tight
34:11schedules.
34:28Every two weeks, on the lowest spring tide, there's a chance to collect
34:34something really special.
34:58What they've been waiting for is hidden among the fronds of seaweed.
35:16Shark eggs.
35:27Each one is only a tiny mouthful, but there are lots of them, and they're so
35:48nutritious, it's worth the trouble.
35:52But the baboons can't stay long. The tide is turning, so now they switch their
36:06attention to the main course of the day, mussels. This delicacy is exposed every
36:15day by every tide.
36:22Baboons have powerful jaws and huge canines, ideal for cracking shells.
36:37Timing is an essential skill if you're to harvest all the food that becomes
36:43available at one time or another around a coast.
36:51Some foods, however, are only available to those who have skillful hands and
37:01sharp intelligence. On the coast of Costa Rica, among the mangroves, live some of
37:10the most intelligent monkeys in the whole of the Americas.
37:16White-faced capuchins, they too have learnt to work the tides.
37:29They are after clams, but capuchins are quite small and don't have the brawn to
37:40open such shellfish.
37:45But they do have the brain, and they've devised an ingenious way to solve the
37:52problem. They hammer the clams.
38:05They're not trying to crack the shells. All this pounding and rolling has
38:10another purpose, to tire the muscle with which the clam is holding itself shut.
38:40Eventually, the clam can hold out no longer, and the capuchin gets its reward.
39:10Trial and error may have been sufficient to solve this particular problem.
39:31But one of their cousins in Brazil has taken things a step further.
39:40Brown-tufted capuchins combine manual dexterity with considerable intelligence.
40:05And they have learned to use tools, hammer stones with which to open palm nuts.
40:16Some of the stones are nearly half the weight of the monkey.
40:21Without a tool, opening these nuts would be an impossible task.
40:29Tool-using was a major breakthrough in primate evolution.
40:36And nowhere is it more convincingly displayed than here in the forest of Bossou in Guinea, West Africa.
40:45And nowhere is it more convincingly displayed than here in the forest of Bossou in Guinea, West Africa.
41:15Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof
41:45in a variety of ways.
42:00The most delicate is the way they use a twig or leaf stem to dip for ants.
42:15The most delicate is the way they use a twig or leaf stem to dip for ants.
42:45The most delicate is the way they use a twig or leaf stem to dip for ants.
42:56Some of their skills are unique to this particular group.
43:05One of these involves stripping a palm leaf frond and using it like a pestle to mash up the nutritious palm heart.
43:15One of these involves stripping a palm leaf frond and using it like a pestle to mash up the nutritious palm heart.
43:34This four-year-old is learning fast.
43:37She needs to.
43:38If chimpanzees haven't learned particular skills by the age of eight,
43:42they never seem able to acquire them.
43:54The most impressive skill of all,
43:56which involves nimble fingers, hand-eye coordination and intelligence,
44:01is nut cracking.
44:13Chimpanzees have gone a stage further than capuchins.
44:17They have learned how to carefully position the nut on an anvil
44:21and to judge how much force to use in order to crack the shell,
44:25but not smash the kernel to pieces.
44:30Their use of tools is both efficient and precise.
44:35Their use of tools is both efficient and precise.
44:48This 11-year-old female has an anvil, but can't find a hammer.
45:05She approaches a male to see if he will lend her his.
45:26He obliges.
45:34Chimpanzees can show great kindness and compassion.
45:50Sharing.
45:57Experimenting.
46:01Empathy.
46:05Planning.
46:11Intelligence.
46:17Teaching.
46:20And learning.
46:34Behaviour so characteristic of us higher primates.
46:47We are the most inventive and innovative of all primates.
46:54Just one branch of a large and extended family.
46:59A family which has refined the ability to develop
47:03and pass on individual learning to the next generation.
47:08A family which has built on strong bonds between mother and baby.
47:13A family which has built on strong bonds between mother and baby.
47:18A family which has built on strong bonds between mother and baby.
47:38A family with which we share so much.
47:49We are one family.
48:00We are one family.
48:03To film the very best primate behaviour, the life team had to use all their primate ingenuity
48:32and adaptability.
48:47And in doing so, they discovered an extraordinary affinity with our extended family.
48:58Especially with a great ape with whom we share almost 99% of our genes, the chimpanzee.
49:06He was completely asleep just then, so he's just rocking to the side as if he might just
49:14fall off the branch.
49:15You could see his lips were twitching like he was in a deep dream, and it's really beautiful.
49:28Chimpanzees are our closest relatives.
49:38Justine Evans spent almost a month with them in the forests of Guinea to film their use
49:43of tools.
49:44The chimps have disappeared off down there.
49:47They're going to cross over into another area of the forest and hopefully start using some
49:51tools.
49:52Go and use tools, that's what we're here for.
49:58Chimpanzees have to accept you.
50:02If they don't want to be filmed, they'll simply disappear.
50:09Justine needed the expert guidance of Tatiana Humle, a primatologist who spent more than
50:15ten years studying these individuals.
50:18So when we see them, always keep calm and don't stare at them straight into the eyes.
50:25Have you ever had problems with coming right up and being aggressive?
50:28No, never.
50:29I mean, it's pretty rare, so I don't know what to expect because I've never seen them
50:33in the wild before.
50:34Okay, first for me.
50:35So just always stay calm, and if one of them walks by really close, just ignore them.
50:42One particular young male might throw sticks.
50:46Ignore him as well.
50:47He's like a kid, and he just wants attention, so he'll just keep doing it.
50:52We've got to put these face masks on in case we pass on any infectious diseases.
50:58Quite a few chimps have died in the past from respiratory diseases in other study sites,
51:03so it's very important.
51:16Justine was finding her way with the chimps.
51:21But it would take time.
51:27It's never easy anticipating their behaviour.
51:33I'm trying to get ready really quickly because we're expecting some chimps to come down
51:36and pass straight ahead of me.
51:40It'd be lovely if they'd merge out into this clearing.
51:43It's really difficult to see through all this foliage.
51:47Tatiana and her team were invaluable.
51:50They introduced Justine to the chimps' different habits and characters.
51:56Soon, the natural inquisitiveness of the chimps
52:00overcame any worries they might have had of Justine.
52:09In fact, they seemed fascinated by her,
52:12and they were eager to see what she was up to.
52:15But it was their use of tools that Justine was here to film.
52:22And this was her first good opportunity.
52:27The chimps were not afraid of her.
52:31They were not afraid of her.
52:35They were not afraid of her.
52:39They were not afraid of her.
52:42They were not afraid of her.
52:46As I filmed them fishing for ants, I was amazed by their dexterity.
52:52But holding focus in such low light really tested my own coordination to the limit.
52:58She's just moving away.
53:00She's moving.
53:02It's been all go today.
53:04It's not over yet.
53:06If we can get out of here into more open air,
53:09we'll actually have enough light to film by,
53:11because the sun's still up.
53:13We've got a long way to go.
53:15We've got a long way to go.
53:17We've got a long way to go.
53:19We've got a long way to go.
53:21We've got a long way to go.
53:23We've got a long way to go.
53:25We're going to have enough light to film by, because the sun's still up.
53:29But, er, I don't know.
53:34Although Justine's main goal was to film Toulouse,
53:37there was another piece of behaviour she really wanted to capture.
53:48Botrush root drumming had never been filmed here before,
53:52but she was always just a bit too late.
53:56Back at yet another buttress
53:57in the hope that we might get some sort of buttress drumming.
54:00But it started raining, which is an absolute pain.
54:08It's a waiting game.
54:13Just staking out a couple of really big trees
54:16that have got very large buttress roots
54:18in the hope that a male will come down and drum on them.
54:21The drumming always happens somewhere else,
54:24and apparently it's usually the males that sneak off to go and do it.
54:30It feels like a bit of a long shot at the moment.
54:32You have to have some patience.
54:37The thing about chimps is that, like most primates,
54:41you can't always predict what they're going to do,
54:44when they're going to do it, or where.
54:47You've just got to keep with them.
54:52A different type of sound brought Justine back to her main mission.
55:07Nut cracking.
55:17This was the key sequence Justine was here to film.
55:30Filming the chimps using tools
55:32made me realise just how close to them we are.
55:46I felt so similar to them.
55:58By the end of our filming trip,
56:00I was able to recognise most of the individuals in the group
56:03and had begun to understand their different personalities.
56:16Nut cracking.
56:35For me, the most poignant moment of all
56:37was when the male, the scientist called Clay,
56:40lent a female his tools.
56:47I know that primates are very social animals,
56:49but seeing this act of generosity was something I'll never forget.
57:07Oh, God!
57:09Just before we left, the chimpanzees had already eaten their meal.
57:14Just before we left,
57:15the chimpanzees finally put on the display that I'd been hoping for.
57:43In the great tree of life,
57:45we and chimpanzees went our separate ways about six million years ago.
57:51But they remain our closest living relatives.
58:43I'm sorry.
58:44I'm sorry.
58:45I'm sorry.
58:46I'm sorry.
58:47I'm sorry.
58:49I'm sorry.
58:50I'm sorry.
58:51I'm sorry.
58:52I'm sorry.
58:53I'm sorry.
58:54I'm sorry.
58:55I'm sorry.
58:56I'm sorry.
58:57I'm sorry.
58:58I'm sorry.
58:59I'm sorry.
59:00I'm sorry.
59:02I'm sorry.
59:03I'm sorry.
59:04I'm sorry.
59:05I'm sorry.
59:06I'm sorry.
59:07I'm sorry.
59:08I'm sorry.
59:09I'm sorry.
59:10I'm sorry.
59:11I'm sorry.