30 Minutes of Incredible Primate Moments

foreign [Applause] these males are the troop leaders they hold all the power here [Music] joining them is every young male's ambition [Music] to be accepted into this Elite is the path to privilege but it's a dangerous Journey the youngster decides to follow at first he has enough sense to keep his distance these males are twice his size [Music] the low ranking chimps Retreat before the troop leaders arrive at the waterfall [Music] dominant males have a highly stressful life as they constantly squabble to protect their position the youngster can't take his eyes off them this is his chance to get himself noticed if he can impress even one of the big males for the shower's strength he might just be accepted into their ranks his best attempt at a macho display has certainly caught their attention but they are not impressed in fact this drumming means they're getting rather angry and they attack [Applause] the youngster is not quick enough friends he gets a short sharp lesson about how hard it can be to break into this close-knit gang he's lucky to escape with just an injured hand [Music] for the moment he's neither big enough nor strong enough to be taken seriously by The Troop leaders to reach the young juicy leaves on the other side the group will have to cross but the mail is hesitant instead it's the alpha female who takes the lead [Music] thank you sounds of their splashes carry over 200 meters through the water and can draw unwanted attention [Music] but unlike most other monkeys for bosses are excellent swimmers to survive here they have evolved wept feet [Applause] finally The Reluctant male makes his move [Music] but a mother and baby have been left behind the baby must cling on for dear life instructions [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] this time the whole family have made it even the most vulnerable yeah a jungle hut this female finds a soul despite being totally Wild somehow she has worked out what to do with it like us orangutans have an opposable thumb that allows them to grasp and handle objects with precision over 20 years ago a rescue orangutan learned how to saw by watching people constructing the Huts here but this is a totally different and wild orangutan she seems to take pride in her work even clearing away the sawdust she's so smart she uses her feet as a vice to steady the branch filming a wild Born and Free Living orangutan mastering this complex task is remarkable but no she's not the only orangutan sawing spy orangutan has joined her [Music] it seems to be bringing out a competitive streak she's becoming even more enthusiastic [Music] thank you but for a novice sawing is tiring work she's lost all momentum [Music] then finally calls are today spy orangutan may have machine-like stamina but it's the astonishing and versatile mind of the real orangutan that's won the day she certainly earned her rest you got Park vehicles coming through you've got trucks loaded up with charcoal and that's why Dominica is just so tense about crossing the road well if it was just him it'd be fine he's just waiting nervously for a quiet time to cross with his whole family I feel for him for 20 minutes we take matters into our own hands and Lambert stops the traffic look at this oh my gosh all right no there you go that's confidence for you chimanuka in charge the orphan morale is confident enough to venture out well oh fantastic oh my gosh look at this the whole family muira and his mother are almost the last ones to break cover over absolute confidence look with all the youngsters across safely chimanuka can stop being the lollipop man the boss showing us for that despite there is a road running through this is still his jungle it's a great relief to see the whole family across the road in safety this area is more densely forested than the sections we've been in before is crisscrossed with Gorilla trails clearly other families around and mugurooka's arrival just adds to the numbers oh my word right down onto the road amazing he didn't even know I thought maybe stop being a bit reluctant but of course he came meters from me to see him out in the open like this you see how big he is amazing the rain forests of Sumatra this female orangutan is 42 years old her third child a secure old daughter is still with her orangs look after their children for longer than any other primate except ourselves it will take her nine years to teach a youngster everything she needs to know about this complex Treetop world [Music] she must learn how to collect ants and termites [Music] how to identify at least 200 kinds of edible plants and how to avoid the poisonous ones and how to judge when fruit like this durian has ripened to perfection [Music] [Music] a child must be able to judge which branches can carry her weight foreign s are safe to raid [Music] building up a complete guide to the foods of the forest is a long process foreign [Music] s of course aren't limited to food there are other crucial skills she must learn if she is to survive in the Treetops building a secure nest in which to spend the night for example takes years of practice foreign Forest so all orangs must learn how to make a shelter early in their lives [Music] [Applause] [Music] it rains almost every day so this six-year-old has already had plenty of practice [Music] come on [Music] she might live to be 50 years old and if she too becomes a mother she'll pass on all this expertise to her own children there's little doubt that Silverback ranu would love to claim his hard-earned right to the female in his group foreign but at 37 years old tuck is most definitely not interested in sex nearly all females stopped by their mid to late 30s unfortunately ranu doesn't know this and keeps trying to impress her with his displays of strength but all this seems to do is make tuck more determined to ignore him thank you as ranu continues to hunt tough her sons come to her defense now the smallest gorilla in the group decides to show the mighty Silverback ranu who's in charge foreign this is hardly the great leader in control pushed around by the youngest male in the group and spurned by tuck the only female things couldn't get much worse in the forest of Senegal spy bush baby is part of a team of spy cameras capturing intimate views of our closest living relatives questions here the family lives a Charmed existence parental love and friendships form the foundation of their society spy tortoise is also being deployed but these are highly perceptive animals and some things not quite right this five-year-old checks what the others are thinking they seem equally baffled but with his curiosity peaked he simply can't stay away as his interest grows so does the strength of his feelings what's up he just has to have spy tortoise all to himself he hides with it and his leafy daybed where he'd normally take a nap but he's too excited to sleep he's torn between using it as a pillow and giving it a cuddle it's somewhere between a toy and a pet it's definitely not for shearing foreign Tails managed to make a living in these Highlands [Music] some of the luckier ones occupy a more sheltered Valley where a few trees have managed to take root morning fog condensing on leaves is an important source of water [Music] although the mornings still have a chill to them life here seems more relaxed [Music] but also more crowded foreign crows need to be moved on not least because there are some vulnerable arrivals in The Troop almost every female is carrying an infant an indication that life is comparatively easy with more protection from the elements and a little more food this troop is particularly large and can devote plenty of time to their social lives thank you one female even has twins a rare event amongst ringtel lemurs and a direct result of a good food supply but this Valley troop still has to work hard to collect food in this broken landscape lemurs are such good rock climbers [Music] there's a real Bonanza at this time of year while some gather canopy fruits the mother of the twins stays lower and gathers fresh leaves the young are born during the fruiting season when demands on their mothers are heaviest [Music] after such a heavy meal The Troop head off in search of their next course the daily dose of dirt [Music] eating soil is thought to help with digestion but it also provides minerals and even helps the Lemurs to cope with Troublesome gut parasites [Music] these talk macaques in Sri Lanka Live in large troops [Music] it's a very complex social structure with a strict hierarchy if they're to make it through childhood youngsters must fit in and discipline is fiercely maintained all young macaques are low ranking and they have to quickly learn how to show respect through a variety of gestures and facial expressions foreign adults don't hesitate to show who's in charge this infant female is considered to be the lowest of the low and she won't survive long if she doesn't learn the social conventions foreign [Music] the dominant male is the overall boss and he demands respect from everyone no matter how young he won't tolerate any sign of insubordination if he looks another macaque in the eye they have to express submission by chattering their teeth foreign the tiny female has caught his eye but does she know what sign to make if she gets it wrong the punishment will be harsh foreign she just about manages to chatter her teeth and just in time there will be many more tests in this young macaque's life but at least she's past her first [Music] getting through the early stages of childhood can certainly be daunting as animals get older their chances of survival inevitably increase but different issues have to be confronted the uingnan snub-nosed monkey [Music] they're estimated to be only 3 000 of these precious primates in existence [Music] youngster lives a Charmed Life [Music] at one years old he is the center of his mother's world his family are thriving with five adults looking after ten youngsters [Music] they are high altitude specialists living at up to four thousand meters higher than any other primate species on Earth foreign [Music] in Winter eating becomes a major preoccupation [Music] up here food is scarce [Music] so these monkeys have developed a very unusual diet [Music] toxic moss and lichens [Music] it's all that's available so they have evolved with fermenting stomachs similar to a cow's which eliminate the toxins and extract maximum nutrition the youngster has worked off an appetite but he's breaking the most important rule of troop life Stay Together [Music] at this altitude the weather can change without warning [Music] thank you [Music] his mother knows the danger ous can rapidly plummet below zero only huddling together stops the youngsters freezing to death [Music] alone he has little chance surviving [Music] thank you the break in the weather could give the youngster a chance to find his mother he spots the troop in the distance thank you [Music] [Music] it was a lucky escape a lesson learned [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]

Channel: BBC Earth

Views: 716,193

Keywords: bbc, bbc documentary, bbc earth, bbcearth, chimpanzee, gorilla, gorillas fighting, lemur, monkey, orangutan, primate comp, primates helping each other out, ring tailed lemur

Id: P0xBOe4xmio

Length: 33min 16sec (1996 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 01 2023