Original subtitles

Our own animal family.

Smart.

Sensitive.

The more we get to know our wild cousins…

…the more we learn how extraordinary they are.

Apes have not only mastered the game of survival,

they've redefined the way it's played.

The jungle.

Birthplace of the ape family…

and the domain of all wild apes alive today.

And where this baby boy,

less than two years old,

is learning to survive.

He's a chimpanzee,

our closest animal relative.

What he discovers in the coming months

will shape his whole life.

Living in a community of more than 150 chimps,

he has little to fear from other animals.

His greatest challenge will come from his own kind.

Like us,

chimps have distinct personalities.

He needs to know who to trust.

Mom's friends are supportive and kind.

And some of the bigger kids are fun to hang out with.

It's adult males he must be most wary of.

These two older guys, they're always together

and have always been good to him.

But this one

is a bully.

He's trying to gain status…

…through a campaign of intimidation.

For chimps, violence is a part of life.

But there's more to these power struggles

than mere savagery.

And the baby is about to witness something remarkable.

Neither of the two older males

is as big as the bully.

Even so,

they refuse to submit.

The bully is too strong, so the first male retreats.

But his buddy piles in.

And now the first is back.

The bully can't beat them both.

Time to get out while he can.

One of the pair has been injured.

But he won't suffer alone.

In this animal society…

you don't need to be the biggest or most aggressive.

You need

friends.

The more allies, the better.

But how you make them

depends on your personality.

A baby must find its own way

to become a successful member of the ape family.

A family that includes the most sophisticated animals

in the world.

First, there are the great apes.

The chimpanzee,

the bonobo,

three orangutan species…

two kinds of gorilla,

and one species of human.

We all share some unique features.

Thanks to a special shoulder joint,

we can hang by our arms

and reach fruit at the tips of branches.

And we can swing.

No monkey in all Africa or Asia can do this.

Tails don't help with balance when you're swinging,

so apes don't have them.

The true kings of swing are the gibbons.

Known as "lesser apes,"

at least 18 different species

live in the jungles of Asia.

They're more monkey-sized

and very agile.

Apes have bigger brains and bodies than most monkeys.

And the great apes have taken size

to a whole new level.

Which can be a bit of a problem.

Orangutans are the largest of all tree-living animals.

Mature males weigh around 77 kilos,

similar to an adult human.

Imagine your dad doing this.

This young orangutan

is still perfecting his climbing technique.

Orangs evolved alongside tigers.

So they developed a unique way of keeping off the ground.

Pole vaulting requires very little effort

and makes the most of being such a heavyweight.

But scaling jungle giants

is more strenuous

and more risky.

These trees are higher

than a 20-story building.

And often, the best fruit

is way up in the canopy.

Even orangutans make mistakes.

Many have healed fractures,

the legacy of previous falls.

But orangutans

are good learners.

They not only remember

where to find the best food…

…they build three-dimensional mental maps

of the safest routes to get there.

Brainpower is a game changer.

And when it's focused on teamwork,

the results are formidable.

Mom and baby are following a group of male chimps.

They're looking for food.

But this is no normal feeding foray.

Chimps relish meat.

It contains nutrients

not found in their usual vegetarian diet.

Mom and baby are hoping for a share.

Red colobus are hard to catch.

But working together,

the chimps increase their chances.

These two are blockers.

They move to cut off the escape routes.

Another goes ahead to set the ambush.

Now the chaser can make his move.

This extraordinary teamwork

leads to an 80% hit rate.

Far better than any big cat.

But these chimps

are such prolific hunters,

they've decimated the local monkey population.

Humans are not the only ape capable of excess.

Now meat is harder to get,

it is even more precious.

If you don't have it, you must beg.

And you must do so politely.

Meat is more than food.

It is social currency.

Becoming a good hunter

is another way to climb the social ladder.

A male ape's success often depends

on his ability to provide.

Lar gibbons.

Like many of us, they live in couples.

Every day, they sing their love for each other.

But as we well know,

relationships can be

complicated.

A dark four-year-old youngster…

and his blonde older brother.

They recently lost their dad.

To him.

In many animal families,

new stepdads neglect, bully,

or even kill existing youngsters in favor of raising their own.

But right now,

these siblings need help,

and their stepfather is the only option.

At this time of year,

few trees are in fruit.

There's only one available.

On the edge of their territory,

right next to their enemies.

The family approach with caution.

The male from the neighboring group.

He's blocking their route.

Stepdad tries to intimidate his enemy with calls.

But his neighbor holds his ground.

Stepdad attacks.

His enemy panics.

Stepdad closes in.

He risks a final, desperate assault.

Stepdad's secured a vital meal

for his new family.

Perhaps he's not so bad after all.

Gibbons often show surprising tenderness to their stepchildren.

Who knows?

One day, he might need their support too.

It pays to play the long game.

Most apes live well into their forties.

And family life can get complicated.

Especially for the largest ape of all.

A mountain gorilla.

He's a silverback

and head of his family.

And what a family.

Four wives…

three adolescents…

two infants…

and a grumpy granddad.

Dad is a 200-kilo hunk…

armed with massive canines.

Yet he is a surprisingly gentle giant,

almost 100% vegetarian.

It's the easy option in this forest.

Whenever you're hungry,

all you have to do is reach.

It's like living in a salad bowl.

But if you eat this much veg,

you need time to digest it.

Mountain gorillas spend at least a third of the day resting.

Or trying to.

The flies are a nuisance,

and the kids are even worse.

Despite his tough-guy image,

dad's a softy at heart.

But every now and then,

he must fight

for what he loves.

And that's when size

really matters.

A rival

and his troop.

Dad has so much to lose.

His wives may be stolen,

his children killed.

A fight could even cost him his life.

Sometimes, a show of strength is enough to deter enemies.

Dad tries to drive them away.

But the rival has backup.

His entire family.

The rival charges.

Dad can't afford to show any sign of weakness.

The rival retreats.

Dad can return

to the family life he loves.

A love best expressed

through touch.

Grooming is the glue

that holds ape society together.

It can be exchanged for friendship

and favors.

Done with great care and attention…

it provokes a rush of feel-good hormones.

Apes crave it

and the companionship it creates.

So it's surprising that one ape

spends much of its life alone.

A Bornean orangutan.

Only fully mature males

have these cheek flanges.

They are thought to help direct

the long call.

He reaches out to other orangutans

scattered throughout the forest.

Some scientists believe orangutans once lived close together,

like gorillas,

with these flanged males guarding a small group of females,

as silverbacks do.

Then, around four million years ago,

the climate changed.

The trees no longer grew fruit every year.

Many animals faced starvation.

To find enough food,

orangutan families split up

and spread out.

They now live alone.

Though not entirely.

This baby is just one month old.

She will stay with mom for eight years…

the longest childhood of any ape,

except us.

It takes a long time

to teach all the secrets of survival.

Which flowers are good to eat.

How to get termites out of rotten wood.

And where to find fruiting trees during hard times.

The male's call is unanswered.

He may go for days, even weeks,

without encountering another orangutan.

No one really knows how he feels.

But maybe once in a while,

from somewhere deep in his ape DNA,

he longs for the touch of a companion.

There are times, however,

when even the most social apes

choose to be alone.

Today, mom and baby

have found a little peace and quiet,

close to the edge of their territory.

Far from the stresses of chimpanzee society.

A border patrol.

Males from the neighboring group.

Alert.

Silent.

They're on a mission

to take control of more fruiting trees.

And to achieve this, they will kill.

Infants are not spared.

Mom knows something's wrong.

Best to remain silent.

A close call.

War is as much a part of chimpanzee life

as it is of ours.

But not all of our closest relatives are so violent.

Just over the Congo River, there's another ape

that shares almost 99% of our DNA.

Like chimpanzees,

bonobos live in big communities.

Bonobo males also use displays of strength

to intimidate others.

This guy is really throwing his weight around.

And the females have had enough.

Amongst bonobos,

they form the strongest alliances.

And this gives them power.

Unlike female chimps,

they are not dominated by males.

This bonobo baby

will be protected from bullies by his mom.

And he's unlikely to experience war.

Meetings between bonobo communities

are nearly always peaceful.

So different from chimpanzees.

And nobody really knows why.

As this baby chimp grows,

he'll face risks young bonobos never need worry about.

But in true ape fashion,

he is doing the best he can.

Who knows? This could be the start of a beautiful friendship

lasting for decades.

But their future,

and that of the entire family,

is in the hands

of the most powerful ape of all.

We kill our wild cousins.

We cage them.

We destroy their homes.

Yet even in the face of such adversity,

apes still have the ability

to astound us.

Surrounded by human settlements,

an isolated patch of forest

barely a dozen football pitches wide.

It's home to an extraordinary group of chimpanzees.

Nearly every day,

they must venture into our world.

We can only imagine

how chimpanzees perceive us.

They have every reason to be wary.

But there are great rewards.

Cultivated fruits

so rich in sugar

must taste like heaven.

These chimps have learned to be stealthy around humans…

and to make the most of this challenging new world.

Palm oil fruit.

The best bit is the kernel, packed with protein and calories.

Just one problem.

It's surrounded by a tough shell.

Getting to it takes ingenuity.

Nut cracking may seem simple to us,

but in terms of animal behavior,

it is revolutionary.

Putting apes right at the top

of an exclusive club of tool users.

Apes make nests.

Umbrellas.

Probes.

Even spears.

This group in Bossou

is exceptional.

They've developed more than one tool

to exploit our crops.

As well as hammers and anvils,

they have invented this.

A pestle.

Used to mash up palm hearts

so they're easier to eat.

A behavior unique to this community.

They've even learned to deactivate poachers' snares

that cause so much damage to other chimp populations.

Yet despite these great achievements,

they continue to dwindle.

Only seven Bossou chimps now remain.

A youngster.

The only one left in the group.

Desperate for playmates.

Pascal Goumi is a local,

but he's not a threat.

As a field researcher,

he's known this chimp since he was born.

It's fair to say

they've become friends.

Friendship is so crucial to ape success,

it can even transcend species boundaries.

But humans

now dominate the planet.

We've left little room for our fellow apes.

And we've forgotten that we have a duty of care.

After all,

this is our family too.