Original subtitles

>> A world like another planet, the islands of New Zealand

and New Caledonia.

Here, the birds rule since time immemorial.

There were no mammals until humans introduced them.

It is no wonder that the birds scaled new heights

with unique capabilities.

This is where crows live, who can use tools

like no other creature in the animal kingdom.

And this is where keas lives, parrots who explore the world

and sometimes also deconstruct it.

What is it that makes these birds so intelligent?

And how high does their flight of the intellect soar?

At last, it started snowing on the mountains of New Zealand.

This suits the keas down to the ground.

They are the only parrots who actually

like snow, ice, and cold.

But one thing they don't like is being alone.

They enjoy company, and, like us, they often

go visiting friends and relatives.

And they call in advance to announce their visit.

But there's no rush.

The last few meters can be done on foot.

That way, you can check whether you're welcome,

and make your own good intentions clear.

The tactic pays off.

The greeting is nice and friendly.

But these two are still young, as one

can tell from the yellow circles around their eyes.

And very soon, the cuddles become rather less gentle.

An unambiguous gesture.

Enough is enough.

No problem.

One can go let off steam somewhere else

and look for adventure.

The more bustle, the merrier.

The ski circuit turns into an amusement park.

Come on.

Let's go.

It's always the same game with the bags.

As soon as you run to get it, the kea runs away.

In the meantime, real winter sports.

The camper roof as a toboggan run.

Not bad, but today there's an extra special attraction.

What a strange device.

Must take a look at that.

Amanda Greer built this thing in the snow.

She is conducting research into what keas eat,

and so she must know as accurately

as possible what they weigh.

The whole caboodle is a scale, especially made for keas.

As eyecatching as possible to arouse their curiosity,

but also as stable as possible.

Well, who'd have thought it?

Just under a kilo.

We'll return to Amanda's kea research later.

Right now, the birds are conducting their own research.

What holds the world together?

But more importantly, how can I take it apart?

Gangs of young keas are the scourage of the ski resorts.

Their beak is as versatile as a Swiss Army knife.

It can cut, press, pry open.

And it bears fruit.

A kea beak is the ideal tool to tap into new sources of food.

But that's not the only way to do it.

1,000 miles away, in the cloud forests of New Caledonia,

lives a unique species of crow.

These birds do not rely on their beaks as a tool,

rather they make tools to get to hidden food.

Like other crows, they are omnivorous,

on the lookout for fruit, nuts, and insects.

Indeed, they wouldn't turn up their beaks

at this hefty longhorn beetle.

If only they could catch the critter.

For two full years, he has gnawed his way as a larva

through the wood.

And there are more like him, gnawing away,

in the old half rotten trunk.

Longhorn beetle larvae are rich in fat and protein.

Just a couple are enough to satisfy

the crow's entire daily nutrition requirement.

So that makes the exertion worth the while.

Unfortunately, they are mostly hidden deep in the wood,

much too deep for the beak of the crow.

Very visible, but way out of reach.

What we need here is a tool.

For example, a strong leaf stalk.

But this one is too long, and above all, too bent.

Looks like all it needs is a bit of poking around.

But that would only push the larva deeper into the trunk.

No, one needs to irritate and annoy it until it bites.

That's the trick.

Well, it would have worked, if the crow had been more careful.

And it makes its ownership claim quite clear.

My larva.

Keep fishing until it bites.

A magnificent catch.

The crow knows exactly how to do it and what to use.

In New Zealand, the same game looks very different.

The keas don't need tools.

Their beak is tool enough.

They break everything down into small pieces.

And they're not about to make anyone else a present,

apart from their lifelong partner.

With them, things are shared, almost tenderly.

Half for you, half for me.

Unless one is just pretending.

What a super way to pass the time, even if the larvae have

long since being gobbled up.

Now the wood has completely disintegrated.

The fun is over.

Luckily, a new adventure floats in.

Mist.

Flying exercises in high winds with bad visibility conditions.

At the same time, an apprenticeship for young

keas in aerodynamics.

Windsurfing.

Landing backwards.

But this here is even more attractive.

Tinted glasses are meant to be good in mist, aren't they?

And apparently, highly desirable.

Back to New Caledonia, where new things are afoot.

The ornithologist Gavin Hunt is well acquainted

with the cloud forests.

For years, he has been observing birds here.

Everything seems normal, until he

makes a surprising discovery.

Strange incisions in the leaves of the pandanus tree.

Always the same pattern, always the same depth.

Gavin has a hunch.

For days, he examines the ground with a keener eye,

until he finds it, the matching part.

Looks like some kind of tool.

At the bottom, a wide handle, at the top,

a sharp tip with barbs along the edge.

With the spines of the pandanus leaf, an exact fit.

Gavin bets it's the crows.

Surely they created this.

But how can he prove it?

He decides to open a restaurant for crows in the forest.

Wood trunks with predrilled holes

in which he stows tempting portions of meat,

but too deep for a crow's beak.

Concealed in the camouflage tent, he has a bird's eye,

he hopes the clever crows will use their tools again,

in front of his very eyes.

But the guests are a long time coming.

Are they suspicious, or is it because the weather is rapidly

deteriorating?

Looks like Gavin's forest restaurant is a flop.

The keas in New Zealand are on another wavelength.

They are not at all disinclined to eating out,

not even at night.

And that causes some confusion in the famous Wobbly Kea.

Glenn is the boss here.

And the boss takes care of the cooking himself.

But now it's closing time.

Only one thing still to do-- shut everything up

for the night.

A daily ritual.

He turns off all the lights, and closes the sliding door

to the kitchen.

So far, so good.

But during the night, strange things

happen in the Wobbly Kea.

And the next morning, the clues are highly conspicuous.

A lid is lying on the kitchen floor,

and someone's been at the margarine.

Glenn sets up a surveillance camera.

He has his suspicions.

But two locked doors?

The camera lies in wait.

In the meantime, it's worth jumping back to New Caledonia,

because there is something afoot in the cloud forest of the tool

crows.

The word about the opening of Gavin's restaurant

has evidently gotten around.

The first guests arrive.

What's on the menu today?

Hm, not bad.

Only the cutlery is missing.

But in that department, the crows are in their element.

A fresh tree shoot.

Cut off the green bit.

That should do the trick.

Quick, back to the table.

But at the first attempt, it's abundantly clear.

The stick is too short.

Just an oversight.

Or is it lack of experience?

In any case, Gavin's next guest opts for a longer device.

Carefully pry out the meat.

Use the foot to push against the edge of the hole.

Seems the first bite is tasty.

OK, now for the whole piece.

But watch out!

The trunk is round, and it's rolling away.

That's the way the cookie crumbles.

The perfect probing tool needs a hook at the tip.

Ah-hah.

That's the way to do it.

It works.

Experienced crows know this, of course.

And they seem to know other things too.

Gavin holds his breath.

His super tool is also being put to use.

There's no doubt about it.

These crows are no fools when it comes to tools.

But do they really understand technology,

and cause and effect?

The question leads us to South Germany.

There are New Caledonian crows there too.

They belong to Auguste von Bayern's research station,

where the goal is to provide examples of their intelligence.

Do they think like us when it comes to technical things?

Somewhat formally, Auguste offers us a chocolate.

We must take it without lifting the apparatus.

No chance.

But our crows could do it, Auguste, claims,

and she sets them the same task.

Here you go.

Mighty exciting.

Especially because at the bottom of the tube,

instead of a chocolate, is an enticing meal worm.

But how can one get at it?

At the bottom, everything is sealed.

How about from the top?

The bottom is much too deep.

The bird seems just as baffled as us.

Somehow, a relief for us.

Auguste now gives a hint.

The bottom is actually a trap door.

Using a wire as a lever, you can trigger it open.

Although you can't tell the crow that in so many words,

it doesn't take long before it finds out for itself.

A slight pressure, and the trap door drops open.

And the crow gets the worm.

But does it understand the technical principle,

that when you exert pressure onto the bottom, it falls open?

Let's see.

Auguste removes the lever.

Now everything is as it was before, except that the crow is

a bit wiser.

The worm is lying ready.

The wire is gone, but it seems to have an idea.

It has never handled stones before.

A brilliant technical idea.

Hey, thanks for the advice.

Quickly, back to the mountains of New Zealand.

At the Wobbly Kea Restaurant, in Glenn's kitchen,

the night phantom is on the verge of being explained.

The surveillance cameras throws light on the subject.

Push it open, and squeeze through.

But Tomcat Benny certainly doesn't like margarine.

No, he's more interested in hunting mice outside.

And so the cat flap becomes a kea flap,

as if that's what he'd been expecting all along.

There's nothing standing in his way.

Open the sliding door.

And just like a regular customer,

he marches directly up to the bar

where the margerie box is sitting.

Open the lid.

No brainer, with the all-purpose beak.

And for keas, fat is a feast.

After the gluttony, he can barely

squeeze back through the door.

Indeed, a more fitting name for the Wobbly Kea

would be the Clever Kea.

And in nature, the keas also need this cleverness

to get enough to eat.

Not easy in these bleak mountains.

We have arranged to meet up with Amanda,

to accompany her on a research tour.

Together with her colleague, Raul Schwing,

she wants to document how and what

keas eat in the wilderness, far away from restaurants or ski

circuits.

But so far, not a single one has showed their face.

And to top it all, it starts raining cats and dogs.

And nobody likes rain.

Amanda's objects of research have retreated far off

into the distance.

Nevertheless, cameraman Brian has discovered

two keas on a steep slope.

It's wet and slippery there, but you can't keep a good cameraman

down.

>> I'm probably not gonna get that bird.

He's definitely not wanting us to follow him.

>> Brian wants to get close-ups of the keas.

And they seek out a place in the front row,

and get their action show.

>> Aw, fuck!

Damn.

Aw, fuck!

[CAWING]

>> As if they wanted to demonstrate that you can also

take gravity more lightly.

In the evening, all's right with the world again.

Camera and camera man only suffered minor scratches.

And because the real keas have made themselves scarce,

Amanda and Raul conjure up their own on a tent wall.

[IMITATING BIRD SOUNDS]

>> Here, look at this one.

>> The main focus of Raul's research are the calls

of the kea.

Amanda, as we already know, is interested in their diet.

>> I've discovered that they use a great deal of different types

of food.

So they're extremely selective in what they take.

They don't just eat plants, for example.

They eat the pollen of a particular type of plant,

and then they might move on and eat the roots of another.

They also eat invertebrates.

So they have a huge variety of diet.

>> And they want to experience as much of it as possible

the next morning.

Camouflage is not necessary.

Keas like colorful things, garnish and eyecatching.

Raul does his bit.

He plays special kea calls.

Hey, the action's over here.

Come on over.

[CAWING]

The keas breakfast right in front of Amanda's eyes.

Sugar food, important for their large brains,

they have learned when which berries are fully ripe.

Animal protein is underground, if you've got a nose for it.

And give it a rinse.

Over 100 vegetarian ingredients enrich the kea cuisine.

Here grass seed pastries.

Almost every day, they try out something new

or refine what they already know.

The only way to find nourishing food

in these barren surroundings is through intelligence

and the joy of tasting.

Raul gets to see it with his very own eyes, how

a kea picks flowers.

Strictly, speaking only the blossom.

And how it licks the pollen out, as if it had been listening

to Amanda yesterday evening.

Now Raul gets down to work.

Strange.

What's that man up to?

Let's take a closer look.

White loop?

Blue ribbon?

One final step.

And the young kea is in good hands, and can be ringed.

He doesn't wriggle or fight.

He just seems slightly puzzled.

The plumage is healthy and looks fine.

Blood sample for the genetic test.

And the service to science is over in a jiffy.

Without haste, let alone panic, the bird hops away.

Keas seem to enjoy variety, passing

the time wherever they are, fooling around and teasing

each other.

And in the absence of a partner, then they play with toys.

This takes strength and energy.

But here, their nutritious diet pays off.

Wonderfully tricky stoppers.

And that's how you get them open.

Pure coincidence or technical talent?

At the University of Vienna, they

are asking exactly this question.

How much technical understanding does the kea possess?

[? Jula Gaidon ?] puts the finishing touches

to the large new aviary.

It goes without saying that his keas find

it extremely exciting.

They lend a hand where they can.

And they hold on firmly to their rights, very firmly.

[SPEAKING GERMAN]

They have running water and a swimming pool

where they can do the backstroke.

And they even have their very own rubber duck.

But they immediately lose interest in all this

when Tulia comes into the aviary.

Jula's wife seems to exert a magical attraction on the keas.

Kermit is bewitched by the scent of her skin.

He sniffs at her hair.

Again and again, they rub her scent into their own feathers,

as if they want to smell like Tulia.

But let's not get too carried away.

This is a research station, after all.

And today, bowling will be investigated.

Eight crooked lanes, and the peanut is the goal.

It is out of reach, underneath the pane of glass.

Not even Raku can get at the nut, however hard he stretches.

Only the bowling balls are missing.

Somewhat slapdash at first, but then.

There's no doubt about it.

Raku aims, throws, and hits the target.

But now it gets more difficult. Jula builds a pit trap.

The balls land in the pit.

Can Raku draw conclusions from this?

Which of the two nuts will he target?

Right choice, but a narrow miss.

He has passed the test without any practice or training.

Keas understand more about technology

than was long considered possible.

And yet, despite their intelligence,

the species is endangered in New Zealand.

There may still be a couple of thousand of them.

No one knows exactly.

They change their territory too often,

and their breeding caves become inaccessible.

Corey Mohsen is a ranger, and constantly

on the move through the wilderness.

On behalf of the Department of Conservation,

he undertakes a kind of kea count.

He checks in their breeding caves

how many chicks they have.

He is not claustrophobic.

The narrower, the better.

Caves like this were once completely safe for keas.

There were no predators on the ground.

Today is different, as Corey is about to find out.

Now he holds back.

He has heard something.

A kea mother with two chicks.

They are 10 days old, feeding from beak to beak.

Now the other one, so that neither misses out.

For what goes in, must come out.

They are raised for three months, completely cut off

from the outside world.

There's still time for another detour

to New Caledonia at last, to the wise crows.

They are also social animals, and everyone in the group

knows the value of a good tool.

You don't just go giving it away, even under pressure.

If you want to fish, it's best to make your own rod,

even if it takes a bit of effort.

And everyone should have learned how to use it--

annoy the maggots until it bites.

But to reach Gavin's [INAUDIBLE] rations, barbs are required.

Until the meat is hanging on a hook.

A hand-made poking device.

But there was more in their tool box.

The top tool that Gavin encountered was--

will he finally see what it can be used for,

and how it is made?

The crow in the pandanus tree is obviously

looking for food, quite unspectacular.

But then, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world,

it chooses a leaf and sets about producing our mysterious tool.

First, it rips off a thin strip.

This is the tip.

Slightly wider, the middle piece.

And now the wide, comfortable handle.

perfect.

A tool tailor made to get in between the dense pandanus

leaves, to wheedle out small snails or worms.

Gavin can hardly believe his eyes.

It's as if the crow wanted to put on a special show for him,

confident and well-thought-out.

But doesn't really understand how a tool works?

The crows in Bavarian exile deliver a convincing answer.

This log arouses their interest, because Auguste has placed

special sandwiches in it.

Mealworms in pistachio shells.

Could pay off.

There are also tools, skewers with flexible ends,

like pipe cleaners.

How mean.

It is the wrong tool.

Completely unsuitable.

Even though Agaios manages to maneuver the nut upwards

with great skill, there's no way it

will make it past this corner.

No chance.

Or is there?

It might work like this.

Brilliant!

Two at once.

Oops.

Back down to one again.

But he definitely understands tools.

Back to the wilderness, to the keas and their problems.

Corey is still going from cave to cave,

but today is not a good day.

Man introduced predators, such as weasels or possums

to New Zealand.

They turned this root cave into a deadly trap.

A dead female kea.

Corey will examine it later for bites and blood traces.

The brood was killed.

No one knows what drama played out here.

Or do they?

A security camera was mounted on the cave wall.

One can't make much out.

Shadowy outlines of the chicks.

Then, from below, a predator, a stoat.

Panic in the dark cave.

The predator bites into the throats of the chicks.

Martins were introduced from England because of the rabbit

plague.

Australian possums for their soft hide.

Now they threaten to exterminate the keas.

What can be done?

Martin Genet works for the government,

for the Department of Conservation.

He is part of a kind of kea rescue squad.

He gets dropped off in the middle of the wilderness.

Now he's alone with himself and his mission.

His goal is to help the keas and deplete their enemies,

with the help of egg cartons and the martin

traps which he sets all around.

These traps work like a mouse trap, a narrow entrance

for the predators, and inside a tempting chicken egg.

But getting to it is fatal.

The animal must cross a metal plate.

And that releases the cocked clamp.

In one fell swoop, the predators perish without suffering.

Martin checks and replaces the bait eggs.

He has been doing the job for a long time,

and initially it was the keas themselves

which thwarted his success.

Out of pure pleasure in experimentation,

they managed time and again to disarm the traps.

Even though the traps weigh more than 9 kilos.

And that's how they got their pure protein food.

The traps had to be anchored or made heavier.

Thicker wood was necessary, longer screws,

and the metal grid had to be reinforced until the traps were

finally kea-proof.

But now Martin can't believe his eyes.

This trap is untouched, or so it seems.

Nevertheless, it has gone off.

And between the eggshells are twigs.

Did the keas do this too?

Did they deliberately stick twigs

through the mesh to set the trap off?

Hardly likely.

Their beaks are far too crooked.

But there is circumstantial evidence.

Here, twigs have been broken off.

Nearby, martin finds a kea feather.

And most importantly, he finds more traps with sticks.

Do keas also use tools, like New Caledonian crows?

It would be a scientific sensation.

Perhaps the keas in Vienna may shed some light on the subject.

However, right now they are busy doing

the gardening for the aviary.

But that doesn't stop them playing their games.

But now the time has come for them

to participate in a new comparison test.

Keas versus crows.

The rules are simple.

In the cube is a peanut.

All you've got to do is get it out of there.

This can be done from any side of the cube, but for each side,

one needs a different trick.

On this side, you have to open a little door.

On the next side, there is a hole through which

you can poke and so on.

Each bird can choose where it wants to start.

This side seems the easiest, because the nut is simply

attached to a string which one can grab from the outside

and pull the knot out.

It's time to start.

Alice [INAUDIBLE] will carry out the test.

And she sends the clever Kermit into the competition.

As expected, he chooses the string first, and pulls.

500 kilometers away, Auguste von Bayern

carries out the same test with her crows,

a kind of long distance jewel.

The only difference-- instead of a nut, there's a meal worm.

Jungle the crow also opts for the string.

That seems the easiest for Jungle.

1-1, child's play for both of them.

The next round will be more difficult.

The string has been removed.

Another solution must be found.

Kermit takes a look.

Then he discovers the door on one side.

He must be brave to stick his head inside.

Just open it a bit wider.

Hey, presto.

Kermit goes into the lead.

And because he is on a run, he looks for the next solution

straightaway.

Knock the peanut down with the ball.

Wouldn't that be fantastic?

Unfortunately, it is the wrong hole.

And out of sheer frustration, he starts

to push the whole apparatus, and gives it a really good shaking.

This obviously breaks the rules, although it did actually

achieve the goal.

But the point is not awarded, and another attempt

is ruled out.

Straight back to Jungle the crow,

because he has also discovered the hole in the sidewall.

And this tool crow knows exactly what to do.

A stick will do the trick.

Both have twice found the right solution.

All square.

But now Kermit locates the correct inlet for the ball.

The spout leads to the nut.

Just have to shove the darn thing in.

A nudge with his tongue, and he goes back into the lead.

3-2.

Kermit senses victory.

He only needs to manage to do what the crow found so easy--

push the stick through the hole.

His beak may be bent, but his footwork is dazzling.

The first evidence that keas can also systematically handle

sticks.

Pity that this hole is blocked.

Only the string works here.

Try as he might, nothing else will crack it.

Swiftly back to Jungle the crow, who

has also now discovered the spout which leads directly

to the worms.

The ball's just the right thing.

Awesome.

Neck and neck, 3-3.

They both have just one more task.

The crow must open the door, swivel it to the side.

No mean feat, if you've never opened a door before.

The door is open.

But put my head in there?

Me?

You've got to be kidding.

Kermit is still wrestling with his stick.

For him, this is the greatest challenge of them all.

It's the right opening, but now the stick is jammed.

Drat.

Alice feels for him.

Kermit's bad luck gives Jungle the chance to prevail.

And sure enough, he pulls it off without even putting his head

at risk.

But right at that moment, Kermit also finally succeeds.

Neither of them gave an inch.

Einsteins of the bird population.

Where does this amazing intelligence come from?

Why are keas so smart?

Not to mention New Caledonian crows?

For a start, they are social animals.

They live like us, in groups and families.

And for that, intelligence is required.

One must constantly reckon with the others.

One must maintain one's position.

One must keep on one's toes, and be ready for surprise attacks.

Keas can be quite rambunctious, but social intelligence

is also essential here.

It's about making the right friends,

and nurturing friendships.

One needs to find partners to play with, enjoy a bit of rough

and tumble without hurting each other.

Now and then, invent new alternatives.

And always go along with what the partner wants.

Without intelligence, that would hardly be possible.

But there's another crucial element.

Just like us, these birds have an unusually long childhood.

And that means time to learn, to train the mind, and to develop.

Right from the outset, from their time in the cave.

Games with sticks.

It's no different for the young crows in the cloud forest.

They learn and practice for an unusually long time, almost

two years to do things like that old crow does.

First watch how mother does it.

She willingly leaves them the poking stick.

A probing look.

The next generation seems interested and eager to learn.

Only their stamina leaves something to be desired.

Hardly has the mother flown away,

and the stick is discarded.

This young bird has found a pandanus tool.

However, if you hold it the wrong way around,

with the wide handle down, it won't get you very far.

On the contrary, the tip causes problems.

So things can also go wrong for young crows.

This one has yet to learn, for example,

that not everything that fits in the beak

is also good for poking.

No, that's not the way to do it.

Young keas also have to learn from scratch, what you can eat

and what not, what drinks taste good and which ones do not.

how snow feels and what you can do with it, and so on.

They are crazy about anything new,

and every experience trains their mind.

They even test our mini-camera.

>> They make me laugh all the time.

But mostly I'm just fascinated by watching them.

They're always doing something different.

They're always exploring and trying

to see what happens if they do this.

And in some way, that's inspiring.

They're like little scientists when

they're exploring and doing all their different experiments,

if you like.

>> Their amazing desire to learn and explore is the key

to their intelligence.

They want to find out how things are connected and interact

with each other, and how they can

use this for their own benefit.

In that respect, they're almost irritatingly similar

to us, the high flyers from the other side of the world.