Original subtitles

Few forests on the planet are as special as this one,

in Uganda, East Africa.

This is the home of a chimpanzee called Poppy...

whose life is just about to turn...

...upside down.

She’s already got her hands full...

...with five-year-old Stella.

But now, growing inside her is a new baby.

From the very first milestones,

in the intimacy of the womb...

to her first moments...

in the big, wide world.

See the unique relationship

between mother and baby... develop like never before.

With mom’s help, this tiny baby called Willow

is about to face the joys and challenges

of Growing Up Animal.

Poppy’s forest lies in the far west of tropical Uganda.

She is a 20-year-old mother.

In chimp years, Poppy's still young.

Her constant companion is five-year-old daughter, Stella,

who can’t yet take care of herself.

But Stella’s not the only reason

Poppy is so tired.

That’s because of a special secret she hides from the rest of the family...

Poppy is pregnant.

A new, tiny life grows inside her.

This is Willow.

Willow’s doing really well,

but she’s only three months into an eight-month term.

It'll be a while before she gets to meet her mom.

While her pregnancy is slowing Poppy down...

...little Stella’s still full of energy...

and every five-year-old loves playtime.

Surrounding Stella and Poppy is the rest of the family.

A big community of aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Through sheer hard work,

Poppy’s managed to get daughter Stella through infancy,

the most difficult time in a chimp’s life.

But now, another challenge is coming for Poppy to deal with.

The season is changing.

Many of the trees have stopped bearing fruit,

so the family will need to search much further to find food.

And with Poppy’s baby growing inside her,

she’s going to need to work extra hard to make sure she thrives.

But Poppy and Stella aren’t facing the difficult times alone.

This is Noah.

Twenty years old and head of this family...

and most likely Willow’s father.

His job is to protect the family, even from themselves.

Some chimps are constantly struggling for power.

But Noah knows how to restore the peace...

and keep the family together.

He’s strong, but also smart.

And that’s what mom-to-be Poppy and Stella need right now.

Chimps can usually depend

on more than 100 plant species to meet their needs.

But with the change of season, there’s much less available to eat.

Yet, there’s one special type of tree that could be their salvation...

the fig.

When the others shut up shop... fig trees keep fruiting.

The trouble is, in this giant wilderness,

fruiting figs are few and far between

and so the hunt for food is on.

If anyone can find a fig tree, it’s Noah.

After two decades in this forest, there’s not an inch of it he doesn’t know.

But darkness is coming.

They may be hungry, but it’s time to call it a day.

Leopards and elephants come out at night.

The family must get off the ground.

Even though she’s pregnant,

Poppy’s nightly ritual is to build a nest,

to keep herself and her daughter safe as they sleep.

Stella needs to learn, too.

The dexterity and skill required takes years to master.

Not quite there yet.

Nest finished,

they can settle down and dream of better days ahead.

Inside Poppy, the miracle of new life is unfolding.

Willow’s just 13 weeks old,

but her tiny heart is already beating strong...

and her mouth, stomach, and intestines have also formed.

Even with these developments,

Willow’s still totally dependent on her mother for everything,

connected by her umbilical cord.

Through it flows Poppy’s blood, rich in oxygen and nutrients.

This precious lifeline keeps Willow alive and growing.

Finding a fig tree that hasn’t been picked clean

is taking longer than usual.

With the demands of looking after daughter Stella, and her pregnancy,

Poppy’s really tired now.

Willow’s growing so fast,

Poppy now needs nearly 300 calories extra every day.

She must find enough food to keep Willow healthy inside her.

They’re surviving by eating leaves.

But compared to fruits, they’re low in energy-giving sugars.

She needs more calories soon.

They’ve been walking for miles.

Some of the chimps give up the search...

but not the leader, Noah.

And his efforts pay off.

A giant tree...

bursting with life-saving fruit!

The family can eat its fill.

Poppy doesn’t waste a minute.

Willow’s growth depends on her.

Even at 13 weeks,

Willow‘s already developing her most important features,

her hands.

Her tiny fingers are forming.

She can even gently flex them.

For chimps, hands are especially important.

They’re like a multi-tool.

Knuckles have to be tough enough to walk on for miles.

Fingers need to be immensely strong for climbing,

but at the same time also dexterous,

capable of delicate grooming,

or selecting food.

Willow’s growing hands are in some ways so very close to ours,

but at this stage, we can now see an important difference.

Her thumbs.

They’re much smaller, and set further back than ours.

You’d think this would be a huge handicap, but it’s a vital difference.

If Willow had a thumb as big as ours,

it would get in the way.

And that’s dangerous when you're swinging one hundred feet above the forest floor.

It’s not just our baby Willow who’s starting out in life.

All over the forest,

this year’s other youngsters are sharpening their skills, too.

Red Colobus monkey infants,

with energy to burn.

Over the last weeks, Willow's nervous system

has been developing fast.

She’s discovered the sensation of touch.

At seven to eight weeks, it was her lips.

Next, it was her forehead.

And then her cheeks.

Finally, her tiny hands have become sensitive,

and she's beginning to reach out.

Just like a human baby,

Willow's umbilical cord becomes her first toy.

And she's also working out.

This early exercise helps her bones and muscles to develop properly.

The group has now been in the fig grove

for nearly a month.

The worries of the dry season are long behind them.

This is family time.

Lately, Poppy and Noah are spending more time together

getting cozy and up close.

Grooming each other is a vital part of being a chimp.

While daughter Stella is happy to play with friends...

Poppy searches for bugs in Noah's tricky-to-reach places.

But grooming is way more than that.

This physical touch forges bonds and long-term loyalties.

Chimp society is intricate, like ours.

Grooming Noah is a reminder from Poppy they’re a team.

Down the line, she may need his help and protection.

And possibly sooner than she thinks.

Someone is watching.

This is Cyrus.

Although part of the family, he’s a bully and Noah's rival...

five years younger, he's pushing for a chance to rule.

Chimps can live up to 60 in the wild

and their arguments can last for years.

For Poppy and her daughters, this might mean trouble.

A full-on fight between a challenger and an alpha male...

could spiral out of control.

Cyrus is clever.

He’s trying to win over the rest of the family.

Playing with impressionable young chimps

might look fun, but Cyrus is not a friendly uncle.

He’s recruiting followers, showing them what a great leader he’d make.

But Noah is wise to this game.

This cannot be tolerated.

Noah chases Cyrus into the trees.

Half climbing, half falling...

Cyrus escapes by the skin of his teeth.

Noah has made his point,

but it’s unlikely to end here.

The brewing leadership battle

could make life very difficult for Poppy and her unborn baby.

Days in the fig grove race by.

It’s been several weeks since Noah put an end to Cyrus’s bullying.

Tensions have subsided.

Everyone is relaxed and enjoying the peace and quiet.

It’s been a tough time for Poppy as her pregnancy nears its end.

But being the great mom she is, she’s managed to find enough food

to keep Willow’s progress on track.

Thirty weeks gone, and she’s grown so, so much.

Willow’s pretty cramped now.

By this point,

her brain and nervous system have reached a special milestone.

Willow can now recognize her own body.

She knows where her limbs start and end.

And another new discovery.

Sucking her thumb.

As her tongue is especially sensitive, rich in nerve endings,

Willow can use it to learn about shapes and textures.

Just like human babies,

she’ll continue to do this outside the womb.

Willow’s doing just fine,

but Poppy’s totally exhausted, like any mom-to-be.

Willow’s growth spurt inside her womb has drained her.

And the extra weight is making moving around difficult.

Her heart is now pumping much more blood than normal.

Lying down helps to reduce pressure on her pelvis.

Until now, life’s been pretty normal for daughter Stella...

but she’s begun to notice the change in her mother.

She doesn’t understand why Poppy’s so tired.

It’s all so confusing.

She has no idea that from now on, her life will change forever.

As the seasons change, Poppy has come to an important decision.

It’s time to leave the group.

Most pregnant females take this drastic step

to ensure their newborns are kept away from chimps with grudges.

Quietly, she and Stella slip deeper into the forest.

Poppy’s found a fig tree.

There’s just enough for two.

Stella goes exploring.

But above her in the canopy...

Poppy gets right down to building a nest.

This one’s bigger and more sturdy than her usual bed of branches.

There’s a good reason.

After eight long months, Poppy is ready to give birth.

After 35 weeks in the womb, Willow is now ready to enter the world.

She’s releasing hormones into her mother’s bloodstream,

triggering labor.

It’s begun.

During the night, a miraculous event occurred.

There’s a fragile new arrival,

only a few hours old.

After nearly eight months,

Willow finally gets to meet her mom.

She weighs in at just over four pounds.

In the rainforest,

witnessing a baby this young is almost unheard of.

New mothers are usually far more secretive.

Stella’s not sure

about her new sister.

She hangs back, just watching for now.

Despite just giving birth, Poppy can’t rest.

She’s a working mom with two mouths to feed.

Instinctively, Willow grips on.

For the next month or so, she’ll be glued to mom.

Never losing contact with her body.

Just like us, Willow’s all-important first meal...

is her mother’s milk.

It contains the colostrum, a thick, concentrated fluid,

rich in nutrients and antibodies to fight off infection.

Tiny Willow just needs a bit of help.

The act of nursing itself

sends hormones surging through Poppy’s body...

building the strongest bond of all,

between a mother and her baby.

It’s been over a week since Willow’s birth.

Every second of Poppy’s time's

devoted to caring for the little one.

Big sister Stella’s not sure where she fits in.

But she takes it upon herself to find breakfast.

Poppy follows behind.

With her hands now full with Willow,

she’s only too happy for Stella to take the lead.

Despite being only five years old,

she’s found a glut of juicy figs.

A meal that will set them up for the day.

Most new mothers spend months

on their own with a new baby.

But Poppy’s eager to get back to the family.

Poppy and the new arrival will be the center of attention.

But there’s one member of the family she wants to see first...

Noah.

Looks like they’ve missed each other.

Noah is welcoming to both Poppy and new baby Willow.

Willow becomes the youngest member of the team.

While the couple make up for lost time...

...older sister Stella is overjoyed to be back with her playmates.

In some ways, it’s like they never left.

But something’s not right.

Poppy’s on edge. She’s nervous.

Not all members of the family

are happy to see them.

It’s Cyrus. As always, looking for trouble.

A new mom and baby might make an easy target.

Noah is most likely the father of the group's infants.

It’s a constant reminder for Cyrus. He’s not in charge.

If he can take over the leadership...

he’ll have a chance to father his own generation of young.

Poppy will need to keep Noah close,

and a watchful eye on the bully Cyrus.

Now two months old,

Willow’s development is progressing at an incredible speed.

She’s become stronger...

and is starting to take in the world around her.

Poppy is spending her days hanging out with the other new mothers.

Here, they can rest and relax.

And Willow can meet another new arrival.

But the rest for Poppy doesn’t last long.

For both chimps and humans,

nursing is the most energetically demanding part of reproduction.

The first two years are peak growth for Willow...

and that means constant feeding.

At this age, her tiny stomach is smaller than a walnut.

Time between meals is short, often only an hour.

But mothers still manage to fit in a bit of "me" time.

For Willow, this is a chance

to make friendships that could last for decades.

Their young brains are growing rapidly.

Willow’s like a sponge...

taking everything in.

Her eyes focus best on objects two feet away,

more than twice the distance of a human baby her age.

Every sight, sound, and smell

triggers the growth of connections in her brain.

The more Willow interacts with the world, the smarter she gets.

Her ears are now large and prominent.

They’re important, as chimps rely on a range of calls

to communicate through the dense rainforest.

It’s a world away from the politics of the group

and the power struggle between Noah and Cyrus...

or so they think.

But Cyrus has found the moms.

He’s here to cause trouble.

The mothers protect their babies bravely...

before taking to the safety of the trees.

After causing chaos, Cyrus retreats to the forest,

leaving them in peace... for now.

As the season moves on...

the air begins to freshen.

The rain coaxes more trees into fruit.

Food is now in abundance.

For Poppy, Stella, and the family, this is great news.

Especially for Willow.

The coming months are going to be important for her.

Ahead are milestones that will be key to her future.

As weeks pass, five-year-old Stella

is growing up so fast...

becoming more like her mother by the day.

She’s even practicing her grooming skills.

And keeping Poppy free of unwanted bugs.

While mom and her oldest are preoccupied,

baby Willow, now five months old,

grabs the opportunity to try something new.

It’s her very first adventure alone.

Her coordination has significantly improved.

She can now make smooth, decisive movements

that are critical for safe climbing.

Willow’s way ahead of a human baby now.

It’ll be months before they’re even crawling.

From this point on, there’s no stopping her.

Poppy’s still keeping a close eye on her,

ready to rescue Willow if she gets stuck.

Looks like she’s got this, though.

That’s enough.

A brief, but important journey.

The first of many to come.

With the help of Poppy,

the passing months have seen Willow develop and flourish.

But the same can’t be said of the relationship between Noah...

...and his rival, Cyrus.

Things are finally coming to a head.

Poppy and the rest of the troop can feel it.

With the backing of his gang,

Cyrus launches a takeover bid.

The attackers lash out at anyone in their way.

Luckily for Poppy, they direct their anger at Noah.

It’s chaos as the males pile in.

Noah fights back, putting on a terrifying display.

Most of the males think better of it.

But not Cyrus.

For him, this is personal.

The winner emerges...

...and it’s Noah!

Poppy can breathe a sigh of relief.

They’re safe.

Six months old.

It’s been a tough journey to get here, but Willow’s made it.

Growing up animal hasn’t been easy.

From her early weeks in the womb...

to her first, helpless days outside.

A difficult start and dangerous power struggle

could have pushed her off track...

...but with the help of her mother, she came through.

Now, Willow has all the tools she needs

to become an indispensable member of the family...

and a beacon of hope for her species.

But today, she can just enjoy a carefree life...

all under the watchful eye of her amazing mom, Poppy.