Master Minds Monkey Planet

'You and I belong to an extraordinary family.

'A family of hundreds of bizarre,

'colourful

'and characterful animals...'

You are a clever monkey.

'..who lead fascinating and dramatic lives...

'..all over the world.

'We, that is monkeys, lemurs and apes, are all primates.

'And I want to introduce you to this amazing animal family...'

Oh, he's licking me eyeball. Oh!

'..To meet some relatives you never even knew you had.'

We primates have many things in common

and one key feature we share is that we're all pretty smart.

Here in Thailand, this band of long-tailed macaques show

just how clever monkeys can be.

These monkeys have used their intelligence to conquer the city...

..swapping the wilds of the forest for the urban jungle.

It's a world full of new opportunities and new challenges.

And the monkeys have some ingenious adaptations to their new home.

These macaques have a great life.

They live in an ancient temple where they're safe

and every year the humans throw a party for them

and it's the biggest monkey party in the world!

The monkeys are quick to take advantage of the feast.

I don't think I've seen anything quite like this in my whole life.

Good, isn't it?

For any primate, this is a feast of epic proportions.

There's something like three tonnes of fruit and vegetables

up for grabs here in a single day.

It's just quite unique.

They experiment with anything that could be food.

I've never seen such a mess ever.

It's like a teenager sleepover!

'They've learnt to do things their wild cousins would never

'need to do, but their unusual behaviour doesn't end there.'

These monkeys also like to steal hair.

And they use it as dental floss.

This is quite a unique experience for me.

I've got a macaque on my shoulder flossing its teeth.

You couldn't make this up.

There's a couple of theories as to why they floss their teeth.

One is that it keeps their teeth clean

and they get extra bits of food, but I think it's just because,

if you've got something stuck in your teeth, it's really irritating.

It takes great initiative to work out how to floss,

and some get the hang of it quicker than others.

Ow.

They're pulling my hair out. I mean, I'll have no hair left at this rate!

Ooh!

A very bizarre diet

has forced these clever monkeys to think outside the box.

For centuries, it was thought that we humans were superior to all other

beings and that animals were driven purely by the necessity to survive.

But, by being able to solve problems, these monkeys

show that they can be two steps ahead all the time.

In fact, we're discovering more and more examples

of extraordinary primate intelligence.

So just how clever are they?

Well, one sign of real intelligence is being prepared to take risks...

..and seize opportunities.

BICYCLE BELL RINGS

And on the coast of East Africa is a monkey that does both.

They're colourful, cunning

and occasionally criminal.

Zanzibar red colobus monkeys

usually hang out in the forests and mangroves along the shore.

They love the leaves of mango and Indian almond trees.

Though they can't eat too much

as the leaves contain high levels of toxins.

These trees were brought to the island hundreds of years ago

by spice traders and planted in the villages where they settled.

But that's not the only attraction the village has to offer.

The monkeys are launching a daring raid.

It's not the local cuisine that's tempted the monkeys.

It's charcoal.

But why steal such a strange delicacy?

SHOUTING

Charcoal absorbs poison.

It's the perfect antidote to the toxins in the leaves

that the monkeys love to eat.

'Just like the temple macaques,

'the colobus have spotted an opportunity to solve

'one of life's little problems.

'Problem solving is a clear sign of intelligence

'and there are plenty of problems to solve.'

There's one problem most primates face

and it's not anything to do with food. It's more to do with

the hot, humid environments in which they live.

We all hate mosquitoes and even monkeys aren't immune to them.

MOSQUITOES WHINE

For these white-faced capuchins in Costa Rica, there is no escape.

Mosquitoes drive them mad

and a single bite

could carry disease.

But the capuchins have discovered

an ingenious way to protect themselves.

They lather themselves in the sticky sap of a guapinol tree.

It's nature's own answer to insect repellent.

Usually, capuchins are fairly quarrelsome

and would never get so close but, in the writhing mass,

they are able to cover all the hard-to-reach spots.

The monkeys are finally able to get a bit of well-earned rest.

They've worked out that the tree sap keeps the mosquitoes away.

'Understanding cause and effect is another sign of an agile mind.

'It means you can manipulate the world around you

'to your own benefit.

'Here in coastal Thailand live some rather special monkeys,

'who have become masters of this art.

'These long-tailed macaques have embraced the beach lifestyle.

'Although it looks idyllic, food is hard to come by on these islands.

'But twice a day, for a few hours,

'a shoreline littered with a seafood buffet is revealed.

'Great food if you can get in to it.'

I'm amazed this is happening so close to me.

Tool use in apes is very common, of course,

and we are the prime tool users

but in monkeys this is very unusual indeed.

'The trick to opening these oysters is having the right

'tool for the job, and the beach is covered in a ready-made tool kit.'

Whatever they use, they use it very dexterously.

I haven't seen one of them hit their thumb yet.

Different shellfish require not only different tools,

but also different techniques.

Sometimes hammering is most efficient.

Other times, two hands are better than one.

It all looks quite easy.

Here's a cockle.

There's a nice anvil stone here, and now I'm going to just...

Eh.

Well, actually, I was going to eat that!

Just 60 years ago,

we believed that humans were the only primates to use tools.

Now we know that other primates have been using tools

for thousands of years.

It's that leap between taking a shellfish and banging it on a rock

to putting it on the surface of the rock

and then hitting it with a stone.

That's the real intellectual leap, if you like, and these macaques

have made that leap and they are now reaping the rewards.

Although some need a little more practice than others.

Using tools means they have regular access to a high-quality diet

and this means they can spend less time foraging

and more time relaxing.

Using tools gets these monkeys a great meal.

But there's one bizarre example of manipulation, which science is

still struggling to understand.

No creature in their right mind

would go near a poisonous giant millipede.

But these lemurs in Madagascar can't get enough of them.

They're not trying to eat them.

They're just trying to irritate them.

The millipedes secrete a hideous cocktail of chemicals

in self-defence.

What the lemurs do next is even more of a mystery.

They rub the poison all over their fur.

No-one knows why they do this.

It could be medicinal, an insect repellent,

or even a perfume to attract a mate.

Although one thing is for certain.

This toxic chemical goo makes the lemurs, well,

slightly intoxicated.

We still have a lot to learn about our primate cousins.

And the ability to learn is another key foundation for intelligence.

Primates have some of the longest childhoods in the animal kingdom,

allowing the time they need to try things out.

And the first thing they need to know is

what is and what's not good to eat.

Take this seed pod, for instance.

The pulp is edible but the seeds are not.

And, for any young primate,

finding out which is which can be a very steep learning curve indeed.

I hope I got that the right way round.

These young mountain gorillas

have to learn how to eat over 60 different foods.

They learn by watching the adults,

and, with a large extended family, they have lots of role models.

Not everything is easy to eat.

Gallium, in particular, is a bit tricky.

It sticks to everything, just like Velcro, including your throat.

But by wrapping up the sticky bits on the inside, it slips down easily.

It's an important lesson.

But these youngsters are having problems focusing...

..and now they're paying the price.

RETCHING

YOUNG GORILLA RETCHES

Sometimes in life, you just have to learn the hard way.

THUNDER BOOMS

LOW GROWL

Orang-utans have the longest childhood of all non-human primates,

spending up to ten years with just one teacher...

..their mother.

This bond between mother and child is crucial.

They have a vast amount to learn.

A mind map of hundreds of different foods

and a calendar of when they fruit.

Even how to build an umbrella.

But what if your mother is taken away from you?

'Here in Sumatra, in the middle of the rainforest, is a school.

'For the pupils here, a good education

'can mean the difference between life and death.'

All the students are orphaned orang-utans.

Their mothers were killed by hunters or loggers

and they were sold as pets.

It may seem odd to have orang-utans in a caged environment but this

is an essential first step on them being re-introduced to the wild.

When their mums were killed, they lost the library of information,

the wealth of expertise on which they would have depended.

Without their mums, they won't survive.

We have to show them how to survive, how to find food,

how to move in the forest.

It seems bizarre but this is essential for a species

which is on the very brink of extinction.

'This is Dora.

'She's four years old

'and is learning how to be an orang-utan from scratch.'

Right, it's off to school for you, my girl.

You've got to pay attention in class, watch what people are doing.

'Just like the gorillas, one of the most important lessons

'is what and how to eat.'

A wild orang-utan will mainly eat fruits

but at times when there aren't any fruits,

they need to fall back on food like termites,

which is very rich in protein.

And if you've never seen a termite nest before,

you have to be shown what to do.

So you break it open and you suck the termites out.

And that's a very rich source of food.

Perfect!

She did it exactly right.

You, Dora, are a model pupil.

Now, this one here is a very nasty spiny climbing vine called

rattan and it's pretty horrible but you can eat

the bit in the middle at the base.

And if you show them how to do it...

Look at this.

Look at that.

She's watching, she's paying attention,

she's doing exactly what's she's shown

and that is really important for her future.

As well as learning what to eat,

these orphans need to get used to living and moving in the trees.

'Their teachers constantly check their progress.'

-They're very naughty sometimes.

-Like teenagers.

-Uh-huh.

They'll also get marked on their foraging abilities.

Oh, he's eating the fruit. Oh, great.

Remembering everything they have learnt in class

shows just how clever they are.

Intelligence is based on memories - it's the brain's filing system.

'But for some, like Julius here,

'it takes a little longer to get the hang of things.'

Oh, Julius, what are you doing?

You are supposed to be up a tree.

You're supposed to be up a tree, you silly boy! Come here.

No, that's... No, no.

You're very nice, but listen.

HE LAUGHS

Stop! Ah!

Oh, he's licking my eyeball! Ah!

Look, this is graduate school.

You're supposed to be going up there.

Go on. You're supposed to be going up the tree. Go on.

Well, I've never had my eyeball sucked by an orang-utan before.

Go on, up you go.

I think this one

is going to need a few more hours in class

before he's ready to go.

It's hard to believe that, not that long ago, this orang-utan

was in somebody's front room, caged, as a pet, being fed on the ground

and now, after a bit of training, they're up in the trees,

where they belong, being real wild orang-utans.

While Julius and his friends are learning how to be wild again,

on the neighbouring island of Borneo is an orang-utan

who lives near people and learns from them too.

This is Siswi.

Although she learnt the essentials from her mother,

she has also picked up a few tips from humans.

That's fantastic. That is art.

I've seen worse hanging in the Tate.

Above all else, Siswi is renowned for her creative thinking.

She's always watching...

..always learning...

..even going incognito occasionally.

'And she's been observing me closely all morning,

'going in and out of the supplies shed.'

Siswi has never been shown what to do,

she's taken her own initiative to imitate those around her.

'She's been able to reconstruct my actions from her own perspective

'and understands the results of her actions.'

That is incredible.

She knows exactly what she's doing.

Very impressive.

What would be more impressive is if she closed the door after her.

Orang-utans like Siswi

are able to solve their own problems by watching others.

This kind of imitation requires a high degree of abstract thought

and it's something that very few species have been able to achieve.

The ability to learn is fundamental to an intelligent mind.

Chimpanzees all over Africa are expert problem-solvers

and pass this knowledge on to their young.

But when faced with the same conundrum,

they don't always come up with the same solution.

'To show you exactly what I mean, we've set up an experiment

'with two communities of chimpanzees

'living in forests in Uganda,

'180km apart.'

One in Kibale, the other in Budongo.

In Kibale lives Tuke -

an inquisitive teenager.

In Budongo is Klauce -

a boisterous youngster.

'Both these chimps absolutely love honey,

'so we've set them a challenge.'

Now what we've done is, underneath this old piece of honeycomb,

we've drilled a hole in a log

and we've filled it up with liquid honey

and that's something that sweet-toothed chimpanzees

just won't be able to resist.

The challenge for both is how to extract the honey.

Both communities of chimpanzees live in the same type of environment.

And both have been left a log filled with honey...

..just out of their fingers' reach.

Tuke immediately picks up a stick...

..and uses it as a makeshift honey dipper.

SCREECHING

Whereas Klauce takes a different approach.

He makes a sponge out of leaves.

But these aren't solutions they've just come up with.

For Tuke, using a stick is a tried and tested method

that everyone in his family uses.

And for Klauce, leaf sponging is something

he learnt from the rest of his family too.

Two different ways to get the same result.

In both sites, once one chimp worked out a solution,

they all learnt how to do it the same way.

These family traditions are the beginnings

of what we know as culture.

Think about the way people eat.

In the West, we use a fork and knife.

In the East, we use chopsticks.

Different means to the same end.

SCREECHING

It's inherently smart

to be able to pass on information through generations.

But intelligence, as some humans see it, isn't just about being smart.

Some scientists believe

it's about being able to have emotion and express it.

But to do this, you have to have at least a little sense of who you are.

When I look in the mirror, sometimes I get a shock,

but I always know it's me.

This may seem obvious to you, but there's actually only a handful

of species in the world that are capable of recognising themselves.

Recognising yourself is by no means a given in the primate world.

Some don't even bother with their reflection.

Some think it's a rival.

And for the odd one, a mirror is just a souvenir.

Knowing that you're looking at your own reflection

means you're self-aware.

It implies you're conscious of who you are.

CHATTERING

So, let's see how the chimps do.

And I think I've found some willing volunteers.

Ah!

Look at the mirror. Come on. There.

Look. Who's that?

HE LAUGHS

Right, one at a time, please. Right.

'These chimpanzees live in a sanctuary in East Africa,

'and this is the first time they've seen their own reflection.'

No, there's nothing behind it.

She's a little bit confused.

It's as if she thinks there's a chimpanzee behind the mirror.

It's only me.

'To recognise your own reflection takes a large

'amount of intellect and chimpanzees have been

'scientifically proven to have a sense of self.'

It's great.

She really is looking at herself very intently indeed.

She's just looking at every detail of her face.

That's you.

Oh!

Well, there are always problems with experiments

and Sara has now taken the mirror off me

and is now halfway up a tree with the mirror.

Come on.

HE GRUNTS

Sara, come on. Mirror.

HE WHISTLES

CHATTERING

A sense of self is something that, for decades, we thought was

uniquely human - the foundation of emotional intelligence.

Now we know we're not alone.

Take these rhesus macaques in India, for instance.

It is 40 degrees in the shade...

..and they're desperately trying to escape from the heat.

SQUEALING

The humans have a huge pool to cool off in.

But the monkeys aren't welcome.

It might not be as luxurious,

but they have found themselves a cattle trough.

However, these monkeys are not just interested in keeping cool.

They are adrenaline junkies.

They're not doing this simply to cool down.

They're dive-bombing, it appears,

purely for the fun of it.

This implies a fascinating side to their intelligence.

THEY SCREECH

Having fun, suggests individuality,

personality

and a whole range of faculties that go beyond basic instinct...

..and means you may even be capable of feelings.

SQUEALING

LEMUR WHINES

LEMUR WHINES

Many primates seem to experience emotions

that we would all recognise, such as love and despair.

Like this mother for her sick child.

And also grief for the death of a loved one.

This mother carried her dead baby for five days.

This young orphaned bonobo is all alone,

with no mother to protect him.

He's been bitten on the hand by a member of the troop.

They have injured him and cast him aside.

But another youngster appears to feel his pain

and tries to comfort him.

Empathy, understanding the feelings of others,

is one of the most complex emotions of all.

CHATTERING

And if you can understand

what someone else might be thinking or feeling,

you might be able to play tricks on them.

Here, by the magnificent Iguazu Falls in Argentina,

live some of the smartest monkeys on the planet.

Capuchins have the largest relative brain size of all monkeys,

and some are using it to their advantage.

Like all monkeys, they live by a strict pecking order.

At the bottom of the ladder is the lowest-ranking male.

He always has to give way to the alpha male.

'But being at the bottom of the social ladder

'doesn't necessarily mean the low ranker is stupid.'

We all know that monkeys can't resist a banana

and I can't resist using one of these!

When food is plentiful, everyone's happy.

But when food's in short supply,

some monkeys resort to sneakiness to get their share.

'By raising this platform laden with bananas into the trees,

'we can see how some monkeys can be more than a little cunning.'

I can hear them coming. Right on cue.

CHATTERING

Here comes the big male.

There!

The first on the platform is the alpha male.

He always gets first dibs on the treats.

He is stuffing his face with bananas.

There's nothing the other monkeys can do except watch and wait.

And for the low-ranking male, who is last in line,

the anticipation is unbearable.

After the alpha male has grabbed the best bits,

he lets a few other high rankers join the feast.

SCREECHING

Although he still makes sure they know who's boss.

The lowly male has to wait, but he's losing patience.

He has a trick up his sleeve.

HIGH-PITCHED CHIRPS

The monkeys on the platform scatter.

The low ranker has sounded the alarm for a predator.

But there is no predator.

'It seems he faked it to get to the food.'

By knowing how the rest of the troop would react,

the underdog has managed to outwit the boss.

Whether or not he has learned to do this or is intentionally

deceiving the other monkeys is impossible to tell.

Either way, by crying wolf,

he's managed to get his hands on some food.

He can't do it too often, though,

but, on this occasion, his ruse has worked

and he's conned his way into a free lunch.

Primates are clearly very smart.

They are not only able to solve basic problems but they can operate

on a higher level, expressing emotions and deceiving others -

things we once considered uniquely human.

But just how like us can a non-human primate be,

when all the pressures of surviving in the wild are taken away?

Well, I'm on my way to meet

the most remarkable non-human primate on the planet.

And I'm not going to find a single species, but a single individual,

who has led a remarkable life growing up between two worlds,

and he's in the most unlikely of places, here in Iowa in America.

This is Kanzi.

He's a 33-year-old bonobo who has lived his entire life

in a bicultural world, learning from both from humans and other bonobos.

Kanzi has had time to develop some skills that are completely

unique in the primate world.

'And, to find out just what he's capable of,

'I'm going to invite him on a picnic.

'My assistant here is Teco, Kanzi's son,

'and together we are going to give Kanzi a call.'

Right.

RINGING

He's not answering.

It's always the same when you try and ring a bonobo -

they're always busy.

RINGING

He's hung up on me.

You know, you go to all this trouble to ring a bonobo

and they hang up on you halfway through the conversation.

RINGING

'Hello!'

That's your daddy, look. There's your daddy.

'Teco and I are going to ask Kanzi what he wants in his picnic bag.'

I'm going to show you what's in the fridge, OK?

And you can tell me what you want.

OK, I'm opening the fridge Kanzi. Now...

Ooh, look at this. What would you like?

Orange.

You'd like oranges? Oranges.

OK, I've got some Oranges.

Grapes.

'Kanzi can understand English language but can't talk back,

'so he has learnt how to use a lexigram.

'It might seem like a random bunch of symbols,

'but each represents a word

'and Kanzi understands over 500 of them.'

Tomato.

Tomatoes. OK. I'm going to put some tomatoes in the backpack.

'Cherries.'

Where are the cherries? Oh, cherries.

This is probably one of the most surreal things I've ever done,

talking to a bonobo who's asking me to put fruit in the backpack.

-'Celery.'

-Right, celery, OK.

I got you apples.

OK. Well, that's it. I think we've got everything,

and now we're set for a picnic.

Come on. Teco.

SCREECHING

SCREECHING

It's absolutely captivating.

You can't not draw comparisons between what you're seeing here

and our own lives.

At just three years old, Teco is learning how the world works,

and also he's learning from his dad.

SCREECHING

And he's just learnt not to hit his dad in the face quite so hard.

Oh!

SCREECHING

In front of our very eyes, they are breaking down the final

barriers that separate us and them.

I've watched lots of wild animals and primates in the wild,

but I've never seen one that can do things that are so human-like,

I mean, things that I would do.

It really gives you a feeling of just how close we are.

The more we learn about our primate cousins,

the more we realise just how much of them is in us,

and us is in them.

Having met so many relatives from all round the world,

I feel, really, for the first time, part of the family.

And it truly is an extraordinary family.

Our flexibility, complex relationships and agile brains

mean that, together, we are perhaps the most successful family on earth.

We should be proud to be a primate.