Intelligence Spy in the Wild

The world is full of

extraordinary animals.

But how well do we really

understand them?

How do they really think and feel?

To find out, a team of spy creatures

is going undercover.

They not only look like part of

the family,

they behave like them, too.

Armed with the latest

camera technology,

they are going to travel the

globe...

..to understand the true nature

of the animals they meet

and reveal how intelligent they

really are...

..how badly behaved they can be...

..how important friendship

is to them...

..and if it's possible that

they can truly love each other.

What they discover will change

our perception of animals for ever.

Perhaps they are more like us

than we ever believed possible.

When it comes to solving

life's problems,

just how clever can animals be?

In the forest in Borneo lives one

of our closest animal relatives,

the orang-utan.

These great apes share

97% of our DNA.

They're one of the most

intelligent animals on Earth.

To film the behaviour of these

shrewd primates

requires an exceptionally lifelike

spy creature.

To be totally convincing,

Spy Orang-utan must mimic

their facial expressions.

Rather than bare her teeth,

she needs to appear friendly.

By sending out the right signals,

she soon draws attention.

Adult males are always interested

in any new female.

But he needs some convincing

that all is quite what it seems.

Spy Orang-utan pouts her mouth,

a sign she's not a threat.

As news gets around,

a young male comes to investigate,

and he, too, seems unsure.

Time for some careful reflection.

He keeps a safe distance,

and finds an imaginative way to

test the spy creature's reactions.

It's a somewhat unorthodox way

to make new friends.

Solving problems creatively

is proof of a clever mind.

Over time, as more orang-utans

visit the strange new creature,

confidence grows that she's

not a threat.

One youngster seems especially

curious.

Young orang-utans learn

by constantly interrogating their

surroundings, and everything in it.

Spy Orang-utan captures a unique

view

of an intelligent young mind

developing.

Curiosity satisfied, he heads back.

Among these orang-utans,

the thirst for knowledge has

inspired some astonishing behaviour.

Careful to keep her baby dry,

the mother leaves the jungle

to visit an old research outpost.

This is the human world,

a treasure trove for enquiring

minds.

She quietly helps herself.

A bar of soap.

She carries her find in

her mouth back to the forest...

..and joins a friend.

They appear to use the soap

just as we would.

Around 40 years ago,

rescued orang-utans released here

learned to use soap

by watching local people washing

in the river.

But, remarkably, these orang-utans

were born in the wild,

so the idea has spread among

the wild population.

The sharing of the soap suggests

how new orang-utans

may have learned the technique.

It's become a form of animal

culture, passed on to the young,

something only seen among

a few intelligent species.

Why they are so keen to lather up

is intriguing and

not completely understood.

But then, nearby,

a female does something

that might shed light on

this extraordinary behaviour.

She chews a piece of bark...

..and creates a frothy lather

in her mouth,

just like soap suds.

Rubbing it on her arm,

she makes the same movements

as she would if washing with soap...

..but then starts to eat it.

Orang-utans are known to use

medicinal leaves in similar ways.

So perhaps the bark has

therapeutic qualities, too.

Maybe soap washing caught on so

easily

because it mirrored their natural

behaviour.

They also eat the suds,

but strangely,

they seem to enjoy the taste.

It doesn't harm them in any way.

Perhaps it aids their digestion,

too.

And now Spy Orang-utan

gives it a try...

..much to the real one's

fascination.

Intelligent curiosity is vital

for orang-utan survival

in a complex jungle world.

In the cold and harsh conditions

of Alaska,

animals also rely on their wits

to stay alive.

Here, sea otters gather together

in congregations known as rafts.

They are notoriously difficult

to approach.

So Spy Sea Otter offers the best

chance to infiltrate their world.

He approaches slowly...

..and soon captures some of the

closest

and most intimate views possible.

Happy he's harmless,

the otter gets on with his

daily routine.

Wherever he goes,

Spy Otter keeps a spying eye on him.

Sea otters spend up to 50%

of their time feeding,

catching seafood delicacies

such as clams and crabs.

But some shells are just too tough

for their teeth to crack.

But some shells are just too tough

for their teeth to crack.

This is where their ingenuity

comes in.

Stones are dredged from the

seabed...

..then placed on their chests

as anvils.

He can then crack even the

toughest shell.

It's a brilliant solution,

but a mother with a newborn

faces a problem.

How to feed with a baby on board?

Newborn otters are covered

with soft, downy fur

to keep them warm and buoyant.

It takes three months to gain the

waterproof adult fur

needed to dive underwater.

So, when he's wet and bedraggled,

the mother grooms his fur and blows

in air to keep him dry and buoyant.

Having spruced him up into

a floating fuzzball,

she confidently leaves him

to bob about on his own.

She's now free to dive for food...

..leaving baby asleep

in his furry flotation suit.

When he awakes,

he finds his mother has gone.

He swims to reach her,

but he's now fighting the tide.

But his mother must eat

while she can.

The survival of both depends on it.

The baby may be struggling,

but here, mothers believe

in tough love.

She can't miss the opportunity

to feed.

No matter how vigorously

her baby swims,

the current carries him away.

But his mother is smarter

and more caring than she seems.

Far from being neglectful,

she's teaching her baby

a vital survival lesson.

He's been born into a tough world.

These sea swells are nothing

compared with what he'll face

in the future.

Intelligent animals spend a lot

of time teaching their youngsters.

It's how they pass on vital skills.

Now another lesson.

Now another lesson.

In rough weather, sea otters

wrap themselves in kelp

to use as an anchor.

Sometimes, it helps to cosy up

with someone else.

Spy Otter tries it out.

Clearly, this is harder

than it looks.

In this harsh environment,

the otters' intelligence

helps them eke out a living.

The arid forests of north-east

Brazil

could hardly be more different,

but here, too, necessity

is the mother of invention.

It's so dry, bearded capuchins

find little in the way of fruit.

Instead, they have to make do

with dried seeds and nuts.

But these nuts have incredibly

hard shells.

To crack them open,

they use stones as tools,

some almost as heavy as they are.

It's a cultural tradition

that's thought to be

at least 700 years old.

Spy Rock stakes out their

favourite nut-cracking site.

It takes both skill and intelligence

to perfect the technique.

But the rewards are great...

..even if a little bitter.

Rolling the nut

removes the unpleasant pith.

These techniques can take

three years or more to truly master.

First, he uses smell to

select the perfect nut.

Then looks for a good spot,

one where it won't roll away.

It's a frustrating business.

Success!

But it's never that easy.

The branch isn't a good choice.

He's learning the hard way

that wood is far too bouncy

to work as an anvil.

There is only so much frustration

any monkey can take.

Time to think this through.

At around 18 months old,

young monkeys start seriously

practising using stone tools.

Spy Rock is designed to be the

monkey's favourite shape and weight.

But it's far too heavy for

a little one to lift.

It may capture his interest...

..but it's no use to him at all.

But could it work for someone else?

Spy Rock may be the best weight

for the job,

but it takes all his strength

to lift it.

This time, he's learned from his

mistakes

and picks an anvil used by

the more experienced monkeys.

But will it do the trick?

He's done it.

It's a significant moment.

Capuchins only survive here

by being smart

and learning from trial and error.

But such intelligence

is not confined to primates.

In the cloud forests of

New Caledonia,

an island east of Australia,

lives one of the world's cleverest

birds...

..the New Caledonian crow.

These crafty characters have many

ingenious ways of finding a meal.

Spy Crow is here to film just what

these super-smart birds can do.

This one has found the fruit

of a candlenut tree.

It's a hard nut to crack,

and her beak is not up to the job.

Fortunately,

she has an ingenious solution.

She places it in the cleft

of a tree.

One with a stone directly beneath.

Spy Crow is in one of the few

secret spots

where a branch of the correct height

is perfectly aligned

with a rock below.

The crow takes aim with

meticulous precision.

Then, bombs away!

But these are seriously tough nuts.

So around here,

crows don't give up easily.

This time, she's cracked it.

But the crow's intelligence

doesn't end here.

To enjoy the opportunities

the forest has to offer,

it pays to be creative.

Even the rotting trunks of candlenut

trees contain hidden treasures.

It just takes a bit of know-how

to find them.

A fat and juicy

longhorned beetle larva.

To capture the crow's ingenious

hunting skills,

a Spy Grub is concealed

in the rotten wood.

The crow's keen vision soon

pinpoints the real larva,

but it won't be easy to reach.

However, this is a bird with a plan.

She selects a tool of the

perfect length.

Under Spy Crow's watchful eye,

she probes deep into the hole...

..dextrously aiming for

the larva's jaws.

Its bite seals its fate.

The crow disarms the larva

by removing its powerful jaws.

The grubs are so large and

nutritious,

a few a day is all she needs.

Caledonian crows acquire their

knowledge

through both practice

and learning from others.

The crow calls down a young

family member

for some one-to-one tuition.

What makes Caledonian crows

so special

is their skill at manufacturing

the right tool for the job.

First, she removes the leafy end.

She holds it on her left side,

a matter of personal choice.

She makes it look so easy.

Time for the juvenile to have a go.

But it doesn't quite reach.

This should do the trick.

But he's got to get the grub

to bite,

and that's not so easy.

It's tantalisingly close.

The stick is a bit too long,

so he decides to shorten it.

It's now spot-on.

His newly-acquired skills pay off.

Spy Crow tests how difficult

it really is.

Now, that's what's called

beginner's luck!

Crows are certainly smart,

but when it comes to using tools,

our nearest animal relatives

are king.

In Senegal, the chimps' favourite

snacks

are found in these huge

termite mounds.

And they, too,

use sticks to catch them.

The chimps fish out termites

by getting them to bite the sticks.

Youngsters learn to make these

simple tools by watching the adults.

But stealing from Mum is easier.

Better still, he's been

given one to practise with.

Even at this age, they start

adapting what they have...

..then graduate to selecting

and modifying their own sticks.

There's quite an art to using them.

It takes a good four to five years

to perfect the technique.

Termites have a painful bite,

so they need to be careful.

The chimps' mastery of sticks

doesn't end here.

This is Spy Bushbaby.

He's based on an animal

they naturally hunt.

Hiding in his protective log,

he's arousing great curiosity.

All seems calm,

but this young male is

reaching maturity.

So when a female arrives,

he's desperate to impress.

And this bushbaby

is bigger than normal.

So it could be the male's chance

to make an impression.

He checks she's watching,

and begins his performance.

For her eyes only,

an ostentatious show of bravado.

A classic case of showing off.

He checks she's still looking...

..then ups the ante.

Branches make a flamboyant weapon.

But she's seen straight through him.

It's all a bit embarrassing.

Trying to impress a female

by taking on Spy Bushbaby

was somewhat ill-advised.

Females are the experts

at hunting real bushbabies.

They use a well-crafted weapon -

a spear.

During the day, when their prey

hide in hollow trees,

the chimps use sharpened sticks

to catch them.

The best hunters continually

modify their weapon

to suit the shape and depth

of the hole.

The male has a less refined

technique.

His spear isn't even straight.

It's a huge contrast with the

considered expertise of the female.

The male favours brute force.

When the stick breaks,

he even tries to scare it out.

Fortunately, the youngsters

generally learn from their mother.

But the male perseveres.

And this time, he's made a bit

more effort with his spear.

It's just a shame he didn't make it

shorter.

There's little for a young one

to learn here.

For the youngsters, just making

a stick is an achievement.

Making one long and strong enough

is even harder.

It's both technically complicated

and hugely frustrating.

Even for the experts, there

are no guarantees of success.

The bushbaby squeezes out,

and in a flash, it's gone.

But there is one bushbaby

that might just be easier to catch.

This female comes prepared...

..but uses a thicker branch

to test the reaction.

She fashions a better weapon...

..but then has second thoughts.

She tickles it instead.

Spy Bushbaby

lives to spy another day.

Intelligence allows animals

to solve complex problems.

The inhabitants of the Amazon

rainforest

have their own wealth

of specialist knowledge.

This is Spy Sloth.

He's here to reveal how the animals

find and use jungle remedies.

25% of our medicines were

discovered in the rainforest,

but its animal inhabitants

know of many more.

He soon attracts the interest

of a real three-toed sloth.

Their first encounter

is a very slow affair.

Spy Sloth's close-up view

reveals something remarkable.

Its fur is crawling with other life.

Up to 900 moths and beetles

can live on a single sloth.

They aerate his fur

and prevent infections.

As well as the insects,

84 different fungi also thrive here.

Many are antibiotic or antimalarial,

and some have been shown

to destroy cancer cells.

Usually, there is only one sloth

per tree,

so this requires some careful

negotiation.

It's not just the sloth's fur

that harbours a medical

treasure trove.

So, it seems, does the tree it eats.

Cecropia is renowned by indigenous

people for its curative properties.

It's used to ward off

aches and pains,

treat asthma,

and is even an effective diabetes

treatment.

But sloths aren't the only animals

who have discovered the rainforest's

medicinal secrets.

Macaws are one of the most

intelligent birds in the world,

and they, too, have extensive

knowledge of jungle remedies.

They gather on these muddy cliffs

for a very particular reason.

To find out why, Spy Macaw

joins the flock.

Cavities mined in the cliffs reveal

the reason for its attraction.

They eat clay,

a special kind, with

therapeutic qualities.

When food is scarce,

macaws are forced to eat fruit and

seeds containing natural poisons.

This clay provides the antidote.

It helps neutralise the toxins

in their stomachs

and prevents them being absorbed.

In the muddy clay pools below,

other jungle inhabitants are also

seeking remedies of their own.

These are white-lipped peccaries.

They, too, come for the

health-giving mud.

Spy Peccary has a poolside view

of all the comings and goings.

Like macaws, peccaries also

need help with their digestion.

And there are other valuable

ingredients in this special mud -

mineral supplements they can't

get elsewhere.

Trips to this rainforest pharmacy

are a vital part of the

peccaries' lives.

Spy Peccary's presence helps

reassure the nervous visitors

that this clay lick is safe

and predator-free.

Like macaws, dusky-billed parrotlets

use clay to combat toxins

in their diet,

and gain mineral supplements

in the process.

For male butterflies,

the salts they sip from the mud

are needed for breeding.

When they mate, they pass these

vital minerals to the females.

As the crowds build,

the most secretive creature

of them all pays a visit.

A tapir - a distant relative

of horses and rhinos.

He needs the clay to kill harmful

bacteria

and balance the acids

in his stomach.

Reassured by the gathering,

yet more skittish creatures arrive.

Black spider monkeys.

Spy Monkey is also filming and,

like Spy Peccary,

his presence reassures the troop

that that there are

no predators around.

The monkeys' diet of fruit

lacks essential minerals,

including magnesium, iron,

calcium and phosphorus.

But here, they get all

the supplements they need.

The knowledge of the health-giving

properties of the clay

is passed down the generations

from mother to baby.

It's a magical scene,

with so many different creatures

taking advantage of the healing

power of this miraculous mud.

Perhaps one day,

rainforest medicines will

lead us to more human cures.

Having taken their treatment,

the macaws return to the jungle

and its boundless riches.

In North America,

the forest's bounty is

much more fleeting.

So, for grey squirrels,

surviving the winter needs both

brain power

and maybe even a criminal mind.

Each autumn, a squirrel

buries around 10,000 nuts.

Its memory is so phenomenal,

it can retrieve up to 4,000 of them.

To achieve this feat,

as winter approaches,

the area of the brain responsible

for memory enlarges 15%.

The squirrels show another

brainy trait - cunning.

A Spy Squirrel, bearing gifts,

is ready to record their

devious behaviour.

He looks a soft touch.

But the squirrel needs to be sure.

He lashes his tail to show

confidence.

Fluffing it up makes him appear

bigger,

and shows who's boss.

Spy Squirrel is a pushover.

He's going to be popular.

The nut is immediately stashed away.

But clever minds can also

be devious...

..and this squirrel watches

where the nut is hidden.

As soon as it's buried,

she makes her move.

OK if you don't get caught...

but there's big trouble if you do.

The duped squirrel

needs to be craftier this time.

The crook may still be watching,

but this is what he wants.

In a shameless display of

overacting,

he pretends to bury his nut.

The thief waits until

the performance is over...

..then quietly sneaks in.

But there's no nut to pilfer here.

Hardly surprising.

It's stashed in his

intended victim's mouth.

With the nut raider preoccupied,

he can either eat it,

or bury it secretly.

But the thief hasn't abandoned

her life of crime.

Spy Squirrel has a new nut,

one with a camera.

Theft is such an easy option,

around a fifth of all squirrels

steal nuts,

rather than forage for them.

It's a crafty way of letting others

do the hard work.

But this time,

the thief has picked the wrong nut.

When the snow finally arrives,

the squirrel's phenomenal

memory map comes into its own.

Their hidden stores

keep these crafty little creatures

alive until spring.

In a cold, harsh winter,

deception can be a life-saver.

On the sun-drenched African savanna,

subterfuge is just as important,

but for a very different reason.

Here, a male ostrich and his mate

will raise the offspring of

up to five of his other females.

They put all their eggs in one

basket,

creating one huge nest.

Joining them is Spy Ostrich Chick.

For the male, it's just another

member of his ever-expanding brood.

Spy Chick is in the perfect spot,

as new life hatches all around.

This spy creature receives the same

devotion and protection

as the real chicks.

With a large brood to look

after,

ostriches are always alert for

danger.

A leopard.

All the young can do

is stick close to their father.

But the female is

a master of deception.

When there's nowhere to hide,

making yourself conspicuous

is the next-best option.

She launches a carefully planned

and ostentatious display,

one designed to catch the leopard's

attention,

luring him away from where the

babies are hiding.

She pretends she's injured and

helpless,

so tantalising for a predator.

The leopard can't resist following.

But he eventually realises

he's been had.

There will be no easy meal today.

With the leopard lured away,

the parents can relax.

As much as you can,

with 20 young in tow.

But perhaps the cleverest scam

in the animal world

can be found in South Africa's

Kalahari Desert.

At the heart of this deception

is the drongo,

a bird that likes to hang out

with meerkats.

To delve deeper into the crafty

world of the drongo,

a new spy camera is needed.

Spy Termite Mound is a natural

part of the landscape -

except it can move, and,

of course, it has a camera.

The meerkats feel at home with this

new arrival,

and continue to forage for insects.

While they eat, a meerkat is on

sentry duty,

looking for danger.

Spy Termite Mound gives

a little bit of extra height.

Drongos have keen eyesight,

and as they can perch higher,

they often spot the danger first.

Martial eagles are a serious threat.

The drongo's alarm

alerts the meerkats.

They, in turn,

call and run for cover.

Having their own lookout bird

helps the meerkats spend more time

feeding.

But there is a price to pay.

The drongo isn't quite as selfless

as he seems,

and has learned to turn this alarm

to his advantage.

He becomes an expert on their

habits,

learning that when an adult

finds food,

it calls out to the youngsters

to share.

As the food is about to be

exchanged,

the drongo calls the alarm...

..but this time, it's a trick.

As the meerkats abandon their food

and flee,

the drongo steals their meal.

Onto a good thing,

the drongo tries again.

But the meerkats know

when they've been duped.

And this time,

no-one reacts at all.

So the drongo takes it to

the next level.

But even screaming the alarm

in their face doesn't work.

The meerkats are smart enough

to know a cheat when they hear one.

Or are they?

The drongo has another trick

to pull.

This time, the drongo mimics

the meerkats' own alarm call.

It's so accurate,

the meerkats are duped again.

Drongos get over a fifth

of their daily meals

by making false alarms and stealing.

When he's exhausted all his tricks,

he tries a more brazen approach.

But he's pushed his luck too far.

He must try his scams elsewhere.

The intelligence of animals

is sometimes so extraordinary,

it can truly amaze.

In Borneo, the orang-utans have

ventured back to the human world

and are bathing in the river.

One of the spy cameras

is soon spotted...

..inadvertently filming

an intimate moment

when the pair enjoy the

cooling water.

The images captured show an animal

with extraordinary mental capacity,

one that contemplates and considers

in a way we recognise.

Then, something happens

that confirms just how similar

their way of thinking is to our own.

At a jungle hut,

this female finds a saw.

Despite being totally wild,

somehow she has worked out what

to do with it.

Like us, orang-utans have

an opposable thumb

that allows them to grasp

and handle objects with precision.

Over 20 years ago, a rescue

orang-utan learned how to saw

by watching people constructing

the huts here.

But this is a totally different

and wild orang-utan.

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

orang-utan

mastering this complex task

is remarkable.

But now, she's not the only

orang-utan sawing.

Spy Orang-utan has joined her.

It seems to be bringing out

a competitive streak.

She's becoming even more

enthusiastic.

But, for a novice,

sawing is tiring work.

She's lost all momentum.

Then, finally, calls it a day.

Spy Orang-utan may have

machine-like stamina,

but it's the astonishing

and versatile mind

of the real orang-utan

that's won the day.

She's certainly earned her rest.

In the animal world, intelligence

shows itself in ways that, once,

we would never have thought

possible.

From the cleverness of

using tools...

..to the craftiness of deception.

From problem-solving...

..to making weapons...

..or finding jungle cures...

..we're only just starting

to realise how clever

animals really are.

Next time, the spy creatures look at

extraordinary animal friendships

to see how similar many of them are

to our own.