Browse content similar to The Hunger Game. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Meet the Steller's jay. | 0:00:05 | 0:00:08 | |
What a bird! | 0:00:08 | 0:00:09 | |
At the moment, he does have a bit of a problem. | 0:00:12 | 0:00:15 | |
It's winter, and food is scarce. | 0:00:15 | 0:00:19 | |
The garden bird table is a lifeline for this jay... | 0:00:20 | 0:00:25 | |
..only dozens of other birds | 0:00:28 | 0:00:30 | |
are making the most of this feast, | 0:00:30 | 0:00:32 | |
so the food is not going to last very long. | 0:00:32 | 0:00:36 | |
But our Steller's jay here has a very clever plan. | 0:00:37 | 0:00:41 | |
In fact, I'd go so far as to say it was downright devious. | 0:00:41 | 0:00:46 | |
A red-shouldered hawk - | 0:00:46 | 0:00:49 | |
it's the neighbourhood's top predator. | 0:00:49 | 0:00:51 | |
Just the sound of its distinctive call | 0:00:53 | 0:00:56 | |
sends all these birds scattering. | 0:00:56 | 0:00:59 | |
The jay knows this. | 0:01:00 | 0:01:02 | |
And it's about to do something that I've never seen or heard before. | 0:01:02 | 0:01:07 | |
JAY IMITATES HAWK | 0:01:12 | 0:01:15 | |
One jay has learned to pull off a pitch-perfect copy | 0:01:16 | 0:01:20 | |
of the hawk's call. | 0:01:20 | 0:01:22 | |
With the other birds tricked, | 0:01:30 | 0:01:33 | |
he's got all of the food to himself. | 0:01:33 | 0:01:37 | |
Look at that! | 0:01:37 | 0:01:39 | |
That's nature at its most devious. | 0:01:40 | 0:01:43 | |
And it turns out, the sneaky Steller's jay | 0:01:46 | 0:01:49 | |
isn't the only one tricking other animals to get itself a meal. | 0:01:49 | 0:01:53 | |
All across the world, animals face the same dilemma - | 0:02:04 | 0:02:07 | |
find food or die. | 0:02:07 | 0:02:09 | |
It really is that simple. | 0:02:09 | 0:02:12 | |
And of course, there's no guarantee | 0:02:19 | 0:02:21 | |
of where their next meal is coming from. | 0:02:21 | 0:02:24 | |
So what can animals do to tip the balance in their favour? | 0:02:25 | 0:02:29 | |
Would they lie, cheat and deceive one another | 0:02:33 | 0:02:36 | |
just to get an advantage, just to survive? | 0:02:36 | 0:02:39 | |
Oh, come on. | 0:02:39 | 0:02:40 | |
Of course they would. | 0:02:40 | 0:02:43 | |
Join me as I meet the world's sneakiest animals, | 0:02:47 | 0:02:51 | |
who'll do whatever it takes to grab themselves a meal. | 0:02:51 | 0:02:54 | |
The rainforest... | 0:03:18 | 0:03:20 | |
..where a supremely sneaky animal faces a real challenge. | 0:03:25 | 0:03:30 | |
The one thing that's apparent in a rainforest like this | 0:03:32 | 0:03:35 | |
is that you're surrounded by insects. | 0:03:35 | 0:03:38 | |
Just listen. OVERLAPPING CHIRPING | 0:03:38 | 0:03:39 | |
There's a vast diversity of these animals living here... | 0:03:39 | 0:03:43 | |
..which would make you think that if you were an insect predator, | 0:03:44 | 0:03:48 | |
you'd have things pretty much your own way. | 0:03:48 | 0:03:50 | |
But I've got to tell you, that isn't necessarily so. | 0:03:50 | 0:03:54 | |
Lightning-fast and agile, flying insects | 0:03:55 | 0:03:58 | |
are some of the hardest things to catch on the planet. | 0:03:58 | 0:04:01 | |
Though one thing is guaranteed to attract their attention... | 0:04:08 | 0:04:13 | |
..flowers. | 0:04:16 | 0:04:17 | |
They draw in insects from far and wide | 0:04:17 | 0:04:20 | |
with their promise of nectar and pollen. | 0:04:20 | 0:04:22 | |
And one predator exploits this to the full. | 0:04:24 | 0:04:28 | |
Meet the mantis. | 0:04:31 | 0:04:33 | |
Or to give it its full name, | 0:04:37 | 0:04:39 | |
the orchid mantis. | 0:04:39 | 0:04:41 | |
It's very aptly named, too. | 0:04:41 | 0:04:43 | |
Look at it. Its whole body | 0:04:43 | 0:04:45 | |
is the perfect mimic of a flower. | 0:04:45 | 0:04:50 | |
To fool its prey, this entire animal's body | 0:04:52 | 0:04:56 | |
is sculpted into a deceitful disguise. | 0:04:56 | 0:05:00 | |
Combined with pin-sharp vision | 0:05:02 | 0:05:04 | |
and a ninja-fast strike, | 0:05:04 | 0:05:07 | |
it makes this mantis a very deadly ambush predator. | 0:05:07 | 0:05:11 | |
But, you know, even with cover as good as this, | 0:05:25 | 0:05:28 | |
the pressure is on. | 0:05:28 | 0:05:31 | |
This mantis is sub-adult at the moment, | 0:05:34 | 0:05:37 | |
which means that it's got to be right on top of its game. | 0:05:37 | 0:05:42 | |
It's got to kill something every few days | 0:05:42 | 0:05:44 | |
or it will simply starve to death. | 0:05:44 | 0:05:46 | |
The problem is, the mantis relies on an insect visiting | 0:05:49 | 0:05:53 | |
the specific flower that it's sitting on to make a strike. | 0:05:53 | 0:05:58 | |
It's a waiting game which could take days. | 0:06:01 | 0:06:06 | |
Ever since Victorian naturalists first discovered this insect, | 0:06:12 | 0:06:16 | |
there's been a suspicion that there's something more going on. | 0:06:16 | 0:06:20 | |
They suspected that the mantis was doing more than just waiting around | 0:06:21 | 0:06:26 | |
in a clever disguise. | 0:06:26 | 0:06:28 | |
The strike rate was just too high. | 0:06:30 | 0:06:33 | |
So could the mantis somehow be attracting insects | 0:06:34 | 0:06:37 | |
in its own right? | 0:06:37 | 0:06:39 | |
James O'Hanlon is an expert in orchid mantis behaviour, | 0:06:43 | 0:06:47 | |
and he's discovering there's far more to this predator | 0:06:47 | 0:06:51 | |
than first meets the eye. | 0:06:51 | 0:06:52 | |
We have a simple experiment set up. | 0:06:54 | 0:06:56 | |
We have two posts in the ground. | 0:06:56 | 0:06:58 | |
On our first post, we have a flower. | 0:06:58 | 0:07:00 | |
Our second post, a small mantis. | 0:07:00 | 0:07:02 | |
And what we're going to do is watch and see | 0:07:02 | 0:07:04 | |
how many of the insects that are buzzing around here | 0:07:04 | 0:07:07 | |
fly up and have a look at each of our posts. | 0:07:07 | 0:07:09 | |
So which one do you want to watch? | 0:07:09 | 0:07:11 | |
I'm going to gamble. | 0:07:11 | 0:07:13 | |
I'm going to go with the mantis. Hit me with a notebook. | 0:07:13 | 0:07:16 | |
BUZZING | 0:07:23 | 0:07:25 | |
Hmm. The flower is certainly attracting attention. | 0:07:27 | 0:07:31 | |
Come on, mantis! | 0:07:42 | 0:07:44 | |
-That's a visit. -Yeah. | 0:07:53 | 0:07:55 | |
That was a visit. Excellent. | 0:07:55 | 0:07:56 | |
Right. I'm off the mark. | 0:07:56 | 0:07:58 | |
'After a slow start...' And another! | 0:08:00 | 0:08:02 | |
'..the mantis is making headway.' | 0:08:02 | 0:08:06 | |
FLUTTERING | 0:08:06 | 0:08:09 | |
Oh! Did you see that? | 0:08:12 | 0:08:15 | |
Fantastic. | 0:08:15 | 0:08:17 | |
I've not been watching your flower, but the mantis is doing rather well. | 0:08:24 | 0:08:27 | |
-Pretty impressive! -It is! | 0:08:27 | 0:08:29 | |
But aside from the count, | 0:08:29 | 0:08:31 | |
we've already seen something absolutely remarkable. | 0:08:31 | 0:08:35 | |
Because these bees are visiting the mantis, like that - | 0:08:35 | 0:08:40 | |
and it's just caught another one! | 0:08:40 | 0:08:42 | |
The mantis is attracting insects independently of your flower. | 0:08:42 | 0:08:48 | |
It doesn't need your flower. | 0:08:48 | 0:08:50 | |
Those bees that are coming up to it think that it's a flower. | 0:08:50 | 0:08:53 | |
I've done this experiment over and over again. | 0:08:53 | 0:08:57 | |
More often than not, that little mantis is actually more attractive | 0:08:57 | 0:09:00 | |
than the real flower. | 0:09:00 | 0:09:02 | |
The mimic is better than the thing that it's mimicking. | 0:09:04 | 0:09:09 | |
And that is absolutely astonishing. | 0:09:09 | 0:09:13 | |
So what exactly is going on here? | 0:09:15 | 0:09:18 | |
Well, we need to know how insects see the rainforest. | 0:09:22 | 0:09:27 | |
Their eyes are highly sensitive to certain wavelengths of light, | 0:09:29 | 0:09:33 | |
so to them, flowers glow like beacons in the jungle. | 0:09:33 | 0:09:38 | |
James measured the brightness of these flowers | 0:09:40 | 0:09:44 | |
and compared them to the mantis. | 0:09:44 | 0:09:46 | |
And remarkably, he's discovered that this dazzling fake in the forest | 0:09:46 | 0:09:54 | |
is a brighter stimulus than any flower. | 0:09:54 | 0:09:57 | |
Tricked into visiting a deadly trap, | 0:10:04 | 0:10:07 | |
there's no escape. | 0:10:07 | 0:10:09 | |
The deception at work here is aggressive mimicry, | 0:10:17 | 0:10:21 | |
in that the mantis is adopting a disguise, in this case a flower, | 0:10:21 | 0:10:26 | |
to lure in its prey, and that is the key. | 0:10:26 | 0:10:31 | |
It's the mantis and not the flower | 0:10:31 | 0:10:34 | |
which is bringing in the insects which it can then predate. | 0:10:34 | 0:10:38 | |
Not only is this creature exquisitely beautiful, | 0:10:40 | 0:10:44 | |
it's remarkably ruthless, | 0:10:44 | 0:10:47 | |
and in my opinion, totally amazing. | 0:10:47 | 0:10:50 | |
BIRDSONG | 0:10:51 | 0:10:53 | |
MUSIC: One Way Or Another by Blondie | 0:10:55 | 0:10:58 | |
Across the world, animals have adapted their bodies in extreme ways | 0:10:58 | 0:11:05 | |
to lure their prey. | 0:11:05 | 0:11:08 | |
# I'm gonna get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya, one way or another | 0:11:08 | 0:11:12 | |
# I'm gonna win ya | 0:11:12 | 0:11:14 | |
# I'll get ya, I'll get ya... # | 0:11:14 | 0:11:16 | |
In Hawaii, | 0:11:18 | 0:11:20 | |
the carnivorous caterpillar has morphed into a predatory plant. | 0:11:20 | 0:11:24 | |
# One way or another | 0:11:24 | 0:11:27 | |
# I'm gonna get ya, I'll get ya | 0:11:27 | 0:11:29 | |
# I'll get ya, get ya, get ya... # | 0:11:29 | 0:11:31 | |
The bioluminescent bait of the deep-sea anglerfish | 0:11:31 | 0:11:35 | |
tempts its prey. | 0:11:35 | 0:11:37 | |
# One way or another | 0:11:37 | 0:11:38 | |
# I'm gonna get ya, I'll get ya | 0:11:38 | 0:11:41 | |
# I'll get ya, get ya, get ya... # | 0:11:41 | 0:11:44 | |
And in caves in New Zealand, | 0:11:44 | 0:11:46 | |
the glow worm, with its luminous tail and sticky secretions, | 0:11:46 | 0:11:51 | |
has created a tantalising trap. | 0:11:51 | 0:11:54 | |
# One way or another | 0:11:54 | 0:11:56 | |
# I'm gonna get ya, I'll get ya | 0:11:56 | 0:11:58 | |
# I'll get ya, get ya, get ya | 0:11:58 | 0:12:00 | |
# One way or another... # | 0:12:00 | 0:12:02 | |
This veritable rogues' gallery | 0:12:02 | 0:12:05 | |
is the result of millions of years of artful adaptation, | 0:12:05 | 0:12:09 | |
all in aid of catching the next meal. | 0:12:09 | 0:12:12 | |
But changing the way you look isn't the only way of setting a trap. | 0:12:17 | 0:12:23 | |
Out on the prairie, a new tenant | 0:12:29 | 0:12:32 | |
has moved into a deserted den... | 0:12:32 | 0:12:34 | |
..a burrowing owl... | 0:12:41 | 0:12:43 | |
..and she has chicks just a few weeks old, | 0:12:45 | 0:12:48 | |
and they are all hungry. | 0:12:48 | 0:12:50 | |
They eat insects, and lots of them. | 0:12:50 | 0:12:53 | |
CHICK CHIRPS | 0:12:53 | 0:12:55 | |
The female spends every waking hour trying to find enough food. | 0:13:05 | 0:13:10 | |
And the stakes, well, they're really high. | 0:13:18 | 0:13:21 | |
You see, 96% of all chick deaths are down to starvation. | 0:13:21 | 0:13:26 | |
CHICKS CHIRP | 0:13:26 | 0:13:28 | |
But, luckily, there's a sneaky solution to this problem. | 0:13:28 | 0:13:33 | |
Cattle graze across these grasslands. | 0:13:37 | 0:13:41 | |
And what goes in... | 0:13:44 | 0:13:46 | |
must come out. | 0:13:46 | 0:13:48 | |
Baked by the sun, the cow dung is ready for collection. | 0:13:50 | 0:13:55 | |
Could it really be dung for dinner? | 0:14:03 | 0:14:05 | |
Of course not. | 0:14:10 | 0:14:11 | |
But it could be considered a rather devious dinner party... | 0:14:11 | 0:14:16 | |
..because the dung attracts some unsuspecting guests. | 0:14:23 | 0:14:27 | |
Little do they know, it's them who are on the menu. | 0:14:30 | 0:14:34 | |
CHIRPING | 0:14:43 | 0:14:45 | |
And this is where it gets really clever, | 0:14:54 | 0:14:58 | |
because little insects attract bigger prey. | 0:14:58 | 0:15:02 | |
Superb. | 0:15:11 | 0:15:12 | |
You see, instead of flying for miles to find food, | 0:15:12 | 0:15:15 | |
now she just has to walk a few metres. | 0:15:15 | 0:15:18 | |
And it's rich pickings for the whole family. | 0:15:20 | 0:15:24 | |
All thanks to this very crafty trap. | 0:15:30 | 0:15:34 | |
CHIRPING | 0:15:34 | 0:15:36 | |
Autumn, and change is in the air. | 0:15:42 | 0:15:46 | |
This time of year is also critical, | 0:15:49 | 0:15:52 | |
as animals are preparing for the winter. | 0:15:52 | 0:15:54 | |
And one species' survival is inextricably linked to these - | 0:15:54 | 0:15:59 | |
conkers, sweet chestnuts, hazelnuts and acorns, | 0:15:59 | 0:16:04 | |
because at the moment, they're quite literally going nuts for nuts. | 0:16:04 | 0:16:08 | |
Meet the grey squirrel. | 0:16:23 | 0:16:26 | |
This little nut is packed full of energy. | 0:16:29 | 0:16:32 | |
Carbohydrate, fat, protein - | 0:16:32 | 0:16:34 | |
all in all, there's somewhere between five and ten calories in here, | 0:16:34 | 0:16:39 | |
which means that a cold, hungry squirrel | 0:16:39 | 0:16:42 | |
will need about 20 of these to get through a winter's day. | 0:16:42 | 0:16:47 | |
It's a very valuable commodity. | 0:16:47 | 0:16:50 | |
So if you come along to a park where squirrels are used to people, | 0:16:50 | 0:16:55 | |
you might be able to tempt them to take it out of your hand. | 0:16:55 | 0:16:59 | |
Come on, then. Come on. | 0:17:05 | 0:17:07 | |
Come on! | 0:17:08 | 0:17:10 | |
Come on. | 0:17:11 | 0:17:12 | |
HE CHUCKLES | 0:17:20 | 0:17:22 | |
Magic. | 0:17:27 | 0:17:29 | |
But that nut is not for eating today. | 0:17:29 | 0:17:33 | |
Squirrels will cache around 3,000 nuts in different locations | 0:17:33 | 0:17:38 | |
for the lean times ahead. | 0:17:38 | 0:17:41 | |
And incredibly, they'll remember | 0:17:41 | 0:17:44 | |
where up to 90% of them were buried. | 0:17:44 | 0:17:48 | |
There's no denying that that is remarkable. | 0:17:50 | 0:17:53 | |
But there's a problem, here in the park. | 0:17:53 | 0:17:57 | |
You see, thieves are lurking. | 0:17:57 | 0:18:01 | |
After all, why bother to find your own nuts and then hide them, | 0:18:01 | 0:18:07 | |
when you could nick someone else's? | 0:18:07 | 0:18:10 | |
Whilst our squirrel buries nuts essential for his survival, | 0:18:10 | 0:18:15 | |
he's being watched. | 0:18:15 | 0:18:17 | |
Nut safely stored, the squirrel departs the scene. | 0:18:23 | 0:18:26 | |
And the onlooker moves in for the steal. | 0:18:32 | 0:18:37 | |
Undeniably devious behaviour. | 0:18:41 | 0:18:44 | |
So is there anything that these nut-hoarding squirrels can do | 0:18:44 | 0:18:49 | |
to throw the thieves off of the scent? | 0:18:49 | 0:18:52 | |
Well, it turns out that there is, | 0:18:53 | 0:18:57 | |
because they've got some sneaky strategies of their own. | 0:18:57 | 0:19:00 | |
Grey squirrels will dig up nuts they've already buried | 0:19:04 | 0:19:08 | |
and then rebury them in a different place, | 0:19:08 | 0:19:12 | |
throwing thieves off the scent. | 0:19:12 | 0:19:16 | |
But I've got to tell you, it gets better, | 0:19:18 | 0:19:21 | |
because there is one situation where our squirrel | 0:19:21 | 0:19:24 | |
exhibits true deceptive genius. | 0:19:24 | 0:19:28 | |
And it's something that will be familiar to anyone | 0:19:28 | 0:19:31 | |
who's been in the audience with a street magician. | 0:19:31 | 0:19:34 | |
You know the score. | 0:19:35 | 0:19:37 | |
The ball goes into one cup. | 0:19:38 | 0:19:41 | |
The other two are empty. | 0:19:43 | 0:19:45 | |
The trick is to work out where the ball goes. | 0:19:53 | 0:19:58 | |
The key to fooling his audience | 0:20:02 | 0:20:05 | |
is timing and misdirection. | 0:20:05 | 0:20:09 | |
Thanks very much, ladies and gentlemen. | 0:20:11 | 0:20:13 | |
Just like the magician, | 0:20:15 | 0:20:16 | |
the grey squirrel has mastered sleight of hand, | 0:20:16 | 0:20:19 | |
so now it's time to see deception in action. | 0:20:19 | 0:20:23 | |
OK. Here's our squirrel - | 0:20:25 | 0:20:27 | |
nut in mouth, poised to bury. | 0:20:27 | 0:20:31 | |
And here is the thief. | 0:20:36 | 0:20:38 | |
He moves closer, for a better view. | 0:20:43 | 0:20:46 | |
But look! | 0:20:49 | 0:20:50 | |
Does our squirrel know that he's being watched? | 0:20:50 | 0:20:56 | |
Either way, he carries on. | 0:21:02 | 0:21:04 | |
From the thief's point of view, | 0:21:04 | 0:21:06 | |
these are the actions of a squirrel burying a nut. | 0:21:06 | 0:21:10 | |
But wait! | 0:21:17 | 0:21:18 | |
It turns out that our squirrel has been faking it! | 0:21:18 | 0:21:22 | |
When he spotted the thief, he opted for plan B - misdirection. | 0:21:23 | 0:21:29 | |
The thief has only seen what our squirrel wanted him to see. | 0:21:31 | 0:21:35 | |
He carried on digging, | 0:21:37 | 0:21:39 | |
but he didn't deposit the nut - | 0:21:39 | 0:21:42 | |
the ultimate sleight of hand. | 0:21:42 | 0:21:44 | |
Oblivious to the trick, | 0:21:51 | 0:21:52 | |
the thief heads towards the freshly dug hole, only to find... | 0:21:52 | 0:21:58 | |
a freshly dug hole. | 0:21:58 | 0:22:00 | |
Foiled! | 0:22:02 | 0:22:03 | |
And with the coast clear, | 0:22:07 | 0:22:09 | |
our squirrel is free to bury his nut in a new location, | 0:22:09 | 0:22:13 | |
known only to him. | 0:22:13 | 0:22:16 | |
For these squirrels, this park is a hotbed of theft and deception, | 0:22:27 | 0:22:33 | |
and they're pulling every trick they can out of the book | 0:22:33 | 0:22:37 | |
to find their nuts and then hide them. | 0:22:37 | 0:22:41 | |
But here is the really interesting thing. | 0:22:41 | 0:22:45 | |
They're not fooling another species - | 0:22:45 | 0:22:48 | |
they're tricking one another. | 0:22:48 | 0:22:50 | |
This is a case of deception and then counter-deception | 0:22:50 | 0:22:54 | |
evolving at the same time. | 0:22:54 | 0:22:57 | |
And the strategies that the hoarder and the pilferer have come up with | 0:22:57 | 0:23:02 | |
make these little rodents | 0:23:02 | 0:23:04 | |
one of THE most successful mammals on our planet. | 0:23:04 | 0:23:09 | |
So that is not nuts. | 0:23:09 | 0:23:12 | |
That's pure success. | 0:23:12 | 0:23:15 | |
Sleight of hand helps sneaky squirrels get one up on each other. | 0:23:19 | 0:23:24 | |
But there is one animal that uses devious and far darker tactics | 0:23:26 | 0:23:33 | |
on the most vulnerable of their own kind. | 0:23:33 | 0:23:36 | |
A millionaires' playground off the coast of California. | 0:23:38 | 0:23:42 | |
And a male sea otter is cruising the harbour. | 0:23:44 | 0:23:48 | |
To get his next meal, he's got a really despicable plan. | 0:23:53 | 0:23:59 | |
It involves a female sea otter and her pup. | 0:24:03 | 0:24:08 | |
The pup is just old enough to accompany her mother | 0:24:09 | 0:24:13 | |
on foraging trips, | 0:24:13 | 0:24:15 | |
giving the male an opportunity. | 0:24:15 | 0:24:18 | |
He picks the perfect moment. | 0:24:29 | 0:24:31 | |
Whilst the female is fishing, | 0:24:33 | 0:24:36 | |
her precious pup is all alone at the surface, | 0:24:36 | 0:24:41 | |
and vulnerable. | 0:24:41 | 0:24:43 | |
When the mother surfaces... | 0:24:49 | 0:24:51 | |
SHE SQUEAKS | 0:24:51 | 0:24:53 | |
..she hears the cries of her youngster. | 0:24:53 | 0:24:56 | |
SQUEAKING | 0:24:56 | 0:24:58 | |
CALL-AND-RESPONSE SQUEAKING | 0:24:58 | 0:25:01 | |
Our cunning male has kidnapped the baby. | 0:25:02 | 0:25:07 | |
He knows the female will come to the rescue - | 0:25:10 | 0:25:13 | |
and the ransom is always the same. | 0:25:13 | 0:25:17 | |
In an underwater exchange, | 0:25:23 | 0:25:25 | |
the female gives up the food she's just found to the male, | 0:25:25 | 0:25:29 | |
and the pup is released unharmed. | 0:25:29 | 0:25:32 | |
This is called "hostage behaviour", and it's surprisingly common. | 0:25:34 | 0:25:39 | |
A deliberate manipulation of female otters, | 0:25:39 | 0:25:43 | |
all to get food. | 0:25:43 | 0:25:46 | |
Theft is sneaky, but ultimately, it's a successful strategy. | 0:25:50 | 0:25:56 | |
But just how far are animals prepared to go? | 0:25:58 | 0:26:02 | |
Now, it's one thing for animals to deceive, | 0:26:10 | 0:26:13 | |
cheat and steal from one another to get themselves a decent meal, | 0:26:13 | 0:26:17 | |
but I've heard about something else that might be even more remarkable. | 0:26:17 | 0:26:21 | |
Oh, yes - they're cheating us humans. | 0:26:21 | 0:26:25 | |
I give you the world's ultimate cheeky monkey... | 0:26:25 | 0:26:28 | |
CLICKS | 0:26:28 | 0:26:30 | |
..the long-tailed macaque. | 0:26:30 | 0:26:32 | |
The Temple of Uluwatu... | 0:26:44 | 0:26:46 | |
..home to a remarkable troop of these monkeys. | 0:26:48 | 0:26:51 | |
With over 300 macaques here, | 0:26:53 | 0:26:57 | |
they need a lot of food. | 0:26:57 | 0:26:59 | |
But temple offerings and tourist scraps | 0:26:59 | 0:27:03 | |
just aren't enough for these monkey mobsters. | 0:27:03 | 0:27:06 | |
No, they've got their eyes on far more nutritious fare, | 0:27:09 | 0:27:13 | |
and what they're doing to get it is downright criminal. | 0:27:13 | 0:27:18 | |
There are plenty of monkeys about. | 0:27:25 | 0:27:27 | |
But to see what they're getting up to, I need to blend in. | 0:27:27 | 0:27:30 | |
I need to disguise myself... | 0:27:30 | 0:27:33 | |
as a tourist. | 0:27:33 | 0:27:35 | |
My camera is absolutely de rigueur. | 0:27:35 | 0:27:37 | |
Sunglasses. | 0:27:37 | 0:27:39 | |
What about this? | 0:27:39 | 0:27:41 | |
Everyone seems to be using these things. | 0:27:41 | 0:27:44 | |
Just not me, though. | 0:27:44 | 0:27:46 | |
Think I'll just stick to the old mobile phone. | 0:27:46 | 0:27:48 | |
HE SIGHS | 0:27:53 | 0:27:54 | |
No, going too far. | 0:27:54 | 0:27:56 | |
'Attention to the visitors, | 0:27:58 | 0:28:00 | |
'please be careful in bringing sunglasses, | 0:28:00 | 0:28:03 | |
'hats, jewellery and other valuables that can be taken by the monkeys. | 0:28:03 | 0:28:07 | |
'Thank you for your attention.' | 0:28:10 | 0:28:12 | |
These monkeys are expert thieves. | 0:28:17 | 0:28:20 | |
Here we go, here we go, here we go. | 0:28:23 | 0:28:25 | |
Oh, and there you go. | 0:28:25 | 0:28:26 | |
Brazen, audacious, | 0:28:28 | 0:28:30 | |
they've worked out exactly how to get what they want. | 0:28:30 | 0:28:34 | |
Oh, dear, oh, dear. | 0:28:47 | 0:28:48 | |
It's like taking candy from children, it really is. | 0:28:48 | 0:28:51 | |
You're a bit of a gangster, aren't you? | 0:28:56 | 0:28:59 | |
You fancy yourself as a bit of a... | 0:28:59 | 0:29:00 | |
sunglasses hit man? | 0:29:00 | 0:29:02 | |
Look at him, look! Here he goes. Here he goes! | 0:29:07 | 0:29:10 | |
I've been undercover for about an hour. | 0:29:22 | 0:29:24 | |
The monkeys have been stealing all sorts of stuff, flip-flops, | 0:29:24 | 0:29:27 | |
sunglasses... I managed to hang on to my own. People's hats. | 0:29:27 | 0:29:31 | |
I'm told they even nick their iPhones. | 0:29:31 | 0:29:34 | |
The interesting thing is, though, they're taking all of this stuff | 0:29:34 | 0:29:37 | |
which is valuable to us humans, but they're not taking any food. | 0:29:37 | 0:29:41 | |
MONKEY SCREECHES | 0:29:46 | 0:29:49 | |
Well, obviously I spoke too soon about MY sunglasses. | 0:29:49 | 0:29:52 | |
But this daylight robbery is still all about food, | 0:29:55 | 0:30:00 | |
just not in the way that you'd ever expect. | 0:30:00 | 0:30:03 | |
So, to understand what they're up to, | 0:30:07 | 0:30:10 | |
I am giving them an irresistible opportunity. | 0:30:10 | 0:30:13 | |
Oh! PEOPLE GASP | 0:30:19 | 0:30:21 | |
You see, these monkeys want something in return for my phone. | 0:30:23 | 0:30:29 | |
They're notorious for one thing... | 0:30:29 | 0:30:32 | |
holding people to ransom. | 0:30:32 | 0:30:35 | |
OK, he's got my phone. | 0:30:35 | 0:30:37 | |
And there is a system by which I may be able to do this - bartering. | 0:30:37 | 0:30:40 | |
OK, that's what it thinks of peanuts. | 0:30:45 | 0:30:47 | |
Let's try something a little bit more valuable to it. | 0:30:47 | 0:30:50 | |
Maybe a bag of bananas? | 0:30:50 | 0:30:52 | |
It doesn't seem particularly interested in the bananas either, | 0:30:52 | 0:30:56 | |
does he? The last prize that I have is this... | 0:30:56 | 0:30:58 | |
protein in the form of eggs. | 0:30:58 | 0:31:00 | |
If anything is going to get my phone back, it's this. | 0:31:00 | 0:31:04 | |
Yes! HE LAUGHS | 0:31:13 | 0:31:16 | |
Ah! | 0:31:16 | 0:31:18 | |
HE SIGHS WITH RELIEF | 0:31:18 | 0:31:20 | |
Yes, yes, yes! | 0:31:22 | 0:31:23 | |
This is absolutely incredible. | 0:31:25 | 0:31:27 | |
You see, these monkeys are stealing the valuables that they know | 0:31:27 | 0:31:32 | |
that we want back. | 0:31:32 | 0:31:34 | |
And they're using them to barter with us for food. | 0:31:34 | 0:31:37 | |
They won't give up their loot, | 0:31:42 | 0:31:44 | |
not until they're offered the specific food that they want, | 0:31:44 | 0:31:48 | |
often the fare with the highest nutritional value. | 0:31:48 | 0:31:52 | |
As negotiation and bartering are so extraordinary in the animal world, | 0:31:53 | 0:31:59 | |
Jean-Baptiste and his research team | 0:31:59 | 0:32:01 | |
are studying how this complex deception develops. | 0:32:01 | 0:32:05 | |
But this bartering is very, very rare. It occurs only here, | 0:32:05 | 0:32:08 | |
perhaps another couple of places on Earth. | 0:32:08 | 0:32:10 | |
Why here and nowhere else? | 0:32:10 | 0:32:12 | |
Well, the main hypothesis with this group is that it might have | 0:32:12 | 0:32:16 | |
emerged from an inventor. | 0:32:16 | 0:32:19 | |
-That's usually... -One animal? -Probably. | 0:32:19 | 0:32:21 | |
Probably, that's how behavioural traditions typically emerge. | 0:32:21 | 0:32:25 | |
It's obviously nutritionally beneficial, | 0:32:25 | 0:32:28 | |
they get really something out of it. | 0:32:28 | 0:32:30 | |
So, in this particular population, it spread. | 0:32:30 | 0:32:34 | |
So young monkeys here are able to learn by looking at their elders, | 0:32:34 | 0:32:37 | |
particularly the older males, which are the most proficient at this? | 0:32:37 | 0:32:40 | |
With adult males, the entire procedure becomes very fast, | 0:32:40 | 0:32:44 | |
very successful on both sides | 0:32:44 | 0:32:46 | |
and, of course, the monkey gets its favourite food and the token, | 0:32:46 | 0:32:51 | |
the item, is returned generally in good condition, but not always. | 0:32:51 | 0:32:55 | |
Not always. | 0:32:55 | 0:32:57 | |
Yeah, one of them, I have to say, ate my sunglasses, it chewed them up. | 0:32:57 | 0:33:01 | |
But that was a youngster and it took them off my head | 0:33:05 | 0:33:07 | |
without me even noticing. | 0:33:07 | 0:33:09 | |
So very adept at stealing, but then it dashed up a tree and ate them. | 0:33:09 | 0:33:12 | |
So it hadn't learned to barter yet. | 0:33:12 | 0:33:14 | |
It takes time and practice to become a good player | 0:33:14 | 0:33:18 | |
at this particular game, definitely. | 0:33:18 | 0:33:20 | |
When it comes to getting food, | 0:33:21 | 0:33:24 | |
these monkeys have got it all sewn up. | 0:33:24 | 0:33:27 | |
Superb. Absolutely superb. | 0:33:29 | 0:33:33 | |
This has to be one of the most fascinating | 0:33:33 | 0:33:36 | |
and complex pieces of deceitful behaviour that we've seen. | 0:33:36 | 0:33:40 | |
Oi! | 0:33:40 | 0:33:41 | |
And you know what I really like about it? | 0:33:41 | 0:33:44 | |
For once, these cheeky monkeys have turned the tables on us humans. | 0:33:44 | 0:33:48 | |
It's us that's being held to ransom. | 0:33:48 | 0:33:51 | |
Of course, we love their anarchic behaviour, | 0:33:53 | 0:33:55 | |
even, EVEN, when we're the victims ourselves. | 0:33:55 | 0:33:58 | |
It really is quite wonderful. | 0:33:58 | 0:34:00 | |
In the case of this remarkable monkey heist, | 0:34:08 | 0:34:11 | |
we are willing to be part of the deception. | 0:34:11 | 0:34:13 | |
Yet most animals wouldn't tolerate being tricked | 0:34:17 | 0:34:20 | |
time and time again for their food. | 0:34:20 | 0:34:23 | |
That's certainly a problem that animals that practise deception face, | 0:34:25 | 0:34:30 | |
because if they want their con to work in the long-term, | 0:34:30 | 0:34:33 | |
they need to control it, to regulate it, to ensure that the victim | 0:34:33 | 0:34:38 | |
is blissfully unaware that it's ever been had. | 0:34:38 | 0:34:41 | |
Sounds simple, but it's not. | 0:34:41 | 0:34:43 | |
It's something that is very, very difficult to do. | 0:34:43 | 0:34:47 | |
But there is one animal that has perfected the art. | 0:34:47 | 0:34:50 | |
Here in South Africa, there's an animal that uses | 0:35:02 | 0:35:06 | |
the most extraordinary trick that I've ever heard of | 0:35:06 | 0:35:09 | |
to get itself a meal. | 0:35:09 | 0:35:11 | |
I give you the one and the only drongo. | 0:35:11 | 0:35:15 | |
The ultimate hustler in the hunger games. | 0:35:17 | 0:35:21 | |
He's one brazen bird. | 0:35:21 | 0:35:23 | |
Now, it might look warm and sunny here, | 0:35:27 | 0:35:30 | |
but it's winter and times are tough. | 0:35:30 | 0:35:33 | |
The flying insects that the drongo usually eats | 0:35:35 | 0:35:38 | |
just aren't around in these low temperatures. | 0:35:38 | 0:35:41 | |
The only grubs and insects here live underground. | 0:35:42 | 0:35:45 | |
And other animals are far better equipped to dig them up | 0:35:47 | 0:35:50 | |
than our drongo. | 0:35:50 | 0:35:51 | |
So how is he going to get this food? | 0:35:54 | 0:35:58 | |
This exquisite bird has evolved a very devious strategy | 0:36:00 | 0:36:05 | |
to deal with just this problem. | 0:36:05 | 0:36:08 | |
You see, its very survival rests on a knife edge, | 0:36:08 | 0:36:12 | |
so it's turned to a life of crime. | 0:36:12 | 0:36:15 | |
And although it may not look it, the drongo here... | 0:36:17 | 0:36:21 | |
..is a con artist of the highest order. | 0:36:22 | 0:36:25 | |
In the world of the con, an elaborate hustle plays out | 0:36:27 | 0:36:31 | |
between the player... | 0:36:31 | 0:36:33 | |
..the drongo... | 0:36:34 | 0:36:36 | |
..and the victim of the con, the mark. | 0:36:37 | 0:36:41 | |
And the mark, in this case, is another species of bird, | 0:36:42 | 0:36:46 | |
a sociable weaver. | 0:36:46 | 0:36:49 | |
And they feed on the ground, using their large powerful bills | 0:36:49 | 0:36:52 | |
to dig up the food. | 0:36:52 | 0:36:54 | |
But out in the open, they are vulnerable to predators. | 0:36:54 | 0:36:58 | |
And that's where the drongo comes in. | 0:37:04 | 0:37:07 | |
So what is the drongo offering the weaver? | 0:37:07 | 0:37:11 | |
It's offering it something that is the singularly most important | 0:37:11 | 0:37:15 | |
thing for a small bird like this... | 0:37:15 | 0:37:18 | |
protection. | 0:37:18 | 0:37:20 | |
When trouble looms, the drongo lets the weavers know about it. | 0:37:29 | 0:37:34 | |
DRONGO CALLS | 0:37:34 | 0:37:36 | |
..with an alarm call. | 0:37:36 | 0:37:38 | |
When the danger is gone... | 0:37:41 | 0:37:43 | |
DRONGO WHISTLES | 0:37:45 | 0:37:47 | |
..he gives them an all-clear call. | 0:37:47 | 0:37:49 | |
It looks to me as if the first stage of the con has been established, | 0:37:58 | 0:38:03 | |
in the sense that they are clearly trusting the drongo's call. | 0:38:03 | 0:38:07 | |
So far, so good. | 0:38:10 | 0:38:11 | |
But now let's see how this hustle actually plays out. | 0:38:14 | 0:38:17 | |
With the drongo on lookout duty, the weavers spend less time | 0:38:21 | 0:38:25 | |
worrying about predators and more time foraging... | 0:38:25 | 0:38:28 | |
..digging up that vital food. | 0:38:31 | 0:38:33 | |
DRONGO CALLS | 0:38:40 | 0:38:42 | |
The drongo's alarm call... | 0:38:42 | 0:38:44 | |
and that means danger. | 0:38:44 | 0:38:46 | |
But all is not what it seems. | 0:38:48 | 0:38:50 | |
That alarm call was, in fact, a fake. | 0:38:52 | 0:38:56 | |
There is no predator. | 0:38:56 | 0:38:58 | |
DRONGO CALLS | 0:38:58 | 0:38:59 | |
And with the weavers gone, | 0:39:19 | 0:39:21 | |
the drongo eats all the food they just dug up. | 0:39:21 | 0:39:24 | |
And then he gives the all-clear call. | 0:39:34 | 0:39:38 | |
DRONGO WHISTLES | 0:39:38 | 0:39:40 | |
Within minutes, | 0:39:43 | 0:39:44 | |
the drongo is back on duty and the weavers are none the wiser. | 0:39:44 | 0:39:49 | |
Now, he's got to keep his side of the bargain. | 0:39:53 | 0:39:56 | |
He's got to protect them from real predators... | 0:39:56 | 0:39:59 | |
..or they'll get wise to his protection racket. | 0:40:00 | 0:40:03 | |
But, in fact, the drongos' con gets much more sophisticated than this. | 0:40:05 | 0:40:10 | |
The drongos' con routine is actually so effective that they've learned | 0:40:15 | 0:40:20 | |
to employ it upon many other species of animal, including these guys... | 0:40:20 | 0:40:26 | |
..meerkats. | 0:40:28 | 0:40:29 | |
They're much smarter than the weavers, | 0:40:34 | 0:40:36 | |
so the drongo needs to raise his game. | 0:40:36 | 0:40:39 | |
Meerkats have their own lookout. | 0:40:44 | 0:40:46 | |
It's one that they entrust with their lives. | 0:40:46 | 0:40:49 | |
Yet, if there are predators about, | 0:40:51 | 0:40:53 | |
a second pair of eyes is always very useful. | 0:40:53 | 0:40:57 | |
And the drongo can exploit this. | 0:40:57 | 0:40:59 | |
That food has caught his eye. | 0:41:01 | 0:41:03 | |
DRONGO CALLS | 0:41:03 | 0:41:05 | |
He makes a fake alarm call. | 0:41:05 | 0:41:08 | |
It should send them running... | 0:41:09 | 0:41:11 | |
MEERKAT BARKS | 0:41:13 | 0:41:15 | |
But no, the meerkats aren't fooled that easily. | 0:41:15 | 0:41:19 | |
He needs another plan. | 0:41:19 | 0:41:22 | |
And what the drongo does now is really sneaky. | 0:41:29 | 0:41:33 | |
BARKING | 0:41:39 | 0:41:41 | |
From out of the blue, it's the sound of a meerkat alarm call. | 0:41:41 | 0:41:46 | |
But that was no meerkat. | 0:41:47 | 0:41:49 | |
DRONGO MIMICS A MEERKAT | 0:41:50 | 0:41:52 | |
BARKING | 0:41:52 | 0:41:54 | |
No, that was our drongo. | 0:41:54 | 0:41:57 | |
The sneaky devil has switched tactics | 0:42:02 | 0:42:05 | |
and, by mimicking the meerkats' own alarm call, | 0:42:05 | 0:42:08 | |
he tricks them completely | 0:42:08 | 0:42:10 | |
and gets all the food for himself. | 0:42:10 | 0:42:13 | |
The drongo is the ultimate con artist. | 0:42:17 | 0:42:21 | |
Depending on the situation, | 0:42:21 | 0:42:24 | |
he decides which of his repertoire of fake calls to use. | 0:42:24 | 0:42:29 | |
And this means his targets never get wise to his tricks. | 0:42:29 | 0:42:34 | |
When it comes to finding food, | 0:42:35 | 0:42:37 | |
this little bird has pulled off the most phenomenal con, | 0:42:37 | 0:42:41 | |
to the extent that, if it thinks for just a moment that the mark is going | 0:42:41 | 0:42:46 | |
to figure out the trick, it changes it to guarantee success. | 0:42:46 | 0:42:50 | |
That, you've got to admit, is remarkable | 0:42:50 | 0:42:54 | |
and surely makes this one of the most devious animals on our planet. | 0:42:54 | 0:42:59 | |
And I, for one, have developed a real admiration for the drongo. | 0:42:59 | 0:43:04 | |
What a bird...what a bird! | 0:43:04 | 0:43:06 | |
So, we've met the extraordinary animals that will lie, | 0:43:11 | 0:43:15 | |
cheat and steal their way to their next meal... | 0:43:15 | 0:43:19 | |
..sneaky strategies that ensure that they'll live to see another day. | 0:43:22 | 0:43:27 |