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In Earth's wildest places, animal behavior continues to surprise us. Two unlikely companions bond over lunch. Acquiring beachfront property has never been easier. And the planet's tiniest farmers work to feed their family. This is a new way of seeing the natural world. Where wild animals act just like we do. One of the fascinating things about studying animals is discovering how many aspects of their behavior have parallels with our own. Around the globe, animals continue to astound us with their intelligence and deep emotions. The amazing thing is, the more we learn about them, the more we realize animals are a lot like us.
These are some of our closest living relatives. We share roughly 99% of our DNA with these great apes. So, it makes sense that chimps have a lot in common with us. Along with bonobos, chimpanzees are the species most closely related to us. And right across the animal kingdom, it's pretty fair to say that it's beyond doubt now that they are incredibly intelligent animals. Chimps are highly social animals, just like us. They live in large communities, each with their own unique relationships and culture.
They do like to chat about all kinds of things. Inviting friends over for dinner, discussing plans for the day, or simply trying to get someone's attention. So, they rely on facial expressions and intricate vocalizations to communicate. More than that, they're capable of displaying a whole range of complex emotions and feelings and other behaviors. where one particular chimp has amazed the world by showing another side of those complex emotions. This young male has found a quiet spot some distance away from his family. He's caught the attention of some of the other chimps, It's quite hard to see what's going on initially, but that young chimp is lying down and is really interested in
in a young animal there. And for a chimp, he's being quite tender, actually. This chimp has found a small cat-like creature abandoned in the jungle. It's not a leopard. It's a genet. They're related to cats, but not really a true feline. It's more like a mongoose or civet. Either way, the chimp seems to have taken a shine to this little one. The chimp can be seen playing caressing with this small animal, and it appears that like a human child with a pet, this young chimp has really become affectionate towards this young animal.
But it's not at all clear if the affectionate chimp will get to keep his new companion. The other chimps stand by and watch. They're intrigued, but this older male has come to investigate. It looks like he wants the genet for himself. The young chimp gently cradles the genet, carrying it away to safety. This is really extraordinary behavior. At first, it looks almost childlike, but then eventually, we start to see something that looks like compassion and even something that looks like empathy.
Empathy, because it appears as if the young chimp is trying to protect the genet from the older male. Confident that they're on their own now, he finds a stick and helps himself to some tasty termites. His pet genet tucked close by his side, keeping him company. It's clear the chimp likes having the genet around. Just like dogs and cats help us fend off loneliness and stress, perhaps the chimp is also benefiting from its close bond with the genet. So, this chimp has shown incredible capacity not only to look after another animal that's not its own species, but to show quite a range of emotions towards it. So, it's really just goes to show that maybe we're not the only species that likes to keep pets.
Chimpanzees, so intelligent and complex, always capable of amazing us with their abilities and behaviors. They're like us in so many ways. Now, perhaps it seems we can even add pet lovers to the list. We've all heard the expression "monkey see, monkey do." But for orangutans, another great ape species known for its smarts, that old adage is taken to the next level. By observing human behavior, orangutans can learn new skills and adopt them as their own. Orangutans live only in Borneo and Sumatra.
The name orangutan means "man of the forest" in the Malay language. These primates reside in lowland forests, leading mostly solitary lives. Although moms keep their young by their sides longer than most other mammals besides us, sometimes for as long as 7 or 8 years. That's plenty of time for a young orangutan to learn from its mom, watching and copying what she does. When they do venture out of the forest, they've been known to watch people This wild female orangutan has wandered into an old research camp and for fun, decides to do a bit of sawing. Orangutans have opposable thumbs, so they can hold and manipulate tools and objects, just like we can.
She uses her feet as a vice to hold the branch steady, She's learned how to saw by watching workers here build wooden huts and porches. Another adult female has found a leftover camp provision, helping herself to a bar of soap for a spa day down by the river. Having observed people washing in the river, this orangutan knows how to lather herself up and gives her arms and hands a good scrub.
Apparently, for an orangutan, soap is also pretty tasty. After her bath, it might be time to hit the hay. But instead of nesting back up in the trees, she finds an old hammock strung up in one of the huts. This will do just fine. As long as she doesn't get too tangled up. Despite how this might look, orangutans are without a doubt exceedingly clever. And can master some very human habits simply by being good observers and making themselves at home. All creatures, human and animal, need a place to call home. Some are more unusual than others. On the East Coast of Central America, you'll find the beautiful beaches of Belize.
These beaches look pretty empty, but there are hundreds of local residents who live here year-round. Some nest here. Others burrow underground to make their dwelling. And some happen to carry their homes on their backs. Crafty crustaceans that inhabit abandoned sea snail shells. Just like us, they place a high value on beachfront real estate. There are more than 800 different species of hermit crab. And they all need a shell to survive. They don't have a completely hard exoskeleton and they can't grow their own shells, so they find shells to live in mostly for protection.
Exposed in the tropical heat, a hermit crab would quickly cook in the sun. So for hermit crabs, homelessness is not an option and often as the crab grows, the shell they're living in becomes a bit cramped. If the shell's too tight, the crab can't escape back inside fast enough and risks being eaten. So in this case, it's time for a hermit crab to shed its starter home and find something a bit more roomy. But that's not as easy as it might sound. Many of us have been there. You start off in a small place, it's good enough, but then you acquire more stuff. You got to get a bigger place, you got to move.
It looks like the search for bigger real estate isn't just limited to us. It extends to hermit crabs as well. There are always hermit crabs looking for more spacious digs. So they'll gather around, give the place a quick inspection, size up the competition, and then get in line. The biggest at the front with smaller crabs behind in descending size order. This is pretty incredible behavior. When it was discovered, it was the first example in the animal kingdom of what economists call a vacancy chain, whereby someone makes use of something that was deemed useless by someone else. The biggest crab has first dibs. If he tries it on for size and likes what he sees, he may decide to make the move. And as it swaps out, a smaller crab is
ready to move in to its old digs. And this is a great way to use up all the available resources where nobody's left homeless. For these crabs, moving day can be physically demanding. The crabs use their legs to lock themselves into the new home and it's there the contract is signed and sealed until they outgrow their digs again. When they're swapping shells, they're quite vulnerable. That means when they get to this point, they've got to do it quickly. So it's a very quick house move. These beach dwellers have a habit of sheltering alone inside their shells, which of course is how they got their name. But maybe that's not fair.
Instead of being hermits, these crabs are actually quite sociable, especially when they're exchanging hand-me-down homes. Not only does this system ensure that no crab is without a shell, it actually goes to show that there's actually pretty good organization and a sense of community among this group of animals that a lot of people consider to be simple-brained. Whether it's Belize or some other tropical paradise, the beach-loving hermit crabs are truly unique. After all, it's not every day that acquiring oceanfront property is so orderly and straightforward.
There are plenty of animals out there that look cute or friendly, but are actually bad-tempered. Kangaroos will give you a swift kick if you step out of line. Swans look elegant and serene until they reveal their aggressive side. And then there are the furry, cold-blooded killers like polar bears, and even the cuddly sea otter. Most people think sea otters are incredibly cute and you can understand why. They are so fluffy, they float on their backs in the water looking really adorable and kind of juggling with rocks, but they can have a mean streak.
Along the coast of California, the chilly waters of the North Pacific are home to nearly all the sea otters in the world. They live almost exclusively in the ocean in large groups. Sea otters are extremely social, especially the females that like to hang out with each other. And they are perfectly adapted to life in water and they can do pretty much everything there. They sleep, eat, mate, and even give birth in the water. They may come ashore briefly to rest, it's known as hauling out, but most of their activities take place in the water.
It may look leisurely, but life in the cold North Pacific is not easy for the sea otter. And like desperate people, these animals sometimes break all the rules to survive. Sea otters have a very high metabolic rate. That's important for generating body heat. And so they need to eat a lot of food. So they'll spend 60% of their day foraging and then they'll have to eat 30% of their body weight every day. Otters take short, deep dives to the bottom to look for something tasty like fish, shellfish, crustaceans, and shrimp. They can lift and turn over rocks, which they often do with their front paws when searching for prey. And to top that, sea otters also use
rocks to break open clams and shellfish. Joining an exclusive club of mammals that can use tools. Despite these impressive skills and know-how, it's a constant struggle to find enough to eat. They're really just meeting at that basic energetic need every single day. It's like living paycheck to paycheck. And female otters with pups are hit the hardest by starvation because they've got to watch their pups and feed them milk as well. This means sea otter mothers are particularly vulnerable. And to male otters, that makes them an easy target. This is where the dark side of sea otter behavior comes in.
The bad boys of the ocean, decked out in their fur coats, follow no laws. This guy with the long whiskers is definitely up to no good. Yeah, male sea otters are definitely not cute in real life. They are aggressive, they are violent, and they can also be really manipulative. For instance, when food is scarce, otters will do whatever it takes to get it. Even if that means using threats and physical coercion. Thuggish males resort to stealing food from other otters, usually females. But it gets worse.
This group of males has targeted a mom and her pup. They grab the youngster and hold it hostage. They even force the defenseless pup under water. Seeing how young one in danger, mom hands over some food as ransom. It's a classic gangland shake down. But she gets her baby back. Male sea otter behavior may seem really shocking to us, but it's important to remember that animals don't have a moral code. Their behavior is much less psychologically and cognitively complex.
They're just doing what they need to do in order to survive. Like us, otters also seem to know that there's strength in numbers. You can often see dozens of females floating all together, joined up in a big group called a raft, holding on to each other and their young. It helps them stay warm and ideally keeps them safe from all the neighborhood toughs. Otters aren't the only animals that rely on each other.
We have herds of mammals, Staying together helps guard against predators, and this isn't the only benefit. Lots of animals live in large groups. They learn to work together, and not only do they cooperate, there are cases where they actively help each other, too. So, this sense of being a good neighbor really boosts your chances of survival in the animal kingdom. You can find a slightly spooky example of good neighbors down in Mexico. Thumb-sized predators are stirring
the only mammal known to survive on a steady diet of blood. But just like us, they also need friends and neighbors they can count on. I've got to say, you wouldn't want another vampire bat as a neighbor, unless of course you're a vampire bat yourself. First of all, there are only three species of all the species of bats in the world that have a diet that involves exclusively feeding on blood. And true to their fictional namesake, this behavior happens almost exclusively after dark. Vampire bats are tiny, weighing less than 60 g and measuring just over 10 cm long.
These creatures of the night have long canines and sharp upper incisors. They mostly prey on cows and other livestock, including pigs and horses. They're small and nimble, and another unique aspect of vampire bats is they can walk, run, and even jump. And all of these abilities help them when they want to latch on to their next victim. It uses the heat sensors in its nose to locate the pig's blood vessels. When it's zeroed in on a hot spot, it moves in and makes an incision and drinks the animal's blood.
There's an anticoagulant in the bat's saliva that prevents the victim's blood from clotting, so it's a steady stream. Most nights, most bats are successful, but some strike out and return to the roost with an empty belly. If a vampire bat can't find blood for two nights in a row, it won't survive. Luckily for those individuals at risk of starvation, all is not lost because among vampire bats, there is a friends and family plan. A major study revealed how it works. Well-fed bats will sacrifice food in order to help those in need. Take these two. One of them is doing the neighborly thing and sharing its food.
The bat regurgitates or spits up blood for the other to snack on. This is actually really interesting behavior because researchers have seen hungry bats that are still in the roost go up to a newly arrived bat that's fed and actually beg them for a meal. So, essentially it's sharing the meal with another family member. For these bats, sharing is caring. But this one isn't donating part of its meal for free. They'll expect something in return, like grooming. If one of their friends or their neighbors begs for a meal, they may be willing to share this food, particularly if that individual proves to be trustworthy and reliable. For a bat, being reliable means it can
be counted on to return the favor at some point. It's a scratch my back and I'll scratch yours kind of arrangement. It just goes to show that real collective mentality of bats, the colony mentality. You know, it's about the greater good, the bigger picture. Researchers think that the bats are constantly testing this friendship. The donor bat will initially only share a little bit of its meal, and if the recipient doesn't share back eventually, then it'll simply stop sharing its meal altogether.
It'll simply move on to another individual in the colony, one that's more reliable, a better friend. These cooperative relationships are obviously beneficial. Bats that offer meals most often generally live longer. It's clear the favors are being repaid, and scientists think those high survival rates encourage other bats to also be generous with blood meals. Quite often in other species that regurgitate their food, that can actually happen out of harassment or bullying, but this isn't what's going on with vampire bats. They clearly are willing to share their food, so it definitely is cooperative behavior.
For us, it's always good to have family members and friends around, people you can count on in a pinch. Apparently, having that kind of reliable safety net is important for vampire bats, too. These little bats need almost constant sustenance in order to survive. Making it sure that you have a friend that's willing to share a meal will see that everybody benefits and probably will see that everyone goes to sleep with a full belly. [snorts] Finding enough food to feed your family, that's something we have in common with many animal species. If you look close enough beneath tree canopies and through the underbrush, you'll find insects that work together to provide for the whole community
and have even mastered their own form of farming and gardening. This is Costa Rica, the heart of Central America's tropical forests. If you've ever taken a hike here, you may have seen them. Legions of tiny farmers marching in orderly columns working the land to feed their families. They don't use plows or tractors. They rely on their own strength to cut and carry pieces of vegetation that look way too big for them. They're leafcutter ants.
Famous for their highly organized societies and for taking collective agriculture to a whole new level. There are almost 50 different species of leafcutter ants and they're found throughout the Americas right across the tropics. And what's interesting is that these appear to be the most competent, the most amazing of nature's micro farmers. Despite their small size, these ants form some of the largest and most complex societies in nature. Just like a human society, colonies have millions of members. And ruling over them the queen. All the work of the colony revolves around the queen and she's the one who actually establishes the colony. And at first she's completely on her
own, but eventually she'll have enough energy, start laying eggs, and once those eggs hatch, she can hand over the work to her workers. The queen lays about 20 eggs a minute, producing more than 100 million offspring in her lifetime. So, the colony grows and grows. All the larvae needs to be fed. And like human newborns almost round the clock. So, workers set off from the nest in search of an adequate food source.
Each individual has a specialized role. They all have a job to do and a part to play in keeping the colony going. Organized into castes based on their size some are soldiers some are gardeners and others are forest workers. The workers will travel as far as 100 yd away from their nest and if you think of that in human terms, that's like us going on a 50-mi hike. It's quite incredible. This looks like suitable vegetation. Time to get busy. Sticky pads and curved claws on their legs help the ants grip vertical surfaces
The leafcutters start to saw off pieces of leaf to carry home. These insects have specially adapted mandibles serrated jaws that act almost like a chainsaw to easily cut through leaves, flowers, and plants. With giant chunks of salad in hand sometimes 10 to 50 times heavier than they are the ants march back to the nest. They bring the pieces of leaf down into hundreds of special underground chambers where their co-workers are on their farms waiting. They use the pieces of leaf to feed a fungus garden that's growing inside their nest. It's so clever and so organized. Some ants are out there harvesting the leaves, others are back within the colony and acting more as gardeners and
they're adding fertilizer to the fungus and it's this fungus which is their main food source. The leafcutters inject the pieces of vegetation that they bring back with a fungal secretion that they produce themselves. It breaks down the plant material and makes it easier for the fungus to digest. Even poisonous plants can be turned into an edible and nutritious mulch. Just like us, when we farm or when we garden, the ants will take enormous care over these fungus gardens. They will constantly prune them, clean them of other molds, of bacteria, of parasites, and in return, the fungus produces these
swellings which are rich in protein and fats and that is food for the ant larvae. Humans have been farming for about 12,000 years. These ants have been farming for more than 50 million. And they've got sustainable agriculture down to a fine science. With a tireless and specialized workforce and collective intelligence they've managed to thrive. These ants have proven pretty resilient over between 50 and 60 million years of climate fluctuations. And that kind of shows us that something they're doing is right and maybe we can learn a thing or two from them as well in terms of sustainability and
resilience in our own domesticated crops and farming. Tiny but mighty. While they feed their society, they're actually stimulating vegetation growth by adding tens of thousands of kilograms of leaf litter to the soil, helping not hurting the plants and trees they rely on to survive. Which makes these farmers one of the most valuable species to their whole forest ecosystem. Of course, not all animals get along with each other as harmoniously as the ants. Like human society, the animal kingdom is very rarely free of conflict. Even within a species there can be trouble. From the very smallest denizens of the natural world conflict usually occurs when there's a limited supply of a valuable resource like food
shelter or access to mates. Hippos fight viciously to defend their territory. Animals compete with each other not only for food and territory but also things like social status and mates. And this sort of competition can either be direct or indirect. But ultimately, both types of competition can be detrimental to the animals. In fact, just like us, animals that endure a lot of conflict get anxious and stressed out. In Northeast Africa, there's a prime example. These are the Simien Mountains of Ethiopia. Here on top of the world you'll find monkeys whose lives revolve around competition as they strive for dominance.
These are geladas. They're primates, they're closely related to baboons, sometimes called bleeding heart monkeys because of that red stripe of skin on their chest. There's about 200,000 of them living in the mountains of Ethiopia and they're found nowhere else. They spend most of the day sitting down munching on grass and herbs. To get ahead here, you need real ambition and friends in high places. For geladas, life can really be quite stressful. There's a whole range of different behaviors that you can see. There's pushing and pulling and squabbling and ultimately biting. The day can start out peacefully.
Geladas sleep on rocky cliffs where it's generally safe. And then they descend in the morning to go foraging in nearby grasslands. They live in primarily two kinds of groups. Either an all-male group or as a family in what's known as a one-male group. The gelada family unit typically consists of one adult male with between three and six adult females and then their offspring. And then these small units band together to form super groups of up to 600 individuals.
These animals aren't territorial and it's not uncommon to find big congregations of separate units all grazing together wherever conditions are favorable. But in this exotic workplace, competition for promotion is the norm. For example, a single lone male from an all-male group often tries to replace the males in a one-male group. and physical altercations [screaming] all in the name of advancement. Males will fight to be the leader of a family unit and it's basically like a hostile takeover and that means if they win, then they will have access to females and mating rights.
Regardless of who wins the fight between the two males, the females can chase the unwanted male away from the group with their own show of physical force. This girl gang can basically pick a favorite and choose to support or oppose either male. Females have a lot of power in gelada society and they can actually control who gets to reproduce with them. So, females will actually gang up on males that they don't like. But female geladas can also initiate conflicts. That occurs when there's a perception of another female stepping on their toes or infringing on their space.
Look at these two. They seem to be getting along just fine. Then, without warning, This is a lot like human society. For thousands and thousands of years we have bullied each other. We have fought, we have threatened, we've used physical violence all to achieve some level of dominance in order to increase our chances of climbing that social ladder. A lot of the fighting is ritualistic. They're not necessarily trying to kill each other, but it does make for a hostile work environment. For geladas, bullying, threats, intimidation, violence, fighting, it's all part of the culture that runs rampant in their troops.
One thing's for sure, the bullying and fighting comes with a cost. In the more rancorous troops, where threats and fights are common, life is more stressful. Just like people, some geladas suffer from chronic stress and social anxiety. For people and monkeys, both conditions are well known to cause serious health problems. Whether it's geladas or people, victims of bullying suffer long-term consequences and some of these things can be psychological such as stress, anxiety, depression even, but also there's a physical element as well and some monkeys have been shown to
develop gastric ulcers as a result of long-term stress. But like us, these monkeys have a way to counter the stress. The remedy? Female geladas that spend more time grooming one another have lower stress levels and longer lifespans. These close social relationships, in essence, help them cope and survive. That's important in a world that's hyper-competitive. In humans, the strength and quality of our social relationships has been correlated to increased health and even longer lifespans, but we don't really know whether the same can be said for animals. However, with geladas, despite everything on the surface, there might still be hope.
Around here, it's tough at the top. But like us, stressed-out geladas can find some peace and relaxation through simple acts of kindness. Another great way to relieve stress, for animals and for people, is through play. Just take a look at these 6-month-old clouded leopard cubs. They know all about the power of play. These wild cats spend hours happily chasing each other through the trees. it's a game of tag that they repeat over and over again. So, for these cubs and many other animals, this kind of play is key to their development,
honing so many of their skills that they will rely on later in adult life when they want to hunt and provide for families of their own. Recently, scientists have discovered more proof that playing is a characteristic of most animal species. An important part of life for them, just like it is for us. Vital for growing up and perhaps staying happy. We all know that animals love to play. If you've got a dog, you know they love playing with a stick or cats love playing with a furry mouse, but it's not just domesticated animals that play.
Wild animals play, too. Case in point, these charismatic Japanese macaques, also known as snow monkeys because they live in the far north of Japan in places where snow covers the ground for months at a time. They're the only non-human primates known to soak away their troubles in natural hot springs. They're uniquely adapted to the cold and so you'll also see them playing in the snow just for the fun of it. They've even learned to do what many of us do when spending time in this kind of frozen landscape, make snowballs. Or maybe it's a head for a snowman. Or snow monkey?
This one's realized it also rolls. There it goes. This is a perfect example of animals like us because I did that as a kid. For these snow monkeys, throwing snowballs is a part of their culture. They grow up and see others do it and later on do it in their life. Must be pretty fun, otherwise they wouldn't do it. Who doesn't like to go out and play in the snow? Penguins live in a perpetual winter wonderland and take full advantage, slipping and sliding. These river otters have also mastered the art of sledding. For Siberian tiger cubs, prowling across snow-covered terrain really means playtime. And this young red panda seems to relish any opportunity to explore its high-altitude home turf, maybe even
sniffing out a tasty root under the snow. Just like us, animals experience chemical changes in their brains, especially when they play. You've got dopamine and endorphins and all these other hormones that are released that become joyous and almost addictive and that's why playing is so much fun for us and for animals. For most creatures, their lives in the wild are hard. It's a never-ending struggle to avoid predators and find enough food. Despite the daily grind, many animals still find time to let loose and unwind.
Playing purely for their own amusement. Which certainly makes them a lot like us.
