Monkey Planet

2014 • bbc

4.5

22 reviews

Eligible

Season 1 episodes (3)

1 Meet The Family

4/1/14

Presenter Dr George McGavin gets up close and personal with Siswi, an orang-utan who uses soap to improve her personal hygiene. He strips off to experience the numbing cold of the Japanese Alps, and heads 100 metres underground to a secluded monkey dormitory. Then there are baboons with a hunger for flamingo flesh; macaques with criminal minds; and Ardry, a real life gremlin who 'sees' the unseeable with her 'extra-terrestrial' fingers.

2 Family Matters

4/8/14

The key to primate success is that, like us, most species live in close-knit family groups. This episode explores the complex world of primate social lifestyles. In Peru Emporer tamarin males are conned into childcare, and by using team work chimpanzees have become some of the most success hunters on the planet. But living in families isn't always easy; in Gibraltar barbary macaques steal babies to impress their boss and in matriarchal ring-tail lemur societies the girls have to fight pitch battles with babies in tow.

3 Master Minds

4/15/14

Our primate cousins are much smarter than you might imagine. Just like us they use tools, solve problems, and even have emotions. We discover how these animals are individuals and why brainpower is essential to primate survival. In Thailand long-tailed macaques floss their teeth with human hair and use tools to open oysters on the beach. In Uganda chimps pass on cultures and customs through generations. We meet Dora at orangutan school in Sumatra and a bonobo in the States who can have conversations with humans and toast marshmallows in a fire he makes himself.

About this show

We humans are part of an extraordinary family, with hundreds of bizarre and colourful relatives all over the world. Monkey Planet explores the ingenious survival tactics and amazing physical adaptations of our primate family, including strange lemurs, acrobatic monkeys, and enigmatic apes. Spanning the globe, we uncover the secrets of an array of fascinating, flexible primate minds. From the long-tailed macaques in Thailand who floss their teeth with human hair, to the bonobo in the States who can order food on a smart phone, this series uncovers the intelligence and resourcefulness of our quirky relatives, while learning a surprising amount about ourselves in the process.

Ratings and reviews

4.5

22 reviews

Georgina Boyden

April 17, 2014

Non got the book but I saw the TV show and it was awesome but I new most the facts anyway

Eric Prost

May 4, 2014

Sooo cute I heart monkeys

Maisie Newby

August 10, 2019

realy realy good

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