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  • 6/9/2025
Survival of the Beast Season 1 Episode 4

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00:00I've been dreaming of this moment for pretty much my entire life.
00:11Inside this national park is the ultimate survivalist, wild chimpanzees.
00:16By nature, they are so similar to humans that they should be able to teach me more than any other animal in the animal kingdom.
00:24And I am buzzing with anticipation.
00:27I can't wait for the moment to actually catch up with them.
00:30My name is Max, and I may be mad, but I'm going really wild.
00:39This is where we start picking up their secrets.
00:41I'm going to learn from the greatest teachers in the world.
00:44Perfect.
00:45The animals themselves.
00:50Animals have evolved to thrive in just about every environment.
00:56As a survivalist, that's pretty much all you need.
00:58Their survival skills, perfected over millions of years.
01:03This is a living dinosaur.
01:05The tougher the habitat, the clever the adaptation.
01:09Oh, there he goes.
01:10I've been honing my own survival skills my entire life.
01:14That's magic right there.
01:16But now I'm enrolling as a student at the University of Wildlife.
01:20There's so much I can learn from a snake like this.
01:23I'm going to try to move.
01:26Stalk.
01:27She's staring straight at me.
01:29Eat.
01:30Is that an earthworm?
01:31Sleep.
01:33Look at that.
01:36Survive.
01:36Just like they do.
01:37I've been able to mimic a weaver ant.
01:40So cool.
01:41All in a quest to better understand the planet we share.
01:46Well, that's the hope anyways.
01:47Because this area is so mountainous and so hilly, these chimpanzees here are not very regularly researched.
02:03Yes.
02:04So what's one of the coolest things that you've seen with the chimps?
02:08The social behavior.
02:09Yeah.
02:10They are really close to human beings.
02:12Yeah.
02:13How there is an aspect in the hierarchy, the whole community.
02:17Yeah.
02:17It's amazing.
02:18That's why I'm coming to discover and the parallels between human society and chimpanzee society.
02:25Yes.
02:25And how many chimpanzees live within this part of the park?
02:2937 chimpanzees.
02:3037 chimpanzees?
02:31Yes.
02:32Wow.
02:32That is amazing.
02:33Yes.
02:34I want to get started.
02:35I'll call you on the radio if I need any help.
02:37All right.
02:37You ready to start walking?
02:39Let's go.
02:39Let's see.
02:39We got some chimps to find.
02:41Yes.
02:43This is me in the southwest corner of Rwanda in one of Africa's oldest rainforests.
02:52It's home to some of the most unique flora and fauna many found nowhere else on the planet.
02:59But it's no walk in the park.
03:01Rwanda is called the land of a thousand hills, and I'm learning the hard way.
03:07Just going straight up and going straight down, this is an absolute beatdown.
03:19I'm just trying to conserve as much energy, because we're at elevation.
03:22This is not an easy place to survive alone, which is why I'm searching for one of our closest relatives.
03:37These guys have learned to work together in order to survive.
03:42I'm here to embed with them and figure out their society.
03:47But first, I need to find them.
03:56Trying to track wild chimps is really hard.
03:59Not only do I have to look all over the ground, it could be a couple hundred feet up into a tree.
04:12I saw some footprints over here.
04:15Oh, and there's a knuckle print right there.
04:18You can see that they walk on their knuckles.
04:20So, boom, it looks like they're heading that way.
04:24Getting one step closer.
04:31It's early day one, and I'm already seeing some signs, which is a huge win.
04:37You can see these leaves have been turned over.
04:39They've definitely been feeding here.
04:42Let's go.
04:42Let's go.
04:42Let's go.
05:12Wild chimps are very, very skittish.
05:31I see a chimp.
05:33Oh, my God.
05:34Man.
05:35He's right here, staring at me.
05:51Wow.
05:58It's like looking at a relative.
06:00He's massive.
06:02He's massive.
06:03Five feet tall.
06:05Like 150 pounds.
06:07Completely covered in hair.
06:11This is the first time I've ever seen a chimpanzee outside of the zoo.
06:17That is what it's all about.
06:21Wow.
06:22He's going up into the tree right now.
06:24I've got to respect their distance.
06:28I have to let them establish what the comfort zone is, not me trying to push the boundaries
06:33on them.
06:38Chimps are some of the noisiest, most raucous animals on the planet.
06:43Communication amongst the troop is a key survival strategy.
06:47I think he's alerting the troop that I'm here, and that he's heading back to join them.
06:57If I can follow the direction of his calls, fingers crossed, I'll uncover the entire troop.
07:03This particular troop of chimps live in an almost impenetrable section of the forest.
07:09It's their very own fortress within a fortress.
07:12And it's so dense and so hilly, it's going to be a lot of work to keep up with them.
07:27It's, uh, you know, kind of this now you see me, now you don't sort of thing.
07:32They just move so fast.
07:35Getting permission to track this troop is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
07:39And although they seem so familiar and human-like, I gotta remember that these guys are still wild animals.
07:48I just heard the troop.
07:50It's like, ooh, ooh, ooh, ah, ah, ah, ah.
07:53I've been given strict protocol on how to act if I make contact.
07:58And to be honest, it's a bit like being on a blind date.
08:02I gotta let them establish the comfort zone.
08:05It's all about eye contact.
08:08Chimps are naturally curious.
08:09So a small amount of eye-gazing is a good thing.
08:13But too much, I might scare them away.
08:18I can hear something down over here.
08:25Oh, my God.
08:27Chimps.
08:28I finally caught up with the chimp troop.
08:52Oh, that's such a big win.
08:54Epic.
09:01Epic.
09:01First day.
09:03I'm gonna be able to see some chimps.
09:08There's at least ten of them up in the tree.
09:11This super remote troop is made up of 37 chimpanzees.
09:23Elsewhere, groups can grow to over 100 individuals, all presided over by a dominant alpha male.
09:31And somewhere up here is this family's big boss, Kuyo.
09:35And the rest of his troop is a finely balanced society of subordinate males, females, and babies.
09:43All with their own personalities.
09:44And I cannot wait to get to know them.
09:51God, they move just so gracefully through these trees.
09:55It just shows how strong they are.
09:57As a climber, I wish I had that epic grip and flexibility that helps them master canopy life.
10:05What's really cool is, compared to us, chimps have muscles that are almost 50% stronger for their size.
10:14That means that this guy can lift and pull more weight relative to his body size than I can.
10:20And their superpowers don't end there.
10:24Look at that balancing act.
10:27Monkeys will generally use their tails for balance.
10:30What differentiates great apes from primates like monkeys is the fact that they don't have tails.
10:37But they do have opposable thumbs on their feet, which allows them to grip.
10:45Watching the way they climb and the way they use friction and move up these trees,
10:49is I'm going to take my shoes off, really get in, and go full chimp mode.
10:55They've been kind of using that friction in their feet, kind of like this.
11:01And they pretty much just pull themselves up with little to no effort.
11:06Well, that's a whole lot harder for me with toes that don't work like thumbs.
11:11Being way down in the canopy, you pretty much can't see anything five feet above your head.
11:20From where I'm at, I can see above most of the trees, we're on a big hillside.
11:25Now I'm closer to their level, I can see why they're all high up in this tree.
11:30It looks like a fig.
11:35These figs are such a massive and important part of a chimpanzee's diet.
11:42These guys are frugivores.
11:44They are all about eating ripe fruit.
11:47There's such a big variety of fruits in this jungle.
11:51They could have possibly just led me to some food that I can consume as well.
11:56Unlike you and I, who need around two liters of water per day to survive.
12:04They get most of their hydration just from the fruit that they're eating.
12:07They don't actually need to go drink water that often.
12:15That one's reaching out, begging for fruit.
12:20Seriously, that's so human.
12:21Just think, like, that's universal.
12:23I think it's pretty fascinating that these chimps will share their food with each other.
12:34What's amazing is those noises they're making right now is them telling each other which trees are fruiting.
12:42They're communicating with each other.
12:44He's saying, man, these figs are great.
12:46And then the guys down low are like, man, we're just up there.
12:50We know.
12:55Oh, look, there's a monkey right up in the tree right there.
13:00Just sneaking in.
13:03Oh, it looks like monkeys are coming in.
13:05Since the chimpanzees are pretty loud, all the other animals here, even the birds, will hear that these guys are eating fresh fruit.
13:16And then they'll move in and eat on the periphery.
13:19So instead of working harder, they work smarter.
13:22It's amazing how many of the animals within this jungle depend on the chimpanzees to let them know what's fruiting and at what time.
13:39Pretty cool.
13:40I'm just a primate following other primates to where the fresh food is.
13:45These guys have led me directly to some figs here and do a little edibility test on it.
14:00Put a little bit on my wrist.
14:04See if I get any sort of reaction here.
14:07Let it wait for a second.
14:09Not getting any reaction and pop one in my mouth.
14:15It's not bad.
14:17In a survival situation, I would hoover that up in a heartbeat.
14:26These guys seem to have an unstoppable appetite for figs.
14:32Incredibly, they found a way to get most of the water and nutrients from the fruit without wasting lots of energy digesting all that pulp.
14:40There's just stuff that keeps falling down right underneath the fig tree.
14:49They're not eating the entire fig.
14:52They're putting it in their mouth, sucking out all the nutrients, and then they're spitting it out.
14:58It just rains down.
15:00It's a real-life jungle juice bar.
15:02It's only day one, but I feel like I'm on the ultimate survival master class.
15:13These guys can move from tree to tree, foraging and feeding for as much as eight hours a day.
15:18And I'm wondering what I can eat on their jungle menu.
15:21And I've just been collecting pretty much every location that they've led me to.
15:28And they are so similar in anatomy to humans that pretty much everything that they ingest, I can ingest.
15:37We have this beautiful fruit here.
15:41Oh, yeah.
15:42Look at that.
15:44I've been seeing them break off nodules and then eating them.
15:51It tastes like, almost like a sour apple with, like, a sweet finish, like lychee.
16:03So I'm going to try to follow what they do.
16:06Simply put it all on my lower lip and just watch it.
16:13Pretty much just suck the juice out and all the nutrients, and then just spit it out when I feel like I've gained all the juice and nutrients, and then I don't have to ingest all that fiber.
16:27It's pretty good, man.
16:30Like, amazingly good.
16:31And then some figs, as well as these flowers that I saw them ingesting.
16:41Even the locals use this for stomach aches, any sort of parasites.
16:45I mean, this is like my survival pantry.
16:47Like, this is a massive win.
16:49As a survivalist, being able to source food, that's probably the hardest part.
16:55It seems like they're all making their way out.
17:05Had a massive first day.
17:07I was not expecting to be able to catch up and in bed with chimps.
17:13It was pretty special.
17:15It's almost sunset.
17:17I got to set up camp and then catch up with them tomorrow because there's just so much to learn.
17:24Oh, today was electric.
17:42All right, so morning of day two.
17:46You know, I've been so focused on trying to catch up with these chimps and learn from their society that I've neglected pretty much everything else.
17:57You know, there's millions of societies within this ecosystem.
18:02And most of them are using teamwork to survive.
18:06Look at these guys.
18:07This is this whole colony of ants.
18:14I mean, speaking of community, these guys are the ultimate community.
18:19Almost looks like blood going through a vein.
18:22These guys are considered a superorganism, collectively working together pretty much just on autopilot.
18:38A colony of army ants like this can contain as many as 15 million individuals.
18:44That's a heck of a lot of ant power.
18:46And each one is born into a predetermined role to ensure the survival of the colony.
18:52Completely different to the chimp community where there's just a group of individuals that need to fit in and work together as a society.
19:02You can see here you have big soldier ants that are pretty much on sentry with their mandibles just up, ready to attack.
19:13If you have a cut, you can use the mandibles of these soldier ants to suture your cut.
19:18And then you see these worker ants that are much smaller that are just kind of working their way through to go get resources.
19:31I'm going to see if I can keep following their track here.
19:36Somewhere down this ant highway should be prey being carried back to the colony.
19:41Oh, snaps.
19:42They have this massive...
19:44Is that an earthworm?
19:45Look at this thing.
19:46This is a huge protein win.
19:49Like, look at this thing.
19:56They're all just biting the heck out of him.
19:59I mean, that's a lot of protein right there.
20:03I feel like I kind of have to.
20:06Here we go, baby.
20:09Oh, yeah.
20:15Protein.
20:16I think that's all I can have.
20:18Let's roll.
20:27This is chimpanzee poop.
20:29You can smell this kind of pungent smell here.
20:32So, we're definitely on the right track.
20:35I have an opportunity to understand of the least researched chimpanzees within sub-Saharan Africa.
20:42What can I learn from them that hasn't been learned yet in other chimpanzee communities?
20:50Oh, there's one coming out of the woods right here.
20:53Here, look.
20:54Oh, yes.
20:55I'm seeing one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten chimps right now.
21:06This is so awesome.
21:08It's not the entire troop, but the outer ring.
21:16These chimps are some of the most dominant in the group.
21:20Chimps are highly territorial and will fiercely defend their turf from intruders.
21:25I think there's a whole other troop across the valley here.
21:35And right now, they're ensuring no outsiders can reach the most vulnerable females and babies.
21:40This strength in number strategy not only ensures a chimp will never run into trouble on its own,
21:46but protects the most vulnerable members of the troop from danger.
21:56Something's happening over here.
21:57There's a big commotion over here.
22:02I think there's a baby screaming.
22:04Something's chasing after it.
22:06They're all converging on the baby right now.
22:08That baby was in distress.
22:11The entire troop picked up and converged.
22:16You know, that's all about community.
22:18Working together as a team for protection and safety.
22:28As I'm trying to embed with them more and more,
22:30I'm trying to build out what each one of these characters,
22:35what their status within their community is.
22:38But before I get up close and personal with them,
22:41I first need to identify the alpha and get his acceptance.
22:46There's one up in the tree right there,
22:48kind of being a sentry, on guard.
22:51He looks pretty serious.
22:53That guy might be the alpha.
22:55Let's see if we can get closer.
23:00I saw some figs on the ground,
23:02and then I look up,
23:04and boom.
23:08Oh, that guy's huge.
23:09Oh, yeah, that's the boss.
23:15That's definitely Kuyo.
23:17He just has a scar on his nose.
23:19You can see him right over here.
23:21He's staring straight at us.
23:25He's just kind of observing what's going on,
23:29who's doing what.
23:30You can just sense his aura, you know.
23:35He knows he's the boss.
23:40There's another subordinate chimp making that grunt noise,
23:45kind of cowering its head,
23:47just kind of like showing his respect.
23:49This guy,
23:54from what I'm told by the Rangers,
23:57who tried to be the alpha male,
23:59but he was not accepted as the alpha,
24:03so it seems like he's just running around
24:04pissed off all the time.
24:07The Rangers called him Bazuru.
24:08Dude, I'm watching, like, a reality show
24:20unfold in front of my eyes.
24:22Seems to be some sort of disagreement going on.
24:31True to his character,
24:33Bazuru seems to be stirring up trouble.
24:38He's running around,
24:41scaring all the other chimps.
24:43But I doubt Kuyo
24:44will let this kind of behavior continue.
24:48Alpha's on the move.
24:49Alpha's on the move.
24:50The boss is coming over.
24:53Here he comes.
24:56Oh, my God.
24:58Big dominance display.
24:59Okay.
25:08Oh, my God.
25:11That was electric.
25:13You could feel the energy
25:15in all of them submitting to him
25:17as he run around,
25:19letting everybody know
25:20that he's the boss,
25:22he's in charge.
25:23Follow me or else.
25:26A subordinate male
25:28right away starts grooming him.
25:32This will happen
25:32usually when there's a big display,
25:36everyone's kind of on edge
25:37in order for them to relax
25:38and cool down.
25:40They'll in turn
25:41just start grooming each other
25:42and chill out.
25:45Oh, that was amazing.
25:49It's pretty incredible
25:50to witness the dynamics.
25:56I'm going to stay in their periphery,
25:58make them feel as comfortable as possible,
26:00and they'll slowly and surely
26:02become more habituated to us.
26:03This is the first time
26:06it feels like my presence
26:07is being pretty much ignored.
26:10I think I finally got the tick of approval
26:12from the big guy,
26:13and I might finally be able
26:16to get to know
26:16all the members of the troop.
26:19Oh, yes.
26:21I hear a bunch of thunder.
26:29I'm pretty high up on this hillside.
26:32If this rains,
26:32it could get pretty treacherous.
26:41As soon as the rain started,
26:45they just disappeared,
26:47and I last heard
26:49the chimp troop
26:50up over the top of this hill.
26:53Hopefully I can catch up with them.
26:59Fire ant.
27:00They're crawling up.
27:01My legs are crazy.
27:02Oh, snaps.
27:03Okay.
27:03Got to keep moving.
27:05Oh, God.
27:06Oh, my God.
27:07I am covered
27:08in a fire ant.
27:10Oh, it burns.
27:13If I had a grooming partner right now,
27:19like the chimps do,
27:21I would be able
27:22to get my back
27:25because I am getting
27:26absolutely demolished.
27:28Oh, my gosh.
27:32All right.
27:32It's absolutely pouring right now.
27:39Easily the worst rain
27:40I've had
27:41while trying to check
27:42these chimps
27:43waiting out the rain,
27:46and I'm trying to figure out
27:48how I can mimic
27:49the chimps
27:51while not having a partner
27:52that can pick
27:53any sort of parasite
27:55or ant
27:56or bugs off me,
27:57and I came up
27:59with the idea
27:59of an ant comb.
28:03Essentially,
28:04I'm making teeth right here.
28:07Boom.
28:08So, essentially,
28:09you got the teeth,
28:10and then I would just
28:12comb my arm
28:15or my body
28:15or, in this case,
28:17my beard,
28:19and I'm good.
28:22And the chimp and spire comb.
28:25Let's go.
28:31So, they're probably
28:32nice and toasty right now.
28:34They're able to huddle together.
28:35They have community.
28:38They have body heat
28:39to keep each other warm.
28:41Meanwhile,
28:41I'm about to start shivering
28:42if it doesn't die down.
28:46There's just so many things
28:47that you benefit from
28:49within a society.
28:50So, I hop back on the trail,
29:01and I see
29:01some perfect prints
29:03of chimps
29:05right here
29:07and then also
29:08jackal prints.
29:12There's the back paw,
29:13front toes.
29:15You can see the toenails
29:16heading that way
29:17the same direction
29:18that I'm heading.
29:19It means that
29:20there's predators out here.
29:22Just because I'm embedding
29:23with the chimps
29:24doesn't mean
29:25there's not other animals
29:26that will predate
29:27on the chimps.
29:29So, that's another aspect
29:30why there's safety
29:32in numbers
29:32and that the community
29:33plays a role
29:34in their survival.
29:38I don't have the luxury
29:39of a troop for protection,
29:41and I'm probably
29:42the most vulnerable
29:42at night
29:43when I'm out here
29:44sleeping all alone,
29:45especially as I've
29:47already seen
29:48jackal prints,
29:49and I know for a fact
29:50there's leopards
29:51out here too.
29:52But whenever I'm
29:53in a survival jam,
29:55I know inspiration
29:56can always be found
29:58in Mother Nature.
30:00I keep running
30:01into spider webs
30:02left and right.
30:03I kind of want to do
30:04what a spider does,
30:06so I'm going to
30:07kind of make myself
30:08a security system
30:10around myself
30:11where if something
30:13trips it,
30:14it'll shake.
30:17Like a spider web
30:18gets alerted
30:19when prey hits its web.
30:21I'm going to get alerted
30:22if something is going
30:23to predate on me.
30:26I'm going to kind of
30:27make myself
30:28a nice trip wire
30:29all around this area,
30:31and I'll be able
30:32to sleep right here
30:33in the middle.
30:35And then if anything
30:36were to come into my area,
30:37I can wake up
30:38and jump into action.
30:40So now I'm going to
30:45kind of set up
30:45my perimeter,
30:47use some trees
30:48or a stake,
30:49and then run my vines,
30:52get a nice trip wire
30:53system going,
30:54essentially like a fence.
30:56Chimps have a whole community.
30:58And I definitely feel
30:59much safer
30:59with a bunch of friends
31:01around me.
31:01But right now,
31:02the only friend I have
31:03is a solitary spider
31:05offering some inspiration.
31:07So this trip wire
31:09will kind of be
31:09my community.
31:10I got this gourd
31:13from the local
31:15Twat people.
31:16It naturally grows
31:17around here,
31:18and I'm going to use
31:19this as my alarm.
31:23Boom.
31:30Are you ready?
31:31I'd be sleeping right here,
31:33just like this,
31:35and then jiggle me timbers.
31:39Boom.
31:40I'm up
31:40looking for where
31:42the intruder is.
31:44Oh.
31:46I probably need to put
31:47a couple more bells
31:48and alerts on there,
31:49but I love the concept.
31:51I was able to gather
31:52all this material
31:52within 50 feet of myself
31:54and, you know,
31:55put it up in an hour
31:57for sale.
31:58I love it.
31:59My spidey senses
32:00are jingling.
32:03I'm still buzzing
32:20from yesterday,
32:21being in with those chimps,
32:23seeing them interact,
32:25talk with each other,
32:26scream, pant, hoot,
32:28like, you name it.
32:30I was able to really
32:31start to figure out
32:32their social dynamic.
32:34And after getting
32:35the approval of Kuyo,
32:36the Alpha,
32:37I'm hoping today
32:38he'll finally grant me
32:39access to his entire troop.
32:41All right,
32:42let's see if we can
32:42catch these chimps.
32:50Look what I've just
32:51found right here.
32:53It's a chameleon.
32:54This is a Johnston chameleon.
33:01It's a male.
33:02It has three horns.
33:05Sometimes they call him
33:05the triceratops chameleon.
33:08I mean,
33:09talk about survival.
33:11These guys are able
33:12to blend in
33:12with their surroundings,
33:15so you literally
33:17cannot see them.
33:22Since I've looked at him,
33:24he's already changed color.
33:26He was this much lighter color
33:27when he was in the sun,
33:28and now that he's in the shade,
33:30you can see that
33:31he's gotten much darker.
33:36His eyes
33:37essentially move
33:39opposite of each other
33:40independently,
33:42allowing him to see
33:42almost 360 vision.
33:45I know I'm looking for chimps,
33:47but finding reptiles
33:49and animals like this
33:50is what survival of the beast
33:52is all about.
33:54adaptation
33:55and the survival
33:56within your environment.
33:59That chameleon
34:00is the perfect example of that.
34:03Thanks, buddy.
34:04As I've been walking
34:12through the jungle here,
34:15I have
34:16just
34:18found
34:19a couple nests.
34:21There's one nest right here.
34:22You kind of see that
34:23big ball of foliage.
34:26There's another one right here,
34:27and there's one
34:28right up in the tree.
34:29And they'll essentially
34:31just build them
34:32real quick,
34:33spend the night,
34:34and then continue pushing
34:35and make a new one
34:36every single day.
34:37But that means
34:38they were probably just here.
34:40Getting so close.
34:41Let's go.
34:41Right over there.
34:57Yes.
34:59Let's see if we can get closer.
35:02Hopefully we can get in
35:03with the whole community.
35:04That would be huge.
35:05So I just heard
35:15the Alpha
35:16call
35:17the troop in.
35:21They were all relaxing
35:22and eating,
35:24and then instantaneously
35:25they all got up collectively.
35:32Oh, what a riot.
35:35So here's the community
35:40coming down,
35:42making their way
35:43to the Alpha
35:43who just called to them.
35:46It's two, three, four.
35:49It's a female right there.
35:50There's like 22 of them here
36:05right now.
36:07All around us.
36:08Wow.
36:10Wow.
36:12Wow.
36:13This is the first time
36:16I've been able to bed
36:17with the Alpha's
36:18entire society
36:19as a whole.
36:22He's finally trusting me enough
36:24to see the most vulnerable
36:25members of his troop.
36:27I'm just going to relax,
36:29and hopefully
36:30he just wants them
36:30to feel as comfortable
36:31as possible around me.
36:32Oh, that's amazing.
36:37This is the first time
36:38I've seen
36:39a baby chimp
36:40with mom.
36:42You can still tell
36:43that he's a baby
36:43because he's obviously
36:44very small,
36:45and he still has
36:45kind of this white tail
36:47slash tuft.
36:49It is so important
36:50for the baby
36:51to be around the mom
36:53for at least five years.
36:55And what the mother
36:56does and teaches
36:57is essentially
36:58what that chimp baby
37:00is carrying
37:01to the rest of its life.
37:03Especially if it's a male,
37:04the males will end up
37:05staying within
37:06their community
37:07for their whole life.
37:09The females
37:09actually end up
37:11leaving to go
37:11into another troop
37:12when they come
37:13to sexual maturity.
37:15They learn so much
37:16on how to be a chimp,
37:18what to eat,
37:19what not to eat,
37:20who to affiliate with.
37:21This is so awesome.
37:24Like the fact
37:25that we're this close
37:26is pretty unreal.
37:32It's been a long push
37:33to catch up with them.
37:35And I'm finally
37:36embedded with
37:36the main courtroom.
37:40And they're starting
37:41to reveal
37:41the more intimate aspects
37:43of their family life
37:44to me.
37:47One of the biggest things
37:48in survival
37:49is self-care.
37:50And if you don't
37:52groom yourself,
37:53you don't wash yourself,
37:54your hygiene
37:55can go down quick.
37:57And these chimps
37:58are just showing
37:59exactly that.
38:04On a basic level,
38:06they're essentially
38:06just trying to get
38:08bugs off each other.
38:09where there's leeches,
38:12there's soldier ants,
38:13spiders,
38:14there's ticks.
38:16On a higher level,
38:18who you groom
38:19will set
38:20where you are
38:22within a social hierarchy.
38:24That's how they bond.
38:26A lot of what they do
38:27is unspoken.
38:28It's physical
38:29and it helps
38:30in their survival.
38:31They've been here
38:42for 30-plus minutes
38:43just grooming each other.
38:46It seems like
38:47these guys have
38:47their own faction.
38:51The one that's
38:51getting groomed
38:52is just kind of
38:53middle of the road,
38:54doesn't care to ascend
38:55or descend
38:57the social ladder.
38:59The locals
39:00call this guy
39:01Konezza
39:01or friendly.
39:03I've noticed
39:03his survival technique
39:04is to be
39:05the class clown.
39:07He plays around,
39:08breaks up the arguments.
39:09He's the crowd pleaser.
39:11I'm definitely
39:12starting to feel
39:13each one's
39:14different personality
39:15and their hierarchy
39:16and how they
39:17fall into this community.
39:19The one on the right
39:20tried to be
39:21the dominant alpha male.
39:23So you wonder
39:24if he has to
39:25go around
39:26and please everybody,
39:28trying to gain
39:28an alliance,
39:29a team member
39:30that can help
39:30them ascend,
39:32you know,
39:32who knows?
39:36Definitely one of the things
39:37I feel like
39:38I can learn
39:38from these chimps
39:39is just their
39:41sense of community,
39:43being the moment,
39:44connection.
39:47You know,
39:48I think we lose
39:48that connection
39:49in our community
39:50and our society
39:51these days.
39:55they're on the move.
40:03I'm going to keep
40:04following them.
40:05I've been trying
40:23to keep
40:24my elevation
40:25as best as possible
40:26while I'm following them,
40:28but it's just a lot
40:30to work
40:30and it just
40:33has been
40:35incessant.
40:38These guys
40:39are so efficient
40:41at moving
40:42through this terrain
40:43in comparison
40:44to me.
40:46You know,
40:46I probably put in
40:4710 plus K
40:48and it's been
40:50at least a couple
40:51thousand feet of vert,
40:52high humidity,
40:53high elevation.
40:54This is a full-body
40:55experience.
40:56The chimps
41:03have led me
41:03to the southwest
41:04edge of the park
41:05where protected forest
41:06meets local plantation.
41:10This terrain
41:11is completely different
41:12from when I first
41:13found them
41:14down the valley
41:15and in the ravine.
41:16We are much higher
41:18and now I'm in this
41:19kind of like
41:20evergreen forest.
41:22See eucalyptus,
41:23pine trees.
41:26Can I see
41:29three chimps
41:30right now?
41:34It's the alpha.
41:38He's eating
41:39eucalyptus
41:40right now.
41:41You can see
41:41him following the park.
41:46So historically,
41:47chimpanzees
41:48are not eating
41:48eucalyptus.
41:50Eucalyptus
41:51is definitely
41:51toxic to humans.
41:53You wonder
41:53what benefits
41:54that they're getting.
41:55Is it salt?
41:55Is it the oil?
41:58Does it help
41:58kill bacteria?
42:00Because it's obviously
42:00antimicrobial
42:01so it might be able
42:02to kill parasites.
42:04You wonder,
42:05like,
42:05we chew tobacco,
42:06they're chewing eucalyptus.
42:08It might be
42:09the same effect.
42:10They might get
42:10a little bit
42:10of a buzz
42:11because it seems
42:12like they're
42:13much more docile
42:14when they're
42:15within these
42:15eucalyptus grows.
42:16What I saw
42:21them do
42:21was put
42:22their mouth
42:22on it
42:22and then
42:26pull it off.
42:28It really
42:28doesn't taste
42:29like anything.
42:30It definitely
42:30doesn't taste
42:30like eucalyptus,
42:32which is
42:33much more
42:34pungent.
42:35I mean,
42:35I could probably
42:35brush my teeth
42:36with it.
42:36That'd be
42:37kind of nice.
42:37As far as I know,
42:42I don't think
42:43any other chimps
42:44are consuming
42:44eucalyptus
42:45because it's not
42:46within their environment.
42:48That's really
42:49the basis of culture
42:50is just learning
42:50and handing it down
42:52through generation.
42:53That's the benefit
42:54of group survival
42:56is that you can
42:57always bounce
42:58stuff off each other.
42:59And you know what?
43:00If that chimp
43:01would have eaten it
43:02and passed away,
43:03then you learn
43:03that that's probably
43:04something we
43:05shouldn't consume.
43:06So on a survival level,
43:07you know,
43:08having a group
43:09to be able
43:09to test things out,
43:11to be able
43:12to pass that information
43:13down to each other,
43:14like that's the benefit
43:16of working together
43:17as a community,
43:17as a team.
43:19It's all about
43:19sharing that knowledge,
43:21creating the culture.
43:22And with the Alpha
43:24so relaxed.
43:26I'm gonna see
43:26if I can get
43:26into a better position.
43:37this is the closest
43:40I've been.
43:45I don't want
43:46to stare at him.
43:48He's the boss,
43:49not me.
43:49I think the eucalyptus
43:59just set in.
44:00He's feeling it now.
44:07Epic.
44:07It's getting pretty late,
44:17so I'm gonna set up camp.
44:22I saw that they're
44:23really using the eucalyptus,
44:24and I was thinking,
44:25like, how can I use
44:26that for my survival?
44:27And I see some nice,
44:29fresh eucalyptus here.
44:30It's really, really pungent,
44:31and bugs hate it.
44:34So I'm gonna make myself
44:35a nice,
44:36first off,
44:38pine leaf mattress,
44:39and then bed sheet
44:41with the eucalyptus.
44:43So I'm gonna grab
44:43some right now.
44:48Smells good.
44:50Essential oils?
44:50That's,
44:51people pay a lot
44:52of money for that.
44:55Yeah, I probably have
44:5630 minutes of
44:57some decent light.
45:00So,
45:00I'm just trying
45:01to bed down
45:03before it gets too dark.
45:08I'm gonna start
45:09putting in
45:10all these nice,
45:13fresh eucalyptus leaves,
45:15and that's what's gonna
45:17keep the bugs off me
45:18during the night.
45:22There's soldier ants
45:23everywhere,
45:25and I've yet to see
45:26any soldier ants
45:27within these
45:29eucalyptus
45:30slash pine tree groves.
45:33This is huge.
45:34This is a big win,
45:36so I feel pretty good
45:37about that.
45:38All right,
45:39so I made myself
45:40a debris bed,
45:41so I have a bunch
45:43of pine needles
45:44underneath,
45:45as well as eucalyptus
45:47on top,
45:47which is antimicrobial,
45:49as well as a bug repellent,
45:51allow me to stay
45:52off the ground
45:53and get the bugs
45:54off me.
45:54There's fire ants
45:55and soldier ants
45:56everywhere.
45:57Last thing I want to do
45:58is wake up
45:59getting mauled
46:00by them.
46:01All that truth.
46:06Oh,
46:06that's actually
46:07kind of nice.
46:07definitely appreciate
46:14the help
46:14of those chimps.
46:23All right.
46:24Just getting up.
46:26First light.
46:28Mattress was actually
46:29pretty nice.
46:31Seriously,
46:32no bugs,
46:33no problems.
46:34I can hear
46:36the chimps
46:36waking up nearby,
46:37and I'm excited
46:39to see
46:39what my final day
46:41with the troop
46:41reveals.
46:55It seriously
46:56feels like
46:56I'm hanging out
46:58with some friends.
46:59I can see
47:00the Alpha Kuyo
47:01up here
47:01watching over
47:02his troop.
47:04Kinesa is just
47:08chilling out
47:08as he always does.
47:10I see mom
47:11and baby
47:11up here.
47:13And it looks like
47:14they're about to be
47:15joined by another
47:15female
47:16with her kid
47:17on board.
47:18It is absolutely
47:19incredible how
47:19baby's able
47:20just to hang
47:21on to mom
47:21as she swings
47:22from limb
47:23to limb.
47:26Both moms
47:27are together,
47:28and it looks like
47:29they're having
47:30a play date.
47:31Oh,
47:31this is amazing.
47:32there aren't
47:33too many other
47:34animals other
47:35than us
47:36that organize
47:37play dates,
47:37but they do
47:38here.
47:39They're learning
47:40agility.
47:41They're learning
47:41who their
47:42friend is.
47:44This is where
47:45his personality
47:46is going to
47:47blossom.
47:47is it going to be
47:50a joke series?
47:52Is it going to be
47:53the next alpha?
47:54This right here
47:55is the ultimate
47:56starting point,
47:57where this little
47:58chimp begins to
47:59figure out his
47:59own identity
48:00and how he fits
48:01into that
48:02community.
48:04Being able to live
48:05amongst this troop
48:06for the past few
48:06days has given me
48:08the most epic
48:08insight into
48:09chimpanzee life.
48:17There's baby
48:18coming down.
48:22There we go.
48:24Oh,
48:24this is great.
48:26Back with mom,
48:27and they're off.
48:29Witnessing intimate,
48:31complex social behavior
48:32is what I came
48:33to discover.
48:34This is what
48:36sets chimps apart
48:37from so many
48:38other species
48:39I've seen.
48:40It's not about
48:41surviving by yourself.
48:42It's about creating
48:43a society with
48:44complex culture
48:45and passing that
48:46down to the
48:47next generation.
48:50That's what makes
48:51these guys not
48:52just jungle survivors,
48:54but thrivers.
49:02It's time to say
49:03farewell.
49:04To my chimp community,
49:05it's been such
49:06a powerful experience
49:07to be able
49:08to embed with them.
49:10I mean,
49:10that's what dreams
49:10are made of.
49:11They've taught me
49:12so much about
49:13how to be a
49:14survivalist
49:14within this
49:15environment.
49:16Being able to
49:17find food
49:18and medicinal plants,
49:19where to set up
49:20shelter.
49:22So much of what
49:23chimps do
49:23within their community
49:25has parallels
49:26to human nature.
49:28Each one
49:29of these chimps
49:31are individuals
49:32within a greater
49:33community.
49:34They're tribal.
49:35They work together
49:36as a team.
49:37They're altruistic.
49:39When it comes to
49:40survival,
49:41these guys
49:42are the best teachers.
49:49Mission complete.
49:50I've learned
49:51all I could
49:52from the chimps.
49:54I know there's
49:54more to learn,
49:55but that's all
49:56for me.
49:58This place is magic,
49:59and I won't forget
50:00this for a very long
50:01time.
50:01this person.
50:02I know there's
50:03a very long
50:05time.
50:06I know there's
50:08enough to see
50:08you guys
50:09in the next
50:10time.
50:10I know there's
50:11a very long
50:12time.
50:12I know there's
50:13a lot of
50:14options.
50:15I know there is
50:16You

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