Chimp Empire (2023) s01e01 Episode Script

1
[animals calling, insects chirruping]
[poignant piano music playing]
Who are we?
How did we become the way we are?
As humans, we spend our lives
trying to understand ourselves.
But sometimes it feels
we're too close to see clearly.
That's why we love stories
from other worlds.
And the world of chimpanzees,
so similar to ours in some ways
[baby cooing]
but so different in others
tells us stories
more revealing than you can imagine.
[baby cooing]
Stories all the more powerful
because they are real.
[birds chirping, animal squawks]
[music continues]
[music becomes stirring]
[animal growling softly]
[undergrowth rustling]
[music swells]
The Forest of Ngogo
is a vast, interconnected world.
And at its heart,
there is a thriving society.
The Ngogo chimpanzees.
[chimp squawking]
For this new mother and her baby,
it's home.
[chimps grunting]
[squeaks]
[both grunting playfully]
[animals calling, insects chirping]
[animal squawking]
[somber drum beat fading out]
[cicadas buzzing]
[fly buzzing]
[chimp grunts]
Chimpanzees are our closest
living relatives.
We share more than 98% of our DNA.
[grunting getting louder]
[grunting receding]
[subdued music playing]
They are highly intelligent.
And highly emotional.
[young chimp grunting]
They can live to over 60 years old,
and the stages of their lives
are similar to ours.
Every chimp at Ngogo is an individual
with their own unique personality
and goals.
[piano music playing]
To reflect this,
scientists have given
each and every one of them a name.
[grunts]
Ngogo society is sophisticated.
It's a complex network
of family and social bonds
where each chimp
has to forge relationships
and find their place in the group.
[somber music playing]
Most chimp groups
number 50 or 60 individuals.
But here at Ngogo,
there are twice that number.
Over 120 chimps living together.
The biggest group ever discovered.
[music becomes rousing]
Ngogo is a chimpanzee paradise.
There's a huge amount of fruit trees here.
And fruit is the lifeblood
of chimpanzee society.
[grunting]
With so many chimps
all trying to make their way,
there's a lot of competition.
[menacing music playing]
Life here involves politics and power.
[chimp whooping in distance]
Ngogo society is a hierarchy.
And the chimps are
always looking for opportunities
to move up.
[chimp whooping]
At the top of the hierarchy
sits the most powerful chimp at Ngogo.
[somber music playing]
Jackson.
The alpha male.
[music becomes dramatic]
[chimp grunts loudly]
[music abates]
[poignant music playing]
Jackson has been in charge
for six years now.
But he's getting old for an alpha.
If he's going to stay on top,
he can't show any weakness.
He needs to display strength.
[whooping]
[somber music playing]
[whooping rapidly]
[music becomes dramatic]
[grunting]
[music intensifies]
[hooting]
[all hooting, shrieking]
[calling]
[music abates]
[chimp grunting rhythmically]
[music intensifies]
This is what Jackson wants.
The group is calling
and coming to him in a show of respect.
[grunting rhythmically, hooting]
[music abates]
But Jackson is well aware
that some chimps
are showing less respect than others.
A chimp this age should be too young
to pose a real challenge to Jackson.
[discordant violin music playing]
But not all chimps are as smart
or as confident as Abrams.
But Jackson has protection.
[somber music playing]
Miles.
A giant chimp.
The biggest ever known at Ngogo.
[dark electronic music playing]
[music intensifies]
Jackson and Miles share a tight bond
and groom each other regularly.
It's a formidable alliance.
[music fades out]
Grooming is an important part of life
for all chimpanzees.
It's how they create
and maintain social relationships.
It's the chimp equivalent of conversation.
It's highly political.
[poignant piano music playing]
Planning.
Persuading.
Plotting.
Grooming forms alliances.
And alliances create power.
Even the strongest chimps
struggle to dominate alone.
Who your grooming partners are
says a lot
about your status and ambitions.
But if you aren't grooming with anyone,
status and ambition
are the least of your worries.
[music fades out]
[chimp grunting]
Fourteen is not an easy age
for a male chimp.
You've grown apart from your mother
[chimp hooting]
and you need to start bonding
with other males.
That comes more easily to some
than others.
[chimps grunting rhythmically]
[gentle classical music playing]
[animal squawking]
Gus is an outsider.
But he can't stay that way.
He needs to find some friends.
In the Forest of Ngogo,
it's not wise
to spend too much time alone.
[music fades out]
[chirping rhythmically]
[baby hooting softly]
Christine's baby is about six months old.
[baby grunts]
For this age, she's much stronger
and more developed than a human baby.
But she's still very vulnerable.
At Ngogo, not all babies
make it to their first birthday.
And for that reason,
she won't be given her name until then.
Christine has to focus on the baby,
and that has left
her older daughter, Nadine,
out in the cold.
[grunting softly]
She used to get
her mother's full attention.
Now she's neglected.
[chimp shrieking]
[chimp shrieking rhythmically]
Even for a chimp,
the baby is developing quickly.
And she's starting
to become more independent.
[playful music playing]
[music continues]
She wants to socialize.
[chuckling]
When it comes to babies,
most chimps are pretty tolerant.
Still, it's safer to start with someone
closer to your own size.
The problem is
that young chimps are far less forgiving.
- [growling]
- [panting]
The more independent the baby becomes,
the more she can get into trouble.
[somber music playing]
Big males are a threat.
If she gets in their way,
she could be badly hurt.
[music intensifies]
And with an alpha like Jackson,
who can choose to display
anywhere, anytime
Christine can never completely relax.
[music becomes dramatic]
[chimp squawking]
[hooting]
[screeching]
[music subsides]
[playful music playing]
It's all a bit overwhelming.
[retching wetly]
[hiccups]
[spluttering]
[music ends]
Her mother has seen all this before.
She isn't concerned.
[baby retching]
But her big sister is.
[baby retching wetly]
The first signs of a bond between sisters.
[burps]
[retching wetly]
[thunder rumbling]
[thunder rumbling]
Ngogo is a rainforest.
Storms are part of life here.
And the chimps generally take cover.
Though not all of them.
Some chimps draw strength from the storm.
[thunder rumbles]
And use it to perform
an unusual dominance display.
The rain dance.
[dramatic music playing]
[music intensifies]
Abrams is sending a powerful message.
[music intensifies]
[branch cracks]
For now, Jackson does nothing.
Sooner or later, he'll have to act.
Because with every day,
Abrams is getting more confident.
[music intensifies]
[music swells]
- [music fades]
- [thunder grumbling]
[insects chirping]
- [insects buzzing]
- [chimp chewing]
Gus is still alone.
But he's got a plan.
Gus is awkward,
but he isn't stupid.
Jackson isn't the only one
to notice that Abrams is on his way up.
[gentle piano music playing]
This could be an opportunity
to form a very useful relationship.
Gus is really trying.
An up-and-comer like Abrams
is happy to be groomed by most chimps.
The real test for Gus
will be if Abrams grooms him back.
[music fades out]
[Abrams retreating]
Rejection.
[gentle piano music playing]
[music fades out]
Abrams is seeking out
a much more important grooming partner.
[playful music fading in]
If Abrams can build his own alliance
with Jackson's most important ally,
it will weaken
Jackson's position as alpha.
And Miles seems receptive.
Jackson can feel Abrams closing in.
[hoots]
[Jackson shrieking]
He needs the group
to unite under his leadership.
Unite against a common enemy.
[dramatic music playing]
[music abates]
Chimps are territorial creatures.
The Ngogo group lives
within a defined territory,
surrounded on all sides
by other hostile chimps.
[disquieting music playing]
To make sure their resources are safe,
they patrol their borders.
[jarring string music,
pulsating drum playing]
Patrolling is a dangerous business.
But the importance
of defending the territory is so great
that even the most unlikely candidates
sometimes take part.
[drumming intensifies]
Each chimp needs to weigh it up.
"Is it worth the risk?"
Pork Pie is far from the toughest
or bravest of chimps.
But even for him,
it's probably worth the danger.
The chimps are heading
to their northern border.
Patrols can cover many miles
and last for several tense hours.
[wings buzzing loudly]
Even the biggest, most aggressive males
begin to get nervous
as they approach the borderlands.
As for Pork Pie,
he's at the back
and seems reluctant to go on.
Abrams, on the other hand,
is exactly where he wants to be.
Right in the thick of it.
[tense music playing]
[music fading out]
[disquieting music playing]
[insects chirping]
As the group reaches the northern border
and passes into unfamiliar territory,
things get more dangerous.
There are no friendly relations
between chimp groups.
When one group meets another,
there are two choices.
Run or attack.
[music intensifies]
The chimps are listening for calls
and movement.
[squawking]
[foreboding music playing]
[animal clucks]
[clucking]
[slow rhythmic drumming]
[disquieting music playing]
[drumming continues]
Pork Pie has had enough.
He's leaving the patrol.
Alone.
But Gus is going to stay.
[drumming continues]
There are other chimps close by.
And they will be hostile.
[drumming stops]
[hooting]
They need to judge
who has the greater numbers
and decide whether to retreat
or to attack.
[tremulous string music playing]
[undergrowth rustles]
[undergrowth rustling]
[music intensifies]
[music intensifies]
Jackson has Miles behind him.
[hoots]
There's no going back.
They've decided to charge.
[all shrieking]
[screeching]
[music intensifies]
- [music fades out]
- [screeching peters out]
Their aggression has paid off.
The northern group has retreated.
This is a success for the patrol.
The border is secure,
and they can return
to the center of their territory,
victorious.
[grunting]
With most of the big males
away to the north,
Christine can finally relax.
The baby is getting stronger.
And it's time for her to explore
another important part of life at Ngogo.
The canopy.
[playful music playing]
Not impressed.
[squeaking]
[music continues]
[squeaking]
[music intensifies]
Christine can't let her climb too high,
to where a fall could be dangerous.
[squeaking]
[music abates]
[music intensifies]
[baby squeaking]
[squeaks, hooting]
That's enough
for one day.
[birds squawking]
[somber music playing]
The patrol is returning
from the borderlands.
[music intensifies]
And they've noticed something
in the treetops.
[music becomes foreboding]
The Ngogo group doesn't tolerate
other chimps in their territory.
[high-pitched hooting]
But they do share the forest
with other primates.
Including several large groups of monkeys.
[dramatic music playing]
[music trails off]
Monkeys aren't rivals to chimps.
They're food.
[high-pitched squawking]
[chorus of shrieking]
[dramatic music playing]
[screeches]
[music abates]
Meat is a welcome source
of nourishment for chimps.
But that's not its only value.
The sharing of meat is important socially
and politically.
Jackson shares with his allies.
And more than anyone else,
he shares with Miles.
At the same time,
he purposely leaves others out.
Abrams' exclusion is a sign that, for now,
Jackson still holds power at Ngogo.
[dark music playing]
[flesh squelching]
A victorious patrol
and a successful hunt.
[flesh squelching]
Today's been a good day for Jackson
and for the Ngogo chimpanzees.
[music fades out]
[poignant music playing]
Monkeys are an important resource
for the Ngogo chimps.
But the most important resource
will always be fruit trees,
the foundation of Ngogo society.
A fig tree has come into fruit
in the center of the territory,
and the chimps can relax
and enjoy a feast.
[music continues]
[chimps hooting]
[music fades out]
Gus has spent a lot of his life
watching from the sidelines.
He's more observant than most.
And quick to spot anything unusual.
[soft melancholic music playing]
[hoots softly]
[music intensifies]
[chimp hoots]
[music intensifies]
[chimp grunting]
[music intensifies]
It's Pork Pie.
[calling softly]
- [music intensifies]
- [chimps shrieking, calling]
He was caught alone
and killed by a rival group
right in the middle of Ngogo territory.
If a chimp can be killed here
[chimp hoots softly]
it means this forest kingdom
[hoots softly]
and all the chimps in it
are no longer safe.
[chimp crying]
[crying continues]
[music fades out]
[bird chirping softly]
[insect buzzes]
[chirping fades out]