Animal Planet Documentaries

The Ape Who Went To College documents the amazing relationship between an orangutan called Chantek and his 'cross species foster mother' Dr Lyn Miles. Miles first met Chantek when he was months old when she started the experiment at the University of Tenessee. Over the course of ten years, Miles taught Chantek how to speak through the use of sign language and treated him like her own child; at ten years old Chantek had the cognitive level of a five year old and linguistic ability of a two year old, and by the time he was old enough to receive an allowance, even regularly visited his local McDonalds where he would spend his money on cheeseburgers! But despite the success of the experiment Chantek's erratic behaviour was starting to cause difficulties within the University campus where he lived and consequently Lyn lost control of her beloved Chantek, and he was moved and isolated from humans. Lyn spent two years desperately fighting for his freedom. This heart-warming, and at times heart-breaking, documentary looks at how the successful experiment changed science, and also exposes the bond between a human and an orangutan that allowed communication as never seen before.

The large human brain gives us the evolutionary edge over other species, but studies show that almost everything we have learned has been handed down from our primal ancestors. In THE REAL APES OF THE PLANET, Animal Planet travels around the globe for an unprecedented look at some of the various 400 specimens that make up the primate family and the surprising way our behavior mirrors theirs.