Discovery Channel Documentaries

The Real Apes of the Planet (2014x14)

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This Documentary explores the surprising and mind-blowing similarities that humans share with our fascinating primate cousins. Passing on family traditions and grooming practices as well as ingenious survival tactics and the primates' ability to solve complex problems and form communities with a hierarchy system, the special highlights devoted parenting to fun-loving kids. Viewers also witness how, akin to humans, apes may demonstrate deceitful behavior to get what they want, overindulge in life's pleasures and not always get along. With their highly intelligent minds, chimpanzees in Uganda demonstrate their problem- solving skills and tool use when posed with a honey challenge. The long-tailed macaques in Thailand find a clever way to floss after a meal, and an orangutan in Borneo maintains her personal hygiene with a little soap and water. In Iowa, a male bonobo named Kanzi picks his own food for a picnic; he uses lexigram and toasts marshmallows in a fire he makes himself while the white-faced capuchins in the rain forest of Costa Rica uncover the secret that the sap of the Guyabano tree acts as a mosquito repellent if rubbed on their fur. The Real Apes of the Planet uncovers how these animals are individuals with their own personalities and why brainpower is essential to primate survival.