Primates | Life | BBC Documentary Series. Episode 10

Intelligence, curiosity and complex societies have enabled primates to exploit many different habitats. In Ethiopia, male hamadryas baboons restore discipline after a skirmish with a rival troop. In Japanese macaque society, only those members from the correct bloodlines are permitted to use thermal springs in winter; others are left out in the cold. Examples of primate communication include a silverback gorilla advertising his territory though vocalisations and chest-beating, and the piercing calls of spectral tarsiers which help keep their group together. In Thailand’s rainforests, lar gibbons use song to reinforce sexual and family bonds. By contrast, ring-tailed lemurs in Madagascar broadcast sexual signals using scent glands. A young orangutan’s upbringing equips it with all the skills it needs to survive in the forest, including finding food, moving through the canopy and building a shelter.