All language subtitles for 4BF7F59C27E43A2022A36A1BA7BBD1A4_eng

Senegal, West Africa.

A forest waterhole offers
this group of chimpanzees

a rare respite from
the heat of the day.

They are the lowliest members of their
30-strong troop.

Advanced age has robbed this old male of
the standing he once enjoyed.

And the youngsters are
not old enough to really worry

about status while still
protected by their mothers.

But this teenage male is too old to play
with the babies anymore.

The time has come for him
to leave them behind and try

to break into the ranks of
the powerful adult males.

This is particularly
hard for a young male

because competition
for top spots is so intense.

And, worse, he's an orphan without
friends, protection or guidance.

These males are the troop leaders.

These males are the troop leaders.

And they hold all the power here.

Joining them is every young male's
ambition.

To be accepted into this elite is the path
to privilege.

But it's a dangerous journey.

The youngster decides to follow.

At first, he has enough sense to keep his
distance.

These males are twice his size.

The low-ranking chimps retreat before the
troop leaders arrive at the waterhole.

Dominant males have
a highly stressful life as

they constantly squabble
to protect their position.

The youngster can't take his eyes off
them.

This is his chance to get himself noticed.

If he can impress even one of the big
males with a show of strength,

he might just be accepted into their
ranks.

His best attempt at a macho display has
certainly caught their attention.

But they are not impressed.

In fact, this drumming means they're
getting rather angry.

And they attack.

The youngster is not quick enough.

He gets a short, sharp
lesson about how hard

it can be to break into
this close-knit gang.

He's lucky to escape with just an injured
hand.

For the moment, he's
neither big enough nor strong

enough to be taken
seriously by the troop leaders.

Without status, he will
never enjoy the privileges

of the best food or the
attention of females.

He's a man of his word.

But aggression may not be the only route
for a youngster to gain power.

Being at the bottom of the pile doesn't
just mean a lack of status.

For some, it can mean the difference
between life and death.

By midwinter, several hundred Alaskan bald
eagles have gathered on the Chilkat River.

They're here because of the fact that
they're not alone.

They're here because it is the only source
of food for miles around.

This river holds the last of the year's
spawning salmon.

Battles amongst adult eagles establish who
holds the power.

And here, power means who gets food and
who doesn't.

So, what can a low-ranking, powerless
juvenile do if she isn't going to starve?

She must grab any opportunity that presents
itself before adults stake their claim.

She tries to sneak in, unnoticed by the
adults.

But

she's been spotted.

The juvenile has done all the hard work.

But her success is short-lived.

She can't afford to give up, just yet.

The youngster may not be strong enough to
fight for her fish.

But other adults will.

The adults' power games might just help
her.

Now is her chance.

The squabble rapidly escalates into a
full-scale battle.

A full-blown fight.

This isn't about the fish any more.

This is about one adult enforcing
dominance over another.

The reclaimed fish is enough to keep the
juvenile alive for at least a few more days.

But there's a long, hard winter ahead.

Dawn in Africa's Kalahari Desert.

Where the In meerkat
society, the success of the

troop depends on
decisions made by the leader.

Where to feed, where to sleep,
and how to deal with danger.

No individual can hope to climb the
hierarchy unless it accumulates knowledge.

As the others wake up and emerge, this
young meerkat is already up and on his feet.

And this way to his lookout post.

Being on watch is an
excellent time to learn

about the complexity
of the troops' world.

Where they forage...

and who is friends with who.

But it's important not to lose
concentration.

A quick scramble back into position before
anybody notices.

Scanning the skies is the lookout's most
important task because the troop is

vulnerable to aerial attack by birds of
prey.

Youngsters quickly learn that weaver birds
are no danger.

The more he watches, the more he learns.

And the easier it becomes to
distinguish friend... from foe.

Or plain nuisance.

But there's only so much even a keen
student can take in at one sitting,

especially on an empty stomach.

So this watcher abandons his post and
heads off to feed.

A cobra.

There is no greater test for a young
meerkat.

Than how it deals with danger like this,
face-to-face.

In the next few
minutes, he's going to get

the most important
lesson of his young life.

For kangaroos, the greatest challenges
come from within their own society.

For a male, there's only really one key
lesson to learn in his life.

To get to the top, he must become a
fighter.

The battles are so brutal, that males need
years of training to prepare.

The effort is worth it,
because a champion

fighter wins privileged
access to the females.

This meadow is a boot camp for aspiring
boxers.

Training starts as soon as a youngster is
out of the pouch.

It's mother is a handy opponent for a
young joey, learning the basics.

But he's soon off in search of more
sparring partners.

The other grown-ups are not so tolerant of
this lightweight.

This male alone rules the meadow.

He stands eight feet tall, his muscles
hardened by years of sparring.

He's a man of his word.

Today, a challenger for his title has come
forward.

Full-blown fights are so dangerous,
they're not entered into lightly.

But when two males square up, it's time to
clear the arena.

Anything goes in these power struggles.

Eye gouging is entirely within the rules.

So is kicking below the belt.

The

dominant male's skill is already telling.

The stakes are high.

They risk broken bones and internal
injuries.

Suddenly, it's all over.

The champion has beaten off the
challenger, at least for now.

Only a few of the youngsters looking on
will ever reach the top.

And they've just seen exactly what it
takes to get there.

This young meerkat is facing a much more
immediate and pressing test.

Nothing can really prepare a youngster for
such a moment.

Should he attack, or run?

For the good of the troop, there is only
one right choice.

He sounds the alarm.

The ardent beasts arrive... and
have joins up to summon help.

Follow it!

A word million has gone
off throughout this area, The

rest of the clan, some twenty
strong, rush to the scene.

There are some impérable mukyakos so
trouble £2 a sheep.

He is crisp hunted and luge absolutely way
off.

Oh, no... He
sways... he's corpse!

Once these reinforcements arrive, the
confrontation becomes completely one-sided.

The cobra is fast, but meerkats are
faster.

A clash like this is not as dangerous as
it might appear.

The cobra is on the
defensive and is now simply

trying to get away
from the baying hordes.

The situation quickly turns
into an open-air lesson as

the adults show the youngsters
how to deal with a snake.

Danger averted, the older meerkats drift
away to resume feeding.

Meeting a cobra for the
first time is a valuable

lesson, which leaves a young
meerkat a good deal wiser.

In Senegal, it's been several weeks since
the young chimp made his disastrous escape.

This attempt to break into the elite group
of dominant males.

He's still at the bottom of the hierarchy
and alone.

He uses a stick to winkle out a few
termites for his lunch.

While he feeds, he's being watched.

It's another subordinate male,
larger and a few years older.

He doesn't appear threatening or
aggressive.

This male seems keen for the youngster to
follow him.

The older chimp leads the way up into the
canopy.

The chimp is now ready to go.

The youngster hesitates.

Perhaps his last encounter with older
chimps is still fresh in his memory.

Does he follow?

Or turn his back on what may be an
opportunity?

Finally, he climbs up towards the older
chimp.

One false move could lead to another
beating.

He makes an appeasing smile.

It seems to be accepted.

Emboldened, he takes a big risk and moves
closer and reaches out to the older male.

His instinct was right.

Grooming is a sign of acceptance and
trust.

The youngster has made a friend.

And perhaps he's the one who's going to
make it.

The troops gained a mentor.

Now he has someone he can learn from,
someone to look out for him.

With this newfound partnership,
the orphaned youngster

has taken that crucial
step onto the social ladder.

For the first time, he has some status
within the troop.

It will change his life.

Among Asian archer fish, it's the biggest
that gets the most food.

And they have an extraordinary method of
catching prey.

They fire a powerful jet of water at their
target.

The best shooters will grow quickest.

With food scarce, there's a race among small
fish to master the water jet technique.

But it's difficult to perfect.

A fish must adjust its jet based on the
prey's size and distance, and then

compensate for the way light bends as it
passes through the water surface.

Getting it right can take hundreds of
attempts.

But there is a way to shortcut the
learning process.

A youngster can seek out a larger archer
fish.

It will stick close to the
sharpshooter, spending

its days studying the
master's technique.

When they part company, the young fish
will resume his search for food.

Somehow, in a way not yet understood,
a young fish can imitate the adult's

aiming and firing technique, and shortcut
the need to practice.

Unfortunately, becoming a sharpshooter is
only half the story.

There's another reason why big fish get
the lion's share.

They're bullies.

But, armed with this newfound skill,
a young fish's future will be brighter.

In Arizona, a desert storm triggers a
ruthless campaign for dominance.

A honey ant queen digs into the sand
before the sun bakes it hard again.

She needs to make a nest, but she can't
manage to do that alone.

Another queen appears,
and in a rare example

of cooperation, they
start digging together.

A third queen.

Soon, a number of royals are working
together.

But such harmony will be short-lived.

When the nest is ready, they seal
themselves in.

None of the queens will ever see sunlight
again.

This bunker is a nursery.

Each queen begins to lay hundreds of tiny
eggs, no bigger than a pinhead.

In a matter of weeks, the first cycle is
complete.

Tiny, pale workers emerge from the
cocoons.

Their arrival signals the end of all regal
cooperation.

This colony can only have one ruler.

After helping create this army of workers,
the queens have served their purpose,

and they are now expendable.

And it's the workers that do the dirty
work.

The queens are captured, stretched,
and dismembered.

It's a brutal assassination.

But one queen remains
unharmed whilst the purge continues

around her, until all
competition is eliminated.

The

royal carcasses don't go to waste.

The workers feed them to the larvae.

Now, one queen reigns supreme, and
the army of workers answer only to her.

She has maneuvered her way to power.

Now, she will set about establishing an
empire.

In Senegal, the wet season has arrived.

The chimp's home is transformed.

The young male and his new friend have
become constant companions.

The chimps have been
starved of protein during the

long dry season, and are
now desperate for meat.

The young chimp's mentor knows where to
look for it.

There may be something hiding deep inside
this hollow tree trunk.

And the older chimp has a remarkable skill
that enables him to find out.

Stripping the twigs off a branch, he
fashions it into what looks like a spear.

He then does something
that takes hunting with

tools to a new level, as
he probes the hollow trunk.

He checks the point for any signs of
blood, then tries again.

He flushes out a small mammal,
a galego, and quickly dispatches it.

This is the first real meat he's had for
several months.

But his success will test the growing
friendship between the two males.

The young chimp is now ready to go
hunting.

Being willing to
share meat reflects the

strength of the bond
between individual chimps.

He hands a morsel to the younger male.

With this decision, the older chimp has
sealed an alliance that one day may make

them strong enough to challenge the
troop's dominant males.

This growing partnership has not gone
unnoticed by some of the other chimps.

The young male's status in the troop is
most definitely on the rise.

In the Arizona desert, the honey ant queen
has been busy.

In her underground kingdom, this queen now
commands thousands of workers.

They can carve out a huge
network of interlinked tunnels

and chambers that may
extend to a depth of nine feet.

Some of her subjects have become living
storage barrels, with their bodies grossly

distorted as they're filled with honey,
fuel for her growing army.

In the quest for total
domination, an army of workers is

constantly on the offensive,
eliminating any competition.

They especially target rival honey ant
colonies.

Underground, in one
chamber, the queen has

been carefully nurturing
a very special brood.

Hundreds of winged sons
and daughters, all carrying

her genes, and all waiting
for the right moment.

On a warm, still evening, they march to
the surface, to a specially prepared

launch pad from where they will take
flight.

They mate on the wing.

Then the females spread out across the
desert, each carrying their queen's bloodline.

Many perish.

But each that succeeds in
establishing her own colony is

spreading their queen's
power further across this land.

In an individual's climb towards
power and privilege, there

comes a point when the ultimate
rewards are finally within reach.

It's the time to find out if you really
have what it takes to make the last step.

It's winter in Montana.

Mature male sharp-tailed grouse are
getting in some pre-season training.

Here, on their traditional display
grounds, they're practising their

courtship dancing and
staking a claim to the

best spots on what
will become their stage.

But the real show begins with the arrival
of spring.

The females are looking for the perfect
partner, choosing those males who are not

just good dancers, but who can fight for
and hold the best spots on the dance floor.

This young male is big enough to enter the
contest for the first time.

There is only one way to find out whether
he's got what it takes.

He must go out there and dance.

But his debut performance appears to have
stopped the show.

In fact, none of the others have noticed
him at all.

They've spotted approaching danger.

A short-eared owl.

When the threat has passed, they can all
pick up where they left off.

But this youngster has now strayed into
another male's space.

He's about to find out whether he really
has what it takes.

It's a close-run thing, but the younger
male is finally driven away.

If he is ever to claim one of the top
spots, and attract a female, he will have

to fight again and again, until he is
victorious.

The young chimp has already learnt the
dangers of having to fight for power,

and has discovered that there may be a
subtler path to privilege.

He's back with the nursery group,
but his attitude is now very different.

He wants to play with the chimps.

Playing with youngsters is not a backward
step for him.

On the contrary, this is part of a plan.

Because where there are babies,
there are mother chimps.

And

they're now starting to take notice of him
for the first time.

With his growing status within the troop,
he's becoming an attractive proposition.

And that will one day prove critical.

Because in nature, the ultimate expression
of power is to win a mate, and so have the

chance to leave a legacy in the form of
offspring.

That is the next challenge to be faced in
Life Story.

Senegal, West Africa.

The Life Story team are setting out to film
a unique hunting behaviour in chimpanzees.

For director Emma
Knapper, the chance to meet

these chimps has
been a long time coming.

We first heard about this about nine
months ago.

So I know the chimps' names.

I've seen little videos of them.

I've seen pictures of them.

And I've just now got to wait until it's
light.

And then I'll be able to see them.

It's really...

I can hear them in the trees.

It's really cool.

Field researcher Michel Saddahu has been
tracking the chimps for the last four years.

Oh my God, they're so loud.

But for Emma and cameraman
Richard Jones, this is the

first time they've been so
close to wild chimpanzees.

These first encounters can be risky.

Humans and chimps
are so closely related that

the crew could introduce
disease into the troop.

There's a group about ten metres away from
us in the tree.

Which is why we've got to wear the face
masks.

There are 30 chimps in the troop.

Michel can not only
recognise and name them, but

he knows their histories
and social status too.

Making sense of this chaotic family is
going to be key to the success of the shoot.

And that means winning the troop's trust.

Researcher Jill Preets has been studying
the troop for ten years.

And she knows that the key to earning their
trust is adopting the right etiquette.

It's not like with
gorillas either where you

can't look them in the
eye or anything like that.

It's basically the same way you would look
at a person.

If you look too hard at a person,
it's going to be rude.

The same with the chimps.

Over the next few weeks, the crew has to
track the troop all over the forest.

This means gruelling 18-hour days in
temperatures above 40 degrees centigrade.

The chimps are a volatile bunch,
always squabbling among themselves.

Emma starts to pick out some of the
characters.

She looks like a lot of teenage boys I
used to know.

And I like them too.

A young male called Dawson particularly
catches the crew's attention.

We decided to follow Dawson because he's
at an interesting point in his life

because he is junior amongst the males
here.

So he's really trying to
fight to get the respect

of the other males and
to climb the hierarchy.

By concentrating on
Dawson, the crew may be able

to film a much richer story
than they had expected.

It's the low-ranking chimps like Dawson
that use spears to hunt.

It's such an unusual
behaviour that many researchers

couldn't believe it was
true when Jill first reported it.

Capturing it on film would be a real coup
for the team.

The crew have spent nearly 300 hours in
the forest and covered hundreds of miles

before the more dominant chimps accept
them.

But to gain the acceptance of the shyer
chimps will take more time.

And Emma is starting to get to grips with
the family.

When we first came
here, Michelle was saying,

Tombo, that's the
one with the big ears.

David, that's the one that's really black.

And you're sitting there thinking,
oh, the black chimp with the big ears.

Well, they've all got big ears.

They're all black.

But a couple of weeks later, it's
different.

You can really see the difference.

They act different.

They look different.

It's just a matter of getting to know
them.

Finally, Dawson walks directly towards the
crew.

A sign of trust at last.

They're able to film
the critical moment when

he makes friends with
a chimp called Lupin.

This friendship will
bring about a change of

fortune for Dawson
and for the film crew too.

After six long weeks in the bush,
there's a change in the weather.

It's what the crew have been waiting for.

The only times Michelle has ever seen spear
hunting is immediately after a downpour.

And rainstorms are rare in this forest.

The chimp's mood changes with the weather.

Suddenly, they seem more serious and
focused.

It's a good sign.

With the noise and the
rain, it's hard to keep up,

but it's vital that the crew
stick close to Dawson.

As the rain subsides, the chimps behave in
a way the crew have not seen before.

The youngsters probe inside hollow trees
with sticks.

Then suddenly, Lupin starts to make a
full-sized spear.

Dawson watches from the sidelines.

It's a remarkable moment.

That's what we were hoping for.

But it looks more deliberate than I could
have ever imagined.

It's absolutely amazing.

Being able to capture this behaviour is
the result of a decade of study by Jill

and her team, and by the crew spending
over 700 hours tracking the troop.

Yet the hunt lasted just three minutes.

It's hardly surprising only a handful of
people have ever witnessed this before.

When I still see it, I get really excited.

You know, I still like that...

that newness of it hasn't worn off,
that's for sure.

The Life Story team have filmed more than
they ever hoped.

Both the moving story of Dawson's climb to
power and a remarkable new behaviour.

In the next stage of Life Story,
we will see animals attempt to win a mate.

There'll be glamour.

Naked aggression.

Remarkable dance moves.

And extraordinary artistry.