All language subtitles for Primates.S01E03.WEBRip.x264-ION10.en

NARRATOR: Primates.

Countless faces.

One extraordinary family.

Right now, across the planet...

...remarkable new discoveries
are being made...

Right there.

...about primate intelligence...

OK. Good start.

...their complex relationships...

- ...and secret lives.
- Wow!

Today, over half of the world's primates
are under threat.

Our number one objective
is zero extinctions.

It's very risky.

NARRATOR: The more we understand them...

OVER RADIO: We are launching
in about 30 seconds.

...the better we can protect them.

It'd be incredibly sad to lose them.

I have to focus on protecting
these mountain gorillas,

because I love them.

NARRATOR: Now more than ever, it's us

that will decide the future...

...for the primates.

Primates are the ultimate social animal.

Living in groups means
they need to communicate constantly.

(MONKEY CALLS)

None more so than chimpanzees.

Now ground-breaking research

is revealing that chimps

have a secret language.

Cat Hobaiter has spent 13 years studying
chimps in Budongo Forest, Uganda.

CAT: We know that chimpanzees
are really vocal.

They're vocalising all the time!
But what I'm really interested in

is a whole other system of communication
they have, which is their gestures.

NARRATOR: Gestures are a vital part

of human communication.
We use them constantly.

But Cat is the first person

to study the use of gestures

in wild chimpanzees...

...and to understand their meaning.

It's essentially like trying to decode
almost alien communication,

because you're really
starting from scratch.

NARRATOR: She worked out a way
to decipher this alien language.

The trick is to spot what stops
a chimp from gesturing.

If I desperately need a coffee -
as I do most mornings! -

then if I'd asked you to pass it to me

and you passed me a cup of water,

then I would probably
ask for coffee again.

If you passed me the decaf, I would
definitely ask for the coffee again.

And the one thing that will stop me
from asking you for coffee

is when you pass me the coffee.

So that ultimately gets us
at what I meant,

what I was trying to communicate to you,

and we do exactly the same
with the chimps.

NARRATOR: So by looking at what happens

before and after each gesture,

Cat can work out their meaning.

This is Melissa, who's one of
our female chimpanzees,

and her little boy is currently
up at the top of this tree.

And then she gives
this very obvious little hand raise.

Now, if that was a human,

we do that all the time, right,
to get some attention in class?

But for the chimps, it actually
means something very different.

So chimpanzees give an arm raise

when they want somebody else
to move themselves.

And in this case, what she wants is
her little boy to come down the tree

so that they can move off
and find a new feeding patch together.

NARRATOR: It can take Cat hours and hours
of watching the footage to spot

and decode a gesture.

We've got Jenny and her two young
children, so James and Janet.

Jenny walks in front of James

and she looks back at him,
and then...

...right there she just kind of
shows the heel of her foot

and kind of gives it a little wiggle.

And this foot present gesture,
it's not a very obvious one, right?

Once we'd seen it a few times,

we actually worked out
that what it means is

"jump on board so that we can
travel off together".

Sort of a piggyback gesture.

NARRATOR: Cat soon discovered
gestures are used

in almost every aspect of chimpanzee life.

We've got the big group of males
on the ground here,

and Musa is going to grab
a couple of leaves off the nearest tree,

pops them in his mouth
and he starts to tear them.

(CHIMP CHUNTERS)

And you can hear this very distinctive

sort of ch-ch-ch kind of noise
when they do this.

It's called a leaf clip gesture.

This is chimpanzee flirtation.

There is a female chimp
who's just up the tree from him,

and this is all about
getting the girl's attention.

This is kind of, um,
a chimpanzee pick-up line, basically!

Starts to climb down.

And...yep, that seems
to have done the trick.

A little bit of chimpanzee action
going on.

So, just as humans do with language, there
are words that you don't use every day,

so there are words that you might
only use on a special occasion

or when you're meeting somebody
for the first time,

so we're still picking up
these kind of new occasional,

really special gesture types.

NARRATOR: So far, Cat has decoded
more than 80 distinct gestures.

But there are some that remain a mystery.

Now Cat's research extends
beyond the forests of Uganda...

...and she's discovering that there is

even more to chimpanzee gestures.

CAT: We're looking at
gestural communication

in chimpanzees right across Africa.

What we're starting to see is that

the different groups of chimpanzees
seem to share most of the same gestures...

...but there are subtle differences

in how often they do it
or quite how they do it.

It's more like having a different accent
or a different dialect.

NARRATOR: This is a crucial discovery.

It supports the idea
that different chimpanzee groups

have distinct cultures.

(CHIMP SCREECHES)

CAT: I am in a race against time

to try and find out
about these different cultures

and the communication,
because we're losing

so many different groups
and populations of chimpanzees every day.

When we're talking about conservation,
it's not just about numbers.

It's about losing

the characters and the cultures
and the individuals.

If you lose a whole community, that's
a whole culture you'll never get back.

Imagining the forest without them,
it wouldn't be...

...it wouldn't be this forest.

Yeah, it would be...
it'd be incredibly sad to lose them.

NARRATOR: Primates are not just
one of the most social animals.

They're also some of
the most accomplished

- tool users.
- (MONKEY CALLS)

This is Koram Island,
off Thailand's east coast,

home to beachcombing long-tailed macaques.

They've mastered the art
of a particular type of tool use...

...using rocks to crack open shellfish.

Amanda Tan has been observing
this unusual behaviour

for seven years.

The tool use in macaques
is really, really rare.

You find macaques
all over Southeast Asia,

but it's really only a few populations
living out on islands

that we see tool-use behaviours.

It's just a culture that's really unique
only to some groups of macaques.

NARRATOR: Amanda discovered these monkeys
use tools in two distinct ways.

The monkey in front of me here
is doing what we call axe hammering.

That's when they use the sharp point
of the tool to crack open

oysters that are stuck on rocks.

They also crack open

sea snails and clams
and take a pound hammer

to smash that open.

NARRATOR: Choice of hammer

and the ability to use it

have to be learned.

AMANDA: The young ones learn to use tools
by staying really close to the tool users.

So when they're really little, like that
one, they stay really close to their mum,

then that's when they get
their first taste of seafood.

NARRATOR: The beach monkeys
seemed like such exceptional tool users,

Amanda wondered

if their skills were unique...

...or if they were shared
by neighbouring troupes.

So she decided to carry out an experiment.

Just inland, there's another
group of macaques

that also have access
to a seafood-lined shore.

And so what I'm trying to do is just
to put some block of oysters down

with some stones that I collected
from the island and see

if these monkeys know what to do with it.

NARRATOR: Amanda wants to test for herself

if these monkeys know
how to use the stones as tools.

(SNIFFS)

It's not looking hopeful.

He seemed to pick up a stone

and just sniff it and not know
what to do with it and walk off.

NARRATOR: Despite having shellfish nearby,

they don't know they can use stones
as tools to get to the food.

(SNIFFS)

It doesn't mean they can't eventually
work it out for themselves.

But what would that take?

It's a bit of luck
and then a bit of learning.

You need one of the monkeys
to be an innovator,

and this behaviour will slowly
spread throughout the group

so they learn from each other
sort of a tradition or a culture.

NARRATOR: So once one monkey
learns how to use a tool,

they'll all pick up the skill.

For this troupe, it looks like learning
to use tools could take some time.

But for the macaque groups
that can use tools,

life is easier.

But there is a twist to this tale.

On Koram Island, Amanda has discovered

that their highly developed skills
are having some surprising consequences.

By using tools, these macaques

are able to target
the largest, juiciest oysters.

And they can get through
as many as 40 a day.

AMANDA: We do see evidence that they
are depleting the shellfish on the island.

So when we compare the shellfish here

versus an island just next to us,

we see that the shellfish here
are less abundant

and they're also smaller in size.

NARRATOR: This is the first reported case

of a tool-using animal other than us

overexploiting a natural resource.

AMANDA: We know for sure that humans

are depleting the natural resources
on the planet

and we never really thought that
any other animal was doing it as well.

NARRATOR: If these monkeys
continue to overexploit their environment,

the shellfish could disappear...

...ironically meaning that
this extraordinary tool-using behaviour

would also disappear.

When it comes to
surprising new discoveries,

secret language and skilled tool use
are just the tip of the iceberg.

In Brazil...

...researchers have recorded
female bearded capuchins flirting...

...by throwing stones.

After weeks of pursuing the alpha male,

females catapult rocks at him
in a bizarre last attempt

to win him over.

In Central Africa,

remote cameras filmed the first-ever
shots of chimps pond-dipping...

...for algae.

During the harsh dry season,

algae becomes a precious
and succulent source of food.

And in China,

scientists have just discovered
a brand-new primate...

...the Skywalker hoolock gibbon...

...already one of the world's
most endangered species.

In the white forests
of north-east Brazil...

...researcher Vedrana Slipogor
is investigating

the lives of some of
the world's tiniest monkeys...

Vama, vama, vama.

(WHISTLES)

...common marmosets.

One...

...two...

...three.

Vedrana is trying to prove...

- Just now, he's looking now.
- ...that these monkeys

- have personalities...
- And he's approaching.

And then got a bit scared and moved away.

...from the cautious...

...to the curious.

And now Carl is coming.

NARRATOR: Identifying personality
is harder than it sounds.

Vedrana has devised
her own unique way to investigate.

She reveals a strange object

and then records their responses.

VEDRANA: As with humans,
some humans are more bold

or more shy in a certain situation.

The same thing is with marmosets.

NARRATOR: After hundreds of tests,

Vedrana has found
each marmoset shows

consistent individual responses.

In other words, they each have

their own personality traits.

VEDRANA: Some of them are very explorative

and some of them are not,

but, actually, this is quite interesting,

because this is exactly how they behave
in their day-to-day lives.

NARRATOR: Having recognised
individual personalities,

Vedrana suspects that those different
individuals learn differently, too.

Learning is super important
in marmoset societies,

because they are highly social.

So it's not only important for them
to learn from their mothers and fathers

but also from other members
of their family groups.

NARRATOR: Social learning
is crucial for marmoset survival,

from knowing where to find food

to how to mob predators.

And Vedrana wonders

if certain personalities
are better at learning from others.

So she's trialling a new experiment.

The monkeys are given
two banana-filled cups,

one black and one white.

The picture of the banana
just gets their attention.

This is where it gets complicated.

They're shown a video of a monkey

opening the white cup using its mouth.

Will the marmosets learn from the video

or do it their own way?

He's looking at the video.

NARRATOR: And does personality
make a difference?

Some monkeys do seem to copy the video.

So they managed to open it
with the right technique.

The correct cup, as well.

NARRATOR: But others
seem to ignore it completely.

Tarsilla now came...

...and is manipulating the black box...

...with her mouth.

And she opened it.

NARRATOR: Tarsilla is one of
the boldest in the group

and she'd much rather
work out this task for herself.

Vedrana's research
is still in its early days.

But it's clear
that even the smallest monkeys

can have a big personality.

Being able to study primates up close
allows us to better understand

and conserve them.

But that's not always possible.

This vast, dense network of reed beds
surrounds Madagascar's largest lake.

Lac Alaotra spans an area
twice the size of London...

...and is home to
a shy and elusive creature.

The Lac Alaotra gentle lemur
is the only primate

to live its entire life over water.

This marshland is the only place
it can survive.

Malagasy conservationist
Heri Andrianandrasana

has dedicated his life to protecting
these vulnerable lemurs.

But out here his problem

is actually finding them.

HERI: We have 23,000 hectares
of reed beds here,

so most of them are not accessible.

And that is a challenge.

NARRATOR: The reed beds might be huge...

...but they were once much bigger.

They are being cleared for fishing
and rice farming on a massive scale.

So Heri wants to know
how many lemurs are left

and exactly where they are,

so they can concentrate
conservation efforts.

But in a canoe,
it's a near-impossible task...

...which is why he's enlisted the help

of some cutting-edge technology.

It's being pioneered by Serge Wich,

a conservationist with a fascination

for drones.

Drones can show us a visual image
that is usually very strong,

and that helps to facilitate conservation.

NARRATOR: With him, a group of engineers,
an astrophysicist and computer scientist,

all world experts in drone technology.

They've used drones for everything

from mapping archaeological sites

to finding dolphins in the Amazon.

Now they've come to Madagascar

to see whether their custom-made drone
can spot the lemurs.

To have the best chance
of detecting the secretive lemurs,

they're using a powerful thermal camera.

It's very sensitive to body heat.

But the lemurs are so small,

no-one knows if the camera will be able
to spot them in such a vast marshland.

So they need to do a test.

Heri, I copy. Over.

Hello, Serge. I copy you.

NARRATOR: Heri guides the drone

to where he knows
there are definitely lemurs.

SERGE OVER RADIO: We are launching
in about 30 seconds. Over.

(DRONE WHIRS)

SERGE: Heri, we're almost there.
I'm sure you hear it by now. Over.

NARRATOR: Serge is flying blind,
and has no idea what the camera can see.

Heri uses a hand-held camera

to capture a reference of the lemurs'
thermal fingerprint so they can compare.

Yeah, we are on our way back home. Over.

NARRATOR: It's only now
that Serge will find out

if the drone camera has really worked.

You can quite clearly see
three individuals.

So, three in a very tiny spot.

NARRATOR: These minuscule dots
don't look like much until they're matched

with the images from the canoe.

Even though it's quite small,

you see it fairly clearly.
We even see its tail a little bit.

So we're sure that it's a lemur.

To finally see results is incredible.

That's very helpful for us

to develop a system in the future

that will hopefully be able
to detect the lemurs

while we fly over them.

NARRATOR: These results
could make all the difference.

If the drone can survey the entire lake,
Heri can focus efforts

where the lemurs need it most.

The drone can help

better understand
the Alaotran gentle lemur and its habitat.

But also, it helps control
the illegal activities,

such as the illegal rice farming,

the illegal fishing.

So all of this can be sorted
if we have enough information.

NARRATOR: There's still a long way to go,

but Serge and Heri have taken
an important step to safeguard the future

of the Lac Alaotra gentle lemur.

For some, a passion for primates

knows no bounds,

and world-renowned primate conservationist

Russell Mittermeier is obsessed.

Now he's in Tanzania on a mission.

With 50 years' experience,
Russ has a unique perspective

on primate conservation.

And he's witnessed their numbers decline
first-hand.

Primates are in
a pretty dire situation worldwide.

More than 60% of all primates

are considered either critically
endangered, endangered

or vulnerable.

NARRATOR: But Russ believes there is

at least one solution.

To me, ecotourism is perhaps
the best tool that we have

for ensuring the long-term survival of
these animals and their natural habitats.

NARRATOR: When tourists visit
wilderness areas in search of primates,

they generate income that's put back
into protecting the animals

and their forests.

Now, in his seventieth year,
Russ wants to become the first person

to see every kind of primate
in the wild...

...inspiring others

to follow in his footsteps.

My main objective here in Tanzania is
to see the last of the 79 different types

of primates that exist on the planet.

I'm here to see

the kipunji, which is
this very unusual monkey,

and it was not described
by science until 2005,

so that's really quite remarkable.

NARRATOR: Scientists divide primates into
79 different categories, known as genera.

The kipunji is in a genera all of its own.

Restricted to just a few forest patches
in southern Tanzania,

it's now considered to be one of
the most endangered primates on Earth.

For Russ to find his final primate,
he'll need local expertise.

Noah Mpunga and Tim Davenport are
from the Wildlife Conservation Society.

They were the first to report
the existence of the kipunji

and now protect them
and their forest home.

- Welcome to the camp!
- Thank you!

Finally we're going to get to
see kipunji...I hope!

The weather's got to co-operate a little.

NARRATOR: But shortly after arriving
at their forest camp,

things take a turn for the worse.

Severe and unseasonal rainstorms

soon make conditions
in the forest treacherous...

...and the kipunji much harder to find.

I'm very anxious to get out tomorrow.
I don't care if it's raining,

I don't care if it's muddy.

NARRATOR: Hopefully,
conditions will improve by morning.

Dawn...

...and it's not really much better.

But Russ decides to risk it

and get going before the monkeys do.

Local ranger Atu
has been tracking the kipunji.

(SPEAKS IN OWN LANGUAGE)

She saw them yesterday.

- OK.
- It's, like, two kilometres.

Two kilometres. OK.

So presumably they're still there,

- cos it's still raining!
- NOAH: Yeah, could be.

- Hopefully!
- TIM: We will see.

NARRATOR: Russ has been waiting
for this morning for years.

But no sighting is guaranteed.

2.29 kilometres so far, but...

...it's up and down, up and down.

I can smell them!

NARRATOR: While the kipunji can
move quickly through the open canopy,

for Russ, the dense undergrowth
is near impossible to navigate.

Yeah!

Like most African monkeys,
they're very good at hiding!

Oh, wow!

Whoa! Cool!

Wow!

Yes!

Number 79! Good spot! (CHUCKLES)

Been working on that
for...49 years! (LAUGHS)

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Look at him. Wow!

Funny face!

Funny-looking monkey.

It feels great! I mean, this morning,
I'd just about given up,

with all the rain. But...

...we got him!

These trackers are amazing.
They're really good.

This woman is fantastic.

This is a really special animal.

NARRATOR: Russ is the first person
to see every type of primate.

But he hopes he won't be the last.

RUSS: I like stimulating people
to go to remote places and...

...engage with the communities...

...benefit the local economies.

That's what it's all about.

NARRATOR: Ecotourism
and primate watching can provide

a new income for local communities

and an incentive to protect
primates and their home.

RUSS: It's clearly demonstrating
to local communities the importance of

these intact forests and the key species
that occur within them.

Our number one objective is to maintain

the current diversity of the order
primates, zero extinctions.

If we can replicate models like this
across the world,

we can save these species
from extinction.

NARRATOR: Across the planet, dedicated
people are going to great lengths

to save the world's
most endangered primates.

This orphaned chimpanzee's family
were killed by poachers.

Now he's being evacuated
by Virunga's anti-poaching unit

and transferred 400 miles

to a primate rehabilitation centre...

...a safe haven where he'll be cared for
alongside other orphans.

In Guatemala, rescued spider monkeys
are on their way back to the wild.

Many were originally kept as pets,

requiring five years in rehabilitation.

They're being released together...

...a whole new troupe
to boost the wild population.

In Brazil, cocoa plantations
are providing a new home

for endangered
golden-headed lion tamarins.

Much of their natural forest is now gone,
but they thrive here.

Locals benefit from the new income...

...and help save tamarins, too.

All over the world, the future
of primates is increasingly

in our hands...

...including these charismatic residents

of Malaysia's Penang peninsula...

...dusky langurs.

Their once-pristine forests

are now bisected by busy roads.

To move through their territory,
they must risk

crossing amongst dangerous traffic
every single day.

Local researcher Jo Leen Yap has seen them
run this gauntlet many times.

It's very risky,
and you feel very heartache,

because the infants or the juveniles,
they will try to cross the road.

And you can see
that they are really struggling.

NARRATOR: The langurs have found

what might appear to be a good solution.

But these are power cables.

They pose a real risk of electrocution.

And they're too thin for the monkeys
to balance on safely.

Many struggle to make it across...

...especially mothers and babies.

JO LEEN: When the mom and the infant
try to cross along the cable wire,

they can't really balance themself well.

We've got cases of roadkill.
All have been below the cable wire.

NARRATOR: Jo Leen felt she had to act.

JO LEEN: After so many months and years

of looking at them
walking along the cable wire,

the things in my heart is trying
to help them to cross safely.

NARRATOR: Jo Leen knows
the monkeys prefer crossing overhead,

so she's decided to install

a monkey bridge.

JO LEEN: So today is the day
we're going to build

the first bridge in peninsular Malaysia

to assist langurs to cross the road.

NARRATOR: The team are using
upcycled old fire hoses,

much thicker and easier to cross
than electric wires...

Ini, ini, ini!

...and hopefully allowing monkeys
and other wildlife to cross

between forest fragments much more safely.

As the bridge nears completion,

it seems the monkeys are already keen
to check out their new walkway.

Stay here.

Stay here, stay here. Stay here.

So it might take days
or even weeks and months

for them to get used to
the fire hoses bridge,

so we just have to hope for the best.

NARRATOR: Elsewhere, primate walkways
have already been a great success.

In India,

fire-hose ladders have been installed
for lion-tailed macaques.

And in Thailand,

gibbons take to new crossings with ease.

Given time, it's hoped
that these dusky langurs

will soon be crossing safely, too.

The passion people feel for primates

is now perhaps
their best hope for survival...

...especially for
the world's last remaining...

...mountain gorillas.

(RAIN POURS DOWN)

(GROWLS SOFTLY)

Their stronghold is the Virunga Mountains.

(HUFFS)

Innocent Mburanumwe grew up here,

in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Now he's the deputy chief ranger

of Virunga National Park,

and he has a special bond
with its gorillas.

(HE IMITATES GORILLA'S GROWLING)

INNOCENT: I love to spend time
with gorillas. You know,

we consider them like our second families.

This is Nyakamo, a silverback.

He's playing with his son, Balingene.

NARRATOR: Innocent has dedicated his life
to these primates.

His fascination started at a young age.

INNOCENT: The first time
I saw the gorillas, I was about 11.

What inspired me to become
a ranger, it's because

my father was a ranger,
my brother and my uncle.

NARRATOR: Now Innocent is a world-leading
authority on these gorillas...

...and knows their lives intimately.

He's just come to smell me.

Once he touch me,

he just put his hand on his nose
to smell. (LAUGHS)

(HE TUTS LIKE A GORILLA)

NARRATOR: These precious moments
may seem idyllic...

...but in reality, being a ranger
in the Virunga National Park

is one of the most dangerous jobs
in conservation.

NEWS REPORT: ...has been
extremely intensive...

(SCREAMING)

(GUNFIRE)

NARRATOR: The park is in one of the most
politically unstable places on the planet.

NEWS REPORTS: Four million people
have been uprooted.

...village after village
destroyed by fighting.

It's a battle for survival.

NARRATOR: Over 20 years, conflict,

militias, genocide and Ebola
have plagued the region.

For those protecting the park,
the conflict is a direct threat.

NEWS REPORT: The ongoing civil war
and poaching have become

the deadliest threats
to the mountain gorillas.

NARRATOR: In 2007,
seven gorillas were gunned down.

INNOCENT: It was a hard time

to see gorillas being killed by people,

like a sabotage.

NARRATOR: And it's not just the gorillas
that Innocent has had taken from him.

I lost one of my family.

My brother, who died in the line of duty.

NARRATOR: Innocent's brother
is one of more than 180 rangers

who have been killed
protecting the gorillas

and Virunga Park itself.

(OFFICER SHOUTS ORDERS)

(OFFICER SHOUTS ORDERS)

The Virunga park was founded
primarily to protect mountain gorillas.

But it has a role in bringing stability
to the region.

In recent years,

tourists have returned,
raising precious funds...

...allowing the park to create
opportunities for local communities

and oversee the building
of schools and clinics.

And all of this helps to ensure
the gorillas remain protected too.

In the 1980s, there were as few

as 250 mountain gorillas
in the Virunga region.

After years of efforts to protect them,
their numbers have now

more than doubled to over 600.

But for Innocent and his team...

...the battle continues.

I don't want to lose any gorillas.

I have to focus on protecting
these mountain gorillas,

because I love them.

NARRATOR: The gorillas
will need protecting

for generations to come.

INNOCENT: I have one son

who wants to be a ranger like me.

NARRATOR: The remarkable recovery
of mountain gorillas

is thanks to those who are willing to
go to great lengths to protect primates.

The conservation of the world's primates
is a long-term commitment...

...not least because
they live such long lives.

The rainforests of Indonesia are home...

...to orang-utans.

An infant orang-utan can grow to live

for another 50 years or more.

They stay with their mother
up to the age of nine...

...learning all they need to survive.

Today, all orang-utans
face an uncertain future.

Since 2001,

Indonesia has lost
more than nine million hectares

of primary forest...

...much to satisfy

the demand for timber,
mining and palm oil.

The equivalent of one thousand football
pitches are cleared every single day.

This destruction means that orang-utans
are in serious need of help.

Signe Preuschoft felt she had to
help save orang-utans in need.

These young orang-utans are orphans,

being prepared for
a life back in the wild.

SIGNE: So in this forest school programme,

we have a total at the moment
of eight orang-utans.

NARRATOR: Each vulnerable orphan
has gone through the trauma of losing

his or her mother.

And this one here, Gerhana,
that's the youngest.

In Gerhana's case,
it was just amazing that he would live.

Ja? He was so starved.

He looked like a stick insect!

So it was really touch and go
whether he would make it.

NARRATOR: Since coming into
the forest school programme,

Gerhana, like the other rescued orphans
here, has made a remarkable recovery.

Each is cared for by a dedicated
human surrogate parent.

The long-term goal is to release them

into protected forests
and boost wild populations.

But rehabilitation can often fail.

Many orang-utans do not survive
in the wild after release.

They often lack vital skills

which they would have learned
from their mothers high in the treetops.

The canopy is where orang-utans
find food,

shelter and safety from predators.

And that's part of the problem.

SIGNE: There is always a big attraction

for the orphans
to come down to the ground.

So as long as we have many caretakers
on the ground,

it's almost impossible to get
the orang-utans all up in the trees.

NARRATOR: In the wild, orang-utans
rarely, if ever, come to the ground.

Signe had an idea.

Their caregivers
would have to lead the way...

...into the trees.

James Reed is a highly experienced
rope access specialist.

OK, so, this is called the throw line,
and this is called

the throw pouch.

(HE TRANSLATES)

NARRATOR: The idea?

If the carers can climb,

then their orang-utans should follow.

Once it starts swinging, lower it down.

There you go.

NARRATOR: But some humans
find it easier than others.

(LAUGHS) I have too much rope now!

No, it's OK.

Is it?

Yeah, too much is better than not enough.

That's it.

NARRATOR: Long training hours are needed

to become certified climbers.

But the real test will come

when boisterous young orang-utans
are added to the mix.

JAMES: Yeah. Yeah.

NARRATOR: When the caregivers
take to the ropes,

even Gerhana, with a little encouragement,

discovers he climbs like a natural.

Up here, they can really strengthen
their climbing skills...

...explore new heights...

...and discover new foods...

...all with the safety
of their caretaker nearby.

Signe started seeing a promising change
in the orphans right away.

SIGNE: When we first climbed
with Gerhana...

...I had never seen Gerhana
climb so high as on that day.

NARRATOR: This is
a positive first step towards

these infants becoming
truly at home in the canopy.

SIGNE: As soon as they don't need us,

we just let them go
as much as they want...

...and give them the self-confidence,

"OK, I can handle that."

NARRATOR: Signe hopes
she's giving these orang-utans

the tools they need to survive...

...and that she can release them one day

where they belong...

...in the wild.

Primates...

...are our closest relatives.

They need us now more than ever.

It's only by understanding them

that we can help safeguard their future.

Across the world...

...people are dedicating their lives
to finding the answers....

...and making sure the future
always has a place...

...for the primates.