[thrum of insects]
[bird squawking]
[somber music playing]
A chimp has been killed
in the heart of the Ngogo territory.
It's Pork Pie.
For this to happen,
the killers had to enter the territory unnoticed.
Only one other group could have done this.
A group the Ngogo chimps know only too well.
[music intensifies]
The westerners.
War is coming to Ngogo.
[music intensifies]
[music fades out]
[animals calling]
[music reprises, fades out]
[chorus of birds and insects]
[foreboding music playing]
[vines creaking ominously]
[music intensifies]
[music abates]
[music intensifies]
The chimps of western Ngogo are a separate group
with their own territory.
The westerners are different.
Their group is much smaller than Jackson's central group.
But they stick together.
And that gives them strength.
[music fades out]
There are just eight adult males
compared to 24 in the central group.
So the females
stand together with the males
and help defend the territory.
There's a strong alpha, Hutcherson,
but he's different to Jackson.
He doesn't dominate in the same way.
Here, power is shared more equally.
[gentle music fading in]
And all the adult males have important roles.
[animal calls]
[animal shrieks]
Garrison is one of those males.
He's getting old for a male chimp,
but with age comes knowledge.
- [Garrison hooting] - [music becomes tense]
He knows every tree at Ngogo.
He has a map of the entire forest in his head.
If there's food to be found,
he'll find it.
[shrieking]
[music intensity abates]
Foraging is hard work.
[music intensifies]
Often for small rewards.
[music abates]
[chimp panting]
This time, Garrison has led the westerners to a rare treat.
[hooting]
[grunting rhythmically]
[bees thrumming loudly]
[chimp hooting excitedly]
Chimps love wild honey.
[gentle music playing]
But it doesn't last long,
and it won't feed the whole group.
For that,
the westerners need fruit.
[music intensifies, abates]
Ripe fruit
is the most important food at Ngogo.
And right now,
the most prized fruit trees are at the edge of the western territory.
[lively music playing]
On the border
of Jackson's central group.
[music becomes somber]
Rollins is the west's patrol leader.
He's been guarding the borders of Ngogo for many years.
Damien is his younger brother.
[hoots softly]
He's still just a teenager.
But he's already strong...
confident...
[hooting softly]
...and very smart.
[foreboding music playing]
On visits to the borderlands,
it's these formidable brothers
who lead the way.
[music intensifies]
[music abates]
As they get closer to the border,
Garrison keeps a watchful eye on everyone.
[music becomes tense]
[music fades out]
They've entered the borderlands.
Jackson's central group also feed here,
so it's a dangerous part of the forest.
[chimp grunting rhythmically]
[solemn music playing]
But it's worth the risk.
There's a huge fig tree in full fruit.
Exactly what the group needs.
[music becomes tense]
[music becomes rousing]
Most of the group are happily feeding.
[music fades out]
Rollins and Damien
are not.
[canopy rustling]
Patrolling is partly about guarding resources.
[tense string music playing]
But that's not all.
Chimps will always try to expand their territory if they can.
And they do it
by finding and attacking rivals.
[music intensifies]
If they can outnumber them.
So Rollins and Damien can't go alone.
The other males will need to follow close behind.
[music climaxes, fades out]
[tense string music playing]
They are moving deep into central territory.
Their group is small,
and they don't know how many enemy chimps they might encounter.
They must be careful
and quiet.
Damien has been with Rollins his whole life.
The connection between them is strong.
On a stealth mission,
that can be the difference between life and death.
[distant shrieking]
The patrol has heard something.
[music abates]
[music becomes tense]
[music intensifies]
[music abates]
It's Pork Pie.
And he's alone.
[foreboding music playing]
[music abates]
[music building]
[music abates]
[menacing music playing]
[hooting softly]
[music intensifies]
[chimps calling]
[music intensifies]
[music fades out]
[distant screeching]
- [screeching fades out] - [poignant choral music fades in]
Like humans,
chimpanzees are social creatures.
But unlike us,
their ability to form relationships
is limited to members of their own group.
They are inescapably territorial
and tribal.
[grunting]
It's in their nature to compete for resources.
And to see chimps from rival groups as others,
to be attacked and destroyed.
Chimpanzee life is a never-ending conflict.
[music soars]
To the westerners,
Pork Pie was an outsider.
And once they found him alone,
his fate was sealed.
[music intensifies]
[music fades out]
[thrum of insects]
[whooping]
[shrieking]
All chimps have two sides.
Adult males like Rollins
can be gentle and playful.
[baby squeaks, grunts rhythmically]
And they can be brutally violent.
But that violent side is essential to this society.
Territorial conflicts between groups are not a battle for wealth.
They are a battle for survival.
The westerners have many mouths to feed.
And the group is growing.
[baby yawning]
[baby grunting rhythmically]
They need more territory.
And more food.
[whimsical music playing]
[music becomes somber]
They are in conflict with a bigger, more powerful group.
So the odds are stacked against them.
For now.
[music fades out]
[playful squealing, grunting]
The western group might be smaller...
but it's united.
[whimsical music playing]
There's a strong sense of togetherness.
And support.
Garbo is the oldest chimp at Ngogo.
Sixty-five is an incredible age for a chimpanzee.
And she still plays her part in the community.
It helps that her son is the alpha.
With him to look out for her, Garbo has a good life...
[music fades out]
...and is treated with respect.
Garbo has another son...
Richmond.
Who also takes care of his mother,
despite his own problems.
As a young chimp,
Richmond lost his hand to a poacher's snare.
[whimsical music playing]
Even though everything in the forest is more difficult...
he hasn't just survived,
he's prospered.
[somber music playing]
Richmond was once the western alpha,
until his younger brother replaced him at the top.
But he still has power
and influence.
[music fades out]
The small number of adult males in the west
puts them at risk if their rivalry with the central group escalates.
[hoots]
There are younger males on the way up.
But the journey can be difficult.
Bergl is an orphan,
so he's had to grow up quickly...
- [hooting softly] - [playful music playing]
...and find ways to get by.
But as an adolescent male,
he's changing and wants to start asserting himself.
[music becomes solemn]
He's trying to perform dominance displays.
[music becomes dramatic]
[Bergl whooping]
[screeching]
He needs to be careful.
[Bergl screeching]
He's beginning to attract attention.
[distant shrieking]
[music fades out]
At this stage of a male chimp's life...
[dark music plays]
...the established males start to see them as a rival.
[jarring string music playing]
[shrieking, hooting]
Bergl's little displays are enough to get him in trouble.
[music becomes foreboding]
[whimpers]
[running chimp shrieking]
[chimp shrieking]
[rhythmic screeching]
[music intensifies]
[music fades out]
One day, Bergl's aggression might help the west against their enemies.
For now, he's been put in his place
and has picked up a nasty hand injury.
[chorus of birds and insects]
[undergrowth rustling]
[both hooting softly]
Joya is also an orphan.
She's the same age as Bergl.
[gentle playful music playing]
[baby grunting softly]
And she's also beginning to change.
[yawning]
Her maternal instincts are starting to develop,
and she wants to help out with the infants.
[baby grunting]
With no mother to learn from...
[baby shrieking]
...her parenting skills are a work in progress.
[baby screeches]
[baby shrieking rhythmically]
Unlike Bergl, when it comes to Joya...
everyone is very tolerant.
And there are experienced mothers she can use as a role model.
Carson already has two children.
And she's pregnant again.
She's a good mother,
but here in the west, she has to be more.
[dramatic music playing]
She joins the males on patrol.
And she hunts.
[music intensifies]
The westerners hunt as a group.
Males and females,
side by side.
[distant trilling]
[trilling continues]
[music becomes more dramatic]
[trilling continues]
Black-and-white colobus monkeys are not an easy target.
[hooting]
They're fast and agile.
And to catch them,
the chimps must work together.
[music intensifies]
Hunting is tough for Richmond.
But he knows it's worth keeping up.
[music intensifies]
[music fades out]
[whooping]
It's a successful hunt.
[flesh squelching]
And there's meat to be shared
in the treetops.
If Richmond wants his cut,
he'll need to go up and claim it.
[dramatic music playing]
[chimp hooting]
[chimps hooting]
[music fades out]
[whimsical music playing]
Garbo was too old for the hunt,
but that doesn't mean she can't get a share.
Garbo provided for Richmond as he was growing up.
And now he provides for her.
Life can be tough at Ngogo.
And having a family to rely on
can make things a little easier.
[somber drum beat plays]
Most chimps have a strong bond with their mother.
But Bergl has no family.
All male chimps go through this stage.
And they all get a few beatings along the way.
But things are harder for an orphan.
[poignant music playing]
With no mother to comfort him...
Bergl is spending time alone.
It's not just bonding he's missing.
Grooming is essential for staying healthy.
[music becomes solemn]
Without it,
Bergl could be vulnerable.
[thunder rumbling]
[music becomes dramatic]
Chimps don't normally do much in the rain,
but the westerners aren't taking shelter.
[hooting]
They all seem energized by the storm.
[grunting rhythmically]
[barks]
[chimps squeaking]
[shrieking rhythmically]
[screeching]
[all shrieking]
As a group...
[screeches]
...they're growing stronger.
[music fades out]
Bergl is still alone.
And he's become sick.
His face is infected by a parasite.
He needs help.
[flies buzzing]
A duiker would normally be afraid of a chimp.
But in this state,
Bergl is no threat.
[ambient music playing]
Most of the group haven't noticed Bergl is missing.
Someone has though.
[music continues]
As they get older,
male chimps become less aggressive
and more caring.
And sometimes,
they'll step in to take care of an orphan.
The western group needs Bergl.
But if he's going to find his place,
he'll need to learn to control his aggression.
And with a chimp as experienced as Garrison to support him,
there's hope.
[gently uplifting music playing]
Joya is spending more and more time with the infants.
- [rhythmic hooting] - [baby squeaking]
She's learning.
And when the time comes to start her own family,
she'll be ready.
Bergl and Joya are finding their way.
Slowly learning to play their roles in chimp society.
[music becomes stirring]
That society needs to be sustained.
So, like every day of their lives,
the westerners must set out to search for food.
[music fades out]
Damien has discovered something.
And it's not an everyday piece of fruit.
It's Chrysophyllum.
The rarest, richest bounty of Ngogo.
It appears in a massive crop once every few years.
[music reprises]
It's unpredictable,
and when it happens,
it provides more food than the chimps can eat.
[music fades out]
Most of the Chrysophyllum trees
lie over the border
in the central territory.
[somber music playing]
[shrieking]
But the western males know exactly where to find them.
[tremulous string music playing]
Because for many years,
those trees
and that territory
belonged to them.
[music intensifies]
And now the time has come
to take it back.
[hooting softly]
[hooting loudly]
- [hooting] - [shrieking]
[music fades out]
[solemn music playing]
[music intensifies]
[music fades out]