Baby Chimp Rescue (2020) - full transcript

Lessons are starting at
a home for rescued baby chimps

in Liberia, West Africa.

Jimmy and Jenny Desmond started with
two chimps and now they have 21,

all rescued from
the illegal pet trade.

They, and their team of caregivers,
are working round the clock

to look after them all.

But with new chimps arriving
all the time, taking care of them

is becoming quite a challenge.

Oh, they're pulling your skirt down.

LAUGHTER

They need to find them a new home
in the forest,



where they can lead
a more natural life.

I'm Professor Ben Garrod.

A biologist, chimpanzee specialist,

and long-time friend
of the Desmonds.

This is not normal
chimp behaviour.

We don't do the wheelbarrow
like that.

Wheelbarrow, wheelbarrow.

As these babies have
no mothers to learn from,

I'm here to teach them how
to live like wild chimps.

They're going to love it. Yeah?

Yeah, I think they're going
to be psyched.

Over the next 12 months...

Go and play, little fella.

..we'll be showing them
how to climb...



..how to forage for food...

I was going to say, we're going
to try and see if they can

nut crack, but Lucy's...
She's a pro.

..and who to avoid.

Max is playing with a deadly snake.

So he will be dead.

Yeah, and that's as scary as it is.
Yeah.

With the house full to bursting,

the pressure is on to find them
all a new home,

and get the chimps ready
for life in the forest.

Ah, geez.

Is that really necessary?

Bridge of doom!

I've come to Liberia in West Africa,
on a very unusual mission.

I'm here to see a couple of friends
of mine, Jimmy and Jenny, who came

to Liberia a couple of years ago
for something completely different.

But once they got here, they found
themselves somehow responsible

for a couple of chimpanzee babies,
and then a few more and a few more.

Now they've got 20, 21.

Sounds exhausting,
so I'm here to help.

I'm heading to a small village
called Charlesville,

roughly 70 kilometres from
Liberia's capital, Monrovia.

OK, I'm getting more excited now.

Here we are.

Well, there's dogs, there's people
and there's chimps.

I think we're in the right place.

Jimmy!

DOGS BARKING

Hello, hello, guys.

Hello!

Oh, my God.

How are you doing?

Hiya, man! So awesome to see you.

Seriously.

Sorry, it's been way too long.

This is Gola. Look at the family.
Hello.

Yeah, we've had 21 children
since we saw you.

It's so good to see you.

She likes to hang upside down.

Does she?

I miss this so much.

It's been like, what?

I met the Desmonds a decade ago
on another chimp project.

Jimmy's a wildlife vet, and when he
and Jenny first came here,

someone brought them two
orphaned chimps to look after,

and they couldn't say no.

Then they started to get more,

and now they're responsible
for 21 chimpanzees.

Watch out, you're not going
to like Gloria, sweetie.

Gogo, be nice.

Let me just introduce you
to everyone. Yeah.

So, this is Max.

Max, say hi.

I've heard so much about you, Max.

Yeah, Max is a cuddler. Hello.

And he's crazy.

So these two are the most scared,
because they're the youngest.

Are you going to go see him?

You can go see him.

Beautiful, who's this again?

That's Ella. Ella.

How about you? You doing OK, baby?

There you go.

It's like an overload, there's
so many people, chimps and dogs.

And this is only some of them.

It's normal.

Yeah.

None of this is normal.
Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Totally normal.

I've always been fascinated
by chimpanzees.

They're our closest
living relatives,

sharing around 98.6% of our DNA.

Like us, they have complex emotions.

And they even laugh
when they're tickled.

When you work with chimps,
or you study chimps or you spend

any time with chimps, it's really
clear just how similar

we are to them.

We share culture, we share a very
high level of intelligence.

They have a sense of humour,
they laugh, they mourn,

they have a theory in mind,
they recognise their own place

in the world around them.

And physically as well, OK,
we look a little bit different,

but they've got the same number
of fingers and toes

and their bones are very similar.

And even little things,
like their fingerprints,

they have unique fingerprints,
just like we do.

Like human babies, chimpanzees form
strong bonds with their mothers.

But every chimp here has seen
their mum killed in front of them,

to be eaten as bushmeat.

The babies are then sold as pets.

The lucky ones end up here
with Jimmy and Jenny.

A lot of these guys come
with injuries from the hunter.

Someone kills the mum and usually
they're carrying the baby,

so a lot of guys actually have,
like, shotgun pellets.

Just, every time, it seems sweet,
it seems fun, they seem cute.

But there's a really
sad story behind everyone.

No-one here has got a happy
story behind them.

No, that's the thing.

Every guy you see here,
it's a tragedy.

Like, they've all been through
a really traumatic experience.

And they shouldn't be here. No.

They should be in the forest
with their family.

You know, that's where
they should be.

And we're just trying to give them
the best life we can,

considering the circumstances
that they've been put in, you know?

It's just, it's just tragic. Yeah.

The main goal of the sanctuary
is to help the chimps

overcome their trauma.

To do that, the orphans have
a dedicated team of carers,

who replace their parents and look
after them round the clock.

Daniel, this is our friend Ben.
Ben, this is Daniel.

He's one of our other caregivers.
How are you?

And this is Eddie,
he's also a caregiver.

This is Ben.

Nice to meet you.

Welcome. Thank you.

Thank you.

Well, you have a lot of animals
to care for? Yes.

Yeah, we love the animals.

Yeah, these guys are great.

Yeah. I love them.

They're family, aren't they?

It's the truth!

At the moment, Jimmy and Jenny
are paying for everything

with their own money.

As well as the eight babies
at the house,

there's a further 13 older chimps
at another facility

a few hundred metres down the road.

Come on, crazy face.

The whole place feels like
it's bursting at the seams.

Do you feel his penis? Mm!

Penis in face.

You got penis in face.

You should feel really good.
I don't.

I don't want his dinkle in my face!

I feel like I've been
fully accepted.

He's laughing.

Chimpanzees in the wild have a home
range of up to 65 square kilometres.

Oh, boy.

Raising 21 chimps in
a fraction of that space

is proving a huge challenge.

CAR HORN BEEPS

Be good.

One thing that sort of struck me
earlier is it's great when there's

so much going on, but you must be
nearly at the point

you can't take many more in.

We... I mean, we're way over
capacity.

We were over capacity at three!

ROOSTER CROWS

It's the end of the first day
and it's been...

..there's no other word,
it's been crazy.

First day back in Africa.

First day seeing Jimmy and Jenny.

First day being inundated
with a whole bunch of chimps again.

And seeing the project,
and it's amazing.

But it's overwhelming,
it's massively overwhelming.

At the same time as exciting,
as fun, as lovely.

So much for you guys to do.

The Desmonds' dream
is to move all the orphans

to a new home in the forest.

They've found a patch of land that
would be perfect for the chimps,

if they can secure it,
and we're on our way to take a look.

So, Ben, if you look...

..if you look, sort of,
behind the mangroves there,

you can see those big trees.
Yeah, just behind. Yeah.

That forest is the land
where we want to... where we want

to put the sanctuary.
Oh, really?

Yeah. It's perfect.
It's really ideal.

The proposed site stretches
over 100 acres of forest.

Surrounded by mangroves and a river,
a natural barrier for the chimps.

And they'll just be like wild
chimps. As close to the wild

as they can ever be and it looks...
it looks perfect. Yeah.

This hundred acre wood could be
the solution to all their problems.

A promised land for them
and the chimps.

And for right now, it's...
it's going to be fantastic.

If we can really secure the land
and get the funding we need

to have the land.

You guys must be so excited,
I mean, I am excited,

but you must be so excited
seeing this right now.

I'm so excited. Your new home,
your new project. Their new home.

I'm so excited.

All I can do is just imagine
my babies going up...

You know, the day we get
out there... ..in the trees.

..it's going to be awesome.

I'm so, so excited. Those little
guys are going to be so psyched.

Jimmy and Jenny have given
themselves 12 months

to build the sanctuary.

Before they can move, the chimps
must learn how to survive

in their new environment.

And that's where I come in.

She's got teeth now.
She's got teeth.

Over the next year,
I'm going to be returning here

every couple of months
to help prepare the chimps

for their new life in the forest.

I think my role in chimp school
is a little bit like one

of the teachers, I guess.

From my background, I've mainly
worked with wild chimps

and I know exactly what they should
and can do in the wild.

When some of these
little chimps are coming in,

they can't even climb.

They're...they're absolute babies.

We've had to teach them. We've had
to teach them the same way

their mums would teach them.

It's going to sound weird,
but I'll be developing lesson plans.

So, it'll be termite fishing
or nut cracking or building a nest.

Identifying venomous animals
or harmless animals.

Chimp school is going to put them
through their paces.

But it's going to teach them
the skills they'll need

to go back into the wild.

Time for school, guys. Come on.

Come on, time for school.

It's time to start our lessons.

Our first class is teaching
the chimps to recognise danger.

Liberia has more than a dozen
species of venomous snakes.

For a baby chimp,
the world is a deadly place.

And things like this
could be the endgame for them.

So, the scary thing is they don't
intrinsically or instinctively know

that a snake can be deadly.

In the wild, they'd have mum
and brothers and sisters,

and the whole rest of the group
would alarm call and scream

and throw sticks at them.

I'm really interested to see
what happens when they come

across a deadly snake
whilst they're playing.

I've got no idea what they'll do.

Starting with a baby group,

our students this morning
are one-year-olds Max and Bui,

and Poppy and Ella, who are just
a few months old.

Max sees it, right?

First up is Max, the alpha male
of the baby group.

Oh, look, look, look. Here they go.

Right now, Max, that is perfect.

Max is playing with a deadly snake.
There you go.

He's playing with it,
so he would be dead. Yeah.

And that's as scary as it is. Yeah.

He has no fear that... No. ..he has
no idea that that's something

that could be dangerous.

He's very confident.

We need to teach Max
that anything shaped like a snake

could be dangerous.

So, in the wild, Mum would have
screamed... Yes. ..by default.

The kids learn whatever it is
is bad, don't go near it. Yes.

They don't have that here, I guess,
do they?

Like us, chimps have
their own language,

but as their surrogate parents,
we need to teach them

how to make the alarm call.

JENNY HOWLS LIKE A CHIMP

That seemed really intense,

but that's exactly what a mum
would do in the wild.

Instantly, watching his little face
there, he didn't care.

The moment you made the noise,
he responded and came

straight to safety.

Let's put it here again
or point it kind of toward him

and see what he does.

Yeah, they're all looking right now.
They're already talking about it.

Yeah, I can hear them.

They see the snake.

They're now scared of the snake.

Bui is catching on quickly.

He climbs up the nearest tree
to get away from the snake,

and keeps a watchful eye on it.

He's really like,
"I gotta get off the ground."

The ground is scary.

He's watching everything
you're doing very carefully.

Bui? Yeah. Good.

Bui's already graduated
this lesson. Yeah.

Are you ready, Max?

The next step is
to get the snake moving.

So, Max is helping me pull
right now, which is not ideal.

But let's see what happens, Max.

THEY HOWL

This time, Max and the others
stay away.

But it all proves
a little too much for Bui.

BUI SHRIEKS

OK, OK.

Everybody's safe. Everybody's safe.

Everybody's safe.

Everybody's safe. Good girl.

OK, Max is now wary, Jenny.
Max is wary. Finally.

I guess this is the thing, not all
kids learn at the same rate either.

No, he's...he's very brave.

He's very confident.

He understands it's scary.

MAX PANTS

He's making little scary sounds.

He went from completely
playing with a toy

and now he won't let it
come near him.

Yeah, that is really impressive.
That's great.

I know it looks horrible and it
sounds horrible... But that's great.

..but that's saving his life.
It's as simple as that.

He'll never go
near a snake again. No.

That's it. Instantly, that was,
"Away with it." Good job.

Good, that's so good.

The lesson will be repeated
until they've all learned

to recognise a snake
and raise the alarm.

Right, sweetie.

It's OK, come here.

The work doesn't stop,
even when the day is over.

OK, kidaroodoos.

Come on, Maxy.

Max, come on. Going to bed.

Come on, buddy. Come on.

Bedtime. Do the bottles.

There you go.

In the wild, baby chimps sleep
attached their mothers

for the first year or so
of their lives.

Maxy, come here.

So the Desmonds
are trying to do the same.

So, do these four sleep
in here with you?

Yes, they do.

How's that?

How is that? That's a good question.

It can be challenging at times.

You shouldn't complain,
because they sleep on me.

Sure.

Come on, Prince. Up, up.

Up, up. Come here.

BOTH: Good girl.

Yeah. That's four baby chimps.

Two or three dogs.

Yeah. And you two. Yeah.

There you go.

Normal bedtime routine
at the Desmonds'.

Yeah. This is it.

This isn't ideal for you guys.

No, this isn't ideal,
and they shouldn't be here.

Just like everything
that we're doing here,

it's a double-edged sword.

This is really nice to have this
time with them and have this comfort

and nurturing,
but no, they shouldn't be here.

I mean, they should be nurtured
and comforted with their real moms.

Yeah. In a nest, at the top of
a tree in the forest.

I mean, you know,
like when they're this young,

like, they're attached to their
mom, like, 24 hours a day.
Yeah, of course.

So, this is kind of physical
contact is super important

for their wellbeing
and their development.

And so... Yeah, they need
this touch. Yeah.

I mean, the other option
would be that they slept

on their own, we put them to sleep,
and then we just left them.

But we don't feel like that's OK,
because that's not natural for them

and we want them to always feel safe
and secure.

Yeah. 24 hours a day.
Yeah. You know?

ROOSTER CROWS

For the Desmonds,
the day starts around 5am,

when the babies wake up.

You're getting yours, buddy.

Sorry, I don't have three hands.

I'm not an octopus.

Very normal, every morning, usually
one of the first things Max does

is he goes up on this windowsill
and he goes to the bathroom.

Yesterday, he woke me up
by peeing on my head.

Which wasn't really very pleasant.

This morning, we're doing a special
lesson for the smallest chimps.

Some were taken from the forest
when they were so young,

they haven't yet developed
the motor skills they need.

So we're going to help them.

All right, ready? Yeah.

We've just received a donation
from the local UN office.

And it's perfect for baby chimps
to learn to climb.

You know, the UN has been
here for a number of years

because of the civil war.

Yeah. And they're finally
shutting down their operations.

So, there's a lot of free
stuff... Awesome. ..going around.

So we're trying to get
as much as we can.

So, we've got a cargo net.
We've got a cargo net.

I'm going to climb up.
I'm not built for this, Jimmy.

I'm not going to lie.

They're going to love it.

Yeah? Yeah, I think they're going
to be psyched.

Oh, look, here comes Bui.

Go play, little fella.

In the wild, chimps spend
roughly half their time

up in the trees.

They forage, hunt
and even sleep in them.

Climbing may seem
like an innate ability,

but they actually have to learn it.

There you go.

Bui, Bui!

This whole idea that a wild
animal is just born wild

is rubbish, really.

There's a really interesting, quite
poignant example, where a group

of sort of small monkeys
from South America

were reintroduced back into the wild
and they were falling out of trees,

they were dropping to the floor
and nobody knew why.

And it turned out that where they'd
been bred, all of the branches,

all of the flooring was solid.

And here they were, back in
the wild suddenly, on branches

that would bounce
and spring and snap

and they didn't know
how to climb.

That just goes to show if we have
to teach these little chimps

how to walk on branches,
then there's a long road ahead.

Maxy.

What do you think, pal?

Max isn't interested
in the climbing lesson,

and as usual, would rather
be making mischief.

I'm really surprised by Max.

He was my sure favourite
to jump around and mess about

on the climbing frame.

Max.

But he's not, he's over there
and he's playing

with loo roll and making
a den nest for himself.

Oh, boy.

Max?

Is that really necessary?

Of the four babies, the star pupil
in today's lesson is little Ella,

the youngest of all the orphans.

She's so impressive.

She's so little and she... Ohh!

But she's...she's really trying,
isn't she? Look at this.

The biggest surprise to me
is little Ella.

She's the youngest, she's
the least qualified to do this,

but she's just going for it.

This is a really
important time for Ella,

because she should still totally
be with Mum, but instead,

she's really confident.
She's really independent, as well.

And she's all puffed up,
look at her.

She's all puffed up,
she's doing really brave stuff.

And you check back in!

Check-checking.

Oh, and a smile! A smile.

You're so proud of yourself,
aren't you?

I'm proud of you, too.

Very, very cute baby chimpanzee.

But the reality is never
very far away and she's...

..she's a traumatised little kid.

And to get here, her mum was...
was shot.

And we know she was shot, because...

..unbelievably...

..little Ella's got bullet marks.

Shrapnel wounds in her arm.

And this one here has gone
all the way through from that side

to that side, and even the bone
is all twisted and broken.

It's healed now, isn't it?

So, that's the reality of
baby chimps in sanctuaries.

They've all got a horrible
story behind them.

And there's so much care and love
that needs to go into making sure

she's well adjusted now.

And that's it.

We shouldn't have to be here
cuddling and nurturing and playing

with these baby chimps,
they should be in the wild.

Ella's mother is just one
of thousands of wild chimpanzees

killed by hunters for their meat.

In the last 25 years,
chimp numbers in this part of Africa

have plummeted by 80%.

They're now classified
as critically endangered.

Hunters go into forests and just
shoot whole groups of chimps.

These little chimps are taken
when these adults are shot

and rather than eat them, because
it's not worth much on the market,

they're sold as pets

and they can make 100, 200,
300 pounds or dollars.

It doesn't sound much,
but it's a lot here.

It's a terrible thought that...

..one of our closest living
relatives might be gone,

because of us.

Keeping chimpanzees as pets
is fairly common in Liberia.

Although it's officially illegal,
most people are unaware of the law.

The great thing is that now
Jimmy and Jenny are here

and have the sanctuary,
for the very first time,

they can go out and
actually rescue chimps

held captive in Liberia.

But with that comes, like, a load
of different risks and...and...

..a sense of unpredictability.

I mean, they're going
out there into communities

and they don't know how
the people will react,

they don't know how the chimps
will react, how old they are,

what stresses there might be.

It's...it's dangerous.

But, yeah, it's a big step forward.

Jenny has been called out
to a nearby town

to help rescue a pet chimpanzee,

after receiving a tip off
from a member of the public.

Jenny is going to be handling the
chimp, backed up by a team of police

and officers from the
Forestry Development Authority.

Let's go. OK.

This is the chimp
we're going to confiscate.

You can see in the picture
he has a very, very thick chain

tied around his neck.

Basically, he's a prisoner
and he didn't commit a crime.

Every time you confiscate a chimp -
total unknown.

No idea what trauma he's been
through, whether he's even

going to like me or not like me,
if he's not going to like anybody.

So, it's kind of scary
going into these situations.

CHIMP SHRIEKS IN THE DISTANCE

I see the baby.

OFFICIALS SPEAK IN OWN LANGUAGE

JENNY MAKES CHIMP NOISES

You're safe, baby.

You're safe, baby.

You're getting off this chain.

The chimp is a female,
roughly three years old,

and is owned by a local shopkeeper.

The chain is embedded in her neck.

It's an extremely heavy chain.

How do we take the chain off?

I think she knows
she's getting out of here.

She's definitely not
letting go of me.

OK, I'm Gola Johnson.

I'm from the Forestry Authority.

The forestry officials
explain to the owner

that it's illegal to keep
chimpanzees as pets.

The authority
shall take possession

of any wild animal from any person
who does not possess a valid permit.

Where did you get this chimp?

This thing?

I got it from Sinoe.
From Sinoe. Yeah.

So, they killed the mother?

Yes. For bushmeat.
Yeah, they hunt her.

It's all right. It's OK.

The owner says she had no idea
she was breaking the law.

SHE SPEAKS IN OWN LANGUAGE

Coming home with me.

You're coming home with me.

Do you want to come home with me?

If the chimp stays here,

as she grows, she'll become harder
for her owner to control.

And get off this chain.

We'll get off this chain.

Most pet chimps eventually
end up being killed.

You're coming home.

It's just so sad.

Who wants more tickling?

Who wants more tickling?
Who wants more tickling?

Feeling really proud of this team
for doing this

and I'm really relieved that this
little girl is going to be off

this chain and that she's already
laughing, which is a miracle.

I'm going to take very good care
of her. OK?

And you can come and visit her.

It's time to hand over the chimp.

But the owner can only find
the key to one of the padlocks.

So the chain has to stay
on her neck for now.

You want to say bye?

Want to say bye?

OK. OK.

OFFICERS SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE

By the time they arrive home
to meet the rest of the family,

Jenny has given
the new chimp a name.

Miracle, or Mira for short.

Jesus Christ! My God.

She came right...right to me.

The chain is very heavy. I know.

Miracle.

Welcome, Miracle.

Welcome.

See, everybody already loves you.

I love you.
Everyone already loves you.

They do.

Yeah, they do.

Mira must be kept in her own cage
in quarantine for a month,

to prevent her from spreading
any possible diseases

to the other chimps.

There you go.

What do you think about
that chain, right now?

She's like, "I'm off the chain.
I can do what I want."

Are you playing, Peggy?

Look at Peggy laughing.

She was just looking down
for her chain. I know.

To pick it up.

Yes, she can move around without it.

Oh, my gosh.

Peggy, I think this is going
to be your new friend.

Oh, my gosh. She's just laughing.

Hi, crazy face. Hi, crazy face.

I mean, the chain around
her neck obviously caused...

She's... I can't... It's hard
to assess whether there's a...

..how much of a wound there is,
but it's really calloused.

Obviously, there's no hair there.

And I'm sure it was
very uncomfortable.

You crazy girl.

You silly face.

I think her life just
improved about 1000%.

Soon she's going to integrate
with the whole group and...

..she'll be so, so, so much happier.

You know?

You hate tickles!

The stress of how we're going
to do this and all that

is just so worth it
when you do this.

I mean, it's like it all goes away.

And then you just remember,
this is why you're doing it.

No matter how scary it is or
how nervous you get for the chimps,

and you think, we'll just...
we'll figure it out,

because we have to, and we'll
get her to have a good life.

Yeah, I think tomorrow I'm going to
wake up and be totally stressed out,

but for right now, it's pretty cool.

Mira will need to be fed and looked
after for the rest of her life,

which could be up to 70 years.

The last thing they need or want
are actually more chimps coming in.

But the situation that they've
created is they are the only place

that can take these animals,
and they have to keep taking them.

The alternative is turning them away
and they simply won't do that,

and nor should they.

These chimps need a home.

It's almost an impossible situation.

They're just coming in all the time,
all the time, all the time.

And yeah, they're moving forwards

and these incredible plans
are just on the horizon now.

But they're not there yet

and they haven't got the money
and they haven't started building,

and as close as they are,

it seems they're further away
than ever right now.

Because they need to move
more than ever before.

Hey, guys, guys, guys.

Come on, there's plenty.

As the sanctuary fills up,

Jimmy and Jimmy are running out of
staff to look after the chimps.

But the orphans also receive help
from a more unexpected source.

They share their home with a pack
of dogs that have also been rescued

and adopted by the Desmonds.

What's truly extraordinary is how
the dogs bond with the chimps,

like a second team of carers.

The dogs actually help rehabilitate
the traumatised orphans.

It is a weird dynamic, Jenny,
I'm not going to lie -

with you guys, the chimps, the dogs.

Yeah, it is.

Princess, poor Princess.

She's sitting there
as the matriarch, right now.

She's making sure what's...
she's surveying the yard,

making sure there's
nothing wrong going on,

that she needs to check on.

Oh, she hears us talking.
She knows she's being talked about.

Do you hear us? Huh?

Queen of the dogs is ten-year-old
Princess, who guards the baby chimps

and helps them in their
healing process.

Princess is just such a unique dog.

I just... It's truly amazing to me
what she came from, being a crazy,

unadoptable dog who was going to be
euthanized... Really?

..to a treasure.

I mean, she's a complete treasure to
these chimps, and I mean, honestly,

I don't think they would heal
the same way,

when they came in here,
without her.

Princess is getting mad
at that puppy,

because she thinks that puppy
is doing something bad to Max.

You know, we adopted her years ago
and she's travelled, she's lived

in nine countries with us, and then
we get here and she's like

the mother of all the babies.
I mean, she protects them,

she looks after them, she's super
tolerant of them and she'd even,

like, do discipline with them,

like if they're out of control,
chewing each other,

if they're biting each other,
she'll get in the middle.

Yeah. It's really unbelievable.

I mean, I never could have
predicted it, when we adopted her.

Actually, with Princess especially,

even if they're scared of the other
dogs, they're never scared of her.

They totally can sense
that she's a safe place

and it actually makes it better
for them if they're nervous

around humans, that she's
actually safer to them.

And she's so sweet and gentle
with them, that it's...it's amazing.

I mean, she offers them this whole
different thing

that we can't offer them, I think.

She's like an honorary caregiver.

Yeah, she is. She's maybe
the top caregiver.

I think she's the senior,
senior caregiver.

My friend, my friend.

My good friend.

Jack, and you, too.

JENNY LAUGHS
Don't feel bad, Jack.

Nothing personal, Jack.
I kiss you. You happy?

Hey, guys. Hi.

After mixed results with the babies,
I've come to teach the snake lesson

to some slightly older chimps,
along with their caregivers,

Annie and Annie.

Gola.

Gola!

She greeting you, OK.

Ah, thank you. She greeting you.

So, today, I want to do a new lesson
for the kids. Yeah, mm-hm.

We did it with the babies.

It was OK. Not too bad,
not too good.

We're now going to see if these
older chimps were with their parents

long enough to know
that snakes are dangerous.

Now we see what happens. OK.

OK, Gola is there.

Like little Max
in the previous lesson,

Gola isn't bothered by the snake
and doesn't see it as a threat.

So, Gola, you've failed already.

We're going to try Gloria.
Go ahead.

OK.

OK, OK.

OK. Gloria looks like she may
have seen a snake before.

This is different. OK.

She immediately recognises
the danger and raises the alarm.

GLORIA HOWLS

She's afraid.

She knows that danger.

We told you.

Come on.

I'm going to try with RB now. Yeah.

RB.

Oh.

Gloria is warning all the orphans
about the imminent threat.

Gloria wants to... She's trying
to go back to make show.

..Gloria wants to show, yeah.

She really... Yeah.
It's very dangerous.

GLORIA HOWLS

She's also trying to prevent the
others from going near the snake.

I know this looks horrible,
but it's good. Yeah, she knows.

But it's good.

Yeah. It's a good lesson.

Here's Leeli again.

Go on, Gloria, tell him.

She knows that's it now.

She will never go near
a snake again. Never.

They're all afraid to come. Yeah.

Did Gloria get ten out of ten?

Oh, she 100%. 100%.

And the rest? The rest...

..RB, 60.

Gola...40.

Leeli, 50.

Yeah? Yes.

But Gloria got 100%. Yeah.

100. Yeah.

As with the younger chimps,
lessons will be continued

until all the orphans
are scared of snakes.

Mira, who was rescued from her life
on a chain, has reached the end

of her quarantine period.

Today, she's getting her first
lesson in how to socialise.

But first, Jimmy and Jenny need
to get her into the car.

Let's just... I'll walk...
you'll get her out, we'll walk over.

I'll open the door, you get in,

then she's in the car.
Then I get in the other side.

She's not going to run away from
you. She might, she'll just get out.

Well, then we'll have
to chase her in.

She's going to meet all her...
her new family, basically.

Just a couple of them at first.

The extended family. She's meeting
a couple, you know, distant cousins.

You going to come out, little girl?

Are you going to come out,
little girl? OK.

It's very exciting.

I know. Yeah, it's exciting, huh?

Oh, my gosh. Look how
excited she is. OK.

You go to the car. OK.

Mira, Mira!

Told you.

Who's that crazy? Come on.
Who's that crazy girl? Good girl!

Guys, Mira's out.

Just so you know.

Mira.

Oh, boy, stop.

Come here, Mira. Come here.
Come here, Mira.

Come on, Mira.
Oh, you. You crazy girl.

As they become older, chimps become
increasingly hard to control.

They don't really do
as they're told...

Come on, Mir-Mir.

..and there's not much
you can do about it.

Mira, look!

Mira.

Come on, you silly girl.

OK, all right.

Yeah, we're going. Let's go.

Chimps are highly social animals.

When Mira was held in captivity, she
had no contact with other chimps.

So, this first step is crucial
for her development.

They're going to meet
such a special girl.

That's your new family.

That's your new family.

They're waiting for you.

Thank you, Rosabel.

This has to be handled carefully.

Chimps can be very territorial,

and interactions like this
can quickly become violent.

Yeah, that's crazy Portia.

That's crazy Portia.

Portia, Mira's pretty crazy, too.

This is your new family.
What do you think, Mira?

That's Annie. Hi, Lulu!

That's Lucy.

You're a silly girl.

You silly face.

You silly face!

She's like, "There's new chimps."

Like, "This is a real family
of chimps."

This is a real family of chimps,
isn't it?

Yeah, guys, isn't she beautiful?

Hey, Win-Win.
That's your new sister.

Hi, Win.

I don't know, you think about
where she was a few months ago.

On a chain, living in a village,
attached to a cement block,

and now she's...she's with these
guys. Yeah, isn't she beautiful?

OK, let's get Rudy and Lucy out.

The first signs are encouraging,

so they decide to introduce her
to a couple of the chimps.

Three-year-olds Rudy and Lucy
are two of the most gentle chimps

in the group. Want to go see?
Come on, guys.

Hi, my babies!

Gentle, Mir-Mir.

It seems Mira needs to work
on her social skills.

Yeah, I'll be here at the door
for them.

Mira, gentle. Whoa, she's rough!

She's very rough.
She doesn't know how to socialise.

That's why they might have to have
the escape route. Right.

She's going to have
to learn not to do that. Yeah.

This girl is skipping. Lucy's happy.

Lucy's like, "This is great."
Rudy's a little nervous.

You scared? Poor Rudes.

Hi, beautiful boy.

Oh, poor thing!

THEY LAUGH

Rudy's scared.

She's a little bit crazy, isn't she,
for a guy like you?

A quiet guy like you.

Mira doesn't understand
acceptable chimp behaviour.

But Rudy has learned how to comfort
like a wild chimp...

Rudy, sweetie, Rudy... Aw!
He's giving her hugs.

He's a good boy.

..by embracing.

Aw! Aw!

You nice guy, Rudes.
Rudy, you're so sweet.

So sweet.

You know, she hasn't been around
chimps this size in a while.

And she's big. And she's...
And she's strong.

So she was... I think
she was a little nervous.

So she was kind of
playing a little rough.

But now she's just...
They're just playing.

There we go.

There you go.

Oh, you big crazy. Absolutely.

This is... It's just great.

It's perfect.

They're getting along.
They're having fun.

Mira's laughing. Good man!

Who is these people? Huh?

What is this big boy doing?

What we'll do is we'll, um,
over the next few days,

we'll introduce different
members of the group

to her in here, in this sort of
controlled environment,

and then, I don't think
it'll take long, then -

fairly shortly after that, we'll be
able to put her into the big group.

Watch out.

Oh, you!

Over the next few weeks,
Mira is introduced to the rest

of the chimps and gradually starts
to settle into her new life.

What a goofball.

Isn't it funny?

LAUGHTER

Mira! Mira!

Oh, hello!

Hello! I haven't seen you
for a while. Look at you.

Oh, you're a hairy,
happy little chimp again.

Look at you.

She's lovely. Lovely.

I love her. Yeah?
She's so different.

Really? So you feel like
she's your... Family.

Part of your family? Mm-hm. Aw!

The scars from the chain
around her neck

are starting to heal.

But it's nearly better.

Yeah.

The hair's nearly all back.
Nearly there.

It's so good to see Mira like this.
She looks so happy.

She's got a fat little tummy,
so she's obviously healthy.

She's still not quite with
all the other chimps yet.

She's still with Annie and the other
caregivers. She's still a little bit

nervous, but that's understandable.

She's got a way to go,
but she's adjusting so well.

Hey.

With Mira, there are now 17 orphans
in the big enclosure,

and it's getting overcrowded.

The strain is starting to show.

CHIMPS SCREECH

There's no escaping the fact
that pressure's mounting.

Tempers are getting frayed
sometimes. I'm seeing...

..seeing these chimps finding it
harder to be in a small area.

And they just need to move to
this forest. They can't have many

more chimps coming in.
Stop! Stop!

Progress on the sanctuary
has stalled.

It's going to cost around
half a million pounds,

and finding donors is taking
longer than expected.

What keeps me up at night,
besides the three chimps in my bed,

is whether we're going to raise
the money in time

to get out of here.

Getting them to a better place
and space is...is just...

It's... We're in a dire situation
at this point.

Every day, you wake up thinking,
we've got to raise the money,

we've got to stay on the timeline,
we've got t get out of here,

we've got to get to our forest.

Thanks for the help, Bui.

Great assistance there.

It's not just the move
that's under threat.

Just keeping this place going
now costs around £8,000 a month,

and the Desmonds are running
out of funds.

Some people have been donating,
but the bulk of it has been our own

money that we're using
to care for the chimps,

to pay for the staff,
to pay for everything.

Huh? Like those tomatoes?
Crazy face.

If we had to, we'd spend
everything we have,

like, trying to help the chimps.

Let's go.

Chimpanzees live
50-60 years in captivity.

We're going to keep getting more.

So that's a little worrying.
HE CHUCKLES

You know what I mean? Like, it's...
We're not wealthy people.

So, um, eventually that is
an unsustainable model,

let's put it that way.

Yeah, sometimes,
we feel like we're sort of

in over our heads, basically.

But if we walked away right now,

I mean, I don't know
what would happen.

So we can't, you know,
that's the thing.

We can't. We can't just walk away.

One of the things I love most
about Jimmy and Jenny

is this never-ending optimism.

They really are incredible for that.

What they're trying to do is huge.

And there is... there is a chance
it might not happen.

That number in their household
is always going to increase, and...

..that can't keep going on,
and that's starting to worry me.

To us, it's personal.
You know, we know these guys.

We know...

I mean, Max, Bui...

They're sort of like
our kids in a way.

We love them,
we care about them.

And we want the best for them.

It's just a lot of work
and it's stressful

and it's challenging, but we're up
to it and we're not stopping.

Next time...

..the orphans learn to use tools.

Don't think you've got the idea
of this yet, have you?

Put it in your mouth, Bui.
Your mouth! Ugh!

I have been worried about him.

CHIMP COUGHS AND SPLUTTERS

Oh!

A potentially deadly cold
breaks out among the babies.

We did have one chimp who got it
very quickly and he ended up dying.

The chimp's really scared.
Really, really scared.

I think you guys maybe stay back.

And with new chimps arriving
all the time...

CHIMP SCREECHES

..things start to get
out of hand.

Oh, BLEEP!

MAKES GURGLING SOUNDS

Lessons are starting at a home
for rescued baby chimps

in Liberia, West Africa.

Whoa!
LAUGHTER

Come on, Maxy!

Bedtime, goofballs!

Jimmy and Jenny Desmond and their
team of carers

now have 24 chimps - all rescued
from the illegal pet trade.

Now, they're going to wreck
everything.

Oh, they're pulling your
skirt down.

But with new chimps arriving
all the time, looking after them

is becoming a real challenge.

HORN TOOTS

They want to move them
to a new sanctuary in the forest,

where they can live a more
natural life.

I'm Professor Ben Garrod,
a chimpanzee specialist,

and I'm here to help prepare
the orphans for their new home

by teaching them
how to live like wild chimps.

LAUGHTER

This is not normal chimp behaviour!

Wouldn't do the wheelbarrow like
that. Wheelbarrow, wheelbarrow!

The one-year-olds have
already started to learn

how to recognise danger.
CHIMP: Whoo! Oh!

That's great.
That's saving his life.

He'll never go near a snake again.
Never.

Our newest arrival, Mira,
who was rescued from a life

in captivity...

There we go. There we go.

..has been learning
to socialise.

They're getting along.
They're having fun. Mira's laughing.

Now the pressure's on to move them
to the forest...

..before things get
out of hand.

CHIMP SCREECHES

Oh! BLEEP.

Picky's biting me,
I've got Max biting me.

I've got Bui biting me.

Is this bite Ben day? No.

No!
HE LAUGHS

I'm back in Liberia after
a three-month break

to carry on my
lessons with the rescue chimps.

No!

Smile!

It's amazing to see just how much
the orphans have grown up.

Is this Ella? Yeah.

Ella's so big!

Good girl. Look at you!

You were a baby
the last time I saw you.

You were a baby.

A little baby.

One of the things that fascinates me
most as a scientist with chimps

is that when you look into the
eyes of a chimp, there's someone,

not something, looking back.

Chimpanzees are our closest living
relatives -

sharing around 98.6% of our DNA.

They're astonishingly human.

Right, you two, that's enough.

That's enough.

You're seeing personalities,
you're seeing intelligence,

you're seeing problem-solving.

Good boy!

And then, often, you think what
a funny sense of humour

with some of these guys, as well.

Good job, Gloria.
It's very clean now.

This is... This is... This is
very...

LAUGHTER

Which one's this? This is Max.

It's like being back with kids,
with old friends, with family.

It's like a weird family reunion.

Yeah. For example. Yeah.

My old friends Jimmy and
Jenny Desmond have become parents

to a growing family
of baby chimpanzees.

Good girl.

Jimmy is a wildlife vet working on
a research project in Liberia.

OK, baby. You're all right.

Good girl.

When he and his wife Jenny came
here two years ago, they were given

two baby chimps to look after.

As chimps here are critically
endangered,

they felt unable to turn them away.

And, ever since then, people
have been bringing them more.

To take any baby chimpanzee
that you see anywhere -

in a sanctuary, or someone's
house, or someone has a pet -

it means that someone killed
the mother.

Like, they might look
cute and they might seem all cuddly,

but the fact that we have them
is a total tragedy.

Like, we shouldn't have them.

I would much prefer if I'd never
met any of these guys

and they all were still in the
forest with their parents.

That's where they should be.

While I've been away, three
more chimps have arrived.

Is that good?

Two of them need 24-hour care.

No, you're not having that.

You can't share bottles.
Sorry. Sorry, silly.

Sorry, silly.

CHIMP CHEEPS

You have a funny burp.

You have a funny burp.

Six-month-old Chance was discovered
living on the floor

of a bar in a nearby town.

MUSIC DROWNS OUT SPEECH

Her head was dangerously swollen.

Sometimes, the hunters will hit
the babies on the head

or chop their fingers to get
them to let go of the moms,

because they don't let go.
We found her.

She was sitting in a box.

She was doing rocking behaviours.

A sign of stress, isn't it? Huge
stress. Yep.

Total stereotypical, like, stress
that you see.

Like, just back and forth.

She had like a dirty blanket that
was all she held on to,

and if you even started to move
the blanket away from her,

she would scream. So her blanket
was her mom. Yeah.

We could feel an actual fracture
in her skull, like a huge fracture,

which means she was hit
from the front.

Got to admit, when I saw
the photos you sent me,

I didn't know whether I'd get to
meet you. I know. But here she is.

You're right, I didn't, either.
And that's amazing.

And, who knows? If we hadn't
found her... Yeah, of course.

I don't know what her future was.

She's really, really a miracle.

The other new arrival is also
a major cause for concern.

Gaia is only eight weeks old. Oh.

And this one just came
in about a week ago.

Little Gaia. Hello.

Do you want to meet Ben?

In the wild, Gaia would be
completely dependent on her mother.

Is that good?

Still unable to lift her head,

she'd be carried 24 hours a day

and fed on breast milk.

You can see she has no teeth.

She really is a baby, isn't she?
Yeah.

Really, really little baby.

I've never seen a chimp this close,

this young. I know, and, actually,
she's the youngest chimp

I've ever cared for.

She can't even hold on to me yet,

so she's not even, like,
to that stage.

So...

My goodness, that must come with
so many extra commitments now.

It's scary. It's super-scary.

Like humans, chimps are complex,
emotional animals.

After the trauma
of seeing their mothers killed,

the road to recovery can take time.

I have come to the big enclosure
where the older chimps live

to catch up with Mira,

who was rescued six months ago.

Annie, how's Mira
getting on in the group?

Oh, she's fine. She's great.

Yeah? She's making friends?

Yeah, she's friendly.

Mira was being kept as a pet
in a nearby town

on the end of a heavy chain.

Do you want to come home with me?

Ah!

Amazing to think, just a few
months ago, she looked sick.

She had that chain. No, no, no.

Yes, that's really good to see.

Ah, it's so good to see.

You can see her, since we first
got her -

remember, she barely had any hair
at all.

Yeah. Especially in her neck.
It was scarred. Yeah.

Now... Look, it's so good.

..it's like almost completely gone.

There's still a couple of sores
there, but they'll go away.

Mira is still a little nervous
and spends much of her time

in the comfort of the carers.

But she's heading in the right
direction.

With so many chimps, things are
getting dangerously overcrowded.

The Desmonds want to move
all the orphans to the safety

of a purpose-built sanctuary
in the forest.

After some setbacks, plans
are now moving forward.

They've finally secured
the lease on a patch of land,

which will be perfect for them
and the chimps.

And they're taking me to see it.

They'll find fruits and trees
and leaves

and bark and maybe even termites
and ants,

and maybe even fish.

I mean, it's going to be really cool
to see what they eat.

Ultimately, we'll have, you know,
people come visit.

We can do eco-tours and a
lot of great stuff.

I mean, our thing is the chimps -
we want them to benefit.

But a lot of people benefit,
not just the chimps.

So I'm looking forward
to seeing it. Yeah.

The Desmonds' plans for this
100-acre site are ambitious.

So, you know, this is...I mean,
this is a dream, obviously.

Perfect.

They want to build
quarantine facilities, a nursery

and a veterinary centre.

I can just imagine now, like,
the vet lab here.

Staff quarters. It's going to
be amazing

when it's all up and running.

I mean, without this space,
we really can't rescue more chimps.

We're over capacity.

We're well over capacity
where we are now.

Here we go - into the forest.

We're going in, we're going in.

Already you can feel it's cooler.
I know. It's lovely.

Oh, my gosh, so much better
in here, huh?

Yeah, this is just gorgeous,
isn't it?

I mean, can you imagine them
on the vines? Look at the vines!

You can so easily imagine just one
of them next to you now, and one

up in the canopy and on the ground.
I know! I know.

Hitting buttresses
and throwing leaves around.

Some running along down here and
some climbing up there,

some going across the trees.

Signing the lease on this place
is a great first step,

but it's just the beginning.

So we have a lot of work
ahead of us.

It feels a bit insurmountable.

We have to build a sanctuary
from the ground up

and that is not an easy task.

It involves a lot of planning,

a lot of design and, most
of all, a lot of money.

I think, right now, we're looking
at a pretty big number of 500,000

that needs to be raised
in the next year.

I mean, or we won't accomplish

what we need to accomplish.

Apart from a few donations,

the Desmonds currently pay for
the whole project

from Jimmy's salary.

Jenny spends all her spare time
looking for more donors

to pay for the move.

Go play, little fella.

In the meantime, I'm preparing
the chimps for their new home

by showing them how to live
in the wild.

Chimp school is progressing
really nicely, I think.

Animals go through an education.

We might not call it that in their
lives,

but they do, and especially the
social species like chimps.

They're not just born wild, fully
equipped with all the skills

they need in order to survive
in the wild.

They have to learn all these things,
bit by bit, month by month,

or year by year, in many cases.

They'll always have the sanctuary
there to support them.

But if they can live as wild
as possible, that's the dream

we all want to achieve here.

Come on.

Today, I'm going to teach
the orphans an extraordinary skill.

CHIMP CHIRRUPS

Where are we going?!

Chimps in the wild have passed down
this knowledge through generations.

They've discovered how to use tools.

The most complicated that we know
of, so far, is nut cracking,

where they'll take a number
of different tools and actually use

them together to achieve
their goal - to actually crack

these incredibly hard nuts
they can't even use their teeth for.

This is going to be a hard task

and I'm interested to see
whether anyone is able to do this.

It takes years - it can take six,
seven, maybe eight years,

to really refine this in the wild.

So I'm not expecting much.

Are you going to crack open
some nuts? Huh?

Maxy!

For this lesson, I'll focus
on teaching

two of the brightest
babies -

one-year-old Max
and two-year-old Bui.

Oh, this is very exciting.

It takes between six and eight
years, apparently,

to learn how to actually crack a nut
in the right way.

You've got to have the right anvil.
The right thing you bash it on.

The right rock in your hand.

I mean, this is too crumbly, this
would be rubbish and too small.

You don't want something too small
or too big -

it's got to be just right.
For me, that's fine.

What do you guys think?
Look at this.

Like human children,

chimps learn by looking
and copying.

Feeding them a reward

should hopefully encourage
them to try it.

I would love it even if one of these
little guys just picked a rock up.

That's all I would care right now.

Max is really fascinated with it.
Yeah, he's really looking.

He's really curious
about the whole thing.

Look!

Even that is just... Ah.

It's such a slow process and it's
such a complicated skill to master.

He's thinking about it,
though. Clearly,

he's, like, he's knocking
it like this. Yeah.

And he's knocking the rock and he's
picking up the rock a little.

And then he's pounding your head,
which is, you know, fair enough.

Like a nut.

Agh, Max!

Ready, Maxy, ready?

Yeah. Oh, look, look.

LAUGHTER

It doesn't take
long for Bui to lose interest.

Ah, boy. Hi, crazy face.

Oh, now you have all of them.

Wow, that's exciting.
Well done, Bui.

Learning new skills can be
very frustrating.

Oh!

Boo-boo, that wasn't very
nice!

Nut cracking will take time,

and the babies will practise
with their carers

over the coming weeks.

Over at the big enclosure,

lessons have already started
with the older chimps.

And I'm going to see their carer
Annie

to check on their progress.

Where are we going?
Are you guys ready?

Ready to crack nuts?

Mira, who was rescued from life
on a chain, has been integrating

so well, she's beginning
to take part.

Good, OK.

That's cool. Cracking nuts, yeah.

Are you going to do it?

Annie wants to show me
how Mira is getting along.

Cracks.

You saw it was the cracking.

Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah.

Concentration levels
are a challenge today.

Rude! Mira.

Lucy is up next.

She's the cleverest in the group.
Lucy!

I was going to... You smart girl!

You smart girl!

I was going to say, we're going
to try and see if they can

nut crack, but Lucy's...

Wow! She's a pro.

OK. Good girl. Crack, OK.

Lucy is proving the model student.

That's great. OK.
She does it perfectly.

Yeah. Like she gets
just the nut out.

Good girl. Well, this is a super
start.

How much skill is going into
this? It's hand-eye coordination,

it's realising
what she should be doing.

OK!

I like how she does that... That's
the right amount of force. Yeah.

How long did it take for Lucy
to learn how to do this?

She took about two, two weeks and a
half. Two and a half weeks.

Wow.

In the wild, this takes eight years
for the mother, for the auntie,

for the grandmother, to teach.

Lulu, you smart girl!

In the wild, chimps learn
from each other,

and Lucy's new skills will encourage
the whole group to develop

their tool use.

CLAP OF THUNDER

It's the start of the wet season
in Liberia.

And with the rains comes
a deadly threat.

CHIMP SNEEZES

That's not good.

One of the new arrivals is
displaying worrying symptoms.

So he's come in with a cold
and it's probably from the people

who kept him before. But even
something as simple as a human cold

could be deadly.

It really could have a huge,
devastating impact on a small

population like this.

So it's something
we really have to watch.

Oh, buddy!

Despite our physiological
similarities, chimpanzees

have little resistance to many
human viruses and diseases.

That's a real threat. I mean, having
a chest infection,

or even a common cold, to them,

could rapidly... Well, could kill
them.

Yeah, it can kill them.

I mean, we did have one chimp
who got it very quickly

and he was only here a few weeks.

He came in very, very weak
and he stayed very weak

and never really progressed
to be healthy.

And he ended up dying from a severe
chest infection

that came on in one night -

I mean, within hours. We didn't even
have time to treat him. Yeah.

So, it's scary. It's scary. Of
course.

It's a real threat and it's scary.

Every effort is being made
to contain Survivor's cold.

But with so many chimps in such
a small area, it's impossible

to manage.

The youngest
are most at risk,

particularly
the new arrival, baby Gaia.

Once the forest sanctuary is up and
running,

then, yeah, there will be
incredible quarantine facilities.

There'll be a veterinary area.

There'll be all the things we need
in place, the infrastructure,

to make sure there's no chance of
disease spread or infection risk.

At the moment, the team
are doing the best they can,

but the money's not here,

the facilities aren't here.

So we've just got to make sure
it doesn't spread.

That would be awful.
It really would.

Despite the problems of
overcrowding,

the Desmonds can't
turn any new orphans away.

Chimps in Liberia are critically
endangered - in part due

to the illegal pet trade.

A police unit has been set
up to catch the dealers, and Jenny

and I have been called out
on a rescue operation.

We're basically going into
an unknown situation.

We've been asked to co-ordinate
with the Transnational Crime Unit

to go and make some confiscations
of illegally held wildlife.

But we don't know exactly
what we're going to find

and, I always say,
who we're going to find.

We know we're going in with armed
police into a situation

where there might be people
who are quite hostile.

They might be smugglers.
They might be wildlife traffickers.

We really don't know
and that's quite scary.

Yeah, this is a big step
into the unknown.

The police believe that someone
here is selling chimps.

Jenny is going to pose
as an international buyer

to help catch them.

We soon find what we're looking for.

CHIMP PANTS RAPIDLY

Hi, hello.

Hello. Hello.

Hello.

The chimp is a female,
roughly three years old.

Chimps are often killed
for bushmeat -

a delicacy in Liberia -

and their babies then sold as pets.

Hello. Hello.

She's confident, isn't she? Yeah.

What's the chimp's name?

What do you call her?

Star. Star?

She's been on the chain a long time,

because she knows every bit
of this rock.

It's illegal to keep chimps as pets
in Liberia -

and to sell them.

900 US? Yes.

Wow.

You think I'm rich?

850?

Wow. You're only worth 850,
little one.

Take him.
HE SWITCHES TO OWN LANGUAGE

We need to get out.

But then comes some unexpected news.

An adult, like a big, big one?

We're heading to... There's
a report of another big chimp -

that could be an adult, it could be
a slightly larger kid - in the area.

And the fear is that now these guys
know

this first bloke has been arrested
for having a chimp,

the worry is they'll move this one,
or they'll kill this one, or...

The problem is, if it is an adult,
I don't know what we'll do.

We can't... You can't just take an
adult chimp.

It's three, four times stronger
than us.

It's really dangerous.

Really, really dangerous.

How are you? Good.

I am nervous. I'm walking through
a community

that doesn't necessarily
want us here.

We're coming into their community
and arresting people.

We need backup from the police
station.

We're getting backup?

Because we don't know what's
to going to happen.

Are we all right to go in here?
Mm-hm.

I can... There he is. Over there,
Jenny. Under there.

Under a trailer.

Oh, yeah. Here? Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, over there. Yeah.

The chimp's really scared.

Really, really scared. I think you
guys maybe stay back.

This chimp's so scared.

The chimp's fear is making him
aggressive and extremely

dangerous to approach.

CHIMP SCREECHES

It's all right, it's all right.

It's all right. It's all right.

The owner arrives to see
what's going on.

He doesn't like women?

CHIMP SCREECHES THROUGHOUT

OK.

They are giving the chimpanzee gin.

It's OK, it's all right, baby.

What is his name? Johnny. Johnny.

It's OK, Johnny.

It's OK, Johnny. It's OK.

It's all right.

They're definitely adult teeth,
aren't they? Yeah.

But his body looks
like a 6- or 7-year-old.

Which you get through malnutrition.
The same as us.

Malnutrition and alcohol -
drinking alcohol.

Yeah. We've seen the area.

There's lots of bottles
everywhere -

of gin, on the floor.

They've been giving the chimp gin -

alcohol - to keep it relaxed.
Whisky, gin.

Do you give him alcohol?

Yeah, once in a while.

These bottles?
You give him alcohol?

This is his?

There's loads of them everywhere.

What happens when he does
something bad?

Do you ever hit him? Mm-hm.

And that makes him stop
doing something? Yeah.

OK. It's all right.

I'm feeling really sad for
this chimp. He's so scared.

And he said he's whipping him
with a switch and he's

drinking alcohol and
he's had him ten years.

He's lived like this for ten years.

It seems the owner doesn't know

it's illegal to keep a chimp
as a pet

and needs some persuading
to let Johnny go.

THEY SPEAK IN OWN LANGUAGE

Watch out for the chimp.

It's time to leave - before things
get out of control.

It's the start of a new life
for three-year-old star.

And for Johnny.

But it means two more chimps
for the Desmonds to care for.

Johnny is still showing
signs of aggression.

His arrival poses a major challenge.

He looks small. He's dangerous.

He could do serious harm
to any of us here, right now.

So, because of that,
we're going to give him a drink.

We're using ketamine
to knock him down

and he'll just gently fall asleep.

It's the only safe way
of doing this.

CHIMP SCREECHES
It's OK, it's OK.

Sorry, buddy.

Johnny is stressed. He liked
what you were doing.

But he seems
to trust project manager Simeon.

Just give him some of that into his
mouth, see if he'll take it.

Took it. Good boy.

OK.

While we wait with Johnny
for the ketamine to take effect...

..upstairs, Jenny is settling Star
into her new home.

Off! It's done.

What do you think?

In a matter of two days, we've
gotten four new chimps.

So, it's insane.

And then, of course, we just got
an adult boy,

Johnny, who we certainly
didn't expect

and we really don't have capacity
for

because it's not like these guys,

where we can
have them in the house.

So it's been a crazy few days.

I think we should move away, guys.
Just...

Johnny's stress levels are so high

the ketamine
is having little effect.

The only option is a more powerful
dose via intravenous injection.

You never quite know what the impact
will be on the animal, but also

the human safety here, as well.

We don't know how he'll react.

He could lash out and
he could cause damage.

He's a strong boy and he's scared.

It's not a good combo.

JOHNNY SCREAMS

No, I didn't get him.

We need to move Johnny closer.

Slip off... Which means unlocking
his chain.

Careful.

You see, the danger is that
they're so fast and athletic

and strong, that if you're not
super-quick,

you know, then you're
going to either miss,

you're going to get bit,
or something like that.

So you just have to be really
careful with how we do it.

So we'll try and get him
a little closer,

so I can...
JOHNNY SCREECHES THROUGHOUT

Oh! BLEEP.

Johnny's broken free.

Someone could
get seriously hurt.

Get some... Get some fruit.

And the team have to find a way to
get him into the cage.

They try to lure him with bananas.

But Johnny can see
what they're trying to do.

He's afraid of the cage.

Don't give him the whole thing.
Don't give him the whole bag.

Don't give him the whole bag.

Open it and give him one.

Next, a packet of sweets.

And they prove more difficult
to resist.

Johnny.

Keep going.

It's just...

Come on, you got to...

Eddie, shut the door.

Yeah, yeah.

Right now, we've managed to get
the chimp into the enclosure,

but it was... It was lucky.

He shouldn't have escaped,
but he did.

And this just reinforces further
just how much more support

these guys need.

Some oranges?

Some cabbage?

Whoops.

I'm going to go get him some
other stuff.

So, hopefully, over time, we'll
build a relationship with him

and it can happen pretty fast.

Yeah, right, buddy?

HE MAKES CHIMP CALLS

No-one got hurt and he's safely
inside the cage.

So I think that's a good ending.

HE CHUCKLES

It's a near-disaster.

CLAP OF THUNDER

The rainy season is
in full swing.

Despite every effort to contain
it, the cold has spread.

And the baby group
is under severe threat.

Oh. That's a big 'un!

Sorry, pal. I know. It's not nice.

You can see everyone's got
a cold, because we don't

have a proper quarantine.
Yeah, of course.

Survivor had a cold when he came in.

He shouldn't be with... Neither of
these guys should be with everyone.

You haven't got the facilities.
We don't have the situation.

The stress must be getting there

that you want to move over sooner
now. Yeah.

Definitely.

We need to get the hell
out of Dodge, so to speak.

You know what I mean? Like, we're
kind of bursting at the seams

in terms of chimps and how we can
handle them with staff.

And, like, I'd rather have everyone
here have a cold and we're kind

of a little stressed out than not
take Survivor.

That's what it comes down to. Of
course. We have to remind
ourselves...

You always have to remind yourself -
what's the alternative? Yeah.

Sorry, pal.

I know, it's not fun.

They're just like kids.

It's a worrying situation.

Colds can develop quickly into
lethal chest infections in chimps.

The stronger that they are, just
like humans, the better

they can fight it off.

But, to me, that's probably
the most dangerous thing for them -

is getting that chest infection,
because... It's rapid,

it spreads quickly. Yeah, especially
if they've just come in

and they don't have
the strength.

It's so much more dangerous.

Like a human baby. You don't want
to catch bronchitis or pneumonia

if you're a baby.
That's a huge fear.

So I'm pretty paranoid about...
Yeah, of course.

..it happening.

Goo-goo-goo-goo.

Ga-ga-ga-ga-ga.

Rah!

And most in danger
from the cold is baby Gaia.

She's under strict quarantine
in the house, with Annie.

Well, she's OK.

Can you see?

OK.

Ah, Gaia! She's laughing.
See her laughing?

Ga, ga, ga, ga, ga, ga.

We're also taking precautions
to ensure the cold doesn't reach

the big enclosure
and infect the older chimps.

Here, there's been a breakthrough.

Mira's life on a chain
is becoming a distant memory.

She's now fully integrated

and has found her place
in the family.

Mira is... Well,
Mira is a miracle.

So Mira is a miracle. I mean, I...

She's just... It's like a weight has
been removed from her body.

I mean, she's just swinging.

She's smiling. She's laughing.

I mean, this morning I looked down
and saw her in her enclosures.

There was no-one around except
for her, and she was hanging upside

down, smiling. Just smiling
by herself and giggling.

You know, she's just experiencing
joy - just pure joy.

It's been a week since the two
confiscated chimps -

Star and Johnny - arrived.

And I'm keen to see how
they're getting on.

Star is pretty mellow.
She's like quite quiet.

But, like, in the morning, she wakes
up and she's so excited.

So she starts rolling
around in the bed.

She's psyched. You can tell.

She's like, "Oh, my God, I can't
believe this is my..." Here I am.

"This is my new life.
This is amazing." You know?

Hey, buddy.

Jimmy and Jenny have been working
hard to build a bond with Johnny.

How's he doing, do you think?
He's doing tons better.

Yeah? I mean, his behaviour
is so much different.

You know, the first day - you saw
how scared he was.

Getting this close, even for me,
now,

he's nowhere near as scared or...

You know, he was making
that fear face.

Yeah. Because he was freaked out.

I mean, he didn't know
what we were going to do him. No.

He was leaving the place
he'd lived with for so long.

Obviously, he's realising that this
is, you know,

a safe place for him,
which is great.

You see, he's grooming now.

A sign of trust, as well, isn't it?
Yeah, of course.

You know, when you're actually
doing it with a...

HE LAUGHS
It's really relaxing,

I have to say.

Johnny's behaviour is
a positive sign.

Chimps use grooming as a way
of forming close personal bonds

with each other.

Is it good to laugh?

When was the last time you laughed,
buddy?

When was the last time you laughed?

After ten years of being mistreated,

Johnny's future is bright.

I'm going to take good care of you.

You got everything you need.

But until they can move
to their new home in the forest,

Johnny will have to spend most
of his time in this cage.

We care for you.

Relocating the chimps
to the new sanctuary

has moved another step closer.

The Desmonds now have an architect
on the project.

And they've come to the capital,
Monrovia, to sign off

on the drawings.

You found everything
good, did you? Yeah, we're psyched.

Very good. We can't wait to see
the plans.

You want to see the plans? OK.
Yes. Have a seat, please.

OK. You see where the building is?

Architect Shalfiq
is giving his services

for free to help the chimps.
I prefer that.

That's way better.
There it is. You can see it.

I've never designed a chimpanzee
sanctuary before.

I've never had a chimpanzee
client before.

So I'm treating this as if
chimpanzees are my clients.

We'll have to know how they live
every day.

What are the activities they do?

How do they use the buildings
we're building for them?

This is big. Yeah, it's a big area.
It's a big area.

This is like nine metres
by 9.8 metres.

But it's not going to be... Closed
in. It's not going to be enclosed?

No, no. Not even like fenced?

They can...if they want to run
out. There was a net before...

The first phase of the build
will include quarters for the older

chimps and a new nursery
for the babies.

You know, make it functional as
much as possible. Perfect.

Priority has also been given
to quarantine.

This is for special cases,
you know, cases that...

Yeah, like if
somebody needs to sleep -

like Gaia. We have little baby Gaia,

who you met, the little baby.
She could stay in there. How is she?

She's good. She's doing good?
You'll be shocked, man.

Let me show you a picture.
She's good? Yeah.

She's doing great.
Oh, my God.

Look at all her teeth.
She's amazing. I know!

The next step is to obtain
the quotes and raise the finances

to start building.

Things are finally looking up.

The cold outbreak seems to have gone
away and the chimps are recovering.

Life is getting back to normal.

Oh, boy!

I'm going to get you!

I'm going to get you!
You crazy boy!

You crazy boy! You crazy boy!

Whoa! Oh!
JENNY LAUGHS

Good jump, Boo-boo!

Little Gaia can come outside and
hang out with the other orphans.

LAUGHTER

CHIMP MAKES BABY-LIKE GURGLES

There's still so much for
the babies to learn before they head

to their new forest home.

Hey, guys. Hi.

It's time for their
second lesson in using tools.

Prince, Princess, you're in my way.

Good girl!

For this class,

we need to build something
to help them practise.

What do you think, Pick-pick?

It's very exciting?

Good girl. You're
being very helpful.

LAUGHTER

Bui, you and a shovel is not
a good combination!

You're really doing it. Bui, Bui!

Our replica termite mound
will be perfect for teaching

the orphans how to supplement
their diet.

In the wild, chimps use sticks
or grass

to dip into the holes of
termite mounds.

The insects climb on board...

..providing a vital
source of protein.

I want to see if the little chimps
here are able to replicate

this and to learn how to termite
fish for themselves.

What do you think, Picky P? Hm?

Hi, little girl.
Yeah, you good girl.

You coming?

OK.

This isn't easy.

In today's lesson, we've got the
babies -

Max, Bui and Picky...

..and the new arrival,
Survivor -

looking much happier,
having got over his cold.

To replace the insects, we're using
the baby's favourite treat -

honey.

No, no, no. Come on, guys.

Who'd have thought chimps
would really like honey?

If we teach them to start with...
Is that in there, do you know?

It's working, yeah. Ready?

Like the last lesson,
I'll demonstrate first and see

if they can work it out
for themselves.

It's that association,
isn't it?

They've got to learn to associate

if they put that straight in their
mouth...

Ah, there you go.

Go on, Bui, put it in your mouth.

That's it.

Oh, oh!

Put it in your mouth, Bui, in
your mouth! Ugh.

I don't think you've got the idea
of this yet, have you?

Come on, Picky. It takes wild chimps
years to master.

Look, look. Survivor's trying.

And it turns out that Survivor
is something of an expert.

Oh, Survivor, what have you got?

He's doing it already.
That's straight across his mouth.

Survivor, good boy!

That's it.

Ah, he's put it back.

Oh, go on, go on, Survivor!

Yes!

You're a good boy.

And we don't know
much about his history, so...

So if he came from the wild,
at this age... He'll learn.

..he would have done this? Yeah.

I mean, he's clearly done it before.

And he's really excited about it.

Look at him, he's like...
He's got a big smile on his face.

Proper chimp behaviour, heh, mate?

Look at his face!
LAUGHTER

You're going to town on that!

Now that Survivor has the skill...

..the others will be able
to learn from him.

Picky's watching. Watch. Yeah.

Picky's really watching.

He's straight on that.

You want to try?

Come here, little girl.

Picky's really intent on trying to
do this today. I know.

Do you want to do it,
Pickers?

Picky's going... Come on, Pickers,
are you going to try?

Come on, Pickers.

Jimmy, this is exactly what they
should be doing in the wild.

It's so good to see!

Look at Bui!

Oh, he just reached inside.

LAUGHTER

Like, "Why would I go through all
the trouble?"

"I can just reach in."

Now, who's the clever chimp?

Oh, jeez.

Is that really necessary?

Over the last couple of weeks,
the Desmonds have taken in

four more chimps,
bringing the total to 34.

The problems of overcrowding
are even more acute.

In the wild, adolescents reduce
conflicts

by hanging out in small groups.

Without the extra space,
tempers are fraying.

It's almost on a weekly basis -
new chimps are coming in.

They've got more chimps now than
they ever had before, and the ones

they have got are getting bigger.

They just can't fit them
all into this facility here.

The pressure's increasing.

They really need to move to this
forested area now.

They can't stay here
much longer.

The forest sanctuary project
has hit a major setback.

The construction quotes
have come in

and they are three times greater
than the Desmonds had expected.

They now need to raise $1.5 million.

Ah-ah, come here. We're going in.

So the worst case scenario,
if we can't get the money, I guess,

is that we stay here longer,
which I'm really...

I don't want to think
about it, to be honest.

The whole thing's scary.

What they're trying to do is huge,

so there's lots of opportunities for
this not to work right now.

This time really seems like they've
got it stacked against them.

The problems with
the sanctuary are mounting.

And now, back at the house, another
cold virus has struck the orphans.

John-John.

Johnny, the adult chimp,
has fallen ill.

I am worried about him.

How long has he not been well?
What is it, a chest infection?

Yeah. I mean, the truth is, I don't
have the diagnostics to really know,

but he definitely has like some
sort of chest infection

and I'm treating it with some
antibiotics

and I'm probably going to have to
add additional antibiotics.

He's been sick for a few days.

I mean, I've listened to his chest
and it's rattling.

And not to put too fine
a point on it,

that is your biggest worry, isn't
it, with any chimp -

having a chest infection?
It's one of these things that can

not only spread quickly, but it can
escalate really quickly, as well.

You know the worry's here. But this
could be very serious for him,
couldn't it?

Yeah, I hope not, but, yeah.

JOHNNY COUGHS

Oh, Johnny.

John-John. I'm sorry, buddy.

But the cold had already
reached the large enclosure...

..with disastrous consequences.

Mira, who was rescued from her life
on a chain...

..has died from a sudden onset
of pneumonia.

JENNY SOBS

So losing Mira was really
just awful.

Um, I just... You know, we feel
really like we rescued her

from a horrible situation
and we brought her here

and we were supposed to
give her a long, good, happy life.

And she never
got to the forest again.

You know, we thought we were going
to be able to provide her a nice,

long life and, um...

..we just feel like we kind of...

I feel, as the vet, that
I kind of failed her.

It's pretty devastating.

But the more you know them,
it's...it's heartbreaking.

It's like losing a friend.

It's like losing...losing a member
of the family.

Next time...

What the hell is that noise?

..a fire threatens to burn down
the sanctuary.

SIREN BLARES

It's OK, it's OK, buddy. It's OK.

It's dry season and that fire's
huge. It's going to spread.

Lessons continue with the orphans
learning how to make sleeping nests.

Jojo's trying now.

Oh, we're ready.

Oh, I think you're ready
for the forest, aren't you?

And the chimps have a taste
of life in the wild.

It's been a really nice day seeing
the kids out here in the place

they should be.

LAUGHTER

Look at Picky's face!

Look at Picky's smile!

Are you laughing?

Lessons are starting at a home
for rescued baby chimpanzees

in Liberia, West Africa.

Maxi, what do you think, pal?

LAUGHTER

It's run by Jimmy and Jenny Desmond,

and their team of carers.

They've now got 36 chimps.

All rescued from
the illegal pet trade.

But they're running out of space.

HORN TOOTS

They're pulling your skirt down.

LAUGHTER

Stop. Get it. Get it.

Get it.

The Desmonds want to build
a new sanctuary in the forest,

where the chimps can lead
more natural lives.

I'm Professor Ben Garett,
a chimpanzee specialist.

Oh, go on. Go on, Survivor.

And I'm helping prepare
the orphans for the move

by teaching them how to
live in the forest.

Put it in your mouth...
In your mouth.

So far, they've been learning how
to forage for food...

CHIMPS SCREAM

..and what dangers to avoid.

Max is playing with a deadly snake.
So he would be dead. Yes.

And that's as scary as it is.

But plans to move have stalled.
There isn't enough money.

With new chimps being rescued
all the time...

There you go.

..it's getting dangerously
overcrowded.

CHIMPS SCREAM

I'm worried about them.

And a sudden death among the chimps

has pushed everyone
to breaking point.

SHE CRIES

Hey, how are you?

Yeah. It's nice to see Ben, huh?

Oh, Picky, I've got to respond...
A little bit. A little bit nice.

And then it's also nice
to bite Ben. Yeah.

I'm back in Liberia with my
old friends, the Desmonds,

to carry on our lessons
with the rescued chimps.

IMITATES CHIMP GRUNTS
I know, man.

It's exciting.

You big girl.

Since I was last here
a few months ago,

another four new babies
have been brought in.

Let me guess, is that Max?

This is Catherine.

Catherine's really shy.

And this is Nnamdi. He's a tough
little guy. He's doing really well.

Shall we stop?

Chimpanzees are our closest
living relatives.

They laugh like we do
and have complex personalities.

That's Champ.

Crazy, but very sweet and actually
pretty scared of certain things.

And then we've got little Ace.

He's super sweet and cuddly,
but he's shy.

Be nice.

Ah-ah.

Like all the chimps here,

their parents were killed for meat
and they were sold as pets.

Come on, you crazies.

So when they come in like this,
it's nice that they have each other.

So this little group,
they'll be together for...

Well, they'll be together forever.

I love how you put a positive spin
on everything, you guys.

It couldn't be more dire right now
and more stressful,

yet... The silver lining. I think
you guys survive on silver linings.

I have to or I would go crazy.

It's been a difficult six months
for the Desmonds.

Their move to the new sanctuary
has been put on hold

due to spiralling costs.

Max, leave it.

And caring for the chimps
in such limited space

is getting very difficult.

CHIMPS SCREAM

I'm worried about the Desmonds,
I really am.

They seem to be in the middle
of this...this perfect storm.

When I first came out here,
there were 21,

and now, just over a year later,
there's nearly 40.

With more chimps comes more money,
more stress, more time, more energy.

I just don't see an end
in sight for these guys.

But, yeah, they're in a pressure
cooker. I am worried.

Today is an important day.

We're moving three of the chimps.

Survivor...

..Bui...

..and Jo-Jo, out of the house
where the babies are kept

to live with the older chimps in
a large enclosure down the road.

Jo Jo.

Of all the chimp characters, Jo Jo
is definitely one of my favourites.

He's such a beautiful boy.
He's very relaxed.

He's got this long face.
I like Jo Jo.

I think you'll be happy
with your new family.

Jo Jo belonged to a market trader.

When he kept eating her produce,
she gave him to Jimmy and Jenny.

Jo Jo's doing great.
He's a real clown.

LAUGHTER

Physically, he has a little bit
of stunted growth,

so he wasn't getting the right
nutrition because his head

is sort of, like, bigger
than the rest of his body,

so he's h a little comical looking,
like a little bit of a caricature.

Jo Jo!

Jo Jo, the football player.
He can jump.

That's why I call him
the football player.

He jump, jump, jump.

Did you steal my hat?

He's so funny.

He's got a great personality,
a really happy guy.

LAUGHTER

So it'll be really interesting
to see how he does

when he moves to the big group.

Look at Jo Jo. He's all excited.

Yeah, pal.

This is exciting.

It's important the move goes well.

The house is now full
and moving Jo Jo and the others

to the large enclosure
will make space for new arrivals.

But it won't be easy.

Moving the three babies
in with the older chimps

will be a delicate operation.

First, we've got to get them there.

Is someone on the roof?

OK, guys, have a good day. You, too.

Bye, everybody. See you.

# You are doing something new
in your life today

# He's doing it... #

To help settle them in,
Annie and Jenna have come up with

a special song.

# He's doing it, he's doing it

# He's doing it, he's doing it,
he's doing it

# You are doing something new
in your life today... #

Moving baby chimps into the big
enclosure can be risky.

Chimps live in strict hierarchical
societies and it's impossible

to predict how the older chimps
will react to the little newcomers.

We're going to have to
introduce them very slowly.

We'll bring them to the outside
of the enclosure every day

until we feel the older chimps
have got used to them.

Where are we going?
CHIMP SQUEAKS

It's OK.

Until then, Jo Jo and his mates
will have to watch their step.

CHIMPS SCREAM

This is Jo Jo's first day
with the bigger kids

and he's been so adventurous
and so excited

and in the bus he was all puffed up

and he got here
and he was all puffed up

and now he's seeing the bigger kids

and they're quite scary for Jo Jo,
I think,

and he's starting to realise
that he's not quite as big

as he thinks he is, maybe.

And it's like any school,
you move up a class

and there are bigger kids there.

In the wild, at the age of three,

chimps start to venture more than
a few metres from their mothers.

Jo Jo is on a mission to explore.

They're meeting the big kids
but they're not staying with them.

They're learning new skills,
they're in a new environment.

This is really important.

It's probably quite scary, a bit
intimidating and a bit of a rush,

but they seem to love it.
You really do, don't you?

And eventually they'll all be
integrated with their bigger mates.

Ready for big school?

He'll do it when he's ready,
but it's only his first day.

It's a big step.
Big step, isn't it, mate?

Yeah?

So far, so good.

The integration process has started
well with no major incidents.

Did you have a good day?

But it's only the first step.

Jo Jo, Survivor and Bui will sleep
back at the house for a while

before they're ready for
their first night away from home.

Good boy.

Can you remember?

In the garden...

Good girl, Ellie belly. Well done.

..we continuing our lessons
in termite fishing

to get the new arrivals
up to speed...

..when we hear a strange sound
coming from outside the compound.

CRACKLING

You can still hear it crackling.
Yeah.

We don't have power now.
Oh, really?

Well, the light's off.

Did we lose power?

The electrics have gone

and the chimps seem to know
something's going on.

Yeah, they're nervous.

They're scared.

Come here.

LOUD CRACK

What the hell was that noise?

Come here, Ellie belly.

Come here. It's OK, buddy.

It's a fire.

It's a huge bushfire that was lit
deliberately to clear land,

but it's gone out of control
and spread over 5km.

Project manager Simeon is worried
it's become too big to contain.

Uh-oh.

I'm not sure what we can do. Simeon
called the Fire Department, so...

..they're coming.

OK, let's go back to the yard.
Come on, Maxi.

With over 20 older chimps
and their carers penned inside

the large enclosure, it's difficult
to evacuate them all quickly.

And Jimmy is worried
about their safety.

Andy, do you know if... Did you
talk to them at the pavilion?

Can they hear it?
Do they know there's a fire?

Are they going to be able
to put it out?

It is dry season and that fire's
huge. It's going to spread.

SIREN

It's OK.

It's OK. It's OK, buddy. It's OK.

Oh, there it goes.

THEY SHOUT INSTRUCTIONS

So it didn't go
to the pavilion side?

OK.

Thank you, Simeon.

OK, OK.

OK.

SIREN

So it sounds like it's not
over the pavilion, which is good.

Thankfully, the fire hasn't made
it to the large enclosure.

It's not? No. And they turned
off the power, so that's good.

So hopefully they'll put it out.

Do you have a day when you
don't have a disaster?

There's always some surprising
event that happens, you know.

You've just got to be prepared.

A new chimp or somebody's sick
or a fire.

You've had all this week.
Car break down. Yes.

All of those this week,
and it's only Wednesday.

True.

The Fire Department managed
to contain the blaze

and we're redoubling our efforts
to get out of here.

Jenny is pushing on with fundraising

while Jimmy and I continue
with the chimp lessons.

Hey, Picks, look at all this.

Today's class is about
building nests...

A couple of piles.

..which will help the chimps sleep
safe from predators up in the trees.

Chimpanzee nests
are skilfully constructed

with a frame supporting
a mattress of leaves for comfort.

What they'll do, they'll grab
branches from a surrounding tree,

high up usually,
and pull them together,

they'll interweave them,
all the leaves the middle,

and sleep inside them.

They do this twice a day
during the day for a day nest

and also overnight as well.

We're going to go make nests, huh?

I reckon most of these kids today
will be awesome at nest building.

It's something that you learn
really quickly,

from day one, mum is building
a nest, so it's there, hopefully.

We'll see. We'll see.

Maxi, come here, big man.

We're starting with the baby group,

keeping it simple
with a few small branches.

Come on, Chance.
You going to play in the leaves?

I'm going to demonstrate
by making my own nest...

Are you watching?

..and hope they learn by copying me.

You're not, are you? You're
not watching. I can tell.

Trying to teach baby chimps
is not easy.

If you don't get their
full attention,

it's simply impossible
to keep them under control.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Let me guess...
Don't kiss me after trashing me.

Maxi, you want to make a nest?

The naughtiest of all
is two-year-old Max.

Maxi!

What's in there?

Oh...! Max.

You crazy boy. Did you get that?

Oh, you.

Oh, I don't want him in the nest.
I don't want him in the nest.

Oh, you crazy boy.

Come on.

The only baby who shows an inkling
in nest building is Picky P,

who has found her own supply
of materials.

Oh, see, Picky's starting to
make a nest with the blankets.

Maybe she thinks the blankets
are a little more comfortable

than the leaves. She's not wrong.

LAUGHTER

You crazy beast.

LAUGHTER

Clearly, the baby group
still has a long way to go

before they can build
their own nests.

Max, come here.

I just built a whole nest
and you're sitting in it.

It doesn't count.
It does not count.

We decide to go into
the bigger enclosure

to see if the older chimps
can do any better.

So who have we got, Jimmy?

This is Bu Bu - Bui. Hey, Bu.

And I've got Jo Jo on my back.
I can see Jo Jo.

Jo Jo.

We're starting with the chimps who
recently came from the baby house.

Jo Jo, Survivor and Bui.

You going to eat it?

You silly man.

They seem about as interested
in nest building as the babies did.

You going to make a nest?

Jo Jo would rather play
his favourite game.

Did Jo Jo just take my hat?
Was that Jo? Yes.

I swear to God, these people.

Oh, that's old Jo. Hat on his head.

Nest building is not going
amazingly.

It's much more fun
to fight and play.

What's happened is, I've built
a nest, you've built a nest,

and we're sitting in our own
respective nests.

Class dismissed.

There are a lot of zeros. Yeah.

But it turns out that someone
was paying attention after all.

Just as we're finishing, Jimmy,
Jo Jo's trying now.

He's starting to go for it?

Yeah, he's starting to do it.

He's doing the right thing,
he's going round and round

to make this perfectly even nest
all around the edges.

He's breaking the branches
and he's tamping it down,

making it look nice.

It kind of reminds me a little bit
of when dogs, you know,

they want to curl up,
they're getting ready to sleep

and they've got to do it a few times
to get just the right position.

It's a little bit the same thing.

You know, I'm going to turn around
and say that was job well done.

The boys did good.

It was looking pretty bleak there
for a while.

I never thought I'd say Jo Jo,
you're my star pupil today now.

Hopefully the others
should now copy Jo Jo

and start making their own nests.

There's a bit of good news
about the new sanctuary

the Desmonds are hoping to build.

Totally. It's going to be amazing.

Except for the part of raising
the money to build it.

The architect has finished
the drawings

and the Desmonds have a plan
for the first phase of the build.

Yeah, we've got a nice veterinary
centre, nursery, food prep,

so everything's really accessible
and easy to get to.

This is exciting. I know.

To see... They're rectangles
and squares on a map,

but that means, this is it, this
is progress, isn't it? This is it.

So in a few months' time!

We have a lot to do ahead of us.
There's a lot to do.

It makes it real. Yeah.

Real in...on a lot of
different levels.

And construction projects always
go according to plan. Of course.

You know, so I'm looking forward
to that part of it.

One of the babies is particularly
interested in the plan.

Exactly.

Hello. Look at you. Hello.

You want to see, buddy?
This is where you going to be.

So you can see the...
He likes the forest already.

And then... What do you think, pal?

Oh, boy. Here we go.

Ace doesn't seem very impressed.

Do you see that?
What do you think? Oh, wow.

What do you think? That's what...
That's what Ace thinks.

That's what Ace thinks of this.
Thanks, buddy.

Why didn't you already build it,
he's saying.

Good boy.

Good boy.

That's really...

..pleasant. Oh, my God.

All right, pal.

Hopefully, you know, we get
the cash and then we can do it.

Ace seems to have other ideas
for the plans.

He's literally making a nest
out of his new home.

Are you making a nest out of
your new home already?

At least the nest building classes
appear to be working.

I think we're being told to wait.

We're not? Oh.

Hello.

Oh, careful.

Let me give you... Ready?

Jimmy and Jenny never expected
to be living in Liberia

with a family of orphaned chimps.

Did you see that little manoeuvre?

Thank you. Thanks.

Today, they're taking me on a trip
to show me why they first came here.

They arrived three years ago to
look after a completely different

group of chimpanzees
that had been experimented on

by an American research
organisation.

Back in the 1970s, a group came here
and started a research project

using chimpanzees.

So biomedical research to develop
hepatitis vaccines.

And they did research on the chimps
for like 30 years

and then eventually retired them to
these islands within this habitat,

and so that's who we're going to
go see now.

The chimps that were used
in the research.

Hello, baby.

Hello, sweetheart.

Hello.

Here they all come.

Hi, sweetheart.

That's my girl. I see you.

IMITATES CHIMP GRUNTS
The white patch, that's Samantha.

She's the boss lady. Oh, really.

And that's Lo Lo.

He's the big alpha male.

These chimps were taken
from the wild

and infected with hepatitis and
other diseases over many years.

That's Bullet. That's Bullet.

He's the poster boy for what
happened to these guys. Yeah.

You know, mum killed, he was shot,

his arm had to be amputated
because it was so infected,

and then he survived all
those years of research,

and yet... Look at him. ..here he
is, you know, still going strong,

Missing all his teeth now,
but he's... A big boy.

Hello, big boy.
So he's a cool guy, you know,

and he's stuff so, yeah,
he's pretty awesome.

Jimmy and Jenny no longer
look after the research chimps

but the laboratory
where the testing took place

is on the same site where they now
keep the older rescued orphans.

CHIMPS SQUEAL

For 30 years, the lab chimps
were held in conditions like this

and subjected to invasive
medical experiments.

Over 400 chimpanzees died here.

Some of the carers, like Annie,
who now works with Jimmy and Jenny,

used to be employed at the lab
looking after the baby chimps.

Jenna also worked at the lab.

She has a photograph
from when she was younger,

carrying baby chimps
to have their blood taken.

After the testing finally stopped,

the surviving chimps
were abandoned on the islands.

They were left starving,
until a charity stepped in to help

and hired Jimmy and Jenny
to look after them.

When they arrived in Liberia,

they came across
an even bigger problem,

threatening the very survival
of the species here.

Liberia's wild chimpanzees
are rapidly going extinct.

Their forest is being cleared
for industries like palm oil.

They're being hunted for their meat.

And their babies are trafficked
as pets.

We rescued two orphaned chimps

in that first couple of weeks
we were here,

and so we really thought someone
needed to address that problem.

And here we are, you know,
three years later,

after thinking we'd only be here
for a month.

We have an opportunity to
do something really great.

And as Liberia rebuilds,
we can build this sanctuary.

And then the care-givers themselves,
the people who used to work

with the chimps during
the research years

and saw them go through this
horrible traumatic time,

get this, you know, this chance
of sort of redemption,

that they can help these
other chimps

that are really in need and help
them get to a better place.

So it feels like we're part
of something, I guess, bigger

than just, you know,
just building a sanctuary.

Are you happy now?

I think that's the legacy here.

We've turned something around
from being horrific

into something that's inspiring,
that gives us a reason for hope.

Jo Jo.

OK, guys, want to go?
Come on. We're going.

Our plans to free up space
by moving three of the babies

to live at the big enclosure
have reached the final stage.

After several weeks of gentle
acclimatisation,

Jo Jo, Bui and Survivor
are about to move in permanently.

Come on.

We're going.

It's big sleepover night.

This move will also mark a big
change in how they are cared for.

Bedtime. Bedtime. Bedtime.

Up till now, they've slept with
their carers and the Desmonds,

as they would with their
own mothers in the wild.

Now they'll be sleeping alone.

But to soften the transition,
Annie will stay with them

for the first few nights.

You crazy people.

You silly boy

Oh, you. Did you do that?

They're safe. They're with their
main mum, Annie, through the night,

so they'll feel very safe
and that's important.

Jo Jo.

You'll be fine. Big boy.

OK, Joey.

OK, big man.

You have a good first night.

Night, Survi.

You silly face.
I'll see you in the morning.

OK, night, guys.

Thanks, Annie. Thanks, Daniel.

Night, boys.

In a couple of nights, the boys will
be sleeping with the bigger chimps.

We'll be keeping a close eye on them
to see how they're getting on.

Jenny's fundraising drive to raise
cash for the new sanctuary

is finally starting to bear fruit.

We've gotten some really
very, very generous donations

in the last couple months
between family and friends

and we've also gotten some funding
from the EU, which is fantastic,

and so we're basically
in a position to start

getting some of the foundations laid
on our new land.

You guys aren't making this easy.

We're really only halfway there.

We're going to need the rest
of the funding.

So that's what I'm working on
pretty much every day,

besides tickling.

So far, they've raised over £300,000

and hopes are high
that they'll find the rest.

I think he can raise all the rest.

I think he just pressed donate.
Did you just donate 300,000?

Done.

And there's more good news in the
form of an unexpected donation.

After two decades of civil war
and an Ebola outbreak,

Liberia is on the mend
and the UN is leaving town.

As a parting gift, they've donated
four shipping containers

for the new sanctuary.

That's what I needed to hear.

I'll pay you tomorrow morning.
No problem. OK. Thanks, man.

The containers will save the project
thousands of pounds

and will be put to good use -
for accommodation,

workshops and storage.

It's exciting, huh?

What do you think, man?
Pretty cool, huh? Yeah.

We're going to make them
into something good.

Even you can live in...
No, big house. Yes.

It's a big house, John.

LAUGHTER

With the move to the new sanctuary
looking increasingly positive,

I want to recap on the lessons
we've had so far.

First, I want to see what
the babies have learned

about dealing with snakes.

When we first started,
they had no idea what a snake was.

Right now, that is perfect.
Max is playing with a deadly snake.

So he would be dead. Yeah.
And that's as scary as it is. Yeah.

We've been teaching the chimps
to stay away and raise the alarm.

I wonder
if they've remembered the lesson.

CHIMPS CALL
Oh, already.

THEY ALL SCREAM/HOWL

Of all these skills,
this is the life or death,

and we're moving to a forest
where there are snakes

and they need to have this fear.

Where's Max, out of interest?
Right here. of course he is.

Oh. I told you.

Remember last time? Remember,
last time he was rubbing at this.

THEY SCREAM/HOWL

Max is really impressing me.

His hair is up, he's bluffing
around, he's doing the fear grin.

He's really learned his lesson.

Oh, what is it? I know.

I know.

Good boy, Max. You good, smart boy.

I feel very encouraged.

Flying colours. Well done.
Good job, Ellie.

Well done, guys.
No more of those horrible snakes.

Yeah. We'll get those snakes,
we'll get those snakes.

Next, I want to see how they're
getting on with nut cracking.

You going to crack open some nuts?
Huh?

Of all the skills,

this is the hardest
and most complicated to grasp.

OK!

The newest arrivals
have now started to learn.

He does it perfect.

Hey, Simy.

And one of them, called Simeon,
is already a pro.

Good boy. He's so good.

He's got a special rock?

He has a special rock...
That's really interesting

because they have special rocks
in the wild. ..that he likes here.

And he's good at cracking with it.

Wow. Good one, Sim.

The nice thing is now that
he'll be able to pass on that skill

to his new family here
and in the forest as well.

The kids have all really well so far
in nearly all the lessons.

But, as you'd expect, some are
much better than others

at different tasks, and that's fine
because that reflects exactly

what you'd see in the wild.

And they've started this really
long process of learning.

I didn't expect them to be perfect
in any of these things,

but the fact they're able to do some
of these things is really positive.

Well done, guys. I think you're
ready for the forest, aren't you?

It's been a few weeks since Jo Jo,
Bui and Survivor were moved

from the house to live with the
older chimps in the large enclosure.

I've come to see
how they're getting on.

So Jo's down there

and he's being... Being Jo. Yeah.

He's still a total goofball

He's doing well. They're all
mixing in well with a group.

Jo Jo!

Some of the older chimps
have become very maternal

towards Jo Jo, Survivor and Bui,

which is exactly as it should be
in the wild.

Even though they're all orphans,

the chimps have built their own
cohesive family group.

Hey, Jo Jo. Jo Jo.

There we go.

You silly boy.

He still does those funny spinning
moves and stuff like that.

Here he comes.

It's weird seeing them in here
because they were the big boys.

Yeah, they were the big guys
at the house. They're tiny.

They're so much smaller.
They're so, so small in here.

Hey, Jo Jo. Hey, you silly man.

Jo Jo and his friends
have successfully made the move

from the house
and have freed up space.

But new chimps keep arriving.

They've had a call from
the Forestry Authority.

They're bringing in another
baby chimp they've just rescued.

Hi, Steve. How you doing?

He's a male, around two years old,

and emaciated,

rescued by Officer Jimmy Parker.

Come on. Come on.

Hello.

Let's see.

Here.

Or it's just broken by itself.
Oh, it's a broken bone.

It's swollen. Really swollen,
isn't it? Yeah, it looks swollen.

Let me see. Does it hurt you, buddy?

Yeah, it's bothering him
a little bit.

This case is special.

The woman selling the chimp
was arrested

and is now going to be prosecuted.

It will be the first case
of its kind in Liberia.

This is serious stuff.
This is really big, right?

Actually, it's good, but it's just
that we are not very strong yet

in the prosecution. I know. I know,
but we will push, right. We'll push.

We're getting our first prosecution
all the way through for a chimp, OK.

So it's this guy.

The prosecution would be a major
part of the awareness. Huge.

Talking, talking is good,
but when you take action,

people will see and then they
will carry the message around.

It's going to be very important
and then the people will be scared.

They'll say, "Wait a minute.
Wait, you go to jail for this?

"OK, maybe I don't want to do it."

You guys. Yeah. Hey...
It's amazing. I'm very, very happy.

I'm not happy to have
another chimp...

How you doing? You can't come in
here. You can't come in here.

Who is that?

This is a crazy place, huh?
There's a lot of chimps

A lot of chimps.

When Jimmy arrives home, he examines
the new chimp's broken arm.

It looks like it's a break
that's healing

but it's probably a... I don't
know how bad the fracture is.

You know, they're pretty tough
little guys

so you might have
a little misshapen arm,

but it probably won't impact
his ability to climb

and do whatever he needs to do,
is my guess.

There's another baby in there.
You see?

That's going to be your friend.

See you later. See you later.

With the first prosecution for chimp
trafficking potentially under way,

it feels like attitudes
are starting to change.

We're also kicking off
an education programme

at our local primary school.

Ultimately, the goal is that
we don't get any more chimps

and we can never make that happen
without truly enforcing the law

and changing the mind-sets
and working with people here

to understand the importance
of protecting chimps

and keeping them in the wild.

That's our...
That's our ultimate goal

and that's our ultimate mission.

We've joined forces
with a local theatre group

who want to help the chimps
by showing the kids

it's against the law to hunt them
or keep them as pets.

HE SCREAMS AND SHOUTS

APPLAUSE

We're also leaving a permanent
reminder of the day.

A local artist, Godwin Yoryor,

has designed a mural to add
some colour to the campaign.

DRUMMING

Liberia is breeding up
a new generation.

Here they are. The kids.

If these kids are educated

that wildlife is important
to our country,

when they grow up with that notion,

their generation will cease
to hunt wildlife.

So it's really important
to engage the kids.

Kids are the future and the kids
are the only chance we have

of protecting and saving
Liberia's wildlife.

And if we don't really
reach the kids,

then all the other work
we're doing is pointless.

Today has been really fun.
It's manic, it's crazy.

But the kids are enjoying
themselves.

That's the most important thing.

And they've pained a really
nice mural with chimps

and other animals
they find in the forest.

So hornbills, hippos,
pangolins, duikers,

and hopefully this will help
get the message across.

Just what's on their doorstep

and how important it is to
try and save these species.

DRUMMING

APPLAUSE

Today is just the beginning.

We're planning to roll out these
events across the whole country.

The Desmonds are part of
a wider alliance

trying to save Liberia's chimps.

The government has started to
crack down on illegal hunting

and Jimmy and I have been invited to
one of their first big media events.

The commercial bushmeat trade
is a massive problem.

This is when people come
into a forest like this

and just hunt out the animals.

That meat, chimpanzees included,
goes to the big cities,

it goes to Monrovia,
and actually, very often,

it's worth more than beef.

So it's not for poor people.
It's a luxury item.

It then very often
goes international

and that luxury food item
is needlessly driving

the extinction of chimpanzees.

The Forestry Development Authority
has seized illegal bushmeat

at roadside checkpoints

and today they're planning to
destroy it.

The press have been invited
to watch.

What surprised me,
like, really surprised me,

is there's so much primate,
there's so much monkey here.

You can see they're just
everywhere. I know.

It's great.
This is great. Thank you.

APPLAUSE

This is good news.

I agree, man.
Liberia's getting serious, eh.

This could mark a turning point in
the fight to save wild chimpanzees.

In West Africa, the numbers
have collapsed by 80%

in the last 25 years.

At this rate, they'll soon
be extinct.

Liberia is so important of
a country for conservation. Yeah.

You know, it's the only country
in West Africa that still has

a lot of forests left, still
has a lot of wildlife left,

still has a lot of biodiversity.

And, you know, with the government
taking these kinds of actions,

it gives hope that those forests
and those animals

can be protected and saved,

so we're slowly moving forward
and making change

and we'll just keep going, you know.

With some of the funds now raised
for the new sanctuary,

it feels like the goal is in sight.

Ellie belly... Where's Ellie?

So we're taking five of the younger
chimps to see their future home...

HORN TOOTS

..and give them a taste
of life in the forest.

Yeah, we're going.

Let's go.

The last time these babies
were in a forest,

their families were killed and they
were taken to be sold as pets.

Come on, Ellie belly.

SHE CHANTS: Forest, forest,
we're going to the forest.

Forest, forest, going to the forest.

Where are you off to, Max?

Where are you off to?

Your new... Your new forest.

You crazy girls.

Since they left the forest,
this is going to be the first time

they're going back to, like,
a real forest, you know?

And the first time
they're going to be seeing

what will be their new home,

like, their home for a long time,
you know.

So it's pretty exciting
for them and for us.

Here we go, into the forest.

We're going in, we're going in.

Already you can feel it's cooler.
Oh, gosh, it feels so much better.

Yay!

Yay!

We're in the forest, big man.

Yay, yay.

We're in the forest.

What do you think, big girl?
We're in a forest.

We're in a forest.

LAUGHTER

Look at Picky's face.
Look at Picky's smile.

And she's laughing.

Is this fun?

Is this fun, my beautiful girl?

Is this fun?

What's up there?

Look.

What's that?

What's that? Look.

You've found some termites in there?

Good job, guys.

What's in there? What's in there?

Look at them, they're getting
termites and ants out of the log.

This totally normal stuff.

We don't have to make this
for them any more.

They're just getting through
and exploring

and every single thing is a new
climbing frame and a new...

..a new game. It's so cool.

It's brilliant.
Look how high up Picky is.

This is just the first step.

The Desmonds will need a huge
amount of infrastructure

to live here with the chimps.

We've come a really, really,
really long way

from the day we set foot in Liberia.

We still have a long way to go

but this is a pretty hugely
important first step, I think,

to see these guys playing in the
forest and see how happy they are.

I know.

It's really nice to see...

Like, Chance was on this tree
going crazy

and seeing Picky P's face.

You know, it's better, I think,
than we had imagined,

and now we just have to do
a lot of work

to get the rest of the guys out
here. To be permanently here.

You silly girl.

It's been so nice today
to see the chimps in the forest

and to watch them playing
up in the trees

and crashing around
and fighting and playing

in the place they should be.

Makes it all worthwhile.

It's a lot of tough times.

You see a lot of sadness.

And these babies have
gone through so much

and so it makes it all worth it
to see them like this,

and happy and smiling.

It makes it all worth it.

I think, mostly, I'm...

..I'm grateful for...

..the fact that we, erm...

..have been able to rescue
all these guys

and get to do the work that we do.

Erm...

And, erm...

..I'm grateful for all the people
that have...

..helped us get to where we are.

I think for a lot of people, what
you hope is that you find something

that you can make a difference,
you know.

And we've found that.

And that's...

..you know, that's really nice.

I'm grateful for that, you know.

So...

..I hope so.

I hope we're making a difference.

I mean, you know, I hope so.
Slowly, slowly.

As they say in Liberia,
small, small.

So we're getting there.

Small, small.

It's stimulation, it's enrichment...

And so is the camera.
THEY LAUGH

Oh, my God.

Uh-oh.

Come on, buddy.

Watch out.