#monkey life

Since the release of Kingdom last year, I've been watching ape documentaries. It's been fun because I realized how little I actually knew about chimps, orangs, and gorillas, despite loving the POTA series for so long.

I've now finished watching two shows, Monkey Business and Monkey Life. Both shows focus on the primate rescue center in the United Kingdom, Monkey World. Business was the first show, running for 9 seasons from 1998-2006; Life followed it, starting in 2007 and still running to this day, currently releasing their 17th season.

I wanted to highlight these two shows because of how long running they are. You really get to know individual primates and their care team. Seeing newly rescued chimps get settled into groups and get to live happy lives among their own kind always puts a smile on my face. I cried multiple times when apes or humans would pass away, even knowing I was watching old episodes and these incidents had happened years ago.

The humans who work at the center truly do all they can to help the animals in their care. They help primates overcome their trauma, hand-raise abandoned babies, and work hard to provide enrichment to liven up their days. The rehabilitation and release work they're doing in Vietnam, at their sister sanctuary Dao Tien, is incredible; seeing gibbons and other primates living free in the wild is truly heartwarming.

Monkey Business seems to only be available on Amazon Prime (from what I can find in the USA) but all of Monkey Life can be found on YouTube (the newest 17th season is currently airing in the UK but will be released to YouTube later). You can also buy DVDs of seasons from the Monkey World rescue center. The first season of Monkey Life was narrated by Andy Serkis, our beloved Caesar!

Year of the monkey.

Bart & Gamba;

Mischievous best friends Bart (born at Monkey World in ’07) and Gamba (resident since ’92), both are members of Paddy’s troop.

Me: You think I love POTA that much?

Roomie: You watched 13 seasons of an ape rescue TV show because you wanted to learn more about chimps!

Me: Actually that show, Monkey Life was 16 seasons long...

Roomie:

Funny enough, I've been planning on making a list of documentaries so thanks for the push! I’ve watched a bunch to hype up for Kingdom and I’ll keep watching as we wait for POTA news. These are what I've been able to find with my various subscription services and internet access in the USA so their availability may vary for you. Also a warning that, due to these being non-fiction documentaries there is very real footage of animal injuries and death (from both humans and natural circumstances).

Monkey Business (Amazon Prime) - A long running show (9 seasons) about a primate rescue center in the UK. I really loved this one because you got to follow apes of the course of years. I even cried when one ape who had been there from the first season passed away in the final season. The show mostly focuses on chimps and orangutans but also features lemurs, woolly monkeys, gibbons and other species. The center focuses on giving the animals in their care the most natural life they can in captivity, and also assists in breeding programs for several endangered species. Jane Goodall even comes out in one episode to present them with an award for excellent enclosure construction. The theme song is very loud and distinctive, the point that my roommate asked how long this series was because she could hear the theme song coming from my room for weeks as I went through all 9 seasons. Highly recommend this one because the personalities of the apes really stand out when you spend literal years with them; it's worth the time commitment, I loved it.

(Also in making sure I had all the details about this show right, I learned there was a follow up show called Monkey Life that featured Andy Serkis himself narrating the first season and they seem to all be available on YouTube for free so I have a new multi-season show to watch now, thank you!!!)

Orangutan Jungle School (YouTube) - Rescue group dedicated to teaching young orangutans how to survive in the wild so they can be released when they're older. Only the first two episodes of this show are available on YouTube for free but I also devoured any clips I could find. I found this show particularly hilarious because the baby orangs are adorable. They cry when they don't get their cups of milk fast enough or when they can't figure out how to crack into a coconut. I always see adult orangutans as slow moving, so the activity and demanding personalities of the babies delighted me. If nothing else, watch these two clips because I have watched the clips of the babies screaming and the humans overreacting to fake snakes on repeat for ages.

Chimp Empire (Netflix) - Two chimpanzee groups in Uganda's Ngogo forest face off over territory and food, while each group faces their own struggles from within. This one is about wild chimps and it is fascinating to see their natural ways outside of rescue centers. The cinematography is gorgeous; I'd love to know how they got all these shots without disturbing the chimps. It's only 4 episodes; I wish it was longer but it packs a lot into its short run time.

Meet The Chimps (Disney+) - A one season show focusing on chimps living in a rescue center in Louisiana. A single season show so you don't get a lot of time with the chimps but it's got a much smaller number of chimps to get to know than Monkey Business. Also the troops are housed near each other so it's interested to see the dominance displays, even through a fence. My favorite part was near the end with the mystery of who was the father of an accidental baby. I guessed wrong!

Kingdom Of The Apes: Battle Lines (Disney+) - Two separate ape groups, one of chimps and the other of gorillas, sort out fights for dominance and leadership of the troop in their own ways. Personally I didn't like this one. Jumping back and forth between gorillas and chimps in a documentary less than an hour didn't leave me very invested, but I thought I'd add it if anyone was interested.

I'll throw in a couple podcasts too, should be free on your preferred podcast app:

Ologies, one episode on primatology and a separate episode on gorillaology

National Park After Dark, a two-part episode on the life, work, and murder of Dian Fossey, a primatologist who worked with gorillas and wrote the book 'Gorillas In the Mist'

The Wild With Chris Morgan, an episode on orangutans called People Of The Forest