[thrumming of insects, birds chirruping]
[solemn drumbeat reverberates]
[unsettling music playing]
[music intensifies]
[music darkens]
[solemn drumbeat reverberates]
[music fades out]
[insects chirring]
[chimp softly grunting]
A few days have passed since the battle with the westerners.
And Jackson is still injured.
But an alpha can never show weakness.
[whooping]
[whooping accelerates]
[chimps screeching]
[barking rhythmically]
[ambient music playing]
[barking continues]
Jackson's strength is being judged.
For an alpha, physical weakness is also political weakness.
And even Jackson's closest ally
seems more distant.
[music becomes melancholy]
Abrams and Wilson
can sense an opportunity.
[solemn drumbeat reverberates]
[music fades out]
[baby squeaks]
[baby screeches]
With every day that passes,
Christine's baby is becoming more independent.
She's strong and agile enough to make her way through the canopy alone.
[baby grunting softly]
And she seems to be showing off.
[playful music playing]
Quite impressive.
[music continues]
The further she gets from her mother,
the more she can get into trouble.
[music abates]
And these are turbulent times.
[chimps shrieking, grunting]
[branch cracks]
[music suddenly accelerating]
-[music intensifies] -[hooting emphatically]
[chimps screeching]
[both grunting rhythmically]
Abrams and Wilson are making their move.
[Abrams and Wilson whooping loudly]
[tense music playing]
[shrieking]
[screeching]
[music intensifies]
[all shrieking frantically]
[shrieking stops]
[music fades out]
[low hooting]
[hooting gets louder]
[screeching]
[hoots softly]
Jackson has been sent running
in full view of the group.
[whooping loudly]
With Wilson's help,
Abrams has struck a major blow.
[poignant music playing]
[music becomes somber]
[chimps shrieking in distance]
And in the forest,
news travels.
[music darkens]
[music intensifies]
[chimps shrieking in distance]
The westerners recognize panic and confusion when they hear it.
They can sense weakness in central Ngogo.
[music swells]
[music fades out]
Abrams now has a decision to make.
[monkey calling]
[somber music playing]
He beat Jackson once,
but he paid a price.
[music darkens]
And the job is far from finished.
It will take more than one attack
to depose an alpha like Jackson.
[music continues]
[music abates]
Leadership contests are dangerous…
[poignant music playing]
…for the alpha and for the challenger.
And Abrams has time on his side.
So he's decided to reconcile with Jackson.
It's a truce.
For now.
[music fades out]
[chorus of chirping, calling, buzzing]
Peace has been temporarily restored.
So the central group can come together and relax.
For Gus…
[uplifting music playing]
…life is improving.
He's been spending more and more time with Christine and her family.
Christine is comfortable with Gus,
but her attention is being drawn elsewhere.
Gus is still a low-ranking teenager.
Peterson, on the other hand, is a fully grown male with high status.
[quirky music playing]
[hooting rhythmically]
[whooping]
[grunting playfully]
[grunting continues]
Chimps change as they get older.
But they never lose their love of playing.
Or their need to be close to each other.
[music ends]
With the truce in place,
Jackson can afford to take time on his own
and recover his strength.
He's come to the edge of the group to rest.
[poignant music playing]
[music intensifies]
There's virtually zero chance of Jackson grooming Gus back.
Still, any chance to spend time with the alpha
is progress.
[music fades out]
[thunder rumbling]
[torrential rain falling]
A storm is brewing.
And Jackson is returning to the group to sit it out.
[rain intensifies]
[thunder continues]
Heavy rain makes the forest more dangerous.
It's harder to see things coming.
[thunder rumbles loudly]
[leaves rustle]
[thunder cracks]
[unsettling music playing]
[music abates]
[music intensifies]
[music abates]
[music intensifies]
It's the westerners.
[music intensifies]
Rollins and Damien are closing in.
[music intensifies]
But this time, it's Richmond who leads the charge.
[chimps growling]
[music intensifies]
[chimp screeching]
[chimp shrieking]
[clamor of screeches]
[screeching peters out]
[chimp whooping nearby]
The central chimps have scattered…
[thunder rumbles]
…and Jackson has been left isolated.
[dramatic music playing]
[music abates]
[music reprises]
[music abates]
The westerners have Jackson outnumbered.
And he's surrounded.
[music darkens]
[deep rhythmic whooping]
[heehawing loudly]
[Jackson shrieking]
[whooping]
[screaming]
[music intensifies]
[screaming continues in distance]
[music intensifies]
[music abates]
[screaming continues]
The other central males have heard Jackson's cries.
They're on their way to help.
[music intensifies]
Richmond has Jackson pinned to the ground.
[chimps shrieking nearby]
[music abates]
[all shrieking]
[shrieking fades out]
The westerners have been driven away.
But in the chaos,
Jackson has vanished.
[elephant roars]
Jackson managed to escape.
But he's been terribly injured.
[poignant music playing]
He's still the alpha…
and even now,
he can't show any weakness to his group.
So he's retreating into the forest,
alone.
[music intensifies]
[music fades out]
Most of the central group don't know what happened in the storm.
Even the chimps that were there
haven't seen Jackson since they were separated.
So life is going on as normal.
But Peterson seems on edge.
[poignant ambient music playing]
He's moving away from the group…
and into the forest.
[music intensifies]
[music fades out]
[thrumming of insects]
Jackson has been on his own for a while.
And his injuries aren't improving.
[monkey cackling]
[melancholic piano music playing]
[whimpers]
[whimpering rhythmically]
[music continues]
[music ends]
Jackson's strength is fading.
But at least he's no longer alone.
[gentle piano music playing]
[insect buzzing]
[music continues]
[thunder rumbling]
[music becomes rousing]
Jackson's passing
marks the end of an era for Ngogo.
For 32 years, he lived here in the forest,
and it was a full life.
He rose to the very top of the biggest chimp group ever known.
And he stayed there for six long years.
But along the way, he made a lot of enemies.
And that cost him his life.
[music fading out]
But a chimp's story
doesn't always end with their death.
[poignant piano music playing]
Part of the reason Jackson fought to become alpha
was so he could pass on his legacy.
And he was very successful.
He leaves behind
eight children.
And Bartoli has just given birth to a new boy.
He could be Jackson's ninth.
As they grow,
live their lives, and have children of their own,
they'll ensure that Jackson's presence continues to be felt at Ngogo…
long after he's gone.
[music fades out]
In the last year,
everything has changed at Ngogo.
[bright classical music playing]
The westerners have had a difficult but successful year.
Rollins and Damien have done their job.
Their efforts have helped win new territory…
and the western group continues to grow.
Carson's baby has arrived.
And she'll have to take it easy,
at least for a while.
And Bergl…
is trying to make his own contribution to population growth.
Even Garbo will have seen few years like this one.
And as her long life draws near its end,
her legacy looks more secure.
Her son, Hutcherson, is still the alpha…
and his brother, Richmond, saw the death of Jackson, his old rival.
But even as the group prospers,
only time will tell
whether it was the victory it seems to be.
With Jackson gone,
a new alpha will rise in the central group.
And an alpha with no fear of the westerners
could alter the balance of power at Ngogo.
[music fades out]
Whatever happens,
one chimp won't be around to see it.
Joya's growing up.
[hooting]
[gentle music playing]
And she must leave Ngogo.
This is how chimp societies mix and remain healthy.
Young females move between groups
to start their own families.
Joya's leaving everything
and everyone she's ever known.
[music continues]
But somewhere out in the forest,
she'll find a new group
where she can build herself a life.
[music fades out]
[ambient music fading in]
[shrieks]
Central Ngogo has lost its alpha.
[music becomes poignant]
And the whole group must adjust to life without Jackson.
[young chimps grunting softly]
For Miles, it might mean retirement.
He's been fighting for years.
So he's earned a little peace.
[Miles grunting playfully]
This could be the beginning of the era of Abrams.
Although nothing is certain.
At Ngogo, the politics never stop.
And allies can quickly become rivals
when they see opportunity.
[music gradually fading out]
It's been a tough year for Gus.
But he's never given up.
[music reprises]
And finally,
he's getting groomed by other males.
Gus is no longer bottom of the pile.
Despite all the turmoil and danger of the last year,
Christine's baby has safely reached her first birthday…
and earned her name.
[baby squeaking]
Isobel.
Isobel is now part of the society.
And her life, whatever it has in store for her,
will become a small part
of a bigger story.
[music fades out]
[poignant piano music playing]
[music abates]
[slow footsteps approaching]
[music reprises]
Chimps and their ancestors
have lived in the forests of Africa for millions of years.
And for all that time,
stories like these have been unfolding.
Year after year.
Generation…
after generation.
Friendships.
[screeching]
Rivalries.
Hopes.
And fears.
As their closest relatives,
what does this mean for us?
[music continues]
Who are we?
How did we become the way we are?
Chimps can certainly offer clues.
We can often recognize the best and worst of ourselves in them.
[music becomes rousing]
If we could fully understand their world…
perhaps we could better understand our own.
It seems they always have new and amazing things to show us.
Long may it continue.
[music intensifies]