Chimps R Us
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
John Angier
Jane Goodall
Alan Alda
Karl Amman
John Angier
John Angier
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
The program takes a close look at humans' closest primate cousin, the chimpanzee. Alan Alda meets groundbreaking chimp researcher Jane Goodall, who devotes her energies now to chimp conservation. The growing and illegal "bushmeat" trade is decimating wild chimps throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Goodall believes that wild chimps will be extinct in 10 years unless this practice is abolished. Alda also visits the Center For Orangutan and Chimpanzee Conservation in Florida that works to provide long-term care for chimpanzees discarded by the entertainment industry, medical researchers and pet owners. The program revisits Frans de Waal's classic research on social cooperation in chimps, in which he discovered the very human rule that chimps use to get along -- do unto others as you would have them do unto you. In the final segment, the episode follows scientists trying to peer into the deep recesses of the chimpanzee mind, exploring chimps' abilities to handle abstract concepts.
