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Animals and Love: Part 1 (FULL VIDEO)

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Presenter Liz Bonnin reveals the surprising similarities between the ways humans and
animals pursue a mate and how they go about maintaining relationships. Featuring interviews
with top animal behaviorists, Animals in Love reveals the science behind some of these,
offering a fresh look at animal relationships. A BBC Production.

Item Number: 95035

Date Added: 12/22/2015

Type: Documentary Film

2015

Filed Under:
Animal Biology; Biological Psychology
Producer:
BBC
This Video is Part of the Following Series:
Animals and Love

[MUSIC PLAYING]
Millions of us watch clips an animal showing what it looks like friendship, affection, and
even love towards each other.
[ROARING]
But really lies at the heart of these behaviors? For centuries, it was thought that animals didn't
share the same emotions as us. But new research is changing all that. I'm Liz Bonnin and I'm
going on a worldwide journey.

Look at that.
To find out about these extraordinary animal relationships.
[ROARING]
Hello, my darling.
These animals definitely, without a doubt, show genuine emotion to each other.
I think my heart has just broken. I'll met the scientists who devoted their lives to
understanding these remarkable bonds.
There is a commitment there that goes beyond their own life.
I want to discover if animals are capable of the same emotions we experience.
[INAUDIBLE].
[GIGGLING]
And along the way, I'm going to try and find an answer to the biggest question of all, do
animals love?
I'm starting my journey in the forests of Central Africa. I've come to the Democratic Republic
of Congo because I've heard about a great ape that may just hold a secret to long-lasting,
happy relationships. They're called bonobos.
Bonobos, along with chimpanzees, are our closest living relatives. We share 98.6% of our
genetic information with them. I'm told these close cousins of ours could teach us a thing or
two about how to build strong bonds. It's something every bonobo learns from a very young
age.
Dr. Isabel Behncke is one of the few scientists in the world who's studied bonobos in the
wild.
You're a curious one. I'm meeting her at Lola Ya Bonobo Sanctuary in Kinshasa.
[NON-ENGLISH]
The infants here are all rescued orphans. They've had a difficult start in life, but each of them
has a devoted foster mother who will care for their every need.
How important is it to match the right maman to the right bonobo? Is that really vital for the
relationship to thrive?
It is vital. It's like connecting with a child. These women are incredible and very loving. And
these guys couldn't make it as they do without the mamans.
It's hard to focus on what you're saying right now. I think my heart has just broken--

I'm OK with that.

--in two pieces just looking at this beautiful-I'm OK with that.
The maman, as they're known here, will spend five years helping the infants to develop their
social skills. It's vital they learn how to build bonds so they can eventually be released into
the sanctuary's larger adult group. To do that, like any the bonobo mother, they encourage the
little ones to play, form friendships with each other. And above all else, they shower them
with love.
Experiencing affection is an important part of their development. As adults, bonobos are
extremely tactile. Touch helps to cement those close relationships. The dictum of bonobo
society is good relationships, strong relationships.
Another way of looking at bonobos is as the Peter Pan of the great apes. Bonobos are the
eternally young ape. They retain juvenile characteristics. They keep young. Bonobos share
more with others. They show less aggression. They are young at heart, whatever their age.
To see that playful side in action, Isabel and I are joining the infants for their daily bout of
rough and tumble. Play is a vital building block of the bonobo relationships. It's so important
that they continue to play as adults, and that's unusual in the animal kingdom.
But bonobos do something even more surprising. To demonstrate that, we found ourselves a
little volunteer. And in the name of science, we're going to tickle him.
Tickle, tickle, tickle.
[BONOBO GIGGLING]
[GIGGLING]
Look at that face.
Scientists have only recently discovered that laughter is not unique to humans.
I can't help laughing.
[LAUGHING]
Just like us, for bonobos, laughter is a form of communication.
And what laughter is doing, it's a signal that tells other individuals, I want to continue playing
with you. I want to continue interacting with you. In humans, for example, conversations that
have laughter last longer. If we share about a bout of laughter, we feel bonded. We feel
relaxed. It really is a booster to that internal motivation. Like, yeah, this is wonderful. Let's
keep doing it.

Play is a safe way to test the boundaries of a relationship. And that helps to build an
incredibly tolerant society.
[SQUEAKING]
[INAUDIBLE] now.
Oh, my god.
[BONOBO GIGGLING]
We lost the boom. That's a naughty bonobo.
In the wild, play makes all the difference. While chimps can be extremely aggressive towards
each other, bonobos generally seem to get along.
We have never observed lethal aggression. I have never observed a bonobo kill another
bonobo. And that is very special. That's very different, because that happens in chimpanzees,
and that happens in other primates as well.
Another thing that makes bonobos different from every other great ape is that their society is
run by females. Their approach to leadership involves a strict make love not war policy.
Adults bonobos have very open relationships which involve a lot of sex.
It's a win-win situation. Males don't have to fight for female attention. And with so much
physical contact, everyone is much more relaxed. But is there any more to it than that?
Can we go as far as saying that the bonds involve love?
It depends what you mean by love. If you mean human-like, romantic, monogamous love, no.
I would say no. Now, if you mean the core love, which to me is about protection, and is about
the physiological machinery of love, I don't see why we wouldn't call that love.
Love is ancient. Love was born approximately 450 million years ago in a very small,
primitive mammal and her kid. Mother-infant bond. Something so old is likely to remain and
prevail all the mammalian species. Especially the great apes who are highly bonded.
Witnessing such a harmonious way of life in an animal that is our closest cousin does make
you stop and think. By building strong relationships, they've ended up with one of the most
peaceful societies on the planet. While it's the females who can take much of the credit in
bonobo society, for other animals, the success of a group is centered around the relationship
of just one couple.
I've traveled 2,000 miles south of the Congo to meet one such pair. They live here in South
Africa's KwaZulu-Natal. The couple I've come to see are only just starting out. I want to find
out what it will take to make their relationship a success.
Axel Primmer and Taryn Gilroy have been tracking this pair since they first got together.
Straight, Axel?

They're in the road in front of us. I can see them over there.
Oh, wow. There you have it. Look at that. Sorry. I can't-- I just of can't get over what we're
seeing here. We're so lucky. So there they are. Feather, followed closely by Aladdin, the alpha
pair of this eight-strong pack of African wild dogs.
To see African wild dogs in the flesh is a real privilege. It's thought there may only be 3,000
left in the wild, making them one of the most endangered mammals in Africa. Aladdin, the
alpha male, wears the radio collar.
It really is quite fascinating to watch the alpha pair always together, always together. The
male is constantly tailing behind her wherever she goes. Aladdin and Feather have only been
together for four months, but they're already off to a flying start. Feather is visibly pregnant.
But even though he's now done the job, she is pregnant with his pups, he doesn't leave her
side for one minute. It's unusual for an alpha male to be so attentive at this stage. Aladdin
seems to be a particularly devoted partner.
Taryn Has been monitoring Feather and Aladdin's progress from the start.
So tell me a little bit about how Aladdin and Feather behave with each other as the alpha pair.
We've often seen him with his chin resting on her rear end, and just following her around.
And he's been observed sleeping with his paw on her at night. It's typical. It's what we call
mate-guarding behavior. He's looking after her. He's making sure that she's fed and healthy.
When she's pregnant, he continues to follow her, even though he's already done his job and
fathered her litter. And I think that's his way of ensuring that his litters of pups survives and is
healthy.
Aladdin and Feather look like a solid couple. And that's good news for everyone else in the
group. Because as the alpha pair, it's their job to provide the pack with new pups.
So is that it? Are they completely established, and their roles are determined, and everything's
hunky dory with the whole pack?
Well, so far, so good. The key will be how successful they are at raising that litter of pups as a
pack. And the success of a pack always depends on the reproductive success. So how well
they work together to successfully rear their young.
So they're not home-free.
Not at all. Not at all.
So whenever you get a new alpha pair, it doesn't mean anything until they've successfully
reared their first litter.
Their first litter.
Oh gosh. No pressure.

Fortunately, for Aladdin and Feather, the rest of the group will be there to lend a helping
hand. The other adult females are Feather's sisters, and the males come from different packs.
There come the rest behind us.
It's one big happy family, where everyone pitches in.
Feather's older sister Batty is the lead hunter. By sharing the workload, the pack runs like a
well-oiled machine.
[INAUDIBLE] chasing him.
He's gone in. He's gone in. The others have gone into the [INAUDIBLE].
Well, most of the time.
So you've got wildebeest chasing the wild dogs. What's wrong with that picture?
When Aladdin and Feather's pups are born, every one will help to feed and protect them.
Here, bigger families do better. If the pack doesn't grow in size, they'll struggle to defend
themselves and their territory. The survival of this endangered species rests on the shoulders
of couples like Feather and Aladdin. And having seen how close they are, you can't help but
root for them.
But what I really want to find out is if there's an emotional side to animal relationships. I'm
traveling deep into the Austrian Alps to meet a couple who seemed destined to be together.
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
Dr. Didone Frigerio is a biologist from the world famous Konrad Lorenz research group.
They've been studying this flock of Greylag geese for more than 40 years. Greylag geese are
known for having particularly strong long-term relationships, but I'm here to find out about a
pair who really captured Didone's heart.
[SQUAWKING]
Their names are Tariq and Judith, and they met eight years ago.
They were together for three years without being success. That means they didn't have
goslings together.
So is that a bit unusual, that they would stay together for three years, even though they didn't
rear young together?
No, it's not unusual. There are many pairs within the flock who never reproduce.
And yet, they stay together.
Yes, they stay together for years.

And then what happened?

And then it was winter, it was January, and there came a storm, and Judith was gone. She got
lost in the storm. Judith's sudden disappearance meant that Tariq was now alone.
[SQUAWKING]
When the mates are losing their partner, they are laying around a lot. They are feeding less.
They are not joining the social life of the flock. Yeah, I would say they are quite depressed.
Without a partner, Tariq was vulnerable.
You have to imagine a pair as a social unit, and they have supporting each other. And when
they are left alone, for sure, they are an easy target. And everybody that's in the flock is
attacking him, biting him, and chasing him.
Having been alone for months, Tariq eventually began a new relationship with another female
in the flock.
[THUNDER]
His luck had finally turned, and Tariq was back to his old self. The breeding season was only
a few weeks away, and there was every hope he would finally start a family with his new
partner. But fate had other plans for Tariq. Almost a year after they were tragically separated
by a storm, Judith returned. And Tariq's reaction was quite extraordinary.
[SQUAWKING]
Tariq was going back to Judith.
That's quite incredible, isn't it?
Yeah, it's odd.
It's odd.
It's odd. It depends from which point of view.
But it just goes to show, as you say, life goes on. Biology is such that Tariq needs to find a
new mate. But something in Tariq made him want to be with Judith above his new mate.
What do you think was going on there?
I think it is experience, and the how strong the pair bond was. They were a good pair. There
were good matched.
It's fascinating to think about it. Because we can never get into the head of a goose to know
what Tariq was thinking.
No.

What's absolutely clear is that the strength of the bond he had with Judith was strong enough
for him to go, she's back, she's the one. I'm going back to her.
Yes, I think so.
I love that story. So this them.
Yeah, this is them.
Aw.
So you see on the right?
Yeah.
The bigger one is Tariq.
So Tariq, Judith.
And four goslings.
The one here on the right is Tariq. And you see he's watching and keeping everything under
control.
And this is the second year they've bred successfully and actually reared successfully, more to
the point.
Yes, yes.
It was totally worth getting back together, wasn't it?
Yes. Of course.
The story of Tariq and Judith really is heartwarming, and raises many intriguing questions. If
it was simply a matter of survival, then why didn't Tariq just stay with his new partner? Why
was he so compelled to be with Judith? Could it possibly have been love?
Professor Kurt Kotrschal from the University of Vienna has spent decades studying the longterm bonds between Greylag geese. I want to find out if he thinks there's an emotional side to
Tariq and Judith's relationship.
Do geese have emotions, then?
Well, that's a difficult thing to know, because as a scientist, I'm not supposed to project
something into a goose. But what we know is that kind of six basic emotions are common to
mammals, to birds. Anger, fear, falling in love, sexual arousal, play, and we have this kind of
appetitive system of being interest in something. That's one of the basic emotional system.
I didn't realize that falling in love was considered a basic emotion. I thought that was quite a
complex one, and one that most people are loathe to draw analogies about when it comes to

humans and other animals. How controversial was it to come up with this, and how long has
it been since it's been pretty much accepted within the scientific community?
People didn't want to hear about it, because they like to be special. There was this deep trench
generated over the centuries. And now we know the last 10, 20 years have produced
increasing evidence, that the trench between humans and animals is not as deep as many
people would want it to be. The part of the brain responsible for the basic mechanisms are the
same in humans and geese.
The hormones involved are the same. The behavior we see is the same. So there's a lot of
parallels. What we cannot say, of course, is how they are feeling. Whether the human feeling
of falling in love is the same as the goose feeling of falling in love. But It's not unlikely that
it's really the same.
The research Kurt and the rest of his colleagues are conducting is changing how we see
animal relationships. It proves that for some animals, it's not about finding just any partner.
For Tariq, Judith really was the one. And they've gone on to successfully raise a family
together. Many animals form long-term relationships to raise the next generation.
But perhaps one of the most extraordinary new discoveries is that it seems there's much more
to some animal relationships than just rearing young. I've traveled to Germany, to
Bremerhaven Zoo, to meet one pair who have become something of a celebrity couple.
They're called Dotty and Zee, and they're Humboldt penguins. They've been together for over
a decade. And right from the very start, Dotty and Zee have been inseparable. To all intents
and purposes, they are the model penguin couple.
In the 10 years that they've been together, the bond between Dotty and Zed has remained as
strong as ever. But they have suffered one major setback, and that is they've never been able
to produce a chick of their own. In 2005, the zoo discovered why this devoted pair hadn't had
any starting a family.
A DNA test revealed that both Dotty and Zee were males. And what's more, they weren't
alone. Of the 10 penguin pairs at the zoo, there were three same sex male couples. Vet
Joachim Schoene has watched Dotty and Z's relationship unfold over the last decade.
What happened when you figured out, oh, hang on, OK, they're males? What did you do
then?
This is one of the most endangered penguin species we have in the word. There may be only
2,000 birds left in the wild. So just to give them an option to breed, we flew in six Swedish
Humboldt penguins from the zoo of Coumadin.
And did they breed?
No, they didn't.
Really?
So the three gay couple stay together, showing us that those are really strong relationships.

Although they could never produce a chick of their own, the parenting instincts between
Dotty and Zee remained incredibly strong. Each year, they built a nest like all the other
couples. But in 2009, the zoo gave Dotty and Zee an unexpected opportunity. A rejected egg
from another couple was placed in their nest. Between them, Dotty and Zee shared the
responsibility of incubating the egg.
How did Zee and Dotty fare when the chick hatched?
They behaved like good fathers. They were taking care well of the little chick, sharing the
feeding work. And yeah, they behaved the same way as if they were heterosexual.
Did you have any doubts that Dotty and Zee would be good parents?
We were quite confident, because there are some examples from others zoos in the world. So
we were quite excited about what would happen in our little colony here. And for us, yeah,
and for the birds, it was quite a success story.
Zee and Dotty's relationship is fascinating, and it's certainly challenging our understanding of
the nature and the benefits of pair bonds. But it also begs the question, how common is this in
the animal kingdom? To find out more about Dotty and Zee's relationship, I'm meeting Dr.
Qazi Rahman from King's College University
I mean, Dotty and Zee are a great example, aren't they? Because what I find most fascinating
about their story is that they may have gotten together because there weren't any females
around, but when they were introduced females, they were like, nope, we're really happy
together, and we don't want to breed with a female.
Yes, and I think for me, that's really good evidence that this same sex pair bond is solid and
it's stable. Same sex bonds have the same quality and the same intensity as heterosexual
bonds do in the animals that have been studied so far. So we see same sex behavior both in
the animals in captivity and in the wild. And in fact, we now think we underestimate same
sex behavior in the wild.
One fascinating example of this could be found on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. Scientists
have been monitoring lace and albatrosses here for decades. But it wasn't until 2008 but they
discovered that almost a third of the couples were same sex female pairs. One pair had been
together for 19 years. Researchers believe the high levels of female pairs on this island is due
to a shortage of males.
Certainly, a shortage of one sex is associated with same sex pairing in some of these species.
But equally, there is evidence that these same sex pairings arise naturally. It's as if it's a
preference. You might even say an inborn preference in some of the species. The thing to
remember is that there are benefits other than reproduction in any evolutionary sense. I think
the really critical point here is that there are advantages to survival from being in a
monogamous partnership.
Scientists are discovering that for animals who mate for life, having a partner, same sex or
otherwise, can improve the quality of your life. It can reduce your stress levels, help you to
protect your home, and can even increase your life expectancy, which is why same sex
relationships occur in nature a lot more often than you might think.

In the last decade, scientists have discovered same sex pairings in almost 450 different
species. I'm finding out that relationships in the animal kingdom are far more complex and
diverse than we could possibly have imagined. But for many animals, we humans included,
some of the most important relationships we have are not necessarily with our partners.
Sometimes, it's our friends who we need to rely on the most. And I've heard about a
friendship between two African elephants that I want to investigate. I've traveled to Thula
Thua, a reserve in South Africa's Zululand.
David Boza has known the elephants here for over a decade, and has played a very important
role in their lives.
See there.
Look at that. They're right there in the open. That's a stroke of luck. Fantastic.
The two females I've come to see are incredibly close. The one on the left is called Frankie,
and the smaller of the two is called ET. Most herds are made up of family members. What's
unusual about ET's and Frankie's relationship is that they aren't even related.
I'm here to find out how their friendship saved ET's life. Their story begins 15 years ago,
when Frankie and the rest of her family were brought to this reserve. It was a difficult time in
the herd's life.
When they arrived, they were clearly-- it was visible that they were heavily traumatized. And
they were aggressive. They were violent. And when it came to light the history of had
happened to these animals, it became clear why they were like that.
The reason Frankie and her family were so stressed is that they were the victims of a brutal
culling.
[HELICOPTER]
Hunters had shot and killed several members of their herd. Frankie's close knit family had
been fractured in ways they might never fully recover from.
[INDETERMINATE SPEECH]
Fear quickly turned to aggression, and soon, the herd had earned themselves a reputation for
being a danger to humans.
We had to recognize that we were the reason these animals were like this.
Witnessing the killing of family members had left them traumatized.
These animals have complete trust, and for good reason.
They look at a human, and they just go back to what happened to their family. They see
destruction. They see turmoil. They see loss. The underlying thing was we had to gain these
animal's trust back.

[TRUMPETING]
David wasn't alone in this enormous task. He was working alongside the late Lawrence
Anthony. For their own safety, when the elephants arrived, they had to be corralled into an
enclosure. David and Lawrence camped out next to the herd day and night to gain their trust.
You always had the sense of aggression and animosity from the herd, and the atmosphere was
very thick.
But it was Frankie who would improve the most difficult to win over.
She was the principle aggressor. And she just wanted to get hold of us, and flatten us, and get
rid of us.
[TRUMPETING]
Weeks passed with no improvement. But David and Lawrence persevered, until finally, one
month later, they had a breakthrough. It was almost like someone had just turned on the light.
It was like-- there was this calm serenity around the whole place. And Lawrence was like,
well, this is it. And he got up and he just walked towards the [INAUDIBLE].
And there was just something different about it. And he was standing there, and she put her
trunk over the fence, and touched him.
It was the briefest moment of contact, but it proved to be a major turning point. It would take
years of hard work to fully rehabilitate the herd. But knowing the elephants had finally
accepted them, David and Lawrence released the herd into the wider game reserve.
A year and a half later, David was called upon again to help with another elephant in need, a
young female named ET. She was just 10 years old at the time, and she'd lost her whole
family.
And she was so traumatized, she had lost her voice. It was almost like we were watching the
same movie again, except we had this individual.
All David and Lawrence knew was that they had to help her. ET was moved to their reserve
and placed in a safe enclosure while they figured out how they could rehabilitate her.
And while we were asking ourselves these questions on how to do it, well, the herd answered
it for us. They turned up at the [INAUDIBLE] where ET was, and they started
communicating. And you could really see she was starting to settle in, immediately settle in.
And Frankie came to the fore, and immediately just sort of took ET under her wing, so to
speak.
Is it the case that Frankie could relate to how ET was feeling? And can we go as far as saying
it took her back to how she felt, and therefore, she wanted to protect this little one, because
she could really understand what she was going through? Because she had gone through it
herself?

It was clear that they recognized this young female was crying out for help. Was in desperate
need of help, was in need of social bonding, was in need of emotional stability. And they gave
it her.
What do you think would have happened if the herd hadn't approached ET, and Frankie hadn't
reached out to ET.
She quite possibly could have died.
The support and friendship Frankie gave her could well have saved ET's life. Having heard
their remarkable story, I want to meet these closest of companions for myself. I'm told that
ET has a six-month-old calf. It's a sign of just how well she's settled into the herd.
Oh, my gosh. Look at this. They've come a long way from their troubled past, but they're still
wild elephants. Any encounter will always be on their terms.
This is Frankie on the left?
On your left. On your left, yeah.
On my left. Oh, my gosh.
Oh, my gosh.
And this Frankie here?
[ENGINE STARTING]
Frankie and ET.
ET.
Frankie and ET. See the baby there? There's ET's baby. Hello, my darlings. Hello, my
darlings.
Getting so close to ET and Frankie is very special. And herd's connection with David is
remarkable.
Hello, my darling. Yes, my girl. Yes.
Hey, Frankie.
David doesn't take credit for savings ET's life. He gives that honor to Frankie. But the story
doesn't end there.
[INAUDIBLE].
What's even more remarkable is the relationship that developed between the herd and the man
who saved them in the first place, Lawrence Anthony. Lawrence's wife, Francoise, watched
that relationship develop over the years.

It was like, spectacular. You could see the love. You could see the trust. You could see the
feelings. Lawrence had never worked with elephants before you rescued Frankie's family.
He was very spontaneous. He had child enthusiasm, you see, of anything is possible.
Lawrence, like every day, used to go and spend two, three hours with a herd of a elephant.
And this is what created that most amazing, amazing relationship. Whenever
Lawrence left the reserve for more than a day or two, the herd would often appear outside his
house when he returned. Even with 4,000 kilometers of natural reserve to roam in, it seems
they chose to seek Lawrence out. But on the 2nd of March, 2012, Lawrence died
unexpectedly.
Frankie's family hadn't been seen at Lawrence's house for some time. But on that day, they
marched 12 hours to get there. When they arrived, the herd stood in total silence. They stayed
by the house for two days.
Exactly one year later, to the day, the herd marched again. Since then, they've come to
Lawrence's house on the anniversary of his death every year.
It's something which is more than emotional. It's beyond our understanding. Their
intelligence, their sensitivity, their sensibility, their emotions. Do we know everything? I
think we've got so much to learn from them.
It's not something that science can explain. And of course, there's every possibility that these
could be extraordinary coincidences. But could it be that the elephants were responding to
Lawrence's death? It makes me think about grief and its place in the animal kingdom.
If animals are capable of grieving, can this help us to answer the ultimate question, do they
love? To explore this, I've come to Dorset in the UK to find out about a devoted male who
lost his partner.
Sam is a 22-year-old siamang gibbon, and he was with his mate for more than a decade.
Siamangs are renowned for forming lifelong relationships, and for being extremely
committed.
Dr. Alison Cronin is the director of Monkey World Ape Rescue Center, and she's known Sam
almost all his life. If Alison has learned anything about caring for primates, it's that the
nurturing of their relationships is absolutely vital.
Obviously, we have very basic needs in terms of food and water, and that kind of thing. But
in terms of your lifestyle and emotion, the very most important thing to a human being, or a
siamang gibbon, or a chimpanzee is companionship of their own kind.
18 years ago, Sam was paired with the gibbon of his dreams, an attractive female named
Sage.
[BARKING]
They immediately hit it off. And like all siamang gibbons, they proudly announced their
relationship to the world every day with a song.

[BARKING]
So how important is song to the siamangs?
The duet is critical for a couple of reasons, for their social pair bond, you sing with people,
your partner, that you love, and your song becomes tighter and better, and it also announces
your territory to other neighboring groups. So it's a way of you two sticking together and
telling everybody else, go away, this is our patch.
[BARKING]
Over the years, the pair grew closer, so much so that they rarely spent a moment apart. It
seemed Sage and Sam were the perfect match. Five years into their relationship, they started
a family.
[BARKING]
The team at Monkey World took great pleasure in naming Sam and Sage's son Onion. Sam
and Sage weren't just a great partnership, they proved to be great parents too. Just like any
young gibbon, Onion learned to sing from both his mother and father.
You can start hearing a little third voice. And often, that third voice is out of tune, out of key,
out of place. [IMITATING GIBBON], different noises here and there, and it's quite funny to
watch.
[BARKING]
The trio lived happily together for eight years, until tragedy struck. Unexpectedly, Sage died.
She actually got a peach pit embedded in her gut, and it took her out, sadly. So it was sad for
all of us here at the park, but in particular for Sam, her devoted partner, who he had been with
her for 13 years singing that song, and just everyday reaffirming that they were a pair.
Sam was so profoundly affected by the sudden loss of his long-term partner, he stopped
singing his song. For a siamang, it's almost a double tragedy. You lose your mate. You lose
your song. Potentially that means you lose your territory. In the wild, Sam might not have
been able to defend himself from other gibbons.
In a sanctuary, he was spared the loss of his home. But losing his partner had a huge impact.
Sam became completely withdrawn. He struggled to eat, and would sit alone in compete
silence. For his keeper, [INAUDIBLE], it was heartbreaking to see him suffer. But
unfortunately, things were only going to get worse for Sam. His son Onion became critically
ill.
Tragedy was to strike us again, because Onion actually had a massive cancerous inoperable
tumor in his bowel. And we actually had to euthanize him rather than bring him back. So
almost two years later, he lost Onion. When he lost Onion, he had no one, and he was on his
own.

Sam basically would just sit in a corner with his head down, and just looked really, really
miserable, and he really was looking for physical contact with us. And the easiest way for that
was just to hold our hands. And where it became extremely difficult emotionally for us was
when we tried to pull our hands away to go away and look after all the other gibbons, or do
some work, or whatever, Sam would actually tighten his grip, and kind of hold on to you, and
kind of make it clear that he really didn't want you to go.
Once again, it would take weeks for Sam to recover. His behavior certainly resembled what
we would describe as grief, but is that possible?
There's no doubt about it in my mind that non-human primates, and siamangs specifically,
can experience grief and sadness. Definitely Sam went downhill. He went off of his food. He
wasn't behaving properly. He was depressed. And that kind of grief isn't good for him.
So what does Sam's behavior tell us? If animals do grieve, does it help us to answer the
ultimate question, do they love?
Does that add to the evidence that they might feel love in the first place, to feel that way
when they lose their partner?
Yeah, I'd like to think that not only do they have an incredible pair bond for a survival reason,
but that is a true reflection of love.
Sam went through an extremely difficult time. But a year and a half after he lost Sage, he was
introduced to a female called [INAUDIBLE]. And to everyone's relief, the pairing was a
complete success.
[BARKING]
At the ripe old age of 19, Sam had a reason to sing again.
Seeing them, their behaviors, and the way that they communicate, they way that they touch,
the way that they respond, I would definitely say that they feel the same emotions that we do,
and I don't see why we can't allow them that.
You sing this song to announce to everybody that this is how tight we are, but if they come
into that territory, we're going to go to war. And that's because you're together. That's gotta be
love. They're in it together, and they're prepared to put their necks on the line, and not many
people would do that.
[BARKING]
I have been amazed at the sheer variety of relationships animals can build, and just how many
benefits they gain from them, far beyond the need to have offspring. Now we're only just
beginning to understand the complex emotions animals are capable of, but is it possible that
they love?
To want to be with another individual to protect, I don't see why we wouldn't call that love.
Not only are they capable of love, but the way they demonstrate that love is very similar in
terms of compassion, and genuine caring, and comfort. That is love.

These animals definitely, without a doubt, show genuine emotion to each other. So whatever
you want to call it, love, or emotional intelligence, absolutely.
Science is discovering that the hormones, the chemicals, the emotions that drive animals to
seek each other out and stay together are similar in many species, including us, and may well
be at the root of what we humans call love. So if we have those drives in common, then can't
we say animals love?
Next time, having discovered that some animals seem to share our deepest emotions, I set out
to explore the weird and wonderful ways they get together in the first place. I'll meet the trail
blazing monkeys who developed the most outrageous technique to attract a mate.
He's not paying me any attention. What if I throw it?
I'll come face to face with a ferocious flirt to hear one of the oldest love songs on the planet.
[TRUMPETING]
Most extraordinary [INAUDIBLE] events unfolding.
And I'll reveal 21st century dating, orangutan style.
He was playing hard to get.
Yes. He didn't seem to be very interested.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[LAUGHING]
Look that face. I can't help laughing.
[ANIMAL SOUNDS]

Animals and Love: Part 2 (FULL VIDEO)

(52:20)
39 VIEWS

Record URL
Highlight

https://byui

Presenter Liz Bonnin reveals the surprising similarities between the ways humans and
animals pursue a mate and how they go about maintaining relationships. Part 2 features
capuchin monkeys, hyenas, organgutans, alligators, flamingos and meerkats. Top animal
behaviorists explore the science behind animal relationships. A BBC Production.

Item Number: 95036

Date Added: 12/22/2015

Everyone, it seems, is you're looking for a mate. Just like us, animals have developed some
intriguing ways of attracting the perfect partner. But what really lies at the heart of these
behaviors? Science is making new and surprising discoveries about how animals attract a
partner.
I'm Liz Bonnin, and I'm going on a worldwide journey to discover the extraordinary lengths
animals go to to find a mate. Is it about singing the perfect love song? Most extraordinary set
of events unfolding.
Or developing the most outrageous flirting technique. He's not paying me any attention. What
if I throw it? Or perhaps it's about adopting a more modern approach.
I'm going to meet the scientists who devoted their lives to understanding the weird and
wonderful world of dating in the animal kingdom.
I've often thought it's a bit like the primary school disco.
Very complicated isn't it?
Yeah, they don't do anything by halves.
And I'll discover just what it takes to find the perfect mate.
For any animal, the first step to finding a mate is to attract their attention. I've heard of a
South American animal that's taken flirting to an entirely new level. It's a behavior scientists
have just discovered. And so far, it's only ever been observed in one troop of monkeys,
capuchins.
Capuchins are highly intelligent animals and are renowned for their remarkable use of tools.
So how does one of the cleverest monkeys on the planet crack the difficult world of dating?

To answer that I've come to South Lakes Zoo in the UK to meet Dr. Camilla Coelho. Camilla
has just spent two years in Brazil studying the love lives of these intriguing little primates. In
capuchin society, it's the females who do the chasing. And the alpha male is considered the
ultimate catch.
How does a female go about getting the attention of, hopefully, the dominant male?
Well, she starts off by making both vocalizations and trying to get his attention and he'll just
ignore her most of the time.
Camilla and her colleagues have filmed this behavior in the wild. The alpha male, on the
right, has clearly caught the eye of an eager female. Flirting starts with a spot of stalking.
She may have her sights set on him, but he's more interested in finding food. Alpha males are
surprisingly reluctant to take a hint. Her intentions are written all over her face. But even her
most enthusiastic raising of eyebrows is going completely unnoticed.
Gradually, on the second and third day, she'll take it up a notch and start pulling at his fur.
Some hit and run, like slapping him and running away from him. You kind of feel sorry for
her because by the fourth and fifth day, she's hardly eating anything. She's just following him
around all day long.
Is it somewhat unusual when you compare other species in the animal kingdom? Yes, it's
quite rare that a female has to invest so much energy and be so insistent in getting a male's
attention.
But why is that? Why do they have to do that?
Well, because they have no other physiological evidence to show that they're ready for
breeding, unlike chimpanzees, where they'll have swellings that gradually build up and he'll
now the moment she's most fertile. In capuchins, you can only tell by the behavior.
At any one time, an alpha male may have several females in hot pursuit. It may sound like a
lost cause for the females, but they'll stop at nothing to get that alpha male's attention. In the
forests of Brazil Camilla and her colleagues have filmed the females of one troop behaving in
a way that has never been seen before.
Forget Cupid's arrow, these females have resorted to firing rocks at the alpha male. And if
that doesn't grab his attention, they can always try a larger stone. How do you keep a straight
face when you're observing this?
You can't really. It's just such a funny scene to watch.
And there's no question as to the intent there. I mean, your heart goes out to her. How
common is this then?
Well, this is the only group we've ever seen this happening. And we studied several other
populations in the same national park, and none of them use this as a technique.

So it takes one female to actually go, he's not paying me any attention, what if I throw it? And
it has to be effective for it then to spread in the population. So how many females in the
group are actually doing that now?
Well when we start looking at them, there were three females who used it to routinely. The
interesting thing here is that it spread throughout the group, so it's become a tradition since
we started studying them, more females have acquired the behavior.
Do you expect this behavior to a rise in different groups?
In this case, we don't expect it to spread because females stay within their group.
All the same, this is extraordinary behavior in capuchins, and it just to show how hard the
females work at getting male attention.
They're very insistent.
For these enthusiastic females, romance doesn't come easily. It might look like they're coming
on too strong, but what they're demonstrating is a level of creative intelligence that surpasses
anything that's been seen before.
The alpha male certainly seems to have it made. Assuming, he could avoid a head injury, all
he has to do is sit back and take his pick of the ladies.
Female capuchins may have their worker cut out, but it's nothing compared to what some
males have to go through. I've traveled to Kwazulu-Natal in South Africa to see how one of
the most ferocious predators on the planet approach is mating game.
Hyenas have one of the most complicated love lives of any mammal. Finding a mate is a
dangerous game, especially if you happen to be male. This is a society where large,
intimidating females call the shots.
Powerful, aggressive, and extremely unpredictable, these females are a force to be reckoned
with. So how does a male hyena go about attracting a mate? To find out, I've teamed up with
Axel Hunnicutt comes from Pretoria University.
has spent months earning the trust of a wild clan of hyenas so he can study their relationships.
His hard work has allowed us access to a very important member of the group. I'm about to
meet a hyena named Ursula.
So, below us in those trees is a beautiful female hyena who has a three-week-old cub, is that
right?
[INAUDIBLE].
Who every evening when it gets cooler, will come up out of the den and suckle. So what do
we know about this particular female? Is she an important female?
Yeah, this is actually are what, we call matriarch, which means she outranks all the other
females, and definitely all the other males. Adult males within hyena societies are below

every other female. This three-week-old female cub will be more dominant than even a 20
year old hyena male that's part of this clan.
I knew male hyenas had it tough, but I didn't realize it was quite that tough on them. I kind of
feel sorry for them.
It's hard to believe a helpless newborn cub outranks even the oldest male in the clan. With a
ranking system like this, finding a mate can't be easy for the males. To try and understand
more about the relationship between males and females, I'm joining Axel on one of his
nighttime research trips.
Wild hyenas are notoriously difficult to observe, so we're going to draw them in with sound.
So, what we are setting up right now is something called a call up. And using these speakers
and the laptop we have, we've got recordings of lions and hyenas at kill sites. We play these
at dusk, and hopefully that will attract some hyenas to the carcass that we've placed under
that tree over there.
We just sit completely still, and there's absolutely no chance of them coming to us because
that's where the sound's coming from?
We'll kill the sound as soon as we see them.
OK, I trust you, I think. I'm in your hands, so let's do this. Let's do this.
Awesome. Let's go.
I'm excited and a little bit afraid right now.
The sound of a rival clan calling will be the first thing to attract their attention. Combined
with their powerful sense of smell, the call up could entice hyenas from as far as 10
kilometers away.
After just 20 minutes, the clan begins to close in.
Looks like three sets of eyes. Just straight in front of us.
The females are the first to arrive on the scene. There she is. There she is, OK. Got her on the
infrared. And leading the way is Ursula.
What's unusual about hyenas is that the females get to eat before the males. Axel suspects that
any males in the area will be keeping their distance for now. One of the first rules the males
have to learn is never come between a lady and her lunch. I never thought I'd say this, but
hearing bones crunching underneath the incredibly powerful jaw of hyenas is a pretty cool
sound. Go figure.
An hour passes before another solitary hyena emerges. Is this the male here?

Yes, so this individual right here, he was the last one of all the hyenas to come in. You can see
he's been very submissive, bowing his head every time females come go by and laying very
low.
Why is it that the males are so incredibly timid and hesitant around female hyenas? What's
that about?
Anatomically, they're much smaller than females. They tend to be lighter in weight, lighter in
the build. And females tend to be much more masculine, much more muscular. They
definitely have the weight and the ability to over power and dominate males.
Among mammals, this relationship between male and female hyenas is unique. And scientists
are still not sure why it evolved like this. He didn't even get to the carcass yet, did he?
No and I don't think he will unless the other ones back off. That's the quintessential male
hyena. He's always being on the look out, always having to look over his back for females
and never really being able to get a bite to eat.
If it's this hard for a male to get a meal, I'm starting to appreciate just how difficult it must be
for him to win over a mate. Suddenly, one of the females turns her attentions away from the
carcass to us.
Hyenas are often mistaken for scavengers, but these predators can kill up to 95% of what they
eat. This is a potentially dangerous situation. There is an extremely curious hyena walking
around.
We're sitting in total darkness. Without the infrared camera, I can't see a thing. Oh my God.
He's right here.
With the whole clan starting to show an interest in us, it's time to leave. But I still want to
find out more about the role of males in hyena clans. What is this males' story? How is it that
he could still hang out in the company of those four very strong females who were running
the show tonight.
Males have their own hierarchy that's separate from the females. Still well below the females,
but they have their own hierarchy amongst themselves. And so this individual may be the
highest ranking male in this clan, and because of that, he's slightly tolerated.
It might not sound like much, but being slightly tolerated is actually quite a privilege. As the
top male, he's got the best chance of mating with Ursula. He would have waited years to
attain this position because, unlike the females, male hyenas don't fight for dominance. Their
rank is determined by how long they've been in the clan.
Quite often what happens is, when a new male comes into an area and he's looking for a new
clan to join, he will whoop in that area and listen to see how long the queue going to be. So
he'll figure out how many other males are in that clan, and he'll be able to assess, OK, I've got
to wait for five other guys in this clan, but only three in that one. So which queue are you
going to wait in?

Having fewer males to out rank is certainly an advantage, but it's the females in any clan that
are the real challenge. When you think about the females being so dominant, so hyper
aggressive, you kind of think that maybe when it came to breeding, that they will be the ones
to call the shots, as well. Because they call the shots with everything else.
But actually, in this hyena society, they still want the males to woo them. So it's like, good
luck to you, I know I give you grief every day, but you need to woo me , otherwise you're not
getting anywhere.
It's a bit of a paradox because now you have males that don't necessarily want to approach the
females, but they have to do, of course, to continue the species.
It can take a male months before he plucks up the courage to finally approach a female. First
date nerves are understandable when the object of desire has bone-crushing jaws. His
submissive head bow lets her know he's interested, but that she's in charge.
It tends to be the ones that are the most submissive, but also the most persistent. If I would
give any animal in the kingdom as far as being the most persistent, I'd say it's the male hyena.
It's not his lucky day, but hopefully his perseverance will pay off. Male hyenas may get a raw
deal when it comes to romance, but in nature it is often the males who have to work the
hardest.
It's astonishing the hoops some of them have to jump through. When you're smaller than your
surroundings, you need a spring in your step to get noticed. Sometimes, an eye catching
display can do the trick. And for others, a great gift always goes down a treat.
From extreme flirting to patience and persistence, animals use a wide range of techniques to
find a mate. But one story I've heard of almost defies belief.
I've come to the Center for Great Apes in Florida to meet a female who chose her partner in a
very unusual way. Patty Reagan opened this rescue sanctuary 20 years ago to provide a safe
place for great apes that couldn't be released back into the wild.
She's taking me to meet an orangutan named Mari. Mari is very special. She is 32 years old.
Her spirit, her character, is very strong. She is a feisty girl. Nobody takes advantage of Mari.
Mari has had to be strong. As an infant, she lost both her arms in an accident, but she's
adapted well and it's never held her back. 13 years ago, Mari's previous keepers in Atlanta
started looking for a new home for her, and a suitable mate to keep her company.
What's remarkable about Mari's story is how she chose her partner.
Which one do you want? You want this one?
Her keepers in Atlanta had asked Patty to send photos of her to eligible males.
They asked us to send pictures of Pongo and Christopher. And so we set some big 8 by 10
photos of these to orangutans, and they laminated them and gave them to Mari.

Mari was shown the photographs to see if either of the males would grab her attention.
And they yellow long thing?
Spoiled for choice, it was a decision Mari didn't rush. But in the end, there was a very clear
winner.
You want that one? We can give you that one. This is the one Mari wanted.
That was a very nice selection, Mari.
The ape of Mari's dreams was a dashing 240-pound male called Pongo. But had Mari really
picked her potential partner from a selection of photos? They wouldn't know until Mari and
Pongo met in person.
When Mari arrived at the sanctuary, just to make sure, Patty introduced her to both males.
Pongo on the left, and on the right, the younger male, Christopher.
So when she first came in, she was in quarantine across from their night house in a separate
area. And these boys would watch her all the time.
But she'd already kind of shown that she had a preference for mister over here.
And the whole time, he was very aloof. He wouldn't look at her. He'd look away. Where
Christopher, who is younger, would take whole pieces of celery and put it all over his head
and shoulders, and kind of walk along in front of her, seeing if she'd notice him being so silly.
And she was just pretty aloof to him, but Pongo would only sneak peeks at her.
He's playing hard to get.
Yeah, he didn't seem to be very interested. But their relationship really evolved to be stronger.
When they're alone, and it's just the care staff and they're doing their own thing, he will sit
with her a great deal of the day. Every once in a while, we see him put his hand around the
back of your head, pull her over and he'll kiss her eyes.
I've seen it maybe 15, 20 times. Whether he's pulling things, grooming her eyes, getting little
particles out of it, or just feeling affectionate toward her, he does enjoy being next to Mari.
What do you think that tells us about the capacity for emotional intelligence and for bonds
that are incredibly strong in these apes?
I think it's unlimited. I do. I think that he sees her as his mate, as his companion. And she
prefers him.
13 years later, the bond between Mari and Pongo is undeniable. And when you think about
how she seems to have picked him out of a photo lineup up.
That was a very nice selection, Mari.

That makes this story all the more extraordinary. Pongo has proved to be the perfect partner
for Mari. While some animals might employ 21st Century techniques to find a mate, others
take a more traditional approach.
I'm about to meet an animal with 150 million years of experience to draw on, and one of the
oldest love songs on the planet. It may not be a species we would associate with tender
displays of affection, but these animals are surprisingly gentle when it comes to mating game.
Florida is home to 1 and a half million alligators. To find out how these solitary reptiles
seduced their mates, I've teamed up with Professor Lou Guillette. I got to say, this is a very
special scene to witness. For me, this is one of the most peaceful scenes I've experienced in
the United States of America, and yet these animals have a reputation for being evil, nasty,
killing monsters, which really hasn't done them any service, has it?
It's actually one of these things where we think of these as ferocious animals. The terrors of
the swamp, right? The fact is is that they're not terrors. They are perfectly suited for their
environment. They are predators and yet courtship is something that actually appears to be
quite tender. So, there is a gentle side to these animals.
Lou and I are here at the perfect time of year to see the softer side of these impressive
predators. It's May, and this is the height of their two month long breeding season. But before
a male can win over a female, he needs to have found himself an impressive territory.
It's one of these things, it's female choice. It's the female that chooses to go out and see the
male, but, of course, she chooses the males that have the nicest territory with the best view.
Having a prime piece of real estate is one thing, but they still have to attract the females to it.
And for alligators, the best way to do that is with a song.
Hello.
Are you all set?
To help get these allegations in the mood, we've invited some musicians along from the
Florida Orchestra. As our brass section warms up, no one seems all interested in joining in.
As much as allegations love to sing, when it comes down to it, there is actually only one note
that they'll respond to. It's not until our tuba players hit B flat that the concert finally kicks
off. The most extraordinary set of events unfolding.
And they're all joining in now,
What you're seeing is the big males doing it, then the younger males start doing it because the
big males are doing it.
It's a virtual-It's a chorus.

--chorus of bellowing. Bellowing not only advertises your territory, It also lets everyone
know how big you are. It's thought that the alligators are responding because they think
there's another large male in the area.
In the competitive world of alligator mating, size matters. The biggest males seem to have it
made. Not only can you see off the competition, but the beefier you are, the more female
attention you get.
But the biggest alligators have another remarkable advantage. Only they can produce what's
known as the water dance. Their bellows are so low and powerful, they cause vibrations that
make the water bounce off their backs.
It's another way of getting you noticed.
If you're standing in the water when that happens, your skeleton turns into a tuning fork. It's
the most amazing experience.
Have you been in the water?
I've been in the water when they do it.
You've been in the water where alligators are bellowing like that?
Yes, yes.
Good grief.
And it's an amazing experience. And the funny part is, is that the first thing in your head is
there's a huge, huge guy in this area, and I have to get out.
A large male is exactly what these females are looking for. And if they hear an impressive
song, they may bellow back. Scientists think it's their way of letting the males know they are
ready to mate.
I love the sound. How did we know that that particular note, the B flat was going to work so
well.
The story goes, Leonard Bernstein is practicing the Philharmonic. They can't practice in
Carnegie Hall because it's being refurbished. They go to Natural History Museum, they play
the symphony, they hit certain notes, and then realize that most notes don't do it, but when
they hit B flat, all of a sudden the gators start bellowing.
So at the time, they had the alligators in the Natural History Museum.
Exactly, they actually had live animals in the Natural History Museum. Today, of course, we
go and they're just all stuffed animals or skeletons. The interesting part today is that we know
that you can go out here and play all different kinds of notes, but it's only when you hit those
very low notes where you send out that low frequency vibration, that's the note that these
guys respond to.

That's the note.

Bellowing is an extremely effective way of announcing yourself as a suitable mate. These
impressive individuals can be heard as far as one and a half kilometers away. But it's once
they've attracted a mate that alligators really show their tender side.
Few people have witnessed a complete courtship and mating in the wild, but Lou has been
lucky enough to see this a handful of times. Male and females will actually find themselves in
the water, and usually they'll actually go and basically see one another from the side.
And the male will actually come around the back of the female and slide up over the back of
the female. He'll actually start to nuzzle the back of her jaw with his. They literally will sit in
that position for a while. And it'll come and it'll go, and they'll rub one another, and it'll come
and they'll rub one another.
But eventually, the female will give him an appropriate signal, and he will, in fact, then wrap
himself around her body and the courtship ends in mating. Clearly, this is not an aggressive
event. This is actually an event where the two of them are coming together to produce the
next generation.
Alligator courtship is a much more tender affair than I imagined. But to find out why they rub
their jaws together, Lou is letting me come out on one of his research trips.
The alligators Lou is studying live in the shadow of NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Alligator. Little one.
OK.
Let's go, we got one.
They got one.
Can I help with anything?
You can help pull. Great idea. Pull.
OK.
Get him in here, Lou.
I got him. Don't pull.
OK. Tape.
You want tape?
Good, I want you to grab the head.
Oh, good grief.

You can do it. Come on.

He's young, but-They're incredibly strong. We have this mouth taped up.
He's so strong.
OK, let's go. Up the hill.
Oh my god. And so how quickly do we need to work before we get him back into the water.
Well the blood sample, we have to take almost immediately.
Yeah.
Lou has just 15 minutes to get all the data he needs. Determining the identity, size, and sex of
each alligator he captures helps build a comprehensive picture of the population. Lou is also
monitoring how well they're breeding in the area.
Once he's taken all the measurements he needs, we have a brief opportunity to take a closer
look at this alligator's powerful jaw.
OK, so.
Hello, lovely.
Go ahead and lift it up and tilt it sideways.
OK.
So you see every one of these little dots. Mechanoreceptors, they sense pressure.
And how sensitive are they?
Much more sensitive than your fingers. There's a suggestion maybe 10 times more sensitive.
Other say it's 20, or 30, 40 times more sensitive.
So what do alligators use these for?
For food. So a fish swims by, they know it's on the right or the left. The other thing is during
courtship and mating, the male will come up and nuzzle this side, gently. And so that's a
tactile response. And what that actually means to the female, we're not exactly sure, but we
know it's central to courtship and mating.
Let's get her back in the water, Lou.
Yes, we need to do that. Everybody's good?
We're all good.

OK.
Here we go, lovely. Do I pull now?
Go ahead and pull.
One, two, three.
She's in the water.
Water sound there. She's where she belongs.
It's fascinating that these armored reptiles can also be so sensitive. And hearing their
extraordinary bellows drives home just how important it is to get your message out there.
While alligators rely on song, for others it's all about showing off your best moves. In the
animal kingdom an enthusiastic dance is sure to get you noticed.
Male wolf spiders certainly don't hold back. In the mating game, there are no prizes for
coming second. Sea dragons take a more leisurely approach, waltzing gently in unison to get
to know each other. And there's one bird who's willing to walk on water to make a good
impression.
Grebes try to coordinate their moves to see if they're compatible. Dancing is something many
animals do to find a mate. But I'm about to meet a bird that knows exactly what to do to steal
the spotlight.
There are six different species of flamingo, and I've come to Slimbridge Wetland Centre in
the UK to find out more about the greater flamingo. In their efforts to attract a mate, they do
something no other flamingo species does.
Flirting for these flamboyant birds is all about producing your best moves and looking
fabulous while you're doing them. Paul Rose from Exeter University has spent the last three
years studying how these birds pick their partners.
Everything's about flamingos is about doing stuff with your friends. And I've often thought
it's a bit like the primary school disco in that there are some kids that really want to go on the
dance floor and they really want to get their boogie on.
And they're like, come on, come on.
Maybe, I'm not sure. And eventually it kind of spreads and everyone's like, oh, we can do this
as well. And then off they'll go and all do their dance together. But you don't often get
flamingos where one is just kind of shuffling out in the middle going, woo, I'm really
beautiful. You have to have every single bird doing it at the same time.
Of course, there's always that awkward moment when someone has to make the first move.
Fortunately, experience steps in to lend a hand. Typically, it's the oldest, tallest males in the
flock who are first to grace the dance floor.

The first display that you're likely to see is something called head flagging. So the bird stands
very tall and extends its head and its neck, and it kind of move its head from side to side.
OK.
And that's normally started by the tallest males in the flock.
OK.
Not to say that the females don't get involved. But not like a peacock where you have the
boys display, and the females go, maybe, I'm not sure. They all do it at the same time.
But putting yourself out there doesn't always go according to plan. Timing is everything.
Though I do feel sorry for them sometimes when they want to do the head flagging and
nobody told them they were beautiful, and everyone else is one leg fast asleep. It's a bit sad.
Overly eager youngsters are the ones who get it wrong most often. Being ignored by the rest
of the flock is never a good look. Sticking your neck out is only the start. Scientists have
discovered that flamingos have nine signature moves designed to show off their best assets.
Another display that normally follows the head flagging, which is called wing saluting, it's to
basically give a sudden shock of color against their uniform, their pale body color.
What are they all doing? What's going on?
This is this whole, let's all run in that direction.
Are we all ready.
Come on, let's go and try and see if we can get everybody together doing the same thing at
the same time.
Very complicated isn't it?
They don't do anything by halves.
It seems this bunch are still warming up. But when flamingos do get it right, the dancing is
contagious.
Andean flamingos have mastered the ultimate strut. It might look comical, but it serves an
important purpose. Flamingos only perform when conditions are best for breeding. Once
you've proved you've got the moves, picking a partner is the next big step.
So what makes one flamingo more attractive than the next? It seems the pinker you are, the
better. But flamingos have been living with a little white lie.
Now flamingos are not naturally pink. Is that right?

A flamingo is actually white. Apart from the black bits on its feathers, all of the other
pigmentation in its plumage comes from its diets.
OK, so what is it in their diet that gives them this pink color?
Their, carotenoids, the same as what makes carrots orange. So they ingest those carotenoids
from their food.
But the greater flamingo takes it one step further. Tucked away beneath their tail feathers is a
preen gland, which produces an oily, pink dye that they generously rub on their heads and
necks. Taking good care of yourself lets everyone else know you're in the best possible
condition to breed.
But it's a truth universally acknowledged that some males will try their luck no matter what.
This tall, pale male is doing his level best. But the object of his desires has other She has her
eye on the pinkest flamingo in the flock.
Working hard to look this colorful has earned this male, the most female attention. From
dancing flamingos to stone throwing capuchins, singing alligators, to persistent male hyenas,
I've been astonished by the incredible lengths some animals go to to find the perfect partner.
But perhaps one of the most heroic efforts to find a mate is made by a creature that lives in
South Africa. I've traveled to the Kalahari Desert to meet an animal who puts his life on the
line in search of love.
So it's about half an hour after sunrise, and we're very much working to this animal schedule,
just waiting for the first one to appear.
And here they are now. These charismatic characters need little introduction. They are, of
course, meerkats. And the couple I've come to meet in this clan, are called Tigi and
McDreamy.
They are the dominant pair in a 19 strong family and they've been together for 3 and a half
years. Meerkats are impossibly cute, but there's a lot more to these animals. And their social
lives have all the makings of a Shakespearean drama.
Four years ago, McDreamy and Tigi would have been members of rival clans fighting
viciously over territory and to protect their own. So how did these two get together? To
answer that, I've teamed up with Dr. Tom Flower.
Tom is one of a number of scientists who spent years studying the social lives of these
intriguing mammals. Cambridge University has been following Tigi and McDreamy's
relationship from the very start. They may look tame, but they are still very much a wild clan.
593.
593 gram.
We've got a pup in there too, now.

We certainly do.
Recording their weights on a daily basis is all part of the data Cambridge University is
collecting.
Do you know the name of this fellow.
This one's called Foxymoron.
That's brilliant.
It also helps scientists like Tom to earn the trust of each individual.
I think you might be struggling. You've got more than you can handle at one time.
Anybody else we need to weigh over here.
Well we can weigh all of them. There's 19 of them and we try to do that every morning, lunch
and evening.
That sounds like a mating call. They're beginning their foraging for the day.
What I want to know is how does a male like Tigi find his McDreamy. Four years ago, Tigi
did what every young male meerkat must do in order to find a mate. He left the safety of his
family and set off in search of a partner.
For any young hopeful, leaving your clan means taking a big risk. At just 30 centimeters tall,
meerkats are on the menu for many of the Kalahari's aerial predators. If you go it alone, you
have no one to watch your back.
It's an opportunity. And if you're young male in a group, it's no good staying at home, you're
going to have to leave home someday. So roving is as a way of getting out there, perhaps
managing to mate with even a dominant female, if you're lucky. That's very rare that that
happens, but it's a big payoff if it does. It's kind of you've hit jackpot.
When he was a roving male, Tigi would have traveled up to 10 kilometers a day in search of a
mate. That's the equivalent of us walking 50 kilometers on the off chance of finding a date.
But once a young male finds another group, the real challenge begins. What's the best way to
approach a rival clan when you've spotted the nice lady. And it's not easy, I presume.
No, that's right. So what they do is they sort of snorkel around the edges. And by that I mean
they go low and they sort of pop their heads up every now and again and they sort of
vertically run along by the ground. They're trying to a combine getting seen by the females,
and not going seen by the males.
So if they do spot an approaching male, what happens? Well, the meerkats will make a
meerkat is approaching alarm call. And then they'll actually do a little war dance toward the
intruder.

Getting spotted in another clan's territory has serious consequences. Roving males have to be
quick on their feet to avoid being caught. Being chased away by a clan is a regular
occurrence, and not all roving males escape unscathed.
I've been with groups where rovers have been caught. And it's a horrible sight, because all the
males in the group pile in and they all grab a limb and then they just tear and tear. I've seen
one killed like that, and I've seen two others who managed to escape.
One of them, it was his first time ever roving. And he looked like it he didn't have a hope in
hell. He didn't to know what he was doing. His ran up to group all boiled and excited and
they just jumped on him.
I'm here. Where's the ladies?
Absolutely. No idea what he was doing.
Roving by yourself is a risky business. But there are other tactics a male can adopt. It may
sound counter intuitive, bring your brother's along to find a potential mate can actually work
to your advantage. If the males spread out and approach the group from different directions,
they can make it very hard for the resident meerkats to defend their females.
They, on the other hand, have no objection to gentleman callers. This is the only way they'll
get a chance to meet a male they're not related to. While his brothers cause a destruction, our
young Romeo makes a daring play for his Juliet.
These liaisons are strictly forbidden. Courtship has to be quick at out of sight of the rest of
the family. She leads him into the long grass. If a young female is caught with a roving male,
there's a heavy price to pay.
So, say, this moving male has successfully bred with a female for another clan, but then she
becomes pregnant. What happens then?
Well, typically, the dominant female will actually attack her, and kick her out of the group.
We call that eviction. And they do that when the dominant female themselves is pregnant.
When McDreamy was just a teenager, she, and several of her sisters, were banished from
their clan.
In a meerkat family, breeding is predominantly the privilege of the dominant pair. It takes the
rest of the clan to help raise each litter of pups. McDreamy's mother had to make sure her
new pubs came first. For evicted females, life outside the clan can be extremely hard.
With fewer eyes on the skies, they're even more vulnerable to predators.
So it's a tough life for thee evicted females, but it doesn't always end in tragedy. Because if
they're lucky enough, they can bump into a group of roving males.
How common is it that you have these successful meetings, pairings, matings, and there you
have it, you have a new successful clan?

The group we're with today were made just like that. So McDreamy sand her sisters met up
with a dominant male and his brothers.
So Tigi and McDreamy came from the rovers and the evictees, and made a go of it, and
they've been together now three and a half years, so they're doing really well.
They are, that's right.
For any meerkat, the search for a mate is fraught with danger. It takes courage to leave your
clan, cunning to avoid being killed, and a little to finally find what you're after. For Tigi and
McDreamy, the gamble paid off. They've claimed the ultimate prize in the meerkat world.
They've become the dominant pair with a family of their own. What's really struck me about
my journey is the sheer number of different strategies animals use to attract a mate. No matter
what the challenge, they always seem to find a way.
How do you keep a straight face when you're observing this?
You can't really, it's such a funny scene to watch.
I've often thought it's a bit like the primary school disco. And shuffling out in the middle
going, woo, I'm really beautiful.
What excites me most about all of this is that by changing the way we look at animals science
is revealing that they're capable of relationships we would have thought impossible.
The trench between humans and animals is not as deep as many people would want it to be.
I would definitely say that they feel the same emotions that we do, and I don't see why we
can't allow them that.
We're only beginning to scratch the surface, but I can't wait to see what else we're going to
discover about the emotional lives of animals.
I can't stop laughing.
Oh my God.
We lost the boom. That's a naughty bonobo. He's falling over asleep.