Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees (2002)

Did you know that chimpanzees and humans have 98 percent of their DNA in common? You will after watching this absorbing 75-minute (including extras) documentary, featuring and partially narrated by renowned researcher Jane Goodall, who's been on the chimps' case for more than four decades. We see these African apes on the ground and in trees, playing, grooming, teaching, even killing one another. The scenes of them "fishing" for termites and ants using a stick for a pole make for extraordinary viewing; indeed, the film's principal message is that they and we are very much alike. And while the small screen can't capture the full majesty of what began as an IMAX film, one can sense the almost palpable three-dimensionality of the original. The DVD is also loaded with bonus features, including a 15-minute behind-the-scenes look at the filmmaking process and more. This is great stuff. --Sam Graham Amazon.com

chimpanzees and humans have 98 percent of their DNA in common?

buy this dvd so show how ignorant some people in claiming this is where we came from, that these are our ancestors, and that humans made up religion and taught themselves how to pray. No? if there is a spirit in animals then why don't any ANY of them the world over make any idols to worship or pray? Some people says religion is why we have so many wars and killings, oh but wait, it says in the main review above that Chimps kill each other, too! And also add to it that they have a dominate male in every clan and that females are always are treated as not equals and ALL of them are submissive to the males, all of them, not some of them, all of them. Never has it been recorded and or filmed of any chimp/ape clan of a dominate female leader OR, and this is just as important, any recording/filmed/observed, any female even trying to take the leadership role in the group. What does this have to do with they don't pray or worship idols made of sticks? The answer is here, don't have a knee jerk reaction to what I am saying, just take your time and think about it. Think

Also, is "Man" responsible for the demise of the chimps, and all the other wild animals of the world? Especially the last 100 years or so? Yes.

So then if Man is smarter and more evolved than chimps/Apes, animals, then why is Man destroying the planet and the animals?

Think

Why dont animals have any family reunions? not only so most males are kicked out of many "packs" as soon as they are mature enough, to go on and find other females, this is "natures way" to prevent interbreeding.

But "who" set up this "natures way" of "Families" of animals?

Think.

And surely if you think a little you can deduce that all this didnt just "happen" out of the ground, but that its all "made" this way
The Evolution of Violence

It turns out human beings aren't so unique after all. Conventional wisdom once held that humans were the only animals that could make and use tools. Then, researchers discovered that some of our closest relatives, such as chimpanzees and some monkeys, made and used tools too.

Now it turns out that chimps and humans have something else in common: the capacity to kill, and not just for food. In the 1970s, primate researchers shocked many people with the news that chimpanzees hunted and killed colobus monkeys. Then came even more stunning news: Chimps killed, and sometimes ate, their own kind too.

Today, many scientists believe the hunts are a form of organized violence that plays an important role in chimp culture. One of the researchers studying these seemingly ritualized hunts is David Watts, a primatologist and anthropologist at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, who is featured in NATURE's DEEP JUNGLE: THE BEAST WITHIN. NATURE recently spoke with Watts about his studies.

How did you get involved in studying chimp violence?

I got into it because I am interested in human evolution and how our behaviors evolved. I first worked with mountain gorillas in Rwanda. Then, [at the suggestion of another scientist,] in the summer of 1993 I went for the first time to study chimps at Ngogo, in Uganda's Kibale National Park. It has one of the biggest known chimp communities in the world, now 140 to 150 animals, and they appear to be in the midst of a baby boom! It's possible we will have 19 births this year, so it turns out to be a fantastic place to observe chimp behavior.

What have you seen?

Well, one of the most fascinating behaviors is chimpanzee hunting. It's incredible to follow a group of chimps and watch them catch colobus monkeys and just go to work on them, sharing the meat. We've also observed groups of male chimps going on patrol and being pretty nasty to their neighbors. Since we've been there, we've documented chimps killing at least seven infant chimps, four adult males, and one juvenile chimp. Other times, they have beaten up females pretty badly.

Why do they do it?

It appears to be a regular part of chimp behavior, although it can vary from population to population and habitat to habitat. And like other forms of aggression, they use it tactically. For instance, we might be following a group of males, and they will switch into what we call patrol mode. They'll go silent, which is unusual for chimps, and just look and listen. When they hear neighboring chimps, they respond in a pretty predictable way. If there are just a few chimps in the group, for instance, they'll quietly move back toward the center of their own territory. If it's a big group, they'll respond vocally and listen to the responses. If they decide they are evenly matched, that can lead to major aggression. They'll chase down, surround, and attack rivals. Sometimes they kill them.

Do they eat the meat?

Chimps that are successful hunters may be eating more meat than some Ugandans. But they don't eat adult chimps, although they will cannibalize the infants. [And even when the prey is a monkey], often chimps don't eat much of the meat. That raises the question of whether the hunts have more important social significance. For instance, we've seen active meat sharing among coalitions of the chimpanzees. If one chimp has a big hunk of meat, and another chimp comes along, [the first chimp] may put a piece of meat into their hand. So it may be a way to build relationships.


November 13, 2006

Too Preachy

Pretty good primate documentary. Cool parts include black and white footage of a young Jane Goodall interacting with the same chimps she visits now. [Weak] parts include the obligatory guilt-inducing checkbook-opening "don't let us go extinct" chapter at the end. Complete with Goodall lecturing a racially mixed class of schoolchildren about conservation. I'm not against racially mixed classes of schoolchildren, and I'm not against saving the apes, but I watch movies to escape rather than be reminded of reality.

There are lots and lots of cute chimps playing (with a really cool baboon/chimp playing together section), but not too much in the way of science. This may be what you want, of course. July 20, 2003

Knowledge+Understanding=Caring

What a tribute to Dr. Jane's work and the "kindred souls" she is deparately seeking to save from extinction. This IMAX edition captures the "soul" of both Dr Jane and the wild chimpanzees and will surely capture the hearts of all viewers (of any age). Sound and picture are breathtaking and will bring Gombe into your den or living room. But there is something even more important....
Now do two things (1) get this DVD right away and share it with your family, friends, students etc. and then (2) contact the Jane Goodall Institute (Roots & Shoots for the little ones in your life) and help save this species "So Like Us" for our children and their children's children. June 12, 2003

Fabulous Production, Important Subject!

A hundred years ago chimpanzies numbered between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 in 25 African countries. Now "there are no more than 150,000 left," according to Dr. Jane Goodall.

This shocking fact underlies David Lickley's IMAX documentary about Jane Goodall and her groundbreaking research. Her remarkable 43-year career (and counting!) studying the wild chimps at Gombe National Park in Tanzania has led to several important discoveries, causing Science (capital S) to have to redefine what separates Mankind from the other animals. Goodall's own quiet tenacity has been tested as she must now spend most of her time advocating for the very survival of man's closest living relative.

The ultra-high-definition IMAX format provides a gorgeous transfer to DVD format, in both sound and image. Close-up images of the individuals at Gombe, as well as panoramic recordings of the sounds of the rainforest, make this a treat for the eyes and ears. Goodall herself does nearly all of the narration. South African musician Johnny Clegg provides several songs which integrate seamlessly into Amin Bhatia's orchestral score. Mini-featurettes on the DVD describe the difficulty of filming the notoriously-shy chimpanzies in remote Africa with the bulky IMAX cameras -- which can shoot for only 3-minutes at a time. Another featurette describes the recording of the music, including lots of rare shots of Clegg in the studio. Lickley's DVD commentary provides a ton of additional information missing from the original IMAX production.

All in all, this is a wonderful package in every regard. March 1, 2003

More reviews at Amazon.com ...