The demonic ape.

Beginning with the story of how Frodo, a 27-year-old chimpanzee in Tanzania attacked and killed a human baby, this informative documentary draws out the connections between human and animal behaviour. In particular, much focus is paid to Jane Goodall who went to study the chimpanzees of Gombe in the 1960s. Goodall tells the stories of those early years when she made friends with the chimpanzees by feeding them bananas. She goes on to discuss her observations and the effects these had on the scientific community. Other researchers into primate intelligence describe their research into whether or not chimps have language and theory of mind and film clips of their experiments are shown. Richard Wrangham explains his 'demonic male' hypothesis which applies to humans as much as to primates. Following Frodo's attack on the child, people were divided as to whether or not he should be punished - could he be held responsible for his actions given that chimpanzees have theory of mind? Recent studies of chimpanzees by Crickette Sanz have shed new light on the behaviour of primates. The only sites in which chimpanzees have been seen to be violent are those with a large human presence. Chimpanzees who do not live in long-term study sites seem to live far more peacefully. Some believe that stress caused by humans makes chimpanzees more aggressive - Jane Goodall's work may have heightened the tension amongst the chimpanzees.