02x06 - Mgobo of Baboon Mountain

[bunniefuu]

[Martin]
on this episode
of kratts' creatures,

We'll find out what it's like
to be a baboon.

[Baboons screeching]

Sounds about right to me.

[Baboons screeching]

He's heading this way!

[In unison]
uh-oh.

Kratts' creatures

Iarriba!

Iandale! Iandale!

[Click]

Squirrels building a nest,
mallards with young--

You can discover
amazing creature stuff

In your own neighborhood

If you keep your eyes open.

All you need
is patience and a keen eye,

And that's
creature adventuring.

For me, the best part is
keeping records of everything.

[Martin]
we're with you there.

Martin?
I can't see you.
What's up?

[Martin]
we're on the savanna
in kenya, africa,

And we're about to do
a little science.

We are going
to conduct a study

On creature behavior.

Separately,
we're going to record
our observations

Of one
of the few primates

That has adapted to life
on the ground

As opposed to life
in the trees--
the baboon.

Baboons? You guys are
really with wild baboons?

That's amazing!

But keeping records,
sure that's your style?

This will be great!

We're going
to join a troop
of wild baboons,

Do the things
they do,

And find out
what it's like
to be a baboon.

We're separating so we can get
twice as many observations,

Which will give us
a more complete picture

Of baboon behavior.

Our observations will be
recorded in these notebooks.

They were donated

By the kinsey institute
for baboon science.

[Chris]
what are you
talking about?

Mom gave us these
for christmas.

I love these notebooks.

One question--

If you're
studying a creature
this awesome,

Where do you start?

Right where
the baboons did, al.

Up in the trees.

Wait a minute.
Baboons don't live in trees.

Accessing baboons.

Or do they?

There's more to baboons
than I thought.

They'll head to the trees
to find food or to sleep.

They dohang out in trees.

[Martin]
oh, yeah! Baboons are
great tree climbers.

[Chris]
and that makes sense
because baboons are monkeys.

[Martin]
they belong to the family
called primates...

[Chris]
and most primates
are natural tree swingers.

[Allison]
and what is a primate?

Primates are a family of animals
that include orangutans...

Chimps...

Monkeys...

And humans, and you must admit,
there aresimilarities.

[Announcer]
about 25 million years ago,

Our ancestral primates
lived in trees,

And they were well-suited

To this arboreal
environment.

Then, as there were

Untapped resources
and opportunities

Down below,

Our primate ancestors

Descended from the trees

And began evolving
for life on the ground.

But that's what
scientists say.

We want to make
the creature team
study.

Let's get to it.

[Chris]
day one--it's early morning.

I'm on baboon mountain.

First observation--

Baboons snore
less than martin.

[Screeching]

It's 5:43 a.m.

I'd usually be asleep,

But the baboons
are waking up.

Let's see
what they're up to.

Second observation--

Baboons are proficient
at scaling cliffs.

I bet that baboon mountain

Is a really safe place
for a baboon at night.

Here they can
sleep soundly,

Safe from the predators
of africa.

But now it looks like

They're heading
to the low ground.

Day one--5:46 a.m.

Ah!

Baboon grooming behavior--

Fascinating.

Grooming and scratching

Is a very important
creature behavior,

And it's a creature behavior
you'll find all over the world.

Hey, everybody's
got to deal with bugs.

[Screeching]

Hey, chris,
can you

Come pick
this tick
off my back?

No.
You groom me first.
I'm the youngest.

What does that
have to do
with anything?

A lot.

Chris is right.

Baboon society is complex,
like an extended human family.

As far as family's concerned,
you got to know your place.

The highest-ranking female
and her kids

Get the best places
to dig up food.

The juvenile
sticks close to mom

But is starting
to figure things out.

If you've got it,
flaunt it.

This big guy
leads the troop,

But the most important
in baboon society are...

The babies.

[Chris]
the youngest kids in the family

Are ranked higher
than the oldest.

Sounds about right to me.


Look at that little baby!

His fur's all black.

He must be really young,
maybe just a few days old.

He's already exploring...

Ha ha!

Even if he is having
a little trouble standing.

But look, he's practicing
his rock climbing, too!

But his mom doesn't want him
going too far.

I think I'll name him
mgobo,

And he's the future
of the troop.

[Martin]


I'd love to be a baboon.

They're so cool!

Maybe if I act
more like a baboon,

They'll let me join.

Uh-oh.

Mgobo's playing
with an older kid.

Now he's heading
back to mom.

Hey, and the older kid
is practicing cliff climbing.

That's an important
baboon survival skill,

And it's fun.

I've never seen that baboon,
and he's heading this way!

I wonder
what's going to happen.

Trespasser!

Whoa! The trespasser was
driven off by the dominant male.

If I'm going
to join this troop,

I'd better watch out
for that guy.

Because he's so important,

The other baboons
groom the dominant male.

[Chris]
what is martin doing?

Is he trying to get groomed?

That's the way baboons
show they're friends,

But martin?

If he wants into the troop,

He should try
becoming friends

With mgobo and his mom.

Noon--i have no idea
what martin's up to.

He's yawning
and showing his teeth.

That's an aggressive sign,

Not a great way
to join the troop.

Huh? Lip smacking!

That means
he wants to be friends.

All right. Good move.

Wait a minute.

Something's going on here.

Oh, it's martin.

He's trying
the "come here" look,

But it's not working.

Ah! Now he's got it.

He's bringing them back
by looking relaxed and cool.

I'm not sure,
but that one means

He either wants me to bunt
or steal second.

I can't remember which.

[Martin]
midday--

I feel misunderstood,

But the troop
isletting me hang with them.

Now we're searching
for food.

[Chris]
it's 12:30.

Whoa! Mgobo's hitching a ride
on his mom's face!

Hey, elephants...

Impala...
Topi...

Wild dogs...

Wildebeest...
Ostrich.

I bet mgobo's never
seen these animals before.

He'll have to learn
who's safe

And who's dangerous.

[Elephant trumpeting]

[Screeching]

When baboons find food,
they'll stop and chow down.

A baboon spends
about half of its day eating.

They're true omnivores,

Which means they'll eat
just about anything.

Here's a small sample.

Baboons search for insects
by picking away at bark

And also
by turning over rocks.

Hey!

Looks pretty tasty!

Hey, there's some baboons
digging up tubers.

Martin's fitting in
better than I thought he would.

Hmm. Maybe he's
fitting in toowell.

Memo to myself--
keep an eye on martin.

These seeds taste pretty good,
but they're not very filling.

That's true of a lot
of the foods baboons eat,

Which is why they
have to forage so long each day,

And baboons will eat
whatever is available.

When you eat little bits of food
like baboons do,

It takes a long time
to get full.

[Chris]
it's 2:00.

Mgobo's still nursing,

But he's nibbling
on what the other baboons eat,

Figuring out what's good to eat
and what's not.

Huh! I don't know
why he's tasting dirt.

[Martin]
what else can I do
to get in with these guys?

Hey, hey!

Way to go, chris--

Just like a baboon,

Climbing up a tree
to eat acacia flowers.

Wish I'd thought of that.

[Chris]
gosh, it's amazing

That baboons can climb in trees
like this.

Look at the thorns!

Hey, if there's
nothing else around,

There's always roots
to dig up.

[Allison]
getting through that hard earth,
you need the right tools.

Baboons have stubby fingers
and superstrong fingernails.

They're great at getting
at food underground.

But not all primates
have thumbs.

On the left is
a tree swinging monkey's hand,

Then a baboon's,
and then a human's.

This monkey has small thumbs

Because it's easier
to swing without them.

[Martin]
yeah, but down here
on the savanna,

Baboons need their thumbs
for picking up small objects.

And baboons
are great diggers.

Hey, the troop's
digging for water...

But I don't think
there's enough for everybody.

Looks like we'll have to journey
to the water hole.

We baboons have hit
the watering hole,

But we have to be careful.

Everybody's a little nervous

Because we're
vulnerable here

With our faces
in the water.

But, man, am I thirsty.

[Chris]
of grass and insects

May have impacted
on his personality.

In other words,
martin's flipped.

[Screeches]

[Baboons screeching]

What's going on?

We forgot something
about hanging out
with baboons.

What?

Other creatures
consider them lunch!

[In unison]
uh-oh!

We've headed
for higher ground--

Trees, rocks, anything
to get out of the lions reach.

Oh, they've got one!

Oh, he's had it!

That's one of the dangers
to life on the ground.

[Sighs]

[Martin]
there are a lot of dangers
facing baboons.

[Chris]
yeah. We've already seen
what lions can do.

[Martin]
but they've also got
to deal with wild dogs...

And hyenas...

[Growling]

Pythons...

And eagles!

[Chris]
and then there's also
the prince of stealth--

The leopard.

[Growling]

[Martin]
but, you know,
baboons aren't pushovers.

They'll fight back.

Look at how they're dealing
with this cheetah.

[Chris]
these baboons
sure aren't afraid

To protect themselves
and the troop.

[Baboons screeching]

[Allison]
hold it. What the heck is that?

Guys, what's all the noise?

I don't know.

The lions
have taken off.

It's the baby baboons
playing!

[Chris]
hey, look at them play,

And mgobo's
checking them out, too.

Amazing!

[Chris]
mgobo's getting into this!

Whoa!

[Martin]
there's one of his sisters
picking him up.

This is amazing.

She's bringing him
back to his mom.

Mgobo's mom
is really protective of him.

She'll only let

Trusted and closely related
baboons

Near mgobo.

[Chris]
that must be mgobo's family.

Hey, and there's mgobo!

[Martin]
but what's that big male
doing there?

Oh, I bet he's trying
to become mgobo's baby-sitter.

If he gains
the mother's trust,

There's a big payoff
for the male baboon.

[Chris]
he can then become friends
with mgobo.

If mgobo is with him,

He doesn't have to worry
about fighting.

No one fights with a male baboon
holding a baby.

The whole troop is infatuated

With the little baby.

A baby baboon only has black fur
for three months,

And the interesting thing

Is it's only during this time,
when a baby has black fur,

That the troop
wants to touch him.

[Chris]


It's getting late.

We're on the move again.

I think we're looking
for a safe place to sleep.

[Allison]
you're doing more than that.

You're moving in formation.

The guys are picking up
on the creaturnality of baboons.

One of the neatest things
about baboons

Is the way they travel.

This is how it works--

The low-ranking males
wander around the outside.

Walking with them
are the low-ranking females.

The juveniles wander around
wherever they can.

In the middle
are the moms and the babies...

And walking with them
are the dominant males.

[Chris]
so if there's any trouble,

They'll be able to react quickly
to protect the group.

They'll be able to react quickly
to protect the group.

[Martin]


We're headed
back to baboon mountain.

We've got to make it back
before sundown.

[Martin]
there it is--

Baboon mountain!

[Chris]
now we've got
to make it to the top.

[Martin]
come on, mgobo!

Hey, martin!

Yeah?

We got a long way
to go.

Whew!

Baboons have no problem
scrambling up this,

But the only way
we can get to the top

Is with all this equipment.

[Martin]
the whole troop's made it up,

But where's mgobo?

[Chris]
there he is!
He hitched a ride with mom!

It's totally amazing how baboons
have organized things.

Their whole social setup,
from their system of rank...

[Chris]
to their ways
of making friends...

[Martin]
to their interest
with their kids...

[Chris]
to their relationship
with other species,

It--

[Allison]
it helps them survive
in a dangerous environment.

I know I doubted the guys
doing a real scientific study,

But they did it
with style.

The main thing we learned
during our field study

Is that humans
are a lot like baboons.

We're both
nonspecialized
primates

And both have
to use our brains
to survive.

[Allison]
one last thing--

Whatever happened
to those journals

You were writing
observations in?

Journals?

[In unison]
uh-oh.

I can't believe
you wrote

That I was becoming
a baboon!

You were
becoming a baboon.

Oh, go to sleep,
monkey-boy.

See you
in the morning,
warthog breath.

It's been interesting,

But if I don't get home soon,
I'll be grounded.

Good night, chris.
Good night, martin.

Good night.

Good night.

[Animal roars]

Guys, what was that?
Are you o.k.?

What's the plan?

[Chris]
it's a good thing
we're up on baboon mountain!