Animals Like Us

Narrator: In the heart of the jungle,

something is in the air.

Romeos looking for love

splash on a unique cologne

before they make their move.

On the ice,

divorce gets messy.

Leaving jilted lovers out in the cold.

And across the savannah,

close knit families come together

to mourn the loss

of a loved one.

This is a new way of seeing the natural world.

Where wild animals act

just like we do.

One of the fascinating things

about studying animals

is discovering how many aspects

of their behaviour

have parallels with our own.

Narrator: Around the globe,

animals continue to astound us

with their intelligence,

and deep emotions.

The amazing thing is...

the more we learn about them,

the more we realize...

animals are a lot like us.

When it comes to attracting a mate,

male lemurs do their best

to stand out from the crowd.

Just like any of us would.

But for these primates,

It's less about how you look

and more about how you smell.

The island of Madagascar.

After months of heavy rainfall,

the woodlands here are covered with lush vegetation.

And this month, something else is in the air.

Love.

Ben: This time of year, Madagascar turns into a bit of a love island.

And that's because females don't have a huge window

in which to breed.

They become fertile

for about one day a year.

Narrator: All the female lemurs looking for a fella

will pick the one with just the right fragrance.

The female lemurs are ready.

Their precious few days of fertility are fast approaching.

Lucy: It might seem that the female has poor odds of mating.

But actually, seasonal breeding is an advantage

because all the babies are born in the summer

and are therefore weaned when the trees are full of fruit.

Narrator: With thousands of potential females to mate with.

There's only one question on the male lemur's mind.

"How do I get noticed?"

The energy of lemurs is great

and these ring-tails are no exception.

There's definitely some sort of strife going on in this group.

And it's always really complex to tease apart

these social relationships.

Narrator: In lemur troops, the females write the rulebook

when it comes to dating.

And as mating season begins,

the males start preparing themselves.

Each is determined to be considered

the most irresistible.

Male lemurs have a dominance hierarchy,

and it's all to do with age.

If you're older, you're higher up the ladder,

and you have a greater chance of becoming a father.

Narrator: Although these guys can't dress up

in the latest fashion,

they can still do something to stand out from the crowd,

and impress the ladies.

They have the ability to create their very own cologne.

Each lemur has scent glands on its wrists and shoulders.

And in the lead up to mating season

they produce a heavily scented liquid.

They'll rub the scent on their tails

and wave them near the object of their affection.

These lemurs are taking their preparation

a little bit seriously.

It's just a bit like us, slapping on the aftershave

and getting ready on a Friday night out.

Narrator: The closer mating season gets,

the more they'll slap on the scent.

I always think how lucky we are

that we don't rely on scent too much.

But many of our cousins within the primate world

heavily rely on scent.

And you can see this lemur here

is using the scent glands on its wrist to mark its tail.

And this will be really important

for social cues, for health-based cues,

for other members of the community.

Narrator: As the mating window approaches,

the lemur's scent glands ramp up production.

And these lotharios kick up a stink.

It's super interesting

because many animal pheromones smell really horrible to us.

But researchers say that this particular smell

belies its stinky reputation, and actually,

it smells kind of floral,

a bit like a pear.

Narrator: The lemur's cologne might not be for us,

but to a love-struck female, it can be intoxicating.

A recent study has revealed why this lemur cologne

is so effective.

There are some secret ingredients

to the lemurs' love potion.

Within this group of 200 or so chemicals,

there are three, including pheromones,

which prove irresistible to the females.

The three special chemicals

are in higher concentration during the mating season

and it intoxicates the ladies.

Narrator: This lemur is not content

with just applying his scent.

He waves his tail around,

hoping to catch the eye, or nose,

not of a female,

but a rival.

This other male is clearly not impressed.

Intoxicating for the gals.

And infuriating for the guys.

These so-called "stink fights"

establish who gets the rights to breed with the females.

This is a showdown

to try and see who's the dominant one.

And each individual is trying to overpower the other.

It's a little bit like two humans having a fight,

spraying aftershave at each other.

Narrator: It's a useful way of resolving conflicts

that doesn't involve the risk of injury.

You might think typical males always showing off,

trying to outdo each other.

But all this tail waving

has a very specific purpose.

Narrator: Eventually, one of the males backs down.

And to the victor, go the spoils.

But the male's cologne

is much more than just a strong smell.

Females can tell so much just from the male's scent.

It's kind of like a health report.

It'll tell her how healthy his immune system is,

and that means how good he's going to be

at fighting off diseases and parasites

which might otherwise affect her offspring.

Narrator: Once the females have made their choice,

they make the most of the small mating window.

And just over four months later,

the trees of Madagascar are filled with newborns.

This seasonal breeding

might also have another advantage

by overwhelming predators.

And so babies are more likely to survive.

Narrator: It comes down to sheer numbers, and odds.

With so many newborn lemurs appearing all at once,

there's a greater chance an individual will survive,

and reach adulthood.

Lemurs reach sexual maturity

at around two to three years of age.

So, if all goes well,

they'll be out there stink-flirting in no time.

Chemicals and pheromones

play a variety of roles in animal behaviour.

Helping them to not only find a mate,

but to communicate and ward off rivals.

Wolves and coyotes, for example,

scent-mark their territories.

Using their own urine and faeces

to send a signal to other wild dogs to back off.

Ants rely on pheromones to distinguish between

members of their own colony and outsiders.

And for honeybees,

pheromones are involved in almost every aspect

of colony life.

From reproduction and mating...

to swarming and defence.

But these amazing little insects also communicate

in some other surprising ways.

Bees are one of Earth's most important pollinators.

Essential in the animal kingdom

for transferring pollen to fertilize our crops

and wild plants.

Like humans, many bees are social creatures,

living and working together in a community.

A colony can be up to 80,000 strong,

making a cooperative society of one queen,

tens of thousands of female workers,

and hundreds of male drones.

As some bees are social insects,

they found ingenious ways to communicate.

While we use words and dolphins use clicks,

bees have come up with their own complex language.

Narrator: Language plays a vital role

when bees are tracking down pollen and nectar.

They can forage as far as 5 km away

from their nest