Nitrate

Nature · S27 · E2

Clever Monkeys

  • TV-G
  • Nov 9, 2008
  • 53 min

Just how smart are monkeys? Their curiosity leads them to try new things, but it’s their culture that teaches them much of what they know.

Watch free on PBS

About this episode

Just how smart are monkeys? Their curiosity leads them to try new things, but it’s their culture that teaches them much of what they know.

Season 27

13 episodes
  1. 1White Falcon, White Wolf

    53 minOct 26, 2008

    On a remote Arctic island, a breeding pair of gyrfalcons and a pack of Arctic wolves struggle to raise their young as nine months of snow and ice melt away.

  2. 2Clever Monkeys

    53 minNov 9, 2008Now viewing

    Just how smart are monkeys? Their curiosity leads them to try new things, but it’s their culture that teaches them much of what they know.

  3. 3American Eagle

    53 minNov 16, 2008

    Following their protection as an endangered species, bald eagles have come roaring back. But even in the best of times, life in the wild is a surprisingly tough struggle.

  4. 4The Wolf That Changed America

    53 minNov 23, 2008

    In 1893, a bounty hunter named Ernest Thompson Seton journeyed to the untamed canyons of New Mexico on a mission to kill a dangerous outlaw: a wolf named Lobo.

  5. 5The Dragon Chronicles

    53 minJan 11, 2009

    Follow Rom Whitaker as he journeys around the world, reimagining the lines between fact and fantasy, in search of the fabled dragons' contemporary counterparts.

  6. 6Is That Skunk?

    53 minJan 25, 2009

    We find them in the evening digging through our garbage, hiding under our houses, or walking through our yards, streets, and parks. Skunks seem perfectly adapted to life around us. But we are less comfortable around them, for fear of their potent spray. As we expand our urban areas, many skunks find themselves increasingly unwelcome neighbors. It seems everyone has their own skunk story. But what do we really know about these infamous black and white creatures?

  7. 7Drakensberg: Barrier of Spears

    53 minFeb 8, 2009

    In South Africa's Drakensberg Mountains, one animal’s perseverance makes it the ultimate survivor: the eland, the largest member of the antelope family.

  8. 8Why We Love Cats and Dogs

    53 minFeb 15, 2009

    Some people are cat people, some are dog people. But regardless of which camp they fall into, most people are simply crazy about their pets. The connections people form with their cats and dogs are often the longest, strongest relationships in their lives. They are our soul mates, our best friends, sometimes even our surrogate children. What makes these creatures such key members of our families?

  9. 9Kilauea: Mountain of Fire

    53 minMar 29, 2009

    Kilauea continually molds Hawaii’s Big Island. Creating new land, shaping ancient forests and carving tunnels through the earth, the volcano fascinates a dedicated group of scientists and filmmakers who follow its every action. Using innovative new imaging technologies to map the magma chamber, following the lava’s heat along its journey underground, and listening to the constant noises of its movements, geologists map the shifting liquid earth as they work to understand its awesome force.

  10. 10Frogs: The Thin Green Line

    53 minApr 5, 2009

    More than a third of all amphibians have already been lost, and more are disappearing every day. A fungus called chytrid has been identified as the major culprit.

  11. 11The Loneliest Animals

    53 minApr 19, 2009

    Around the globe, unique and fascinating species face extinction. Follow the plight of these creatures and the dedicated conservationists who fight for them.

  12. 12Eagles of Mull

    53 minMay 3, 2009

    Returning home to the Isle of Mull after 15 years abroad, Gordon Buchanan was happy for the chance to take a new look at his native land, through his camera lens.

  13. 13Victoria Falls

    53 minMay 17, 2009

    The world's largest waterfall, Victoria Falls, is explored through the eyes of a 74-year-old fisherman who's lived near the 350-foot wonder, located on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, for all of his life. During the rainy season (November to April), much of the wildlife that depend on the river for subsistence dissipate into the savanna. The rest of the year, however, it attracts baboons, eagles, elephants, hippos, kingfishers and quelea finches, among other creatures.

Guest stars

F. Murray AbrahamNarrator (voice)