monkey podcast

On this week's episode of Talking Apes Podcast, we're joined by two extraordinary scientists, Dr Cleve Hicks and Toni Romani, as they lead us into the enigmatic world of the Bili-Ape and beyond.

Few people have ventured as far and deep into the Congo's dark and secretive forests as Dr Cleve Hicks. Primatologist and associate professor at the University of Warsaw, Cleve takes us back to his thrilling early 2000s expedition in search of the mysterious Bili-Ape; a creature once rumoured to be an amalgamation of chimp and gorilla, displaying astonishing bipedal abilities and fearsome strength.

Is it a missing link, a hybrid, or an entirely new species? Cleve and his team ventured into the wilderness with no clear expectations, ready to unearth incredible discoveries concealed beneath the jungle canopy.

Dr Hicks and Toni Romani's work in western Uganda also opens up a world of secrets. From chimpanzee ground nests hidden on the dense forest floor, to the fascinating and diverse realm of ape tool 'culture'.

Join us as Cleve and Toni guide us through some of their findings:

Ground-nesting chimps
Did you know that chimps build nest-like beds in the trees every night? During their expedition, Toni and Cleve began to notice an astonishing percentage of chimp nests down on the ground. Why? And does this discovery have implications for our understanding of human evolution, offering clues about our own sleeping habits from the past? 

Elaborate tool-use traditions amongst wild chimp populations
Chimps exhibit a remarkably diverse array of tool-use practises. From using sets of sticks in a sequence to access honey in beehives to unique pounding, levering, and probing techniques, the world of ape tool culture is more rich and diverse than we previously thought.

The spread of unique behavioural practises making up 'cultural realms'
Can the notion of culture truly extend to chimps?  Cleve reveals how behavioural traits and tool-use traditions differ vastly across chimp groups and also cluster, alluding to the idea of 'cultural realms', and mirroring how cultures are dispersed and divided across our own Homo sapien world.  Can understanding these behavioural traits in  our closest cousins shed light on our own ancient history and the tools and traditions of early hominins?
 
CLICK HERE TO READ: Ground Nesting Chimps Hold Lessons for Conservation and for Human Evolution

Click here to watch Cleve's Ted Talk on chimp culture in the Congo Basin

Scroll down for photos and videos. 

Talking Apes is an initiative of the nonprofit GLOBIO.
Official website: talkingapes.org
Instagram: @talkingapes_podcast
Twitter: @talking_apes
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A World Gorilla Day Special Exploring the Fate of the Colossal Grauer's Gorillas

Situated on the eastern edge of the expansive Congo Basin in the Democratic Republic of Congo, GRACE  holds the unique distinction of being the world's sole sanctuary for Grauer's gorillas.

The largest primates on our planet, yet the least known of the gorilla species, these giants are facing a dire crisis as their numbers have plummeted drastically over the past two decades. Only 6,800 individuals now remain.

'For every baby gorilla that comes to the sanctuary, we know the family was most likely killed.'

In this episode of Talking Apes, GRACE's Programs Director, Katie Fawcett, reveals the  complexities of working in a region historically marred by devastating conflicts. The difficulty of reaching these remote gorilla territories has hampered research, conservation, and tourism efforts over the years, leaving these magnificent creatures teetering on the brink of extinction.

'GRACE lies at the start of the Congo Basin - I find that wildly exciting. But access to work in that area has been very challenging.'

Can the elusive Grauer's endure the challenges of the next decade and beyond? There is hope. Throughout our conversation, Katie reveals the remarkable achievements of GRACE. Learn about their efforts in building trust with local communities and establishing a resilient Congolese team, all working toward a vision of sustainable community-led conservation.
 
'Our goal is to come out with a model of community led conservation - where the forests are protected, the gorillas are protected, and the people are benefitting.'

- Dr Katie Fawcett

Click here to visit the GRACE website.

Click here to see GRACE's 14 beautiful gorilla inhabitants.

Click HERE to support our show with Talking Apes Merch. 

Talking Apes is an initiative of the nonprofit GLOBIO.
Official website: talkingapes.org
Instagram: @talkingapes_podcast
Twitter: @talking_apes
BUY OUR MERCH

Held captive as pets, dressed in human clothes, forced to perform tricks, and in some cases, even brutally tortured and killed. These are just some of the despicable ways that primates and other wildlife are being exploited online for likes, shares, and cash. 

The rise of social media has unfortunately made it easier for people to share photos and videos of animal cruelty. And according to research, primates make up an overwhelming majority of the abuse cases we find online. 

What’s perhaps even more disturbing is the growing online community who not only seek out this kind of content, but are willing to pay to see horrific acts of abuse committed.

What’s worse - the social media platforms, like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, allow revenue to flow into the pockets of the content creators thanks to the popularity of these videos.

'I've watched some of these videos and I can't always watch them all the way through because they're so awful...what's worse are the comments from the community watching and enjoying them.'

The range of types of online animal abuse is vast, varying from obvious and outright acts of violence to the more subtle and insidious fake rescues and wildlife as pets. Cruelty disguised as cuteness fuelling and perpetuating the illegal wildlife trade. 

Nicola O’Brien has been on a 20-year mission to ensure that vulnerable and defenseless animals are treated with respect and dignity. She has taken on the goliath-sized task of confronting the social media giants that allow this content to be uploaded to their platforms. 

‘We are working with the platforms and trying to pressure them to enforce their own policies and remove these clear examples of abuse.’

Leading up the Social Media Animal Cruelty Coalition (SMACC), Nicola and her team are pushing for social media platforms to enforce their own policies and stop providing a platform for this disgusting content. 

Listen now to find out how you can help from home, with just a few clicks. 

Visit www.smaccoalition.com to learn more. 

Talking Apes is an initiative of the nonprofit GLOBIO.
Official website: talkingapes.org
Instagram: @talkingapes_podcast
Twitter: @talking_apes
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Great apes — gorillas, chimps, orangutans and bonobos — have been Talking Apes host Gerry Ellis's life long passion. Discover where it started and how it's evolved as guest host Eric Cain explores the world of Talking Apes with photographer, film-maker and podcast host, Gerry Ellis.

Long before creating the Talking Apes podcast, Gerry had built an award-winning career as an international wildlife film-maker, photographer, and writer spans three-decades and features work appearing in National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, the New York Times, Ranger Rick, and more. He is the author and/or photographer of more than a dozen books, including two in the highly acclaimed National Geographic Kids Book series.

Gerry’s filming project in 2001, Wild Orphans, inspired the founding of GLOBIO.

GLOBIO is a global awareness nonprofit that creates environmental films and provides visual support to wildlife conservation organizations around the world, and tells their stories globally while educating the public about our shared environmental challenges. GLOBIO’s mission is to inspire a positive relationship with our environment by connecting species, people and planet.

Support our work by becoming a Patreon subscriber: Click here

Make a one off donation to GLOBIO: Click here 

Talking Apes is a GLOBIO initiative. Learn more:

Official website: talkingapes.org

Instagram: @talkingapes_podcast

Support our work by making a small donation here, or for access to exclusive content and rewards, click here to become a Patreon member.

Talking Apes is an initiative of the nonprofit GLOBIO.
Official website: talkingapes.org
Instagram: @talkingapes_podcast
Twitter: @talking_apes
BUY OUR MERCH

At 22 years old, Rachel Hogan never dreamed that a three month volunteering trip to Africa would result in her becoming the director of one of the world's largest and most well known primate sanctuaries.

Over two decades later, Rachel remains on the edge of Cameroon's rainforests overseeing fifty human residents and 300 non-human residents - a growing hoard of gorillas, chimps, and monkeys now living in Ape Action Africa's 17 ginormous forest enclosures.

The sanctuary is a lifeline for endangered baby chimpanzees and gorillas that have been illegally stolen from the wild, victims of the bushmeat trade - their parents killed and the babies sold on as pets.

Ape Action Africa supports the government by making confiscations of these animals possible, and providing lifelong care to the orphaned apes and monkeys that show up at their gates.

Listen to Rachel tell us about the unpredictable and sometimes chaotic day to day life at the sanctuary, the tiny baby gorilla that persuaded her to stay forever, and the recent events that have given her a greater hope for the future of great apes in Africa.

To learn more about Ape Action Africa visit: apeactionafrica.org

Support their work: here

Support our work by becoming a Patreon subscriber: Click here

Talking Apes is an initiative of the nonprofit GLOBIO.
Official website: talkingapes.org
Instagram: @talkingapes_podcast
Twitter: @talking_apes
BUY OUR MERCH

Primate portraits from some of the most unlikely habitats — tiny, century-old, forgotten places. BEHIND GLASS by Anne Berry is an intimate very personal look at the lives of primates nearly forgotten.

Visit our BLOG to see the photos from our conversation on Talking Apes.

Visit anneberrystudio.com to learn more. 

Talking Apes is an initiative of the nonprofit GLOBIO.
Official website: talkingapes.org
Instagram: @talkingapes_podcast
Twitter: @talking_apes
BUY OUR MERCH

Talking Apes is an initiative of the nonprofit GLOBIO.
Official website: talkingapes.org
Instagram: @talkingapes_podcast
Twitter: @talking_apes
BUY OUR MERCH

On the western edge of the vast Congo basin lies one of the world's most remote rainforests - the Dja. It is one of the last strongholds of a rich biodiversity that includes gorillas, chimps, forest elephants, and a breath-taking range of flora and fauna. 

Dr Nikki Tagg - conservation scientist and Head of Conservation for the Born Free Foundation is one of those rare researchers who has ventured into this spectacular rainforest in the hopes of understanding the causes of biodiversity loss and the mechanisms of co-existence between people and nature to conserve threatened species. 

Her work explores the effect of human activities like hunting and logging on great ape abundance.

Talking Apes is an initiative of the nonprofit GLOBIO.
Official website: talkingapes.org
Instagram: @talkingapes_podcast
Twitter: @talking_apes
BUY OUR MERCH

We often hear about how we humans are 98% chimpanzee. In fact, biologically, humans are more closely related to chimpanzees than chimps are to gorillas! 

But when we look past the biological similarities, do we still see ourselves in our closest living relatives, the chimps and bonobos? 

Dr Catherine Hobaiter and her team have spent almost two decades deep in the rainforests of Africa, studying wild chimpanzees and attempting to read between the lines when it comes to their diverse behaviour - especially the nuances of chimp communication. 

When chimps shake hands, point, hold out their palms, or beckon, these gestures look familiar to us - but do they have the same meanings as they do for humans? Are chimps always violent? Do chimpanzee communities always have an alpha male? Why do chimpanzees drum on tree roots!?

Cat shares some of her team's incredible breakthrough scientific discoveries, and some of her favourite personal anecdotes about her time spent with apes like us.

Talking Apes is an initiative of the nonprofit GLOBIO.
Official website: talkingapes.org
Instagram: @talkingapes_podcast
Twitter: @talking_apes
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When an entire family of chimpanzees is slaughtered for bushmeat, the baby chimps are captured live and sold into the multi-billion dollar global wildlife trade. Often sold on as pets, they suffer in confinement and misery, deprived of companionship and a natural life in their wild rainforest homes. 

Iris Ho is Head of Campaigns and Policy at PASA (Pan African Sanctuary Alliance) - Africa’s largest coalition of wildlife sanctuaries and one of the world’s leading organizations fighting to protect primates. Her role is to represent PASA at multilateral conferences where wildlife protection policies are made, and to be a voice for PASA’s 23 member wildlife sanctuaries  - all fighting on the frontlines to tackle this intensifying crisis. 

Animal rescues by sanctuaries make up one pillar in the struggle against poaching and the illegal wildlife trade, but the issues need to be tackled holistically to get to the roots. Iris tells us how we might begin to strengthen law enforcement, and change global policies and mindsets to drive lasting transformative changes that could save our wild cousins from extinction. 

Learn more about PASA’s work here: pasa.org

Please consider signing PASA’s petition advocating a ban on pet primates: pasa.org/fight-the-trade-of-primates/

Talking Apes is an initiative of the nonprofit GLOBIO.
Official website: talkingapes.org
Instagram: @talkingapes_podcast
Twitter: @talking_apes
BUY OUR MERCH

Join us for another live Talking Apes with Dr. Karina Flores to dive into her experience as a wildlife veterinarian. With wild patients as varied as African wild dogs, Fishers, Cheetahs, and now rescued chimpanzees here in Sierra Leone at the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Dr. Karina has no shortage of experience rolling with the punches and working through the unexpected! Today, she oversees care for the 106 rescued chimpanzees at Tacugama, where each day brings new triumphs and challenges. 

More about Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary: https://www.tacugama.com/

Talking Apes is an initiative of the nonprofit GLOBIO.
Official website: talkingapes.org
Instagram: @talkingapes_podcast
Twitter: @talking_apes
BUY OUR MERCH

Every now and then, headlines pop up about a monkey on the loose, tiktok videos of pet monkeys go viral, occasionally even celebrities will get their faces in the paper for their pet monkeys (looking at you Beiber!) But these blips of fame and notoriety of pet primates barely scratches the surface of just how many monkeys, apes, and other primates are being kept in people's basements, backyards, and bedrooms throughout the USA. With ~15,000 pet primates around the country, we have to ask ourselves: "Is it legal? Is it safe? It is ethical? Who decides?"

To help us unpack the ambiguous world of monkeys in America, we welcome Dr. Liz Tyson, Programs Director at Born Free USA who has an in-depth knowledge of the exotic pet trade - from both a legal and a practical standpoint. Join us for this episode of Talking Apes and find out more about how YOU can help keep primates out of pethood.

Born Free USA: https://www.bornfreeusa.org/our-campaigns/

Talking Apes is the podcast that gets to the very heart of what is happening with and to apes like us. We explore the world of apes and primates with experts, conservationists, and passionate primate people from around the world. Join us as we unpack their weird and wonderful lives piece by piece.

Talking Apes is made possible through generous support from listeners to nonprofit GLOBIO.org.

Talking Apes is an initiative of the nonprofit GLOBIO.
Official website: talkingapes.org
Instagram: @talkingapes_podcast
Twitter: @talking_apes
BUY OUR MERCH

Life as a wildlife veterinarian is a tough and demanding job. For Wild Orangutan veterinarians, that task is often made trickier through the lack of basic tools, skills, and government support! On this episode of Talking Apes, we meet with Orangutan Veterinary Aid's (OVAID) founder, veterinarian Dr. Nigel Hicks to talk about the art of Wild Orangutan Vet Care. Since its conception, OVAID has promoted compassionate conservation throughout Borneo by providing medical instruments and training scholarships for Bornean wildlife vets.

This episode is a must-listen for International Orangutan Day, August 19th!

Find out more about OVAID here: https://www.ovaid.org/

Talking Apes is the podcast that gets to the very heart of what is happening with and to apes like us. We explore the world of apes and primates with experts, conservationists, and passionate primate people from around the world. Join us as we unpack their weird and wonderful lives piece by piece.

Talking Apes is made possible through generous support from listeners to nonprofit GLOBIO.org. Support the show (https://globio.org/donate)

Talking Apes is an initiative of the nonprofit GLOBIO.
Official website: talkingapes.org
Instagram: @talkingapes_podcast
Twitter: @talking_apes
BUY OUR MERCH

The bushmeat industry, the illegal pet trade, rampant habitat loss, and much more. All of these combined would wipe out ape and monkey populations across Africa if it weren't for the organizations at the frontlines of conservation. Chief among them is the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA), a US-based nonprofit created by African primate sanctuaries to coordinate species-saving efforts around the continent and help craft a more secure future for all African apes- bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, & humans. Join us for this episode of Talking Apes with Gregg Tully, Executive Director of PASA, as we unpack the challenges and complexities of building this future for apes.

Talking Apes is the podcast that gets to the very heart of what is happening with and to apes like us. We explore the world of apes and primates with experts, conservationists, and passionate primate people from around the world. Join us as we unpack their weird and wonderful lives piece by piece.

Talking Apes is made possible through generous support from listeners to nonprofit GLOBIO.org. 

Talking Apes is an initiative of the nonprofit GLOBIO.
Official website: talkingapes.org
Instagram: @talkingapes_podcast
Twitter: @talking_apes
BUY OUR MERCH

Have you ever wondered what field research is really like? Dr. Martha Robbins has logged countless hours in Gabon, Uganda, and beyond observing (and admiring!) wild ape populations. She can attest that it's not all glitz and glam in the field but that patience pays off! Dr. Robbins works with Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and shares about her 30 years of field research on mountain gorillas at Karisoke, Rwanda, and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda as well as Western lowland gorillas in Loango NP, Gabon.

Talking Apes is an initiative of the nonprofit GLOBIO.
Official website: talkingapes.org
Instagram: @talkingapes_podcast
Twitter: @talking_apes
BUY OUR MERCH

Many of us see the issues facing apes today and wonder what can we do to help? This is exactly what Richard Zimmerman felt when he first saw orangutans in the wilds of Indonesia. He turned this desire for change into real-world impact by founding Orangutan Outreach. Have a listen to his story and the incredible work Orangutan Outreach has accomplished for red ape conservation in the wild!

Talking Apes is the podcast that gets to the very heart of what is happening with and to apes like us. We explore the world of apes and primates with experts, conservationists, and passionate primate people from around the world. Join us as we unpack their weird and wonderful lives piece by piece.

Talking Apes is made possible through generous support from listeners to nonprofit GLOBIO.org. 

Talking Apes is an initiative of the nonprofit GLOBIO.
Official website: talkingapes.org
Instagram: @talkingapes_podcast
Twitter: @talking_apes
BUY OUR MERCH

Have our ape cousins - the bonobos - gotten it right? Is being friendly a better survival strategy than terrorizing your neighbor? Did we misunderstand Darwin? Could it be evolution favors the friendliest, not the fittest?  This episode of Talking Apes catches up with evolutionary anthropologist Dr. Brian Hare who's exploring our friendlier human nature through the behavior of our peaceful Congo cousins, the bonobos.

Talking Apes is the podcast that gets to the very heart of what is happening with and to apes like us. We explore the world of apes and primates with experts, conservationists, and passionate primate people from around the world. Join us as we unpack their weird and wonderful lives piece by piece.

Talking Apes is made possible through generous support from listeners to nonprofit GLOBIO.org. 

Talking Apes is an initiative of the nonprofit GLOBIO.
Official website: talkingapes.org
Instagram: @talkingapes_podcast
Twitter: @talking_apes
BUY OUR MERCH