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Animals Like Us

Animals Like Us

SERIES20221 season11 episodes

Eleven episodes on animal behaviour that looks unsettlingly like ours: medicine, language, sexuality, mourning.

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Synopsis

More than 450 species show homosexual behaviour. Others self-medicate with plants and insects, or use sounds that behave like vocabulary. Each episode takes one such behaviour and sets out what current ethology can and cannot claim about it.

Episodes

  • Animal Homosexuality - Animals Like Us 1/111

    Animal Homosexuality - Animals Like Us 1/11

    52m

    More than 450 species of animals engage in homosexual behavior, as revealed through recent scientific research and exclusive film footage.

  • Animal Medicine - Animals Like Us 2/112

    Animal Medicine - Animals Like Us 2/11

    52m

    Animals utilize plant and insect substances to self-medicate against parasites, bacteria, and viruses, showcasing their remarkable survival strategies.

  • Animal Language - Animals Like Us 3/113

    Animal Language - Animals Like Us 3/11

    51m

    Indonesian legends suggest that monkeys possess the ability to speak, raising questions about the existence of animal languages and their distinction from human communication.

  • Animal Politics - Animals Like Us 4/114

    Animal Politics - Animals Like Us 4/11

    50m

    Franz de Waal's research on chimpanzees at Arnhem Zoo in the Netherlands reveals complex social structures and political organization among these primates.

  • Animal Adoption - Animals Like Us 5/115

    Animal Adoption - Animals Like Us 5/11

    52m

    Altruism in the animal kingdom, exemplified by adoption among species like dolphins, lions, and primates, challenges traditional evolutionary theories.

  • Animal Tools - Animals Like Us 6/116

    Animal Tools - Animals Like Us 6/11

    52m

    Recent studies reveal that species like New Caledonia crows and sea otters utilize tools, showcasing the complex behaviors of animal intelligence.

  • Animal Business - Animals Like Us 7/117

    Animal Business - Animals Like Us 7/11

    53m

    Mutualism, a phenomenon shaped by evolution, illustrates the beneficial alliances formed between animals for survival through various exchanges and cooperation.

  • Animal Play - Animals Like Us 8/118

    Animal Play - Animals Like Us 8/11

    49m

    Animal play is a crucial aspect of development for many species, revealing similarities between human and animal behaviors in social and adaptive contexts.

  • Animal Emotions - Animals Like Us 9/119

    Animal Emotions - Animals Like Us 9/11

    49m

    Animal behavior studies have historically overlooked emotional explanations, particularly during the peak of experimentation in the 1960s.

  • Animal Culture - Animals Like Us 10/1110

    Animal Culture - Animals Like Us 10/11

    51m

    Rhesus macaques on Koshima Island in Japan began washing sweet potatoes in the 1950s, leading Japanese primatologists to term this behavior "preculture."

  • Animal Web - Animals Like Us 11/1111

    Animal Web - Animals Like Us 11/11

    52m

    Insect societies exemplify remarkable organization, enabled by their ability to secrete substances like silk, which facilitates construction and communication.