Monkeys - An Amazing Animal Family

Following the success of ’Big Cats: An Amazing Animal Family’, engaging presenter and biologist Patrick Ayree returns to investigate our closest relatives in the natural world — primates. ’Monkeys: An Amazing Animal Family’ is a lavish documentary that follows Patrick across the globe as he explores the incredible evolutionary rise of dazzlingly different primate species. Today, there are more than 300 species of primates. All of different shapes and sizes, they can jump higher, swing further and solve problems better than virtually any other animal group on Earth. But how and why? Patrick gets up close and personal with apes and monkeys as he climbs the primate family tree. Beginning 60 million years ago in Asia’s dense forests, he discovers the origin of the earliest primates and how they conquered the world, making it from South Africa to America where they evolved into the intelligent, inquisitive and more physical members of the primate family that we now know as monkeys. As well as investigating the rise of the apes and the birth of our closest animal relative, the gorilla, Patrick explores why these creatures developed into incredible acrobats and how they evolved to have strong and long tails, loud howls or huge claws. From the tiny mouse lemur to the giant gorilla, Patrick explores them all in a stunning three-part documentary that features gorgeous photography, extraordinary animal behavior and one of TV’s brightest new presenting talents.