Natural World (1983) s22e05 Episode Script

This is the world I was born into.
It may look timeless and peaceful, but don't be fooled, surprising things happen here This story began one March day.
It was a day that started in a way we all dread In the western reaches of our territory Where the troop of the ruins lived.
There were warning screams.
Everybody had to scramble to safety, danger was coming but nobody knew exactly what it was! The leopard is our worst enemy.
Everyone in the ruins spotted it, so it moved on to hunt somewhere else.
News of its presence raced through the kingdom First to the valley troop Then up to us, the mountain troop.
Pretty soon, everyone was on the look-out.
The leopard was still out there somewhere Up here on the mountain we were protected by the steep cliffs and by Nine Fingers, our leader.
Nine Fingers wasn't going to wait around to be caught out by surprise attack.
He wanted to see the leopard before it saw us Where would it come from? But we saw something else instead.
Humans, and their noisy animals.
We weren't afraid of them.
They never came up the mountain And the good news - the leopard disappeared forced away by its fear of humans.
Everyone was relieved.
But that March day was a big day for one more reason.
Something happened that was perfectly normal and natural, yet everyone crowded around wanting to see.
That's how it is with us, a troop of busy-bodies.
I had just come into the world.
I was the daughter of Red-Nose, one of the 12 females in the mountain troop.
And, fate decreed that earlier the very same day, another baby was born.
Little Bobo was the son of White-Ear, the number one female of our troop and the favourite of our leader, Nine Fingers.
Because of his mother's royal position, Bobo was immediately placed at the top of the troop hierarchy.
As for me I was just one of the rank and file without any particular privileges.
Bobo and I took our first steps together.
In fact, all the troop's females belonged to him No other males were allowed to get close to them.
So Bobo and I were his flesh and blood, his family line.
And for as long as he reigned, he would make sure all the infants in the troop were his offspring Nine Fingers was a hard, unbending leader.
Everyone had to bow to his authority.
When he went by, we either averted our eyes or got well out of his way to show him he was the boss.
We could also present him our bottoms, which mean the same thing, "You're the Man" We had a spring that never ran dry.
Our home, high up on the mountain, was a paradise, and the other troops in the kingdom envied us for it.
We also had a tree, a frangipani, that gave us sweet flowers twice a year.
And we owed it all to Nine Fingers.
That too meant, "I'm the boss" But there was one member of our troop who threatened Nine Finger's supremacy.
Long Tooth A young but already powerful male His back bore the scars from wounds that Nine Fingers had inflicted on him.
But Long Tooth continually provoked and tested Nine Fingers.
He couldn't help himself.
Long Tooth wanted to be leader, but since the last fight, he was biding his time Some day Long Tooth would try again.
Nine Fingers sensed it and kept a close eye on the young pretender.
But perhaps not close enough.
This tree was Nine Fingers' throne.
And as long as he remained king, no one dared climb in without his permission Bobo and I grew up in this territory that covered the whole mountain and life was easy.
In the morning, we warmed ourselves in the sun and then went to the cliffs to eat Wild berries grow there all year long.
And when it got too hot, we sheltered in caves that stay nice and cool.
Grooming takes up a lot of our time, but it's very important.
Not so much for getting rid of fleas as for cementing friendship.
To tell someone you like them, you go up to them and groom.
Of course, the strongest and the highest-ranking members are the ones who get groomed the most.
Bobo soon became the troop's little darling.
You could even say he was a spoiled child.
On the strength of his lineage, he was pampered by everyone.
No one would dare upset him for fear of drawing Nine Fingers' wrath.
From the moment he could walk, Bobo imitated Nine Fingers in everything he did.
And Nine Fingers tolerated it, even to the point of letting Bobo clamber up the royal tree.
By now Bobo and I were friends¡­ In fact, more like brother and sister.
We were six months old and we started exploring together, wandering further and further from our mothers.
The world was ours.
At the top of our mountain there was a temple where a man lived all by himself.
He's the one who put a red mark on my head just after I was born.
He would do this from time to time.
I don't know why.
Every day at sunset the man fed us.
He fed us little yellow seeds, delicious No one missed these feasts, not even Nine Fingers.
Sometimes because we were hungry, but often from sheer greed.
Afterwards we would go sleep on the cliffs, high above the valley below.
It was the only place in the kingdom safe from tigers and leopards.
The only danger was in the middle of the night when you might lose your footing and fall off the cliff.
So we held onto each other.
And when it grew cold, Bobo and I would huddle up tight and keep one another warm.
Every year after the rainy season, the troop made a tour of the kingdom, to show the world we live in to the little ones born that year.
Nine Fingers was our guide and he led us down to the river.
Everyone crossed over, even Bobo who hitched a lift on his mother.
There was a meadow on the other side where you could find lots of new plants to eat, including medicinal ones.
Bobo and I tried them all.
Afterwards we returned to the mountain and took up our normal lives again.
By now Bobo and I were one year old, the age when you're supposed to be able to fend for yourself.
But a series of events were to take place that would change both our lives forever.
Humans had begun pouring into the valley in droves.
They built a new village and began farming more land.
At first we thought it would mean more food for us, but we hadn't reckoned on them being so selfish.
The monkeys of the troop of the ruins had the toughest time.
They were hounded wherever they went: food was harder and harder for them to find.
And one fine day, they left the ruins.
Soon, they entered our territory and began climbing the slopes towards us.
Nine Fingers saw them coming.
Nine Fingers was nervous.
Things got tense.
Everyone took refuge behind him.
They had gone around the mountain and attacked from behind.
They wanted out territory.
In the end they were the ones who left.
Nine Fingers and Long Tooth pursued them all the way down to the foot of the cliff, and the invaders scattered back to their territory.
Then we heard a terrible fight.
It was between two males.
We recognized Nine Fingers' screams Whatever happened down there Nine Fingers didn't come back.
But Long Tooth did.
And he wasted no time in showing who was the new boss.
That day marked the end of an era¡­ and the beginning of another.
Long Tooth began by showing off his credentials.
Then he clambered onto the highest rock.
And stared at us, one by one Everyone knew what that meant¡­ Everyone except Bobo.
In our society you should never be disrespectful to a leader, especially one who's just taken the job.
It was the first time that Long Tooth could take the liberty of punishing Bobo.
And at first Bob didn't realize how things had changed.
Neither did I.
Bobo and I still thought we were under Nine Fingers' protection.
So we kept playing our games wherever we wanted, even on Nine Fingers' throne.
Except it was no longer Nine Fingers' throne This was the second warning.
Unfortunately it wasn't enough either.
Bobo showed no respect for a third time.
He kept on behaving like a prince.
we all feared that Long Tooth was really going to hurt him.
Long Tooth looked for Bobo everywhere.
He was furious.
When Long Tooth finally found him, Bobo had sought protection with White Ear, Long Tooth showed restraint because White Ear was still the troop's most dominant female.
A public fight with her could result in his losing face in front of everyone.
For now, he backed off and went to check on his new kingdom, as if nothing else was on his mind.
As long as White Ear was around, Bobo was safe And as long as she did not accept Long Tooth's authority, he wouldn't really be King.
Bobo looked for Nine Fingers everywhere in our mountain territory, and as he could not find him, he went further and further.
For the first time, he was on his own.
He didn't realize the risks he was running.
I saw him venture onto the forbidden rock.
Some of our troop had explored there in the past, but had never returned.
The next day was the worst of our lives.
We found her in the early hours of the morning, lying near the spring.
It was White Ear, Bobo's mother.
She lay completely still And her baby had vanished.
This hadn't been done by a leopard.
Could it be the work of Long Tooth? Nobody would ever know.
Bobo stayed by his mother's side for hours White Ear's death changed the troop's social order forever.
Bobo was now at the bottom of the heap.
Without protection, he was the lowliest monkey on the mountain.
Long Tooth then set about choosing a new favourite.
He took up a position on the high rock, and everyone awaited his decision.
Some tried to influence him by showing their eagerness to defer to him.
Like everyone else, I hung on his decision.
The chosen female would become the most important of the troop.
She would take the place of Bobo's mother.
Long Tooth finally chose my mother, Red Nose, as his favourite.
For me, her daughter, it meant that I now became the troop's second most important female.
And after my mother I would become number one, the future queen So a lot of the others immediately came to show me how much they liked me, how much they appreciated me Especially the ones who had never paid me much attention.
But for Bobo there were no such privileges No one came to groom him.
Or even look at him.
Everyone shunned him for fear of displeasing Long Tooth.
Although we were friends, I couldn't be with him.
Protocol decreed that my mother and I had to stay close to the new chief.
There was now no one to stop Long Tooth from eliminating Bobo.
So he left.
I wanted to go with him, but Long Tooth kept a close eye on me.
So I bided my time, looking for the right moment.
I waited for Long Tooth to go into a cave to socialize with my mother.
As soon as our leader was out of sight, I went to Bobo.
We slipped quietly away at sunset.
We hid in the cave of the forbidden rock.
Nowadays no one ever went there.
Bobo's family had vanished, and I was now his only source of comfort.
We stayed hidden for days.
Bobo slowly regained some of his spirit, but this outcast's existence couldn't last forever.
We slept very little.
It was a dangerous place.
We didn't dare venture out for fear of being spotted.
We ate moss and ants.
We licked pebbles for moisture.
When my absence was noticed by Long Tooth, he flew into a rage.
Instead of remaining with him and the troop, I had gone off with a disrespectful little outcast Long Tooth was boiling inside, anyone who had the misfortune of getting too close to him soon regretted it.
A few awful days went by.
Long Tooth had lost face.
After my mother, I was his most important female.
My absence undermined his control of the troop He searched high and low, in every nook and cranny on the mountain.
It became an obsession with him.
He had to find me.
After a few days with no sign of danger, we emerged from our cave to search for food How quickly the young forget their troubles! But our new lease on life was short lived Long Tooth found us.
Bobo had to leave.
He'd been banished from the troop.
I could not go with him anymore.
Among our kind, females never leave the troop He would have to find another life.
The next morning, Bobo went down to the valley in search of food.
It was the first time he'd been down in the valley by himself.
At first it all seemed new and interesting Before long he was in trouble.
It was the troop of the ruins.
They didn't realise Bobo was there among them, or else they would have attacked him.
They were too busy and in too much of a hurry to pay him any attention.
Without swallowing anything, they stuffed their cheeks as fast as possible, some of them shoving six bananas in each side Bobo was beginning to understand that on his own, the valley could easily turn into a violent and dangerous place.
Up on the mountain, the troop's life carried on as usual.
and the weeks went by Long Tooth mated with my mother and with all the troop's females who one by one got pregnant.
I spent hours on end gazing down into the valley, hoping to see Bobo, even from afar.
Was he still alive? Young monkeys who leave the troop usually don't last long.
Bobo's only chance was to be accepted into another troop.
Had he managed it? Soon my mother gave birth to another baby Our troop started filling up with Long Tooth's children.
Eventually he would father my children too I waited and waited And finally as time went by, my own fate was sealed.
I would stay on the mountain and lead a normal life as a female in the mountain troop just as my mother had done before me.
But unknown to us all, Bobo had managed to survive.
At first he ventured into the humans' territory He observed, and learnt how they lived.
Then he returned to the western edge of the kingdom.
He lived by himself for a while on the fringes of the troop of the ruins Little by little he drew closer to them, but cautiously, always in fear of being rejected or mortally wounded.
Then he began following a female who had lost her newborn baby She eventually formed an attachment to him She adopted him as her own, even if he was a little big to really fit the bill.
And that's how Bobo made a place for himself in the troop of the ruins, our enemies.
It took some time for him to make friends with the young of his age¡­ But the years passed and he grew up into a young adult.
From being merely accepted at first, he became respected.
By the age of four he had become one of the troop's most desirable males.
By eight, he became the leader of the troop of the ruins.
An undisputed leader, a protector, a fearless warrior, he fathered many offspring.
But he always remained remote, aloof, rarely getting involved in the troop's everyday bickering.
The troop of the ruins changed its lifestyle Instead of making risky visits to the plantations, they took to going into the town for their food Perhaps Bobo used what he'd learned from the humans and influence the troop's habits.
Life became easier for the troop of the ruins Organized into squads, they lived from pilfering and scavenging, helping themselves to the remains left by humans.
At night they would return to sleep in their ruins.
The troop of the ruins never again tried to enter our territory.
The war was never rekindled.
And I bet Bobo was the main architect of this return to peace.
Did he remember his childhood? He was often seen gazing at this distant mountain where he was born.
It was even said that he sometimes wandered around our slopes, but I never saw him.
Then, one day, years later a frail old monkey return to our mountain nobody recognised him.
Not even I recognized him So much time had gone by By that time I'd taken Red Nose's place at the top of our troop.
The mother of six children, and many grand children.
Long Tooth had been dead for many years.
The old male tried to approach some of us, but no one wanted him there.
Everyone fled.
He didn't stay very long.
With his last strength, he clambered up to the top of the forbidden rock He stayed there until evening The following day, his body was found in the very same cave where Bobo and I had taken refuge all those years before.
That's when I understood who he was.
Bobo died one day in May.
Compared to the rest of us, he surely lived many wonderful adventures.
We had spent our entire lives on the mountain and had never seen anything else.
Bobo had known fear, despair and loneliness But he had seen the world the edge of the world.