Living with Monkeys: Tales from the Treetops

• 2009-2009
• Documentary

From a tree house set 120 feet above the Gabon jungle, a zoologist, an outdoorsman and a team of wildlife filmmakers set out to uncover the secrets of this coastal rainforest. For primatologist Dr Julie Anderson, writer Guy Grieve and wildlife cameraman Gavin Thurston, the tree house, with its 20-metre long rope bridge leading to an observation platform, will be home for six weeks. A safe haven from the dangers of elephants and buffaloes on the forest floor, it is the perfect base to go in search of the little known monkey, the red-capped mangabey. Seeking out this rare primate, the team stake out the jungle, deploying an array of wildlife film-making gadgets - camera traps, thermal imaging and infra-red cameras - while their forays into the jungle reveal more fascinating wildlife such as wallowing hippos, elephants on the beach and, in the swamps and marshland, the elusive lowland gorilla. Each day the team returns to the tree house where they cook, eat, wash and sleep high above the forest floor. Here they must endure the tropical storms, searing heat, venomous creatures and, of course, each other. Combining beautiful photography and a totally-immersed wildlife adventure, Living with Monkeys - Tales from the Treetops presents an exciting and different view of life in the rainforest.