| “ | Last time, we saved the largest shark ever. This time we go back in time to rescue mankind's beginnings in Africa some 3 million years ago. In the form of an ape that came down from the trees and walked upright. | „ |
| — Allen, opening narration | ||
The Walking Ape is the fifth episode of Series 3 and the thirty second episode of Prehistoric Earth: A Natural History.
Synopsis[]
Allen has fallen ill and unable to go on a rescue mission, instead Rebecca leads to the team to go to Late Pliocene Africa 3 million years ago to rescue the apes that started the evolution of mankind. They will also go Early Pleistocene Africa 2 million years ago to the earliest tool-makers and the heavy weight contenders that shaped our past.
Plot[]
Allen's dream to bring many kinds of prehistoric animals have been a success as many of the animals adjusted to their new enviornment. Allen then has apes on his mind as he came to check on the park's troop of Chimpanzees and watch them play and relax. One of the chimps walks a short distance on two legs, Allen believed that walking on two legs was the key of how humans became a successful species. He goes to his boss Joanna and reminds that he is going to rescue the earliest ancestors of humans as he shows her pictures of the fossilized Laetoli footprints he took during his trip to Tanzania. After she looked at the pictures of the footprint trail, Allen opens a small wooden crate and shows Joanna the skull of an unusual ape and tells her that he is going to rescue the earliest species of upright walking ape called Australopithecus from Late Pliocene Africa, 3.2 million years ago.
He heads to the Primeval Aquarium enclosure where one of the staff members feeds Meg, the female Megalodon rescued from Late Miocene Peru, 15 million years ago a large chunk of meat as he realizes that Megalodon were around by the time Australopithecus roamed throughout Africa. As he prepared to leave for his next rescue mission, Allen falls ill with the flu and asks Rebecca if she can be responsible for rescuing Australopithecus for him. She said yes as she takes over for Allen on the mission to rescue the ape ancestors of mankind. Meanwhile Ruby heard Allen's plan to rescue the earliest ancestors of humans and prepares her hunting gear and takes her rifile with her. At the park's research lab, Shaun Wells scans the Australopithecus skull and compares the animal's brain size to a modern human's and said that Australopithecus' brain is smaller and only the size of chimpanzees as he also scans a modern chimp skull.
The team opens the portal and heads into the Late Pliocene where they arrive on an open savanna located in the Rift Valley in Ethiopia. The team rescues a species of warthog called Metridiochoerus and a species of White Rhinoceros called Ceratotherium and bring them back to the park. As they continue across the savanna they came across a species of Chalicothere related to Chalicotherium called Ancylotherium grazing on treetops near a large elephant-like animal with curved down tusks on it's lower jaw called Deinotherium.
As they reached the edge of a forest Rebecca spotted what they were looking for, a whole troop of Australopithecus, whom were relaxing and grooming themselves while some are sitting in a tree. One of them leaps from the tree and slowly walks on two legs until it eventually stood upright like a human which astounded Rebecca. The team spots the group's leader and decides to call him Grey whom one of the female's of the group was not a fan of and calls the her Babble.
Rebecca then spots a young orphaned male who was feeling outcast by the other individuals of the troop following his mother's death, she calls the youngster Blue. Suddenly a larger male challenges Grey for leadership of the troop and the team calls the male Hercules as he challenges Grey leadership of the troop. Grey puts Hercules into his place for the moment as the team gets closer to the Australopithecus troop. They follow the group to a waterhole where the troop was drinking near a small group of Ancylotherium. Sudden a group of Deinotherium came down to the waterhole to drink and drives the Australopithecus away especially a young Deinotherium. The team opens to the portal and gets the Deinotherium back to the safety of the park where they were put into the Giraffe Enclosure.
After the team rescues Deinotherium they head back into the forest to rescue Grey and his troop whom where socially grooming their fur near a stream. They were attacked by several male Australopithecus from a larger troop who were challenging Grey for his territory. Grey and his group retreats as they were too few in number defend their territory from the rival males. Ruby tries to shoot at the males so she can take one as her prize and Rebecca ordered her to stop as they follow the troop's trail. As they reached a river they spotted a prehistoric species of Crocodilian called Crocodylus and gets a few of them to the Crocodilian Enclosure back at the park.
They follow Grey and his group across the savanna and then spot a species of Saber Tooth Cat called Megantereon who was hunting in the bush. Rebecca and the group get a few of them back to the park and put on exhibit in the park's new Saber-Tooth Rock enclosure. Four days pass as the team keeps following the Australopithecus troop, however not too far away a large male Deinotherium was foraging on leaves and spots the troop and begins to charges at them like an elephant. They eventually went into the safety of the tree, however Babble's youngster get separated and she try's to distract the Deinotherium. Ruby tries to shoot at the Deinotherium but it's hind was thick. The enraged pachyderm charges and slams the jeep with it's head and trunk until the young Australopithecus continues to call out and the animal charges at it.
The Deinotherium ultimately gives up as the team brings the male back to the park with the other prehistoric animals. After they rescued the male Deinotherium the team continued to follow the troop. After a few days of traveling, the group found place with trees to hide in, water to drink, and lots of fruit which they share with some Ancylotherium. Rebecca and the team opens the portal and rescues a handful of Ancylotherium back to the park. As dusk approaches the team sets up camp for the night, as they watch the Australopithecus group make nests in the trees to sleep in as some primates are no longer nocturnal.
The next day the team spots one of the other female's carrying an egg that the she stole from an Ostrich. As she tries to break it open, Grey steal the egg from her. Sudden the female was attacked and killed by another species of Saber Tooth Cat that hunts Australopithecus called Dinofelis who drags the carcass of the female Australopithecus to a tree so it would eat. The team gathers a few Dinofelis and brings them back to the park. After rescuing the Saber Tooth Cats and brought to the safety of the park, the team goes to rescue the troop of Australopithecus.
They spotted them digging for roots and tubers with sticks as fruit were not in season, they even saw Blue using a stick and digs for plant tubers in the dirt. They went spotted a Zebra carcass being feasted on by a flock of vultures until Hercules scares them away. As he eats the meat from the carcass, Hercules and Grey began to fight for leadership again. After the fight Hercules becomes the top male of the group as he returns to Zebra carcass to eat the meat from it. The team opens the portal so they can get Hercules and his troop back to the park so they can be saved from extinction.
Unbeknownst to the team, another female Australopithecus who was looking for a new troop to join follows them back to the present and they call her Lucy. Shortly after Lucy gets accepted by Hercules and the troop, Rebecca and the team get chased through the portal by another troop of Australopithecus this time by the Anamensis species whom they thought that the team were a rival troop. They get the two species of Australopithecus to the new Ape Men Enclosure next door to the park's sauropod enclosure.
After a few days following the team's rescue mission on Australopithecus, the troops start to settle in their new surroundings while Hercules dominance as the dominant male has less internal conflict than what the team saw before when Grey was top male.
| “ | Next time, we go back Africa 2 million years ago to rescue two different species of ape-men one being the earliest tool-makers and the other the heavy weight attenders who shaped our past. | „ |
| — Allen, closing narration | ||
Characters[]
Animals[]
- Ancylotherium
- Australopithecus
- Black-Backed Jackal
- Ceratotherium
- Crocodylus
- Deinotherium
- Dinofelis
- Megantereon
- Metridiochoerus
- Plains Zebra
- Rüppell's Vulture
Time[]
- Late Pliocene - 3.2,000,000 BC
Gallery[]
