Is chimp politics like ours? - 6 Minute English

Hi! Neil from BBC Learning English here.

Did you know that we are now offering

a new weekly extra episode of 6

Minute English exclusively on our

website? So go to

bbclearninenglish.com to find your

favourite presenters on

your favourite programme.

The extra episodes are only

available on our website:

bbclearningenglish.com.

See you there!

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from

BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.

And I'm Sam.

In English, there are many expressions

which use an adjective to compare

humans with animals. For example, you

might say, She's as busy as a bee...

As hungry as a horse. But you probably

won't hear someone say

'She's as clever as a chimpanzee'.

... which is strange, because of all the

animals it's our close cousins,

chimpanzees, or chimps for short,

who are most like us.

Just like humans, chimps are highly

intelligent. They live in social groups

and just like humans these

groups have leaders.

Also, like humans, chimps have

a desire for power. In fact,

chimpanzees have their own politics

which is surprisingly similar to

human politics, as we'll be

discovering in this programme.

Research shows that the reason

chimpanzee behaviour so closely

resembles human politics is because

biologically we are almost identical.

Did you know that a chimp is more

like a human than like a gorilla?

So, Sam, my quiz question is this:

biologically, how close are

chimpanzees to humans? Is it:

a) 79 % ? b) 89 % ?, or c) 99 % ?

Well, Neil, if chimps and humans

are almost identical, I'll guess c) 99 %.

OK, Sam, we'll find out the correct

answer at the end of the programme.

In human societies of course, not

everyone gets to be a political leader.

It's usually the most powerful or

ambitious person who

becomes president.

In chimpanzee society this is

called the alpha male - the most

successful and powerful male

who leads the group.

Professor Frans de Waal is an

expert on chimpanzee behaviour.

Here he is on BBC World Service

programme, The Why Factor, telling

presenter, James Tilley, about one

example of chimp behaviour which

closely mirrors human politics.

Older males who are over the hill

and cannot be alpha males any more,

they start grooming a certain young

male who they think has a future,

and they may end up making that

young male the alpha male with

their help, meaning that they are

essential to the power of

that young male...

They're the power behind the

throne, really...

Yeah - these older males - and you

see that in human politics all the

time, these older males who have

a lot of influence still.

Professor de Waal calls chimps

who are too old to be alpha males,

over the hill - a phrase describing

someone who is old and no

longer useful or attractive.

Older chimps try to control younger

males in order to maintain their own

power and influence. In other words,

they are the power behind the

throne - an expression meaning

someone with no official power but

who secretly controls

things in the background.

Another example of chimp

politics is when several weaker

males gang up and overthrow a

stronger alpha male. By working

together weaker chimps can

increase their power and the

benefits, like food,

which power brings.

According to Simon Hicks, professor

of political science at the London

School of Economics, human

alliances work in exactly the same way.

Here is Professor Hicks speaking

with BBC World Service

programme, The Why Factor:

So, for example if you imagine three

parties in a parliament, one big one

and two small ones, you might think

that naturally the most likely coalition

is the big party with either one

of the two small ones, whereas,

in fact, minimum winning coalition

prediction would suggest the two

smaller ones should get together,

if together they can reach more

than 50 percent of the seats,

because they can divide up the

spoils between the two of them.

Whereas, if either one of them form

a coalition with a big party, the big

party would dominate, and they

wouldn't get many of the

spoils for themselves.

Professor Hicks recommends

that smaller political parties get

together - join together in a group

to combine their power.

These smaller parties could form

a coalition - a collection of different

political groups who unite for a

limited time to form a government.

In human politics making coalitions

improves your chances of

winning an election.

And in chimpanzee politics coalitions

are a good way for young male

chimps to defeat the alpha male

and divide up the spoils between

themselves. Here, the word spoils

means the benefits obtained by

winning a war or being in

a strong position.

For ambitious alpha chimps the

spoils might include getting first

choice of food and female partners.

While for human politicians power

can bring wealth and fame as well.

And there's something else alpha

chimpanzees and human politicians

have in common - they like to show

their softer side by kissing babies!

It looks like chimps and humans

share many similar behaviours after all -

which reminds me of your

quiz question, Neil.

Yes, in my quiz question I asked Sam

how similar we are to chimps.

What did you say, Sam?

I said that, biologically speaking,

we're - c) 99 % the same.

Which is the correct answer!

Well done, Sam - you're as

clever as a chimp!

Ah, thanks, Neil! And you're

definitely not over the hill! Let's

recap the vocabulary from today's

programme about chimp politics,

starting with alpha male - the most

successful and powerful

male in any group.

Over the hill is used to describe

someone who is old and no

longer useful or attractive.

Someone who is the power behind

the throne secretly controls things

but has no official power.

Get together means join

together as a group.

A coalition is when different

political groups temporarily

unite to form a government.

And finally, the spoils are benefits

or advantages gained by

winning a war.

That's all for this programme.

Bye for now!

Goodbye!