Did you know it’s really Survival of the Friendliest NOT the fittest? Unless your fitness comes from being friendly, I suppose. Did you know that apes migrate? Or that orangutans sing? How about non-human apes can’t swim because their bones are too heavy? Or which great ape has a natural cultural vocabulary of over 30 “word-sentences”?
Answers to all these and more are why we created Talking Apes. Apes are simply amazing, not bones about it. But not everything about them can be captured in a photo or a video. Originally, we created Talking Apes for our YouTube channel Apes Like Us. We were looking for a vehicle to expand opportunities to engage the world in what’s happening to great apes? why we should care? and what we risk by not caring?
Talking Apes is a twice-monthly opportunity to keep you informed and engaged about everything apes and primates. We will be chatting with ape experts, enthusiasts, and conservationists from around to world to get at the heart of what happening with apes in the wild! From research to outreach, our guests are at the forefront of the conservation and survival of our wild primate cousins.
Why Talking Apes?
Well, we are apes that talk — a somewhat unique trait of us Homo sapiens apes. While we often talk too much and talk a lot of gibberish, we also express some incredible thoughts and ideas, both poetic and profound. There are dozens of theories behind why we talk, how speech came about and why, also how other apes use their own voices to be heard. Some of these topics and ideas will be explored on Talking Apes, which is odd in a sense, apes talking about why and how they talk, but the folks we have lined up for the show are amazingly interesting to listen to.
2021 is GLOBIO’s 20th Anniversary and one of the gifts to ourselves this year is to explore more and discover new ways to impact the planet we all cherish. Apes have been called the canaries in the global coal mine, what happens to them, happens to us. So what better way to understand what’s happening to our world than through the lives of our closest animal cousins. The only way to share what is happening to great apes and primates at this very moment is to speak to the people working on the frontline now, today. For as huge a part of the global survival equation as great apes are they can’t speak for themselves. GLOBIO was founded on a mission of connectedness and awareness. Over the past 20-years, we have discovered that two things connect and inspire deeper thinking faster than nearly anything else, incredible wildlife stories and the story of the people telling those stories. So we created Talking Apes.
Click here a list of upcoming Talking Apes guests and show dates.
I’m really proud of this new show and the opportunity to share a range of viewpoints and thinking about apes and our world with an even greater audience. Please join us each month for a watch or listen as we unpack the plight of primates, piece by piece with some fascinating and engaging guests, apes like us, who know how to talk and tell a great tale.
— Gerry Ellis
