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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!