(peaceful music)
- [Narrator] Babies on babies on babies.
O-M-G, are these kids the cutest little urchins or what?
On these ancient temple grounds of Sri Lanka,
this troop of tufted gray langur monkeys
have given birth to a baby boom of sorts
and it's all thanks to one lucky guy, Pamu.
The group's lone alpha male, eight-year-old Pamu,
is solely responsible for all these little ones
and judging by how many there are,
it's clear he put in the work.
Well, sort of.
You see, their family has its own way of doing things.
Pamu's baby mamas tend to the needs of their babies
while he just kinda hangs out.
He doesn't really care
to be too involved with child rearing.
Actually, to be quite honest,
he doesn't seem to care at all.
His main role in the family dynamic
is to spread his seed among the nine females in his harem.
Tufted gray langurs are pretty big
on sitting around doin' nothin'.
They spend roughly 80% of their time on the ground.
Okay, so being king looks easy
but when those tummies start rumbling,
Pamu's got plenty of mouths to feed.
These guys love fruit
but it can be hard to come by
especially as the dry season sets in.
The pressure's on but that happens to be
when this papa's skills come into play.
He's found a fig tree
and just in time, with the last of the fruits nice and ripe.
While it's low hanging,
this fruit isn't exactly ripe for the taking.
A troop of toque macaques got here first.
And they haven't got their fill of figs, ya dig?
This is where a father's wisdom kicks in.
A life of scuffling has taught Pamu patience is a virtue.
So he holds his troops back and they wait
for their table to be called.
Whoop, there it is.
The macaques have gassed up and they're on their way
and with that, Pamu guides his troop
up that big fig tree.
When he needs to be, Pamu can be very fast and agile.
Hunger well satiated, the group goes into digestion mode.
More lazing around.
But unbeknownst to them,
a threat lurks between the leaves nearby.
A small gang of bachelors
and they're coming for Pamu's throne.
If they attack and overthrow Pamu,
they'll kill all his babies.
Infanticide clears the path for one of them
to be the new alpha and father his own young.
Yeah, Pamu's not down for that.
Not down at all. (monkey grunting)
But it's three against one.
The odds are well stacked against him.
He is bigger, older, and more skilled
than these challengers
and with his family's lives on the line,
he'll take those odds.
(monkeys chirping) (suspenseful music)
Pamu launches into battle.
As he fights courageously, his females grab their babies
and scatter off.
The mums are desperate
to get their offspring out of harm's way.
In the chaos, the youngest toddler of the troop
becomes separated from his mother
but an older sister comes to his rescue.
With attackers on the rampage,
her instinct is to get him to safety.
Meanwhile, the testosterone-fueled tussle rages on.
Pamu's going all out to protect his bloodline
and with one final desperate charge,
he forces his rivals out.
Yeah, you better run!
The king has kept his kingdom intact
and as peace sets back in, his family's baby boom
is set to thrive.
As a father, he may not be the type
to give his kids piggybacks or play catch
but when they need a fruit provider
or a fearless protector,
Pamu here pulls out all the stops.
So, to all the dads out there showin' up for their kids,
mad props, pops, mad props.