- 6 weeks ago
From massive great white sharks and majestic lions to deadly cobras and spiders, National Geographic explores the deadliest creatures on the planet in this 6-part collection of classics.
Category
🐳
AnimalsTranscript
00:01In the wild, death is just a part of life.
00:07But some expert killers make biting the dust a brutal affair.
00:13Anyone who crosses one of these assassins meets a grim fate.
00:18No goodbyes, no second chances, and no mercy.
00:30When it comes to killing, these predators bring the pain.
00:41Their victims' final moments are anything but peaceful.
00:48There's no doubt that death by crocodile attack is a bad way to go.
00:54This guy only eats about once a week, but he makes it count.
01:00He heads out into the brackish waters with just one tactic in his toolkit.
01:15Whether a wildebeest, a boar, or even a barely-there bird,
01:22this predator has mastered the skill of stealth.
01:25In fact, when hunting, almost every action this crocodile makes
01:31is to hide and disguise its deadly intentions.
01:33With little more than its eyes and nose visible, he lurks to avoid detection.
01:46He can sense prey from a distance by detecting the slightest movement in the water.
01:51On top of all that, he can hold his breath for more than an hour,
01:57which means the croc can attack silently from below.
02:00So, it's no surprise this wallaby hasn't noticed the salty's arrival.
02:11With just one snap of his jaws, it's game over.
02:14A large croc's bite force has been compared to that of a T-Rex.
02:32Resistance is futile.
02:40A croc usually has just one chance to ambush and snatch his prey before it escapes.
02:45So, the stealth attack is his best chance of success.
02:51But grabbing large prey is only half the battle.
02:56The croc performs a death roll, turning and twisting in the water,
03:01drowning its prey and tearing them into bite-sized pieces.
03:04All he has to do now is swallow.
03:19This wasp is looking for a warm, cozy place to layer eggs.
03:26An unsuspecting caterpillar is the preferred choice.
03:29One stab and this caterpillar's life is no longer her own.
03:37She keeps feeding on leaves.
03:40While inside her body, tiny wasp larvae are feeding on her.
03:46They keep their lunch alive by making sure they don't touch vital organs.
03:50After a few weeks, the kids have fattened up and are ready to leave home.
04:08The wasp babies literally chew their way out.
04:12But they're so surgical that caterpillar often lives through the ordeal.
04:17Whether she wants to or not.
04:20The larvae start spinning cocoons where they will grow and transform into adults.
04:26In some cases, it is thought that a few larvae stay behind in their host keeping it under their control.
04:32Because even now, it acts on their behalf.
04:39Spinning a silken blanket to conceal the brood.
04:45And acting as a bodyguard for its own parasites.
04:50Their zombie protector doesn't even stop to eat.
04:54Until it finally starves to death.
04:56The adult wasps emerge with one main purpose.
05:04To breed and lay a clutch of eggs.
05:07Inside another unfortunate host.
05:14The Great Barrier Reef.
05:17One of the world's natural wonders.
05:19But beneath the water's surface,
05:21a deadly predator waits for the right moment to strike.
05:30Once a year, green sea turtles swim for hundreds of miles.
05:37To get to this tiny isolated beach along the Great Barrier Reef.
05:45They've come to lay their eggs.
05:51After a long night of digging and laying, this mama turtle heads back to the ocean to rest.
06:00Her eggs are safe for now.
06:03But she is not.
06:05The turtle shares these waters with her worst nightmare.
06:11The tiger shark.
06:14This magnificent predator is at the top of the Great Barrier Reef food chain.
06:26They have the most diverse diet of any shark.
06:30And will eat almost anything.
06:35But today, they're here for one specific delicacy.
06:40The green turtle's secluded oasis is about to become a watery grave.
06:52This female tiger shark has excellent vision.
06:55An amazing sense of smell.
06:57And the ability to detect minute electric fields.
07:00All the turtle can do is hide motionless among the coral.
07:05Using her shell as camouflage.
07:08They can stay underwater for up to two hours.
07:12But the turtle can't hide forever.
07:14She swims to the surface.
07:17And the patient and cunning tiger shark is waiting.
07:2114 feet and 1,400 pounds of finely tuned predatory menace.
07:26Green sea turtles have a fatal weakness.
07:31Thick shells may protect their internal organs.
07:35But they can't retract their heads or flippers.
07:42The shark bites off the turtle's flippers.
07:47There is no chance of escape.
07:49Her powerful jaws and serrated teeth pierce and crush the turtle's shell.
08:01The shark spins in a death roll.
08:14Which tears its helpless prey apart.
08:19This mother turtle has paid the ultimate price for her young.
08:23But all is not in vain.
08:30Two months later, her precious eggs hatch.
08:33And a horde of baby green turtles struggle their way to the water.
08:43The surviving females will eventually make their own journey back to the isolated island to reproduce.
08:48And the tiger sharks will be waiting.
08:54Alone, these ants don't look like much.
08:59Small.
09:01Pesky.
09:03Perhaps an easy target.
09:07But when you put hundreds of thousands of them together,
09:10they are an army of death.
09:12These are African driver ants.
09:15Traveling in groups of up to 22 million strong, they invade an overwhelmed territory.
09:23And with no allegiance to any particular land, they march from place to place, pillaging until resources are diminished.
09:34Anything that remains in their path is swiftly consumed.
09:45They are blind, so they can't see what's ahead of them.
09:50Instead, these ants use antennae to detect the movement of prey.
09:54Armed with a tough exoskeleton and machete-like jaws, they infest areas and swarm victims.
10:04Butchering insects piece by piece.
10:09Up to 100,000 in a single day.
10:14But always marching on.
10:16Even this crustacean in his home aren't safe from this land-dwelling mass.
10:33Storming the crab in his domain, they eat him from the inside out.
10:37For this territorial army of millions, nothing is ever enough.
10:50A skilled hunter strikes when prey least expects it.
10:54These covert killers are masters of the sneak attack.
10:59Inside this cave in Puerto Rico live thousands of bats.
11:09Agile predators in their own right.
11:12Tonight, they are the hunted.
11:15Because when the sun sets, a slithering bat assassin emerges.
11:20The Puerto Rican boa.
11:21Welcome to the Cueva de los Culebrones, the cave of the long snake.
11:31Measuring seven feet, the boas aren't venomous or particularly fast.
11:35But they know a clever trick.
11:38Aware that the bats need to hunt, the snakes set their trap,
11:43slithering up to the mouth of the cave and then uncoiling.
11:45Just 25% of the snake's body stays on the rock as they hunt by sense of touch.
11:54These bats don't know that they are flying through a fatal gauntlet.
12:03Eventually, an unfortunate bat will get too close to the snake's mouth.
12:08Using his strong muscles, the boa wraps his body around the bat twice and squeezes to kill.
12:27Then, in true snake fashion, he eats his prey whole.
12:33It's a plot twist the bat never saw coming.
12:39The great white shark is the ocean's ultimate hunter.
12:49Justifiably, it's the shark's mouth that gets most of the attention.
12:54300 serrated teeth, arranged in seven deadly rows, work together as a saw to rip prey apart.
13:02He has an estimated bite force of over 4,000 pounds per square inch.
13:08That's more than a hyena, lion, and tiger bite combined.
13:21But its mouth isn't the great white's only terrifying feature.
13:24They're also nearly invisible stalkers.
13:29Their dark backs and white underbellies help them blend in from both above and below.
13:35They're also equipped with incredible skills to find their prey.
13:39With a superhero sense of smell, the shark can sniff out a single drop of blood, floating in 10 billion drops of water.
13:50Their other senses are also unbelievably powerful.
13:54Ear openings above their eyes that hear the tiniest of ripples.
14:04Eyes designed to see in daylight or at night.
14:08And an amazing sixth sense, which allows the shark to detect an electric field.
14:14There's nowhere in the ocean where prey can hide.
14:21Today, all of these powers are tuned in to finding one hapless seal.
14:29The seal is fast, but he's no match for jaws.
14:34When the shark is ready to go in for the kill, it launches an attack from below.
14:39The great white is one of the most feared predators in the ocean.
14:45For good reason.
14:50Death lurks at the bottom of this pit.
14:53A ferocious newborn hunter called an antlion.
14:58Its parents were simple flying insects.
15:01The larvae is a mini monster with a savage set of jaws.
15:08Once hatched, it goes to work on a fiendish contraption.
15:13A pit in the sand, just two inches deep.
15:19But for some, it's a death trap.
15:23An unsuspecting ant edges closer to the pit.
15:38The antlion showers sand over the ant, creating a landslide that delivers lunch right to its jaws.
15:45It drags the ant underground to suck out its insides.
15:54The meal over, the antlion simply rebuilds his trap and waits for the next guest to drop in for dinner.
16:02In the deepest ocean, a little-known carnivore unleashes a reign of terror.
16:12Rapid moves, shape-shifting, and sneak attacks are just a few of his many skills.
16:19At five feet long, he's not afraid to get up close and personal.
16:26Meet the humble squid, or as he's also known, the Red Devil.
16:34The name comes from their red color and their notoriously bad attitude.
16:39When threatened, he will lash out with swift and nimble ferocity, all tentacles and fury.
16:45And his agile aggression is excellent when hunting.
16:51At 100 pounds, this squid can eat pretty much all he wants.
16:56And he's highly skilled at grabbing what he needs.
17:00Using his tentacles like a whip, he sucks the meal into his razor-sharp beak.
17:05But it seems to save the worst for its own kind.
17:08These guys are cannibals.
17:12And it appears the bigger the squid, the more they like to attack and eat their own kind.
17:19Today, the squid is thwarted by a massive cannon shot of ink.
17:24Which will probably just leave this hungry Red Devil ready to attack again.
17:47The snake is well known as one of the animal kingdom's most frightening and efficient killers.
18:05But just imagine if snakes could fly.
18:08In the jungles of Southeast Asia, an unlikely threat watches from above.
18:23This is the Chrysopelia snake.
18:27Also known as the flying snake.
18:30Specialized rigid scales allow him to grip vertical surfaces.
18:40With almost Spider-Man powers, he climbs up and out to the tip of a branch.
18:46Drops down into a J-shaped form before he takes to the air.
18:53Potentially able to sort distances nearly 800 feet, this snake's aerial acrobatics are gravity defying.
19:11To achieve lift, the snake morphs its round body.
19:15By sucking in its abdomen, the snake is able to flatten its torso.
19:19Doubling its width to make a somewhat concave surface.
19:24Then, forming an S-shape, it undulates sideways as it flows through the air.
19:30Creating whirls of wind that act as lift-generating wings.
19:37It all makes for an incredibly effective air strike.
19:43As this unsuspecting gecko is about to discover.
19:46The sky is one of the last places to expect a snake attack.
19:54Which is why this swooping serpent is so deadly.
20:00The sky is one of the last places to expect a snake attack.
20:06Which is why this swooping serpent is so deadly.
20:10For many animals, killing is necessary to survive.
20:21But some predators' kill tactics means a slow, agonizing death for their prey.
20:26The ocean is no stranger to dangerous predators.
20:34Gangs of fish.
20:36Lone hunters.
20:38Tricksters.
20:40Yet one clever pod makes a bigger wave than all the rest.
20:44All the rest.
20:49The killer whale lives up to its name.
21:03But these guys don't just kill.
21:04What makes these predators so brutal is they kind of look like they enjoy it.
21:11Living in oceans throughout the world, their hunt is a highly efficient, highly coordinated affair.
21:17Using echolocation to communicate, this pod of Antarctic orcas keys in on a resting Weddell seal.
21:31Rather than kill the seal right away, the whales choose to have a little fun.
21:51Moving in unison, they strike unleashing a high tide of fury.
21:59If one wave isn't enough, they do it again.
22:09And when they successfully knock him off the ice, they put him back up.
22:15And wave wash him again.
22:25But this is nothing compared to their next favorite hobby.
22:30Weddell in the middle.
22:31Weddell in the middle.
22:44This morbid sport may last for two hours.
22:47Weddell in the middle.
22:48Weddell in the middle.
22:54Before they finally devour their seal.
22:59And move on to the next object of torment.
23:02The Japanese honey bee may not seem capable of slow and utter destruction.
23:19Every day, he carries out his household chores.
23:23Pollinating the flora, producing honey, and feeding his queen.
23:28But it's all done with one ultimate goal in mind.
23:32To preserve and defend his colony.
23:35Predators beware.
23:36Hell hath no fury like a honey bee.
23:44Apparently, this Japanese giant hornet didn't get the memo.
23:51Armed with a tough exoskeleton impenetrable to the bee's stingers.
23:54He locates the honey bee's hive and plots a colony invasion.
24:04Unaware of the inferno about to be unleashed.
24:07Hundreds of bees rally to defend what's theirs.
24:21And as one, transform into an ingenious killing machine.
24:30Swarming, they trap the hornet in a deadly buzzy prison.
24:33And literally, turn up the heat.
24:44By violently vibrating their flight muscles,
24:47they raise the core temperature of their death sphere to 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
24:53As hot as Death Valley in July.
24:56This hornet is toast.
25:00The invader is roasted alive.
25:05It's such a deadly tactic that even some honey bees don't survive.
25:12With the hornet dead, the secret location of their prized colony is safe.
25:18So it goes.
25:19If you fight with fire, you'll be sure to burn.
25:27For these meat eaters, killing is not a race.
25:31It's a marathon.
25:32In the waters of South America, all seems peaceful.
25:45But below the surface, it's a different story.
25:49Here lurks one of nature's most infamous river predators.
25:52The piranha is a flesh-eating fish that nightmares are made of.
25:58And it doesn't hunt alone.
26:07This cold-blooded band is big.
26:10Up to 100 strong in a single shoal.
26:12And initiation is easy.
26:19Just show up.
26:21They cruise the freshwater rivers, as if looking for trouble.
26:27Successful scavengers, rotting carcasses become easy, efficient meals.
26:33But sometimes, when the fish have been without food, starvation leads to bloodshed.
26:46And this unsuspecting river rat, known as a capybara, has no idea he's the next target.
26:57Tracking their prey through the murky river, the hungry piranhas move in.
27:01They slay by swarming, and it's not quick.
27:11Small, powerful bites take the capybara down.
27:15But they don't kill it.
27:17Instead, they eat their victim while he's still alive.
27:22It's a full-on feeding frenzy, with no chance of escape.
27:31In minutes, the feast is over.
27:34Leaving nothing but a trail of blood.
27:40The peaceful English countryside.
27:41What better place for young life to frolic and play?
27:42But these little bundles of fur aren't what they seem.
27:43They're stoats, relatives of the weasel.
27:44One of the most famous animals in the world.
27:45They're stoats, relatives of the weasel.
27:46One of the most famous animals in the world.
27:47They're stoats, relatives of the weasel.
27:48One of the most efficient killers of any mammal.
27:49The playful animals in the world.
27:50They're stoats, relatives of the weasel.
27:51One of the most efficient killers of any mammal.
27:52The playful antics of these young kids are just a warm-up for the serious business ahead.
27:55They're stoats, relatives of the weasel.
27:59One of the most efficient killers of any mammal.
28:01The playful antics of these young kids are just a warm-up for the serious business ahead.
28:06At just 12 weeks old, they're fully independent, and ready to hunt for themselves.
28:28Their favorite meal is ten times bigger than they are.
28:33A stoat may be tiny, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in stamina.
28:46It knows it's too dangerous to pounce on the rabbit straight away, so it wears it down
28:52by chasing it and chasing it nearly a mile at full sprint.
29:01The prey begins to flag, but his pursuer still has energy to burn.
29:15The rabbit might weigh four pounds or more, the stoat barely cracks four ounces, but it
29:23overwhelms the larger animal with sheer ferocity.
29:27It tells it what to do next.
29:30A bite to the back of the neck, and the rabbit is now a very large lunch.
29:37To add insult to injury, the young hunter will take over its victim's burrow and continue
29:43its reign of terror over the meadow.
29:49Treachery and betrayal are alive and well in the animal world.
29:54These double-crossers leave their conscience at the door.
30:06Sometimes the most ferocious animal fights are waged within a single species.
30:12When it comes to the world of the capuchin monkey, that couldn't be more true.
30:19In fact, more male capuchins die at the hand of other capuchins than of any other predators.
30:36These monkeys live in organized, competing gangs with up to 35 members, each headed by an alpha
30:43male.
30:47As their leader, the alpha commands respect from the crew, forming allies with the other monkeys,
30:55with one objective, protect his domain.
31:05Today, a rival gang dared to cross into this kingpin stomping ground.
31:11But he's not about to risk his own neck in a fight.
31:15Instead, he calls in his lackeys, who are all too willing to step in.
31:22Fast, agile, and strong, they use their hands and tails to swing swiftly into battle.
31:29In today's turf war, it's not about numbers.
31:35One unlucky minion steps up, and then it's on.
31:52Choked almost to death, the invader monkey surrenders and runs away.
32:16Bruised and bloodied, the home gang keeps control of their turf.
32:22Until the next violent clash against their own kind.
32:33From lovers, to lunch, thinking you're safe can be a fatal mistake.
32:46No, this is not a Hollywood B movie.
32:54The snail's eye stalks really are pulsing, a sure sign it's under alien control.
33:01Parasites have invaded its body.
33:05This snail is now on a march towards destruction, duped by his own lunch.
33:12As a healthy snail grazes, it occasionally ingests bird droppings, usually no biggie.
33:20But this bird is infected with flukeworm parasites.
33:24The flukeworm eggs hatch and creep into the snail's eye stalks, which appear to flash and pulse
33:32as the little bugs squirm.
33:34Now, for the death march.
33:42The flukeworms force the snail to head out into broad daylight, instead of hiding in the shade.
33:50Hungry birds spot the pulsating beacon.
33:54And the flukeworm's twisted life cycle starts all over.
34:07There she is, playing it cool, looking seductive, irresistible to any guy who crosses her web.
34:20Feast your eyes upon the Australian red-back spider.
34:28She's known to kill humans.
34:31But in true femme fatale fashion, it's the males of her own species that become her target.
34:39When ready to mate, the much smaller males hang on the edge of the web to gauge the female's
34:45interest.
34:55It appears this female likes the attention.
35:01He's lucky.
35:04Only 20% of male red-backs get the chance to mate.
35:12But his luck is about to run out.
35:22He begins his conquest by inserting one of two pedipalves into her.
35:33Once the deed is done, that's when our femme fatale strikes.
35:40By eating the male while they mate, it will actually extend their chances of reproducing.
35:46Mixing pain with pleasure gives the couple more bang for their buck.
35:52This fatal attraction wasn't just another dinner date.
35:58If you thought the Australian red-back spider was gruesome, just wait until you meet her cousin.
36:06And her kids.
36:15Dozens of freshly hatched black lace weaver spiders are hungry.
36:20For a meal, only mom can provide.
36:28She lays a second batch of eggs.
36:31And the babies eagerly feast on their unborn brothers and sisters.
36:37As they grow, their appetites get bigger, too.
36:42What's a mother to do?
36:45She has one last source of emergency food, herself.
36:52She signals them by tapping the web, and her little ones gather round.
36:59Their killer instinct suddenly switches on, and they attack.
37:06The mother's insides dissolve, and the babies suck out the liquid meal.
37:16In three weeks, they'll disperse to lead solitary lives.
37:25And the females will one day make their own ultimate sacrifice for their babies.
37:38Mother Nature doesn't coddle the young.
37:41And in some cruel corners of the animal kingdom, babies die before they're even born.
37:54Nowhere does the fight for survival start as early as it does in the realm of the tiger shark.
37:59This shark is ready to become a mom, and her future babies are already in competition.
38:15She mates with as many males as she can, eventually producing about a dozen embryos.
38:22And that's where things start to go downhill.
38:24With two uteri, a shark can only bear two children at a time.
38:32So in utero, it's war.
38:35Each unborn shark has one goal, its sole survival.
38:42They will turn on each other and methodically start to cannibalize their siblings and gain strength.
38:50When all are devoured, the sibling slayer moves on to its mother's
38:54unfertilized eggs and eats those, a phenomenon called oophagy.
39:01For the baby shark, it's kill or be killed.
39:13Once they are born, they are immediately abandoned.
39:16Luckily for them, they've already gone through survival training and are clearly able to fend for themselves.
39:28Hyenas already have a pretty bad rap.
39:34Between the snarling, the scavenging, and the blood-curdling laugh,
39:37these animals don't need another characteristic to make them scary.
39:43But we found one.
39:45Deadly sibling rivalry.
39:51These 190-pound predators live in a strict hierarchy.
39:55Like the military, every hyena has a rank.
39:58The higher your rank, the more you get to eat.
40:03Females take the top spots, and like a royal family, pass their status on to their children.
40:10So whatever your mother's rank is, is your rank.
40:14But there's one problem.
40:15A mother hyena can't always provide for her young.
40:19And the least aggressive cub will least likely survive.
40:25Which means the struggle between siblings for dominance starts almost immediately after birth.
40:33Weighing less than three pounds, the hyena pups are born with open eyes and sharp teeth.
40:39Which they promptly turn on each other.
40:41Eventually, two sister pups figure out the best way to win is to eliminate the third.
40:54They attack.
41:03But they don't kill her quickly.
41:07Instead, they limit her access to their mother's milk.
41:11Eventually, starving her to death.
41:18If they're lucky, the surviving sisters will have little killers of their own one day.
41:30High in a Korean forest, a mother parrot bill is tending to her nest.
41:36Her newborns are fighting.
41:37The weaker one is pushed out of the nest to his death by his unusually large brother.
41:44It seems like sibling rivalry gone bad.
41:53And it's even worse than it looks.
41:57Earlier, a common cuckoo spent days spying on the parrot bill.
42:00While the parrot bill is away, the cuckoo swoops in, destroys an egg, and lays one of her own.
42:15Mom returns none the wiser.
42:17The cuckoo's egg is much bigger, but she doesn't seem to notice.
42:26The imposter egg usually hatches first.
42:29And the new mother treats the baby as her own.
42:31She instinctively cares for any chick that's in her nest.
42:40It's a sinister strategy called brood parasitism.
42:43And this trick is just the beginning.
42:49One of the parrot bill's own chicks hatches, but it's born next to a deadly imposter.
42:54Killing works up an appetite.
43:05Below, a graveyard testifies to the baby cuckoo's efficiency.
43:15Soon, the imposter is too big for the nest.
43:17But the unsuspecting mother keeps feeding it.
43:25And cleaning up after it.
43:31She will slavishly care for her real baby's killer, even as it outgrows her.
43:38It may be cuckoo, but this con artist knows a good deal when it sees one.
43:42They say life isn't fair, but neither is death.
43:52In a dog-eat-dog world, sophisticated killers prey on the weak.
43:58Whether you're the hunter or the hunted, every day is do or die.
44:12They say life isn't good.
44:14And if you're a man in the dark.
44:18So you need a sign of evidence to use a cat to use a dog-eat-dog group,
44:21to keep it looking and have sex in the mud.
44:21The one with the one with the threeries on the injured brother's another man needs.
44:23And the other thing is, it gets a fist to get it out.
44:24The other way, if we do that, it is a lie.
44:24You do, it is a pac-eat-dog group.
44:25And the other thing is, I guess I guess I guess I'll do something.
44:27If you're a man-eat-dog group, it's a dog-eat-dog group,
44:28it's a dog-eat-dog group, it's an dog-eat-dog group.
44:31It's a dog-eat-dog group, it's a dog-to-dog.
Recommended
49:00
|
Up next
44:00
56:30