- 42 minutes ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:02All over the world, species clash in nature's savage battle of survival, on the open plains, in the oceans, and
00:16under desert skies.
00:19All are locked in deadly conflict. Animals fight tooth and claw to win food, territory, and rights to the bloodline.
00:32From the uplands of America, to the wilds of Africa, there are no rules. This is Animal Fight Club.
00:54Hippos spend three quarters of their lives in water. They can even sleep underwater.
01:04A unique reflex brings them up to breathe without waking up.
01:11So if a hippo's getting out of his bath, it's going to be for something deadly serious.
01:27It's the dry season. Hippos from different pods cram into one evaporating stretch of river.
01:38Pods can live side by side, as long as no one upsets the hierarchy.
01:50But one gatecrasher has his sights on the other pod's females. And for their boss, that's grounds for a fight.
02:18He forces the three-ton upstart back into the crowd.
02:32But one giant surge turns the tables. The boss makes for the shore.
02:54But he's not retreating. This fight is now at DEFCON 1.
03:08The gatecrasher keeps coming. The boss makes the most of new terrain.
03:19More traction means more pushing power.
03:38In Hippo law, the biggest jaw wins.
03:46And the boss's gape has the edge.
03:52The gatecrasher drops his head in defeat.
03:56He's learned the hard way.
03:58Get the boss out of his bath, and you face three tons of trouble.
04:09Young lions learn to hunt on the job.
04:14But if they don't keep up with the kill crew, they can be killed.
04:23Mpumalanga, South Africa.
04:26The marthly pride tackles its toughest prey.
04:31A cape buffalo.
04:37The experienced matriarch holds down the back end.
04:43Two-year-old little bro takes the sharp end.
05:00But it goes horribly wrong.
05:09Lions are not natural-born killers.
05:15Lionesses teach youngsters to hunt by just 15 months old.
05:23They become expert killers by two and a half.
05:30But over three-quarters of them won't even reach this age.
05:42A quarter of the buffalo's horn skewers the rookie's armpit.
05:49Around a foot deep, one big swing of the head could prove fatal.
06:02The horn spears through tough lion hide.
06:08And penetrates the bicep.
06:11An injury that could lead to fatal infection.
06:15Worse still, his own body weight, 240 pounds, pulls him down onto the horn.
06:23If it severs an artery, he will bleed to death.
06:32But it can take hours for a lion team to kill a buffalo.
06:39And first, they must haul down almost 2,000 pounds of adrenaline-fueled beast.
06:47The horn digs closer towards the artery.
06:56But the rookie sticks to his job.
07:02And sinks two and a half inch canines into the buffalo's neck.
07:11The buffalo thrashes desperately.
07:21And lets the youngster off the hook.
07:29He's in pain, but his work is done.
07:33The buffalo's exhausted.
07:40And now the matriarch can finish him off.
07:51The rookie's wounded, but it's not fatal.
07:55And his weight helped drag down the buffalo.
07:58So it wasn't plan A.
08:01But the team secures over 1,800 pounds of beef.
08:06To feed the pride.
08:12Predators are designed by their environment.
08:17Venture into their domain.
08:20And it's get out fast.
08:22Or fast become lunch.
08:29Each year, tiger sharks migrate to the North Pacific.
08:36They come for one reason.
08:48Albatross fledglings.
08:58Adult albatross.
09:00Adult albatross are 70 mile an hour flying machines.
09:07But they don't start out like this.
09:12On a Hawaiian beach, six month old fledglings prepare to fly the nest.
09:22Launching into the wind gives them lift.
09:27But it doesn't always work.
09:33And waiting at the end of their runway is one of the ocean's most capable killers.
09:43She's a 13-foot killing machine.
09:49Rows of serrated teeth.
09:53Effortlessly saw through hard turtle shell.
09:57A favorite snack.
10:00So tiny fledglings are easy pickings.
10:05Tiger sharks have a blind spot.
10:08Right in front of their nose.
10:11But they have an ingenious solution.
10:21Tiger sharks have electro-receptors on their heads, called ampulli of Lorenzini.
10:29Skin pores filled with a jelly-like substance embedded in the skin connect to receptor cells.
10:36They can detect weak electrical signals created by nearby animals as they move.
10:42Allowing this albatross-seeking missile to zero in on its prey.
10:52Albatross lay just one egg a year.
10:56So this little guy is precious.
11:01But learning to fly with a seven-foot wingspan is a big ask.
11:09A tiger shark senses a splash and moves in on her target.
11:16The tiny chick can't see her.
11:20But never underestimate an underdog.
11:24But never underestimate an underdog.
11:29This albatross chick stranded.
11:34In tiger shark territory.
11:40It needs stronger winds to get airborne.
11:47It should be game over.
12:01But the shark's own bow wave pushes her prey to safety.
12:12The chick wants to fly.
12:16But can't quite make it.
12:41But this chick's no easy target.
12:46He's gonna fight back.
12:56He unleashes his only weapon.
13:01A shark's eye is a rare weak spot.
13:06But she has a killer defense.
13:11As she opens her jaw to bite.
13:14A specialized muscle slides a third eyelid across the eye.
13:20Known as a nictitating membrane.
13:23It forms an effective protective shield.
13:27But renders the shark temporarily blind as it attacks.
13:36And that split second is time enough to escape.
13:44This albatross is off the menu.
13:47For now.
13:50But for the shark, there's plenty more birds in the sea.
14:04In the wild, there's no fast track to success.
14:09Climb the ladder.
14:10And it's a rumble.
14:12On every rum.
14:17Bighorn rams may be sheep.
14:21But they can fight for 24 hours straight.
14:26They stage brutal play-offs for mating rights.
14:29Where only the winner secures their bloodline.
14:35The losers.
14:37They just spill blood.
14:42It's rutting season in Canada's Rocky Mountains.
14:47In these parts, over a hundred rams compete.
14:52It's tough enough if you're part of the gang.
14:56But this Casanova is a stranger.
15:01He wants to take on the dominant male.
15:05But first, he must beat his lieutenants.
15:11All three of them.
15:26Even against three.
15:28Casanova holds his ground.
15:40Double-layered skulls protect their brains from being crushed.
15:50A lieutenant gears up for a ferocious assault.
15:58And delivers a 40-mile-an-hour strike.
16:06Inches from blinding Casanova's right eye.
16:12Their reinforced skulls are built to withstand front impact.
16:17But a hard enough side smash...
16:20...can kill them.
16:25Bloodied, Casanova fights back.
16:32Unable to match his stamina, the lieutenants give up.
16:37Casanova's exhausted.
16:39But one ram still stands in his way.
16:43And he...
16:45...is the toughest of them all.
16:56Bighorn rams can endure more than five clashes an hour.
17:03And after conquering three subordinates...
17:08...this outsider now faces the dominant male.
17:18His seasoned opponent takes the high ground.
17:22This builds more battering momentum.
17:26And greater impact force.
17:30It's like being hit by a baseball bat.
17:33At 80 miles an hour.
17:39Casanova faces an uphill battle.
17:42But goes full power.
17:51The force cracks his opponent's horn.
17:57But as a weapon...
18:00...it's no less deadly.
18:09After a brutal two-tiered tournament...
18:12...one last blow from the big guy...
18:18...is too much for Casanova.
18:24He doesn't win the right to mate.
18:26But incredibly wins a place in the gang.
18:34When the prey is deadly...
18:36...even the fastest predators...
18:40...need a backup plan.
18:50All-you-can-eat buffets...
18:52...don't come much bigger...
18:53...than the annual wildebeest migration.
18:57As over a million of them...
18:59...trek almost 2,000 miles.
19:04There's more protein on the move here...
19:06...than anywhere else on land.
19:14Just one wildebeest kill...
19:17...is a half a million calorie feast...
19:20...for this male cheetah.
19:22But it's risky...
19:24...because cheetahs...
19:27...are fragile.
19:29They're lightweight...
19:31...for speed.
19:35A cheetah's oversized heart and lungs...
19:38...race oxygen around its body...
19:41...so it can accelerate...
19:43...from zero to 60 miles an hour...
19:46...in under three seconds.
19:51But cheetahs are short-distance runners.
19:56So this cat...
19:58...targets the runt...
20:00...the quickest kill.
20:17But those 30-inch horns...
20:19...can still pierce his gut.
20:27One cheetah has long odds...
20:30...against prey this size.
20:34But he's not alone.
20:39Little brother...
20:41...joins the attack.
20:44The ambush trap is set.
20:51But the odds...
20:52...change again.
20:56Six hundred pounds of wildebeest...
20:59...can crush a light-boned cat.
21:04It splits the gang.
21:09But they round again on the first target.
21:30The ambush strategy works.
21:32The ambush strategy works.
21:34Even the run yields around 500 pounds...
21:37...of protein-rich meat.
21:39Enough to keep two cheetahs alive...
21:41...until the next hunt.
21:46They call this...
21:47...the animal kingdom.
21:50But the kings...
21:52...don't always rule the roost.
22:02In the jungles of Madagascar...
22:05...lurks a mysterious creature...
22:09...that can kill...
22:11...with its farts alone.
22:14And turn people into zombies...
22:17...with its poisonous lick...
22:19...before disemboweling them.
22:24Or so says local legend.
22:29The creature...
22:31...is the Fusa.
22:34And the reality...
22:35...is just as strange.
22:38It has retractable claws...
22:41...like a cat.
22:42A monkey-like tail...
22:44...as long as its body.
22:47And hind legs...
22:49...that can rotate 180 degrees...
22:51...around the ankles...
22:52...to climb down trees...
22:54...head-first.
22:57Fusas are rare...
22:59...but no one told the females.
23:03She's extremely hard to please...
23:05...and she'll fight any males...
23:08...she doesn't like.
23:10She only mates once a year...
23:13...and often...
23:14...in the same carefully chosen tree.
23:21A hot-blooded male...
23:22...is desperate to mate.
23:24He's got one shot.
23:30Madagascar's Fusa females...
23:32...only mate with the most competitive males.
23:36So this suitor...
23:38...better have the right stuff.
23:47He's bold.
23:50But she's still not impressed.
23:56Females use weaker branches...
23:58...to lure rejects...
24:00...into dangerous territory.
24:06But retractable claws...
24:09...swing him away from trouble.
24:12He gets the message.
24:16Quitters are not her type.
24:20At least those swiveling ankles...
24:23...give him a fast getaway.
24:29But...
24:30...there's another suitor on the scene.
24:41And it seems...
24:44...he's got the right moves.
24:50No animal...
24:52...can truly be tamed.
24:55But even the wildest beasts...
24:59...have their rules.
25:08High noon...
25:10...in Mustang Alley.
25:13An outlaw wants the sheriff's mayor...
25:18...and he'll shoot to kill.
25:26Over 70,000 Mustangs...
25:29...maraud across America's wild west.
25:34Settlers brought them here 500 years ago.
25:39But now they run feral in small bands.
25:46When a mare gives birth to a foal...
25:50...she'll be ready to mate again...
25:52...almost immediately.
25:54And this outsider...
25:56...is desperate to start his own bloodline.
26:00But every band has a dominant male...
26:03...who keeps the law.
26:08And he sees the outlaw muscle in.
26:16The outsider draws first.
26:20They rear in a show of aggression.
26:24But these...
26:25...are mere pistols.
26:28The most devastating weapon...
26:30...is at the back.
26:34When a horse gallops...
26:35...its forelegs...
26:37...work more like props.
26:39While the more powerful muscles...
26:41...of the hind legs...
26:42...provide most of the propulsion.
26:45And they can kick...
26:47...as hard as they can run.
26:52But with a foal in the firing line...
26:54...the sheriff can't draw the big guns yet.
27:03The foal is ushered to safety.
27:10The sheriff aims with both barrels.
27:15It's a misfire.
27:18But 1,200 pounds of mustang...
27:22...sends the outlaw reeling.
27:26A darker horse...
27:28...the sheriff's deputy...
27:30...comes guns a-blazin'.
27:35But the outlaw turns on him.
27:47Subordinate males...
27:49...will defend their superiors.
27:52And come hell or high water...
27:57...this deputy...
27:58...has the sheriff's back.
28:04The outlaw returns alone...
28:06...to his own band.
28:11Outgunned...
28:12...and outmuscled.
28:18Good things come...
28:20...in small packages.
28:23But so...
28:26...do bad things.
28:36The Sonoran Desert...
28:39...Arizona.
28:44Where temperatures...
28:46...can soar to almost 120 degrees.
28:51By day, it's an empty wasteland.
28:56But when the sun goes down...
29:02...it has a killer nightlife.
29:08A grasshopper mouse is out late...
29:11...hungry for a midnight snack.
29:15At less than a pound...
29:18...he's a lightweight...
29:20...in a neighborhood of deadly heavyweights.
29:29This...
29:30...is the giant desert hairy scorpion.
29:35An armed assassin.
29:42His sting injects toxic venom...
29:45...that destroys his victim's nervous system...
29:50...and paralyzes them.
29:55Once bathed in enzymes...
29:58...the prey is pulverized into a scorpion smoothie.
30:09The assassin spies a tasty treat.
30:18A giant desert hairy scorpion...
30:21...spies a mousy meal.
30:27But the mouse...
30:28...won't take it.
30:38The scorpion unleashes a toxic jab.
30:44Dead between the ears...
30:48...it should spell lights out.
31:02Inside the bulb of the tail...
31:04...are two venom glands...
31:06...filled with a cocktail of neurotoxins.
31:11By contracting muscles...
31:13...inside the tail...
31:14...the scorpion squeezes the venom...
31:17...through a hole in the stinger...
31:18...which targets the nervous system.
31:21It would paralyze any normal prey.
31:26But this mouse...
31:28...has a secret defense.
31:32Thick fur and skin...
31:33...that the stinger can't penetrate.
31:43So Mighty Mouse is still in the game.
31:49In this town...
31:50...the grasshopper mouse...
31:52...is the predator.
31:56Razor sharp teeth...
31:58...make quick work...
31:59...of the scorpion's exoskeleton.
32:05The grasshopper mouse...
32:07...is merciless.
32:15And if they can't find prey...
32:19...they'll even eat each other.
32:33Even in the quietest corners...
32:36...of the natural world...
32:38...where survival...
32:40...depends on togetherness...
32:43...carnal instincts...
32:45...can turn peace...
32:48...into war.
32:56Welcome to Hell.
33:01Hell Valley...
33:03...on the Japanese island...
33:05...of Honshu.
33:08In winter...
33:09...temperatures plummet...
33:11...to minus four degrees Fahrenheit...
33:13...while volcanic waters...
33:17...surge up through the frozen ground...
33:19...to form warm pools.
33:23For snow monkeys...
33:26...it's heaven.
33:30Japanese macaques...
33:31...beat the cold...
33:33...by soaking in nature's own hot tubs.
33:36Under the watchful eye...
33:38...of this dominant male...
33:40...the Zen master...
33:42...peace and harmony reign.
33:45But long after the snow thaws...
33:49...when mating season begins...
33:51...heaven...
33:54...turns to hell...
33:56...again.
33:58Rogue males arrive...
34:00...desperate to mate.
34:05This wild-eyed stranger...
34:08...has only one thing on his mind...
34:12...a nursing mom.
34:15While the mother's nursing...
34:18...she won't mate.
34:22So the outsider...
34:24...turns on the infant.
34:36But mom will defend it...
34:38...with her life.
34:44The little one escapes.
34:54Mom's older daughter tries to help...
34:58...but can only watch her fall.
35:04The big male sinks in his dagger-like canines.
35:09He pins her.
35:12There's no escape.
35:19When a snow monkey mom is held down...
35:21...by a heavier male...
35:23...there's little she can do.
35:28But the Zen master troop leader...
35:31...sees all.
35:33And as the intruder tries to flee...
35:37...he turns kung fu monkey.
35:41The master's bigger...
35:44...and so are his daggers.
35:49The intruder must choose between ferocious fangs...
35:54...and the river rapids.
35:59No contest.
36:04The intruder quits the valley.
36:12The Zen master...
36:15...returns peace to the mountain.
36:18And hell...
36:20...turns back to heaven.
36:26For nature's hunters...
36:28...the shift in seasons...
36:30...can be a deadly game-changer.
36:38The river otter...
36:40...is an expert predator...
36:42...in the underwater world.
36:53...in the open...
36:56...in the open...
36:58...they're vulnerable...
37:00...to their predators.
37:03...islands is adapted for underwater hunting...
37:06...make them short-sighted on land...
37:09...so it's harder to spot enemies...
37:14...like the coyote.
37:19Cunning opportunists.
37:21These killers like to target rodents...
37:24...and beavers.
37:28But when food is scarce...
37:31...they form bigger packs...
37:33...to catch larger prey.
37:37They rely on highly developed...
37:39...hearing and smell.
37:42And this coyote...
37:45...has picked up a trail.
37:50...a mom and daughter.
37:57Otters make dens underground.
38:00But this pair...
38:02...is out on the hunt.
38:06Coyotes can run...
38:08...at up to 40 miles an hour.
38:18The front runner homes in...
38:20...on the youngster.
38:25Mom races in...
38:27...to distract the hunters.
38:29And it works.
38:36She can't match their speed...
38:41...but she can...
38:43...outmaneuver them.
38:47An otter's skeleton...
38:49...is designed for agility.
38:53It has an elongated torso...
38:56...with six articulated sections...
39:00...and no clavicle bones at the shoulders.
39:03The otter...
39:05...can undulate its body...
39:06...to propel itself fast...
39:08...through the water.
39:11Those skills work on land, too.
39:16When the youngster flees...
39:18...mom's on her own.
39:32They try to surround her...
39:43...and sink bite...
39:45...after bite...
39:47...after bite.
39:50...but she saves her best trick...
39:53...for last.
39:58Disappearing.
40:08She leaves a bloody trail.
40:13But that's all the coyotes get...
40:16...from the wily otter.
40:22For some species...
40:25...the wildest battles...
40:29...aren't always in the wild.
40:36The tranquil suburbs of Southern California...
40:39...offer prime real estate.
40:43For a western fence lizard...
40:46...meet the lord of the manor.
40:49This crack in a wall...
40:51...is his home...
40:52...and shelter.
40:54So he'll protect it to the death.
40:59A stranger...
41:00...strays onto his manor.
41:02His battle-scarred tail...
41:06...spells trouble.
41:08He's a serial offender.
41:11He's lost part of his tail...
41:13...in a previous battle.
41:17Every vertebra...
41:18...running through the tail...
41:19...has a special fracture point.
41:23If an enemy...
41:24...grabs the tail...
41:26...the lizard constricts muscles...
41:28...that will detach the tail...
41:30...at any of these weak points.
41:33So it can escape further harm.
41:36The tail will eventually grow back...
41:39...but only as an inflexible piece of cartilage.
41:47Despite the intruder's inferior tail...
41:50...he's still bent on a break-in.
41:55There are two ways this can go.
42:01To deter enemies...
42:03...and avoid a costly fight...
42:05...fence lizards start with a display...
42:08...a set of push-ups.
42:16The intruder won't back down.
42:21With everything to lose...
42:25...the lord of the manor goes nuclear.
42:37A lizard's tail is vital for balance...
42:40...so the intruder's less flexible tail...
42:44...disadvantages him.
42:48The intruder makes for the mansion door...
42:51...and targets his opponent's tail.
42:59But the homeowner's healthy tail...
43:02...strikes back.
43:18The homeowner won't quit his manor...
43:21...and bites another chunk off the intruder's tail.
43:28This house is not for sale.
43:31This house is not for sale.
43:32And the homeless intruder...
43:33...pays the price for trespassing.
Comments