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00:02All over the world, species clash in nature's savage battle of survival, on the arid savannah, below the waves, and
00:16in the dense rainforest, all are locked in deadly conflict.
00:22Animals fight tooth and claw to win food, territory, and rights to the bloodline.
00:30From Botswana's Okavango Delta, to America's Yellowstone National Park, there are no rules.
00:38This is Animal Fight Club.
00:45In the animal kingdom, blood is often thicker than water.
00:50But when sibling rivalry turns toxic, blood ties can lead to bloodbaths.
01:00On the African savannah, a lion is looking to mate.
01:04This lioness is in heat.
01:06But Big Brother watches.
01:09And he's not happy.
01:13Lions are the only cats that live in large family groups.
01:18And males form strong, brotherly bonds.
01:22As cubs, they learn skills that will keep them alive as adults.
01:30In their bachelor pride, brothers hunt as one.
01:43But their alliance will crack, if they both want the same girl.
01:58Broken Tail is the dominant male of the pride.
02:02His damaged tail is a battle trophy.
02:07As boss, he has the pick of the pride's lionesses, guaranteeing his bloodline.
02:16His little brother must mate behind his back.
02:22But this location is exposed.
02:34Broken Tail launches a furious attack.
02:43One of the biggest causes of death among lions is other lions.
02:53Their deadly claws can rip flesh straight from the bone.
03:02Contracted muscles straighten the toe bones and pull the one-and-a-half-inch claws out into the attack position.
03:09Relaxing his muscles, the tendons retract and the claws move back up into the paw,
03:15keeping them razor sharp and ready for battle.
03:22Broken Tail is unbalanced.
03:26A little brother seizes the advantage.
03:31A swipe to the face narrowly misses his eye.
03:38Broken Tail needs to close this down.
03:44A dominant shove and peace is restored.
03:50The young blood will be lucky to remain in the pride.
03:55Broken Tail can claim his prize, if he can find her.
04:04She's playing hide-and-seek.
04:10Each year, lions kill 250 human beings.
04:15Hippopotamuses kill 500.
04:25In Central Africa, only half of newborn hippos survive their first year.
04:34Females can only have one calf every two years, so each child is precious.
04:46When a predator threatens, the pod closes ranks.
05:03Heading up this defensive order is the pod father.
05:07The leader of the pod has a constant entourage of youthful admirers.
05:13But this young bull wants his crown.
05:18The pod father is gonna teach the upstart a lesson.
05:23His calves crowd around.
05:30The hippo is one of the most feared animals in Africa.
05:35These two-and-a-half-ton heavyweights have the strength to launch themselves out of the water,
05:41run 30 miles per hour,
05:44and lay waste to those who stand in their way with their bone-crushing jaws.
05:51The pod father makes the upstart an offer he shouldn't refuse.
05:57He flicks dong with his tail.
05:59A stinky display of dominance that says,
06:03it's not too late to back down.
06:22As his calves jockey for position, the pod father launches his attack.
06:30Hippo fights make for an extreme spectator sport.
06:43It's first blood to the newcomer.
06:54A hippo's jawbone hinge is set far back, allowing the mouth to open 150 degrees.
07:02The upstart is stronger, but the pod father has experience.
07:08He gores the challenger's upper palate.
07:12The upstart retaliates, but the old-timer is too wily.
07:19The onlookers scatter as the pod father launches another attack.
07:35The pod father is victorious, but his triumph is bittersweet.
07:43A victim of friendly fire, one of his calves strayed too close to the action.
07:50The the animal kingdom, the fight for survival begins the moment you're born.
08:11But most don't face this battle alone, not when moms got their back.
08:22America's Yellowstone National Park.
08:29Over two million acres of rugged battleground.
08:34The warriors, North America's largest mammal, the bison.
08:41And the legendary gray wolf.
08:51Wolves work as a pack and pick out the weakest bison.
08:58A young calf.
09:07His only chance is to stick close to his mother.
09:16She could crush or gore the wolves.
09:22But they see reward, not risk.
09:33Holding on to the forest's edge, they have a chance.
09:45Bison need 15 pounds of food a day.
09:50They constantly search for fresh pasture.
10:00Adult bison can easily make the crossing.
10:09But the current is strong.
10:16The calf is lost to the river.
10:25But the herd must move on.
10:34The calf washes up on a small island.
10:40The newborn faces his first night without his mother's protection.
10:52The little one makes it to morning.
10:55He's hiding in plain sight.
11:00But not for long.
11:03Wolves have a sense of smell 100 times stronger than our own.
11:11The young bison has no escape.
11:17His horns won't develop until he's seven years old.
11:21But instinct tells him to charge.
11:26The wolf's attack is frenzied.
11:33The calf retaliates.
11:36The calf retaliates.
11:46But with nowhere left to run,
11:49the calf is living on borrowed time.
12:00Bison calves only have a 50-50 chance of surviving their first year.
12:07Under attack from a lone wolf,
12:09it's unlikely this newborn will make it past another week.
12:16But the cavalry arrives.
12:19It's mama to the rescue.
12:23The calf finds renewed strength through hope.
12:34A tender reunion.
12:36The calf takes a well-deserved feed.
12:45The wolf must look elsewhere for his next meal.
12:54Predators are not a mother's only fear.
12:57The greatest danger to a newborn can be closer to home.
13:12Nile crocodiles are apex predators.
13:16Nile crocodiles are apex predators.
13:20They eat anything they want.
13:30But once a female croc lays her eggs,
13:34the hunter becomes the hunted.
13:39A female crocodile guards her buried eggs.
13:46Uninvited visitors like monitor lizards and baboons wait for her to drop her guard.
13:57To them, her precious eggs are a delicious meal to go.
14:08The surviving eggs hatch.
14:11Now she needs to get her precious infants to the safety of the water.
14:18Nile crocodiles have one of the highest bite forces of any living animal.
14:23But today, she uses her jaws for the most delicate of tasks.
14:33Along with their 68 flesh-shredding teeth, crocodile jaws are packed with delicate sensory organs.
14:41When hunting prey, they can detect the slightest change in water movement.
14:47But the most responsive sensors are found near the croc's teeth.
14:53Allowing her to cradle her baby safe and sound.
14:58Mother croc spots another unwanted visitor.
15:03In a crowded nesting area, baby croc's calls sound similar.
15:11The intruder seemingly mistakes the baby's cries for her own brood.
15:17She thinks mother croc is a kidnapper.
15:31Mother croc still cradles the baby in her mouth.
15:47Mother croc increases her attack with the momentum gained by thrusting her powerful tail muscles.
15:55The battle moves to the water's edge.
16:02Mother croc blocks the intruder's path to the nest.
16:07She still delicately nurses the baby.
16:19The intruder clamps down with a 3,000 pound bite.
16:23That's the same weight as a small car.
16:27Mother croc is forced into submission.
16:35The intruder steals her babies down to the river.
16:43But there's a twist in this crocodile's tail.
16:47This bask of baby crocs is now being shared between two caring mothers.
17:00For some creatures, answering the call of nature can be a matter of life or death.
17:08Hidden in the highest branches of the Amazon jungle lurks a mysterious creature.
17:15Boasting four-inch scythe-like claws, an innate ability to blend into its surroundings, and a smile that could light
17:24up the darkest of rooms.
17:25This is the three-toed sloth.
17:35Hooked claws allow sloths to do everything while hanging from treetops.
17:41Except poop.
17:45This angel-faced tree hugger drags herself to a neighboring tree to perform her weekly motions.
17:54But sloths are the world's slowest mammal.
17:59And every second she's on the ground, she's open to attack.
18:07Her scent is picked up.
18:13By a hungry predator.
18:17When it comes to small cats, pumas are the biggest, with a range that stretches across much of the Western
18:24Hemisphere.
18:25They can leaf as high as a two-story building and run up to 45 miles an hour.
18:34Powerful legs and sharp claws disable and control their prey, while vertebrae-splitting jaws seal the deal.
18:42The sloths' greatest defense is camouflage.
18:47They're so slow that algae grows on their fur, blending in with the treetops, which is where she needs to
18:55be.
18:55But sloths don't do fast.
19:07It's natural-born killer versus natural-born dozer.
19:15Proportionately, pumas have the longest hind legs in the cat family.
19:19Perfect for launching themselves into trees.
19:24The predator's violent lunges shake the whole tree.
19:30She holds on tight.
19:37But the predator does something extraordinary.
19:41A puma's two-inch claws aren't as long as a sloth's.
19:45But by making them sharper, he'll be able to climb higher.
20:00Close.
20:03But not close enough.
20:05She's one lucky sloth.
20:09But this is one clever puma.
20:34The 88-pound cat has gravity on his side.
20:39If the sloth loses her grip, she loses her life.
20:52This is a treetop tug-of-war.
21:02This is a treetop tug-of-war.
21:06But the puma is tired of hanging around.
21:10The cat's sharp claws allow him to climb up to the sloth.
21:16And his large canine teeth slot between her vertebrae.
21:25The puma is ruthlessly efficient.
21:29The sloth's end is mercifully quick.
21:35Some fights are won before the first blow.
21:39But when the war of wills is through, it's time to put up or shut up.
21:48On the Okavango Delta Botswana, a cold war is underway.
21:54A rookie giraffe challenges a dominant male to a duel over mating rights.
22:02But it's a stalemate.
22:04A high dirt bank separates them.
22:10Needing 75 pounds of vegetation a day, disputes often erupt over feeding sites.
22:17But when rival giraffes clash over mating rights, they don't hold back.
22:28The longer the neck, the harder the hit.
22:33Both rookie and champ are desperate to settle the score.
22:45The champ wants to find a path through.
22:49But with the security of a three-foot blockade,
22:53the rookie tries to intimidate the old-timer.
22:59Ball and socket joints give giraffe necks incredible maneuverability.
23:05But the rookie's swing falls short.
23:13The champ bides his time to save energy.
23:18Battling giraffes can injure, knock out, or even kill a rival.
23:24Their heads have thick skin and large skulls.
23:29They're a lethal wrecking ball.
23:37The champ's horn-like ossicones are more developed than the rookies.
23:44These lumps of bone, covered in skin and fur, grow with age and use.
23:53Preoccupied with goading the old-timer,
23:57the rookie misses a gap in the blockade.
24:01But the champ sees it.
24:04This cold war is about to get hot.
24:12Like a prize fighter, the champ mixes his blows to unbalance his rival.
24:34The champ gets the rookie on the ropes.
24:39And that blow to the throat seals the deal.
24:43And that blow to the throat seals the deal.
24:50The defeated rookie returns to the bachelor herd.
24:55For the victor, a champion's reception.
25:00And some well-earned R&R.
25:05When animals fight for a mate, it helps ensure the survival of the species.
25:10When they fight for food, it's for their own survival.
25:17Once snow blankets Finland, brown bears sleep it out for six months.
25:28But they don't just set an alarm for spring and get their heads down.
25:34They must prepare.
25:37Even hibernating, a brown bear burns 4,000 calories a day.
25:45In the weeks before turning in, he doubles his body weight,
25:49feasting on around 90 pounds of food a day.
25:53But getting hold of that much chow is serious business.
25:58And bears don't share.
26:09Winter is closing in.
26:11And this bear has hit on a rich feeding ground.
26:17But he's been beaten to it by old Ben.
26:21Both bears need to pile on the pounds.
26:24And the newcomer wants in on old Ben's feast.
26:29The older bear urinates to say,
26:32I was here first.
26:44Some of the world's biggest brown bears are found in Europe.
26:48Omnivores, they have 42 teeth to rip, cut and grind flesh.
26:54And these menacing teeth are also deadly weapons.
27:03The older bear drools.
27:06A clear sign he's anxious.
27:13It's a deadly standoff.
27:29Old Ben launches 600 pounds of muscle, teeth, and claws.
27:46The newcomer is thrown.
27:48But Lash is out.
27:50He sinks his claws into old Ben's back.
27:55A brown bear's claws are 4 inches long and don't retract.
27:59A swipe can be deadly.
28:04Old Ben's claws come close to gouging the newcomer's eye.
28:10A final shove.
28:12And they're done.
28:17Old Ben has had enough.
28:18Two-year-old menacing through Wintour
28:25Whip.
28:28With Winter around the corner,
28:30he knows his time will be better spent feeding than feuding.
28:42In combat for the bloodline, warriors have only one thing on their mind, survival.
28:50But with all eyes on the battle, who's watching their backs?
28:58On Kenya's savanna, constant vigilance is the price Impala pay for survival.
29:07Living in herds, hundreds of eyes keep constant watch.
29:15At the first sign of danger, they bark out an alarm, and the herd takes flight.
29:24Capable of leaping 33 feet, a vigilant Impala can evade the usual suspects.
29:33Mating season is one of the few times that Impalas stray from the safety of the herd.
29:40A rival buck challenges the chief.
29:45The aim is to lock their ridged horns around their opponents, throw them off balance, and
29:52then gore them.
29:55To the victor, exclusive mating rights.
29:58To the loser, serious injury, or death.
30:09The chief has strength on his side, but the challenger fights back.
30:18The chief twists his challenger, and pulls him off his feet.
30:36Defeat would banish any hope of mating.
30:51Defeat would banish any hope of mating.
30:53Focused on the rut, the Impala are oblivious to the lioness's approach.
31:00The challenger has nowhere to go but down.
31:07The chief instinctively heads back to safety.
31:14It's a triple victory.
31:15It's a triple victory.
31:18He's survived the fight, the lion attack, and he's still head of the herd.
31:28And his latest challenger has been permanently dealt with.
31:36The battle is not always to the mighty.
31:39A master of defense can go head to head with the most vicious assassin, and waddle away to
31:46tell the tale.
31:50The warm waters of Hawaii are an inviting aquatic paradise.
31:58But don't be fooled.
32:02Everywhere you turn, it's eat, or get eaten, killed, or be killed.
32:11Living in a tough neighborhood, the day octopus has amazing survival superpowers.
32:16Like an aquatic X-Man, they're the ultimate defender.
32:22Sophisticated skin cells, called chromatophores, allow the eight-arm wonder to change color, instantly
32:30camouflaging itself.
32:32They have no internal or external skeleton, allowing them to squeeze through the smallest
32:38of gaps.
32:39The octopus is one of Mother Nature's most versatile creations.
32:43But to a yellow-edged moray eel, he's a ready-filleted pack of protein.
32:51Color-changing camouflage is wasted on this assassin.
32:56With poor eyesight, moray eels rely on their excellent sense of smell to hunt in the dark.
33:03This one is working the day shift.
33:06He must be hungry.
33:09A deadly moray eel attacks his victim.
33:14The assassin severs one of the day octopus's eight tentacles.
33:21But the octopus fights back.
33:26His tentacles both powerful suckers that hold the eel tight.
33:33A moray eel's bite packs a terrifying secret.
33:38Backwards-pointing teeth grip the octopus firm, while a second set of jaws shoots forward and
33:45drags flesh deeper into his throat to eat.
33:48But the octopus has his own eerie trick.
33:51Two-thirds of his neurons are in his arms, which means they can taste, touch, and control
33:56basic motions independently from his brain.
34:00So his severed arm can squeeze the moray's face, despite being completely detached from
34:06his body.
34:08Unable to swim free, the moray executes plan B.
34:13He uses his powerful muscles to unseat the stubborn octopus.
34:19The Defender unleashes another superpower.
34:23The cloud of black ink confuses the assassin.
34:28And the Defender is gone.
34:38Accelerating rapidly by forcing water through his muscular funnel.
34:45And he won't worry about his absent arm.
34:49Already a color-changing, shape-shifting, ink-squirting, jet-propelled superhero, octopuses can also regrow
34:57no missing limbs.
35:00The assassin will need to look elsewhere for his next meal.
35:12When someone stands between you and the survival of your bloodline, they need to be dealt with.
35:19By fair means, or foul.
35:27Deep in a German forest, a desperate mission is underway.
35:32High-stakes speed dating.
35:37He spent the first five years of his life looking like this.
35:43Now our handsome hero has just two short months as a stag beetle to find a mate and sow his
35:51seed.
35:53Stag beetles feed on the sap of giant oaks, and today our hero sniffs out a stash of the energy
35:59-packed sugary goodness.
36:02The bees beat him to it, but he knows that where there's sap, there'll be female beetles.
36:15But the chorus of true love never runs smooth.
36:21Our hero has a rival.
36:29Stag beetles are the armor-plated heavyweights of the insect world.
36:35Extended antler-like jaws are their main source of attack.
36:41Ounce for ounce, male stag beetles' jaws clamp down with greater bite force than a Nile crocodile.
36:49Beetle jaws work like pliers.
36:52The more power applied, the stronger the bite.
36:55Instead of long levers, stag beetles have massive muscles, angled perfectly for optimum force.
37:04And to make room for the larger muscles, a male stag beetle's head is three times wider than a female's.
37:13Like sumo wrestlers, they want to throw their opponent clean out of the arena.
37:27Our hero has larger jaws and plays the advantage.
37:32Legs in the air, his rival is powerless to fight back.
37:39A second chance.
37:44Once again, our hero makes the power play.
37:55Round one to our hero.
37:59But this battle is about to get extreme.
38:05Stag beetles have wings, but he doesn't have time to deploy them.
38:14Tough armor protects his fall.
38:19Like all insects, stag beetles have an external skeleton known as an exoskeleton.
38:25It's made from the bundled rose of a substance called chitin.
38:30Which makes it an extremely light, but extremely strong body armor.
38:36Even those powerful pincers are lightweight, because aside from nerves, they're hollow.
38:53The rival limps back.
38:55The stakes are too high to throw in the towel.
39:04His determination is beyond doubt, but so is our hero's dominance.
39:09Once again, his longer jaws overpower the rival.
39:17But the hero has yet another challenger.
39:21Our beautiful heroine must wait for her happy ever after.
39:26There's stag's work to be done.
39:29On nature's battlefield, size does matter.
39:34When two beasts go head to head, odds are the bigger guy takes the spoils.
39:40But sometimes the little guy beats the odds.
39:46It's dusk.
39:48A Celes mongoose heads out for the night, while the early shift clocks off.
39:55A pack of wild dogs returns from their hunt, and they're still hungry.
40:02Wild dogs have poor night vision.
40:05Hunting by daylight, they prey on larger beasts.
40:09They have one of the strongest bites of any carnivorous mammal.
40:16The mongoose is the ultimate underdog.
40:19Armed with nothing but claws, jaws, and a serious amount of guts, these feisty lightweights can
40:26fight deadly cobras and win.
40:31Their usual diet is a less lethal mix of rodents, insects, and lizards.
40:42Hunting in the dark, their distinctive horizontal pupils usually give them excellent night vision.
40:49But tonight, the little guy didn't see the wild dogs until it was too late.
41:03The mongoose is surrounded.
41:05Dogs attack from every direction.
41:13Cornered, he releases a noxious stink from his anal gland.
41:19It doesn't work, but his next nasal assault is even more aggressive.
41:25This little bruiser clamps down.
41:30Pound for pound, a mongoose bite is mightier than a fully grown lion's.
41:39The little guy makes a mockery of this elite fighting unit.
41:46The smaller animal has faster reflexes.
41:51As it responds to danger, the body sends signals along neurons between the brain and muscles.
42:00The mongoose's neurons are shorter than the wild dogs.
42:03So the signals have less distance to travel.
42:08This means the mongoose's muscles are activated 40% faster than a wild dog's.
42:15Allowing it to jump clear of the danger.
42:21But wild dogs are pack animals.
42:24Working together, they're a ruthless killing machine.
42:36The little guy's rapid fire reactions allow an escape that would make Houdini proud.
42:42But the hounds taste blood.
42:52Houdini has run out of fight, and the pack take victory.
43:02Wild dogs are the endurance predator elite.
43:08They pursue their prey to the point of exhaustion and show no mercy.
43:15The hot dog sitter Nicky.
43:19Speaking
43:19You
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