Original subtitles

To survive in nature, you need an edge,

a superpower,

like sensing the Earth's geomagnetic currents

♪ ♪

to help pinpoint prey,

♪ ♪

transforming the meek into superheroes.

The harsher their environment, the weirder their solution.

♪ ♪

The creatures of Earth are wilder than you

could possibly imagine.

Among the fast and fearsome are the astoundingly crazy,

with strange behavior and outrageous fashion sense.

They're all in a competition to survive,

and weirdness always wins.

Not all superpowers in nature are easy to spot,

♪ ♪

but some are instantly awe-inspiring.

Bioluminescence.

Chemical reactions within living creatures that make them glow.

♪ ♪

Take these insects.

When the weather warms and rains are plentiful,

these tiny beetles produce light from their rear ends

in a dazzling display of midnight messaging.

♪ ♪

For just a few weeks each summer,

forests around the world shimmer with the incandescent

mating rituals of the firefly.

Multiple species flash each other in flirty semaphore.

These bugs are all single and ready to mingle.

♪ ♪

As adult-only raves go, it's totally lit.

♪ ♪

It's a big occasion, and they have been prepping

for it their entire lives.

Born as eggs, it takes just three short weeks for them

to become grub-like larvae.

♪ ♪

For the next two years, they bulk up on slow-moving snails.

And learn how to use their lightning powers.

After a short pupation, they emerge as adults,

fired up and ready to take care of business.

With only weeks to live, this female activates her

lightning superpowers.

Her night begins messaging with five different guys.

She's looking to hook up with the best mate she can find.

Sure, washboard abs might be hot,

but when luciferase enzymes light them up,

she's found the real deal.

She likes boys that can flare the longest and brightest.

In rhythm with her own species-specific flashing.

It's believed when they flare, they produce nitric oxide gas.

The same as humans when taking Viagra.

♪ ♪

But she has a problem.

She's not the only female flashing the guys.

And the nightclub is emptying as they all hook up.

She must choose.

Finally, they meet and sparks fly.

But these parents won't live to see their kids shine.

The male dies after mating, and the female will pass

away after laying eggs.

♪ ♪

One by one, every flame in the forest fades away.

Until a new generation sets next summer's night on fire.

♪ ♪

90 million years of evolution and adaptation

have crafted a creature that's near indestructible.

The saltwater crocodile is the largest reptile on the planet.

Cold periscope eyes, armoured skin, and jaws of death.

An arsenal of deadly superpowers.

But crocs have feelings too.

The dark spots all over their body are called pressure domes.

Ten times more sensitive than human fingertips.

Like Darth Vader, sensing tiny disturbances in the Force.

Crocs use these pressure domes to feel the location

of their prey in the water.

They are the Sith Lords of their domain.

Attuned to all life around them.

Especially the lives they want to take.

♪ ♪

Like Force-sensitive Sith and Jedi,

crocs are born with this power.

But all young ones must first learn how to use their gifts.

Deep within the swamp nest, eggs begin to hatch.

The hatchlings sense movement nearby.

An intruder?

Phew, it was just mom on guard duty.

Jaws turn into delicate baby holders.

She'll watch over her kids for several months as they grow.

Hunting their own meals from birth.

But to find food, young crocs must rely on their instincts.

♪ ♪

Young saltwater croc pressure dome sensors are

yet to be finely tuned.

This mudskipper would make the perfect prize.

♪ ♪

But they're called mudskippers for a reason.

Maybe something easier.

For the first few years, the young crocs stalk

insects and small fish.

Fine tuning their sensitivities as they go.

But with newfound success comes ill-found confidence.

Searching for bigger prey, one strays from

mom's protective circle.

Pressure domes or not, deeper waters are a

dangerous proposition.

♪ ♪

Even with mom's protection, just one baby out of a

hundred reaches adulthood.

♪ ♪

The surviving youngling grows a foot every year.

Until she becomes a ten-foot giant, just like her mother.

The young croc now has full control over all of her powers.

Mudskippers are a thing of the past.

♪ ♪

Today, it's bearded pigs.

The crocodile creates scarcely a ripple as she hunts.

She's been following them for days, watching patiently.

The pigs move to the water's edge.

The croc can feel even the smallest disturbance of water.

She fixes their location.

♪ ♪

She can hold her breath for over an hour.

There's no need to rush.

Even in clear water, her vision is poor.

In the murky abyss, she's virtually blind.

So she relies on her pressure domes, stretching out with her

feelings, waiting to strike.

♪ ♪

Patience, power, and super senses.

♪ ♪

This reef is home to a universe of super-powered survivors.

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Armed with secret weapons.

♪ ♪

Case in point, mantis shrimp.

Punching way above their weight.

Transforming itself, the minute becomes massive.

The mural spread is a scare tactic, which says,

"Go ahead, punk. Make my day."

The octopus doesn't know that the mantis shrimp is

one of the strongest animals on the planet.

This is one meal the octopus shouldn't mess with.

A punch.

With the force of a .22 bullet, gives the crab no chance.

The mantis' club-shaped forelimbs are like

spring-loaded catapults.

It strikes so fast, the pressure wave behind it

is as damaging as the hit.

- Hi-yah! - Ow!

In this aquatic bout between arch-rivals, the mantis shrimp's

superpowers reign supreme.

The rainforests of Southeast Asia.

Pristine, pure, and plentiful.

♪ ♪

But the most nutritious food is over 98 feet high in the canopy.

Accessing fresh fruit and leaves is key to survival.

For climbers, it's a case of first in, best fed.

♪ ♪

So, arboreal creatures have learned to move freely through

this high-rise habitat.

Navigating narrow branches, keeping balance,

and daring feats.

All in a day's work.

♪ ♪

And then, there's the true high-flyers.

The paradise tree snake appears ordinary.

Average size, his venom is mild.

But in these forests, anyone can be a superhero.

The quickest way to get from tree to tree?

Wing it!

♪ ♪

In the air, the snake flattens his body until he's a concave

ribbon with fangs at one end.

♪ ♪

The landing seems rough.

But he's exactly where he needs to be.

Just below, there's potential prey.

The male draco wants just one thing.

The bachelor flicks his dewlap.

It's a kind of a love flag.

It tells her he's up for it.

But this girl isn't interested.

♪ ♪

Could anything get worse for this love-lorn male?

His display hasn't landed a date.

But it has attracted attention.

The paradise tree snake must get closer for the final ambush.

♪ ♪

He'll need stealth and cunning to succeed.

Stealth seems optional.

Just a lunge away now.

A dead end.

The draco's doomed.

Or is he?

The lizard transforms into dragon lite.

Extended ribs hold folds of skin which unfurl to become wings.

Carrying him over the length of a basketball court.

Away from the jaws of danger.

♪ ♪

In this evolutionary arms race, there's one winner.

But in the game of love, the draco clearly has more to learn.

Since the days of old, the red fox has had a bad reputation.

Wily.

A deceitful trickster.

♪ ♪

It seems nobody trusts foxes.

♪ ♪

But the red fox is a true survivor.

And one of the most weirdly gifted predators on the planet.

♪ ♪

Three foot snow blankets northern Canada.

Making winter travel a challenge.

But the red fox is a hunter for all conditions.

Beneath the snow, this field mouse constructs

tunnels to cloak its movements as it forages.

The fox's keen nose picks up on the mouse's scent.

Using multi-directional ears, he hears movement

over 98 feet away.

The fox tunes his senses to detect the tiniest of clues.

Focus on any extraneous sounds must now stop.

Yes, that's better.

♪ ♪

The snow crunches underfoot.

♪ ♪

The burrowing rodent has high-powered hearing too.

And each step from the fox is an alarm bell for the mouse.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Repositioning, the fox faces north.

He's aligning himself with the Earth's geomagnetic field.

Because he has a secret power.

When facing north, Earth's geomagnetic field

appears as spots in his vision.

The red fox can align those spots with the apparent

source of the sound.

Giving him a perfect target to aim for.

Bullseye.

When hunting stealthy mice,

foxes succeed less than 20% of the time.

But when a fox faces north, its success rate quadruples.

This super-powered Arctic hunter is truly magnetic.

♪ ♪

In the forests of the Philippines,

the night is waning.

But in the dim light, a gremlin stalks the living.

This tarsier is one of the world's smallest primates.

To survive, he must eat a tenth of his body weight every night.

♪ ♪

Foraging after sunup is just tempting fate.

Because at just six inches long,

he's easy picking for hunters.

It's going to be a race against time.

His super-sensitive ears pick up the faintest rustle.

And with super-powered eyes, the largest relative to

body size of any mammal,

he can see better in the dark than humans.

Last chance.

It's his first taste of flesh tonight.

Able to turn his head nearly 180 degrees in each direction,

nothing escapes his ravenous gaze.

Lock, load, and fire.

Sticky-padded fingers help him grab prey.

Only one thing can halt his spree.

The sun.

But there just might be time for one more meal.

There. That one looks--oh!

Wild Australia.

It's a chamber of horrors.

It's where the dangerous and the bizarre cross over.

Days are weird, but it's at dusk the real action unfolds.

This fly needs a safe spot to retire for the night.

Easier said than done on these mean streets.

The water's edge is a hunting ground.

♪ ♪

The territory of a silent stalker that loves fly fishing.

The water spider is equipped with super-sensitive hairs on

its legs that detect vibrations.

This arachnid doesn't need a web to ensnare prey.

The water is its web.

Surface tension between liquid and air acts like

an elastic membrane.

The fly's compound eyes are not well-suited for seeing water.

Incoming!

Surfing its water web like a boss, it snatches the fly.

Water-repellent hair and long legs spread the spider's weight,

keeping it afloat.

Mission accomplished.

Rest?

Not for this water spider.

It must eat five times its weight every single

day just to survive.

♪ ♪

The water spider's neurotoxic venom dissolves

the fish's innards.

Now, for a luxurious few hours, slurping the life

juices of his hard-earned meal.

In the wilds of Africa,

a brainiac troop of chimpanzees

lead their species in intellect.

All hail the chimps of Senegal's Fongoli clan!

Chimpanzees wield one of nature's most

formidable superpowers.

Intelligence.

Fongoli chimps use their genius to solve a supersized problem.

Surviving Senegal's harsh jungles.

Fongoli supplement their diet by capturing and consuming

smaller mammals by hand.

The biggest, fastest males dominate with

this method of hunting.

But the smaller, slower chimps have used their smarts

to level the playing field.

They hunt with spears.

♪ ♪

The omnivorous Fongoli use sharp sticks as tools to capture

nocturnal tree-dwelling galagos.

This young male is hungry.

He's seen mom do it.

Surely it's not that hard.

But patience is not his forte.

He can smell something tasty deep in the tree trunk.

Just can't get to it.

Nope. Try again.

A smaller spear perhaps?

♪ ♪

No dice.

But a valuable lesson.

Maybe mom knows something he doesn't.

Because she has other ways of putting food on the table.

Nutritious termites and ants are a hassle-free delicacy.

Bespoke cutlery is a must for this meal.

Older chimps teach younger ones the ABCs

of bug-dining etiquette.

Fashion one long stick.

Poke it deep into the termite mound.

Wait for the insects to latch on.

And gobble them up in one swift move.

It's a long-standing tradition that's been passed

down through generations.

♪ ♪

It seems a small step from hunting termites with a stick

to spearing galagos in their dens.

But the Fongoli are the only chimps that have cottoned on.

They say necessity is the mother of invention.

Among the Senegal chimps, the mothers are the

mothers of invention.

So if there's a lesson for humanity, it may be

that mother knows best.

Hidden in the African savannah, an unassuming assassin wields

an arsenal of secret weaponry.

This chameleon's mission?

Take down some bugs for breakfast.

♪ ♪

To get closer, she slowly stalks her prey.

But there's slow, and then there's chameleon.

She's an evolutionary master of disguise,

able to change colour until nearly invisible.

Roving eyes constantly scan almost 360 degrees.

Because at just 13 inches long, it pays to be cautious.

Close enough now.

The target is in sight.

There's no escaping what happens next.

A tongue fired at 8,500 feet per second.

And spit 400 times thicker than human saliva.

Rips bugs off their perches.

But Karma quickly catches up with this Karma chameleon.

She's blown her cover, alerting another

super-powered predator in desperate need of a kill.

This boomslang hasn't fed in days.

This snake wields two of the most effective hunting

weapons on the planet.

Venom so potent that less than a drop could kill a human.

Compromised, the chameleon must hold her nerve.

Stressed, she darkens her skin to disguise herself.

♪ ♪

So long as she stays put, the boomslang can't distinguish

the chameleon from the foliage.

The snake deploys its next superpower.

A forked tongue that collects chemical signals from the air.

He smells lizard.

It smells like victory.

This is usually the moment for the lightning-fast attack scene.

But not in this weird little story.

Boomslang versus chameleon is more like a

slow-motion kiss of death.

The boomslang pumps its super-venom into his victim,

destroying red blood cells.

The chameleon's camouflage abilities are legendary.

But in this battle of superpowers,

the legend has become lunch.

Nature has engineered an endless parade of animals with

something strange going on.

The wilder their world, the weirder their solution.