Original subtitles

Nature is full of wonder and beauty.

But for the creatures who live out in the wild…

…it's also full of monsters.

And the sooner you figure that out,

the better your chances are…

…of staying…

alive.

Welcome.

I'm glad you could make it.

Today, I'm going to tell you a scary story.

This one starts out here…

in the deep, dark woods…

…where the trees have eyes…

…and every sound…

…could be the last you ever hear.

Surviving out here is tough enough.

But take a wrong turn…

and you might end up someplace even more deadly.

For the creatures of the forest,

this place is a nightmare.

But this summer,

three unlikely heroes will be drawn here.

And it'll take everything they've got to make it out alive.

In fact, one of them should arrive any moment.

Right now, she's running for her life.

You may wonder why a little mouse would come to such a place.

That's because you don't know what she's running from…

yet.

This white-footed mouse is about to become a mother.

Tonight is her last chance to eat before she gives birth.

Sniffing out breakfast here is easy enough.

The trick is not becoming it.

She mustn't linger.

There are eyes watching her every move.

She needs to find somewhere away from danger to give birth.

What is this place?

It seems the perfect nursery.

Beyond the dangers of the outside.

She's got a big day tomorrow.

So sleep well, little mouse…

while you can.

The new day brings with it this guy.

At around a year old,

raccoons are forced out of their homes by their moms.

So he's on his own and has a lot to learn.

This summer, he'll have to hunt for himself,

establish his own territory, and hopefully,

get a girlfriend.

But first… breakfast.

Hognose snake is a delicacy.

But not an easy meal for a rookie.

Its first line of defense is camouflage.

But that's not its only trick.

This snake is a performer.

To begin, it plays the part of a bigger, scarier snake.

And when that doesn't work…

…it stages its own dramatic death…

excreting a rotten stench.

Sssso dramatic.

Outsmarted by a harmless snake?

Embarrassing.

Maybe he'll have better luck lakeside.

Whoa! What was that?

Giant bullfrog tadpoles.

As long as a corn dog.

They'd slip down nicely.

If only he could catch one.

Ah-ha!

No, that's a rock.

Tadpoles are covered in a slippery slime.

So catching one takes skill and experience.

Neither of which he has.

Our raccoon may be struggling…

but the odds aren't good if you're a tadpole.

Most will be eaten by something this summer.

In fact, only a lucky 2% ever make it to adulthood.

This young American bullfrog

is just getting used to his strange new body.

He's a cautious little guy

who doesn't go out much.

And for good reason.

His three years as a tadpole were, to say the least, traumatic.

Ah, childhood.

A supposed time of innocence.

During which he witnessed his entire family

murdered.

Tadpoles can't hide underwater forever.

They need to breathe.

That was his little sister.

His brother.

And his father?

Well…

No one knows what happened to his father.

No wonder he's reluctant to go out.

But if he wants to eat, he must.

Bullfrogs will eat anything that fits in their mouths.

And that includes…

smaller bullfrogs.

That's right.

His family…

are cannibals.

It's a frog eat frog world.

Back to finding something to eat.

But out here, one minute you're the hunter,

next minute…

Hognose snakes are specialist assassins.

And summer is open season on frogs.

Snakes descend on the lake…

…to gorge themselves in an annual amphibian purge.

Once grabbed, a frog's only defense

is to inflate its body to try and resist being swallowed.

And scream.

But fangs pointing inward at the back of the snake's mouth puncture the skin.

Popping the frog like a balloon.

Time to bounce.

So far, he's beaten the odds.

But the worst is yet to come.

Ah, good.

She's still asleep.

Pregnant mice can sleep for 12 hours a day,

if undisturbed.

But this nursery

is a nightmare.

The secret lair…

…of a serial killer.

And she

is its

favorite prey.

Huge eyes with built-in motion detectors,

fine-tuned for hunting in the dark,

make the owl the ultimate nocturnal killer.

So stay still, little mouse.

The owl also has incredible hearing,

enabling it to hear even the quietest sounds.

This is a game even older than cat and mouse,

and our mother has her own cards to play.

She freezes, and lowers her thumping heartbeat

to run

silent.

But for how long?

Now she must wait for the owl to fall asleep.

You snooze, you lose.

Out in broad daylight,

about to give birth,

she's never been more vulnerable.

And she's not the only one.

The cannibal frogs…

are back.

But this time, they're not here to eat him.

It's mating season.

To impress the females, the largest males want the best spot.

The center of the lake.

And they're willing to fight for it.

Next year, this could be him.

But for now, watch and learn.

The winner gets the prime real estate…

announcing his victory to the females.

The loser is exiled to the shallows.

Gulp.

A little further along the lake edge,

the raccoon still hasn't had his big score.

But he can smell something good.

And close.

Eggs.

But there are no chickens around here.

A little jumpy, are we?

That is a bad place to rest.

During the day,

a mouse's number one rule of not being seen

is much harder to live by.

But she's lucky to be alive at all,

after her last landlord.

She's running out of time to find a safe place to give birth.

To make things worse, the daytime is full of strange creatures.

And plants.

She's never seen one of these before.

Or one of those.

When you've never been up this early…

it's hard to know what's friend, foe, or food.

Ah, food!

Life in this forest has a language all its own.

This call means

death from above.

Best to wait this one out.

Big surprise,

the little frog is still hiding out in his tin cup home.

If he wants to eat though, he has to brave the outside world.

But every time he does, he risks--

What now?

The frog popper is back.

Snakes are the ultimate hunters.

They can see you.

They can hear you.

And most frighteningly,

they can feel you.

Able to detect even the tiniest vibrations through their scales and jaw.

So don't

move

a muscle.

Close call.

But he still hasn't eaten.

This stink bug produces a foul-smelling odor…

which it uses to deter--

Like I said…

bullfrogs will eat anything that will fit in their mouths.

His first taste of success.

But it's early days,

and this is going to be a long summer.

The goshawk knows to stay away from this place.

So, now you know what drove our mother mouse to the old cabin.

This has got to be better than outside.

Right?

Warm, dry, and best of all,

no killer birds.

But this place hides its horrors.

And she can't read the signs.

She still needs to find a safe place to give birth tonight.

Maybe not here.

But she needs to pick somewhere soon.

Relentless curiosity, coupled with a great sense of smell,

are the raccoon's secrets to success.

Trouble is

curiosity doesn't just kill cats.

He's never seen this place before.

Definitely worth investigating.

The kitchen looks promising.

Raccoons are natural problem solvers

and well-known housebreakers.

Too easy.

But for the little mouse,

far from ideal.

Would a raccoon eat a mouse?

Definitely.

But leaving the cabin now isn't an option.

She's out of time.

This could be an uneasy home share.

Sometimes in life,

if you don't know where you're going, you gotta just follow your nose.

There's an intriguing smell coming from up there…

Attics are popular places for raccoons to set up home.

And this looks, and smells, like he's not the first.

Where are they now?

What happened to them?

I wonder if they're ever coming--

Oh, cookies!

Finally, his persistence has paid off.

The mouse has certainly done well to escape the dangers of the woods.

But the raccoon's presence complicates things.

She needs to choose wisely.

Her nursery needs to be somewhere he won't find them.

For its new residents,

the cabin certainly seems better than the outside world.

It's been a tough day.

But life has turned a hopeful corner.

And though I wish them both sweet dreams…

here, in the real world,

they're about to face

their worst nightmare.