Original subtitles

In a world where only the fittest survive,

millions of years of evolution have equipped a lucky few

with extreme adaptations and formidable features.

It's an endless showdown,

and you're about to get a front row seat.

This adventure isn't for the squeamish

or the faint of heart.

from arid deserts to the deepest oceans,

we'll be counting down

some of the greatest wildlife moments ever captured...

when life in the wild reaches a fever pitch...

And when the most daring risk all

to ensure the survival of the next generation.

these incredible scenes will compete for the title

of most amazing moment.

coming at you in five jaw-dropping categories:

Deadly showdowns...

Freaks of nature...

Gang wars...

Rough romance...

And extreme parenting.

Get ready for a wild ride,

coming up now

incredible animal moments.

The animal kingdom...

a world where predators rule and prey flee for their lives.

those at the top of the food chain

have killer moves and extraordinary features...

Fearsome fangs...

Supersonic speed...

And deadly precision.

It's a battle of the extremes,

and we're counting down the world's deadliest showdowns.

Making a debut in our countdown at number 5

is the killer everyone loves to hate.

This ancient hunter has ruled these watery depths

for over 450 million years.

It's outlived the dinosaur and five mass extinctions,

yet this highly evolved super fish

continues to be vilified.

Jaws

depicted the shark as a mindless killer,

but in this real-life drama

the great white is cunning and calculating.

when hunting seals off the coast of South Africa,

this female's highly evolved senses

lead her to her next victim.

when the colony leaves the safety of their rocky island,

not a single splash goes unheard.

the great white's nostrils can detect a drop of seal oil

in a body of water

the equivalent of an olympic-sized swimming pool!

Tiny jelly-filled pores on her nose

can absorb minute electrical pulses...

Meaning this fishy beast

can home in on a single seal's heartbeat.

This super predator's eyes

are also five times the size of ours,

and behind each retina lie crystal plates

that reflect light in the murky water.

Once you're on the radar, there's nowhere to hide

from this highly evolved master of the deep.

This is the crowned king of speed.

Cheetahs are the fastest animals on the planet,

and these brothers are on the hunt.

On today's menu, wildebeest,

one of africa's fastest antelopes.

The brothers can outrun them,

but they're sprinters, not distance runners.

They can easily overheat

and must get close enough to close the deal

before they explode into action.

These impressive runners can reach top speeds

of 75 miles per hour,

but their acceleration is what's truly impressive.

Zero to 60 in three seconds... or just three strides.

This round goes to the sprite and spindly wildebeest.

the cat is no quitter, but he needs to catch his breath.

the wildebeest are on the move,

and the brothers must go for broke.

They dig their specialized claws

into the heels of the wildebeest.

the brothers live up to their 50% strike rate.

Half their hunts end in success;

the other half are dangerous life lessons.

Theirs is a delicate balance between risk and reward.

In the Namibian desert, one remarkable animal

has developed a unique predatory strategy.

This is the caracal...

A distant relative of the lynx.

She may be slight, but this cat's got a killer plan...

muscle-packed hind legs and a super flexible spine

allow her to jump like an acrobat off a springboard...

More than six feet in the air.

At a small watering hole, a flock of weavers

provides a perfect opportunity for this remarkable athlete.

She's off.

The caracal's powerful hind legs and finely tuned reflexes

make her agile.

The weaver's fast,

but this feline's locked her sights on it.

It's over in seconds...

And for now, this feathery snack will have to do.

In a nearby desert,

this yellow mongoose is the resident cobra hitman.

It's game on.

A strike from a cobra could kill ten men.

But this desert carnivore

has guts of steel and built-in immunity.

The cobra's speedy defense strike is its trump card...

the only thing that'll keep him alive.

Each is the other's prey,

but also a deadly opponent.

they know that turning their back could be a fatal mistake.

The mongoose circles,

looking for a weakness in the cobra's defense.

a quick strike needs a matrix-style getaway.

The cobra tries intimidation... But it's not enough.

They size each other up... and punches fly!

The cobra delivers its winning blow.

He's been spared from becoming mongoose dinner...

This time around.

Now for the ultimate face-off.

Coming in at number 1 in this category

is an unlikely contender,

yet this gang of intrepid heifers won't disappoint.

the Savannah is set for the hunger games...

the age-old contest between hunter and hunted.

At the top of the food chain, the lions...

the biggest, baddest cats around.

but word on the plains is that the cape buffalo

is the most dangerous beast in the game...

An adult bull can weigh up to 2,000 pounds!

with a helmet of horns and deadly, sharp hooves,

they are perfectly equipped

to be the lion's greatest adversary.

they're built to kill... Like an army of gladiators.

none of the other cats will take on a buffalo,

but to these famished lions, they're irresistible.

When the going gets tough, this angry gang defends their own.

Without backup, a lone lioness

is no match for this deadly showdown

and the angriest beasts on the Savannah.

next on incredible animal moments,

we count down nature's freakiest and most curious creatures.

So far we've seen killer moves and deadly showdowns.

Now, for the strange and the bizarre.

these characters are quick killers,

masters of disguise, kings and queens of camouflage.

evolution has equipped them with some peculiar adaptations.

and these daredevils will leave you speechless.

In the dense canopy of the Asian jungle,

a swift killer lies in wait.

in plain sight... But virtually invisible...

It's a master of disguise.

With its zen-like appearance of quizzical intelligence,

it's not surprising that the praying mantis

has been worshipped as a god.

but those arms in their prayer-like pose are deceptive.

Reports of snakes, small birds and mammals

succumbing to its death grip are no myth.

a smaller male mantis is a pushover in comparison.

Their eyes are made of 10,000 separate specialized zones,

giving it excellent stereoscopic vision...

Able to see up to 50 feet away.

grooming himself, this male doesn't realize

the female in town is not looking for a mate.

She's looking for lunch.

Her spring-loaded prayer stance

strikes in 30 thousandths of a second...

Faster than the eye can see.

The powerful spiked forearms have a crushing grip

that is nearly impossible to escape.

A mantis eats its prey alive...

And for this cannibal,

decapitation is the preferred way to serve up today's meal.

With names like trioceros, bradypodion and archaius,

you'd think we had stepped back into the Jurassic age.

But these cold-blooded creatures

are one of the most successful hunters in the jungle today.

you've got to be quick when your food moves this fast.

well-developed eyes that pivot independently

allow it to see almost 360 degrees.

There is nowhere to hide.

These strange reptiles are chameleons.

Slow, deliberate steps

allow them to get close to their target.

Chameleons are not designed for the chase.

Their secret weapon?

a ballistic tongue that accelerates at over 40 g's...

That's more than 10 times the g-force

of a NASA space shuttle on takeoff.

There is nothing in the jungle

that can outpace the chameleon's tongue.

It is deadly accurate.

Once you're within striking distance,

chances of escape are slim.

in this Indonesian jungle lives the king of camouflage.

this tiny egg, no bigger than a grain of rice,

will give rise to one of the largest insects on the planet,

the atlas moth.

for it to reach monstrous proportions, he needs to eat.

and for the first six weeks of his life, that's all he does.

It's not long before he's too big for his own skin.

his gooey insides bulge, and his old bodysuit pops open

to allow the caterpillar to mature.

He will shed his skin four times as he grows fatter and fatter.

This grub continues to binge-eat

until he's the size of a hot dog.

and then, it's time for a costume change.

The caterpillar starts to construct

his own silk changing room.

one month later, it's time for the big reveal.

with a wingspan of more than 12 inches,

it truly is a mammoth moth.

This once fat ugly duckling is now a mosaic of color,

and it's not just for show.

the tips of the moth's wings resemble the face of a cobra.

When threatened by predators,

this transformer will imitate this deadly snake

by moving its wings back and forth.

despite this elaborate and miraculous makeover,

the adult atlas moth has little over a week to live.

with no mouth, he is unable to feed,

so his only goal is to find a mate and continue his legacy.

next on our countdown is the stuff of nightmares.

When darkness falls,

no creature in these stables is safe.

It's the vampire bat,

the only bat in the world that feeds on blood.

It's a master of echolocation

and uses bouncing ultrasonic sound waves

to locate its victim.

It can tell where the warm blood runs close to the skin,

thanks to heat sensors near its nose.

Dinner... Is served.

With the sharpest teeth in the animal kingdom,

the vampire bat gently cuts through the skin

and sucks up the blood.

And thanks to a local anesthetic in the bat's spit,

the victim doesn't feel a thing.

It may be the size of your thumb,

but the vampire has a life-sized appetite.

in just one year, a colony of 100 vampires

can drain the blood of 25 horses.

Without its blood fix every night,

the bat would starve to death.

But through super hearing,

the vampire will recognize this horse's breathing,

and tomorrow night he will be back for more.

This cold-blooded eating machine has a taste for his own kind.

And when he's on the hunt,

he goes straight for the lion's share...

whether it fits into his mouth or not.

Capable of injecting enough venom to kill an elephant,

a king cobra's bite is one of the deadliest on earth.

Once the venom has taken effect, it's time to eat this rat snake.

First, he's got to locate and line up the head of his meal.

having no limbs, he uses his mouth...

Slowly slithering toward the head.

once lined up he starts to swallow.

He's got a deceptively small mouth,

but elastic tendons allow him to stretch it incredibly wide

to accommodate big meals.

It's not about what fits in his mouth,

but what fits through his mouth.

Snakes can't make themselves longer,

but they can stretch wider,

stuffing in their prey and slowly expanding outwards.

Eyes too big for its stomach?

not likely to happen with this gruesome killer.

And with that... Dinner's done!

And now... Another collection

of hair-raising and heart-pounding images.

from hippo wars to baboon battles,

we count down the most ferocious fights captured on camera.

With the onset of new seasons,

males compete for territory and mating rights.

It's a brutal fight.

Some wrestle for dominance...

Others bite, clash... Or kill.

Hold on to your seats for another round...

As we count down the fiercest fights in the animal kingdom.

This deadly mega-mouth makes his entrance

at number 3 on our countdown of gang wars.

With tusks more than a foot long

and the strongest bite on the planet,

it's one of the most dangerous animals in Africa.

But this buxom beast is a vegetarian

and feeds on nearly 90 pounds of grass a day.

So why the mouthful of menacing teeth?

Their sole purpose is battle.

When it comes to choosing territories and females,

male hippos will use their teeth to fight to the death.

it's the height of zambia's dry season,

and this male's territory has been reduced

to little more than a shallow stream.

he's had to go in search of deeper water...

In enemy territory.

This prime section of the river is owned by a dominant male.

The intruder can either put his pride aside

and submit to the resident male

or fight him for it.

He chooses war.

The massive yawn confirms the intruder's challenge.

he sprays his feces and testosterone through the air

to mark his territory.

The intruder stands his ground.

And the battle is on.

A 2-inch-thick hide provides some protection

against each other's ivory fangs,

but the insides of their mouths are soft and gummy.

This is their target.

Their lower canines impale.

The intruder uses his monster mouth

to lift the dominant male out of the water like a bulldozer.

But this two-ton bull's no pushover.

The intruder admits defeat.

He's lucky to escape with his life...

This time around.

Coming in at number 2...

These feisty African geladas are no strangers to deadly duels.

They share the same social structure

as their baboon cousins.

Each herd has one dominant male,

and it's the job of this ruling gelada, the baboon king,

to keep his family of females and young protected.

So far it's twelve babies and counting.

But the larger the family,

the harder it is for this ruling male

to keep up with his fatherly obligations.

And now, he faces a serious problem.

There's a new kid on the block.

He's the king's younger brother, and he's vying for the throne.

the baboon king keeps guard of the herd on their daily commute.

But today is no ordinary day.

It's an ambush.

And this band of bachelors has been waiting for him.

It's four against one.

Retreat is the only option.

They know that if they can help bring down the king,

they'll move up a notch in the mating chain.

he catches his breath in the top of a tree...

Then makes a break for it.

He runs for open space and right into a trap

where his brother has been waiting.

This battle will be mano a mano.

the fury of the fight shows just how much is at stake here...

Possibly the end of one reign and the beginning of another.

The king delivers a savage bite, straight to his brother's face.

The fight is over.

The challenger is badly injured.

His older brother has left him with the ultimate scar.

He's lost a canine, the mark of manhood.

Against all odds, the king has clawed his way back to the top

and has secured this mountain throne

at least for one more year.

Enter into japan's wild woods

and you'll hear the honeybees abuzz.

Beneath the cool, mossy exterior of their fortress,

these forest dwellers are working around the clock

to nurture their hive and protect their young.

During the summer months,

worker bees tirelessly produce honey for the hive.

They spend their days collecting nectar;

then regurgitate the honey into cells in the honeycomb.

Their teamwork has produced a thriving colony...

and it's a treasure chest just waiting to be plundered.

These tiny honeybees are easy prey

for the largest hornet in the world.

Two inches long and 20 times heavier than the honeybee,

the giant bamboo hornet

can wipe out tens of thousands of bees

in a matter of hours.

They've hit the jackpot!

With an enemy in their midst,

the honeybees hatch a battle plan.

This isn't their first rodeo!

Working in groups, the bees overwhelm the giant hornet,

biting and stinging her repeatedly.

They disperse a pheromone,

which alerts the rest of the hive

and calls in fresh recruits.

Clusters of bees mob the hornet

and block the breathing holes on her abdomen.

Their aim is to heat up her temperature

beyond her thermal limit.

Inside the bee ball it's 116 degrees...

And the smothered hornet is quickly overheating.

The giant finally gives up her brave fight...

Defeated by a gang of tiny bees one fifth her size.

Get ready for the romantic and riveting...

As we continue our countdown incredible animal moments.

At certain times of the year, jungles, deserts and prairies

sing with the sounds of romance and courtship.

For some, it can be a friendly, romantic and charming affair.

For others... Not so much.

So get ready for the raunchy, risqué, and downright dirty...

And see what really happens behind the curtain,

next on our countdown incredible animal moments.

In the jungles of Panama,

it's the onset of the rainy season...

and the forest echoes with the music of frogs.

One of these small amphibians has hopped on to our countdown

to occupy third place.

a male glass frog calls for a mate...

And a female responds.

Spurred by the rain, they've both come down to the stream

to engage in an intimate and ancient ritual.

these amphibians spend the dry season in the canopy,

but once the rains come, it's time to mate.

Glass frogs get their name

from their unique style of camouflage.

They don't change their colors like some animals.

the glass frog's belly is completely translucent.

In the deep green wetness of the rainforest,

it's a perfect disguise.

before mating, the female glass frog

hops around on a leaf, collecting water,

causing her to swell up and hydrate the eggs inside her.

when the female releases the eggs,

the male catches them with his hind legs and fertilizes them.

as the eggs develop over the next two weeks,

both the male and female play important parental roles.

One frog takes a turn hydrating the eggs,

while the other helps stand guard.

This shared parental daycare

will go a long way to ensure the survival of their offspring.

Coming in at number 2...

Although these contenders are cold blooded,

they know how to keep things hot and steamy

on the jungle floor.

vipers mate in a ritual of gently rubbing bodies.

Their bodies caress and tongues flicker

as the male tastes the female's pheromones,

testing if she's ready to mate.

When the female is aroused,

she'll lift the base of her tail, and they'll mate,

like these puff adders are doing.

The male tends to do most of the work...

perhaps the females pace themselves during mating

because just one session

can sometimes carry on for up to three hours.

females hold all the cards when it comes to reproduction.

they can store sperm from one mating session

for up to five years before it starts to deteriorate.

unlike most snakes, female puff adders give birth

to live snakelings.

this ensures that their offspring

get the best possible chance at life.

within two weeks of birth, equipped with fangs and venom,

they're fully independent

and perfectly capable of surviving on their own.

Number 1 on our countdown of romantic moments

goes to the gifted lover from down under.

The little red flying fox of Australia

is a real trapeze artist.

This acrobat uses his talents

even in the most challenging positions.

Long-clawed thumbs make ideal clambering hooks

for walking the tightrope.

And a good grip is important

when you're as hyperactive as the acrobat.

the little red spends a third of its day grooming

and another large chunk of it sleeping.

Their curved claws act as bat coat hangers

and allow them to hang around, upside down,

without ever falling...

Even when they're taking a nap.

In fact, their feet can latch on so hard

that even dead bats remain hanging in place.

When you're always upside down,

you need a trick move when nature calls.

But this is not the only move that counts here.

The acrobats compete for females in upside-down boxing matches.

it's inverted mixed martial arts.

They claw, box and bite.

The victorious gymnast will mate

with any female that will have him.

And it's a tricky affair,

even if you're hanging like a bat.

after a steamy romance comes the job of parenting,

and a few animals will risk everything

to protect their young.

Next, more incredible images as we count down

the greatest moments of extreme parenting.

For many animals, parenting can be a full-time job.

Some females go at it solo,

caring for their young and providing for the family.

Others get help from dad

or other females, if they're lucky.

up next, we count down the most remarkable moments

of animal parenting.

it's summer on the Mississippi river,

and this pair of feathered lovers

glides in at the top of our countdown.

Wood ducks that partnered up in January

now prepare to start a family.

A hole high above the water

will provide relative safety from predators...

and easy access to the Mississippi

when the chicks are ready to take to the water.

by late June... 30 days after they were laid...

A dozen surviving wood ducks are ready to hatch.

All the chicks are born alert and with a full coat of down.

They can't fly yet,

but they can't stay cramped up here either.

After only one day,

mom calls for them to boldly go where they've never gone before.

It's a 30-foot leap of faith.

the first brave soul prepares for liftoff.

one down... and its brothers and sisters wait in the wings.

typically, all the chicks will jump just minutes apart.

but every now and then, there's a failure to launch.

After the harrowing departure,

they've landed in a brave new world.

Only about half the ducklings will make it to adulthood.

In the meantime, it's up to mom to teach them all she can.

South of the U.S. border, off the coast of Mexico,

another mother goes to extreme lengths

to provide protection to her newborn calf.

this pacific humpback takes the number 3 slot

on our countdown of extreme parenting.

every year these giants make the 16,000-mile journey

from the cold artic seas

to safer havens in the tropical pacific.

these islands off the Baja peninsula

provide an important sanctuary

for whales who come to give birth in these warm waters.

this mother has chosen this extraordinary location

to introduce her newborn calf to the world,

the start of a powerful bond.

for hours at a time, she remains almost motionless

as her daughter suckles some of the richest milk of any mammal,

up to 150 gallons a day.

Even though her mother weighs in the tons,

she demonstrates a tenderness with her calf

that belies her enormous power.

This youngster is growing at around 55 pounds a day,

and one of her first important lessons is controlling buoyancy.

Mother whale makes sitting still look easy.

But her one-ton baby can't seem to get the hang of it.

eventually she figures out that she can use her mother

as a kind of giant anchor,

nestling beneath her until she needs to surface for air.

for now, being a baby humpback whale

in the deep blue waters of Baja seems idyllic.

The lessons she's learning here

could mean the difference between life and death

when she makes her first long and dangerous journey

all the way to the rich feeding grounds

of the frozen arctic circle.

once the grasses of the serengeti start growing,

an extraordinary tale of animal daycare unfolds.

it's the onset of the calving season,

when each heavily pregnant cow

will instinctively drop its calf,

as many as 8,000 per day.

And it's the following two to three weeks

that the predators have been waiting for.

This lioness is hiding at the center

of literally thousands of newborn calves.

A mother is forced to leave her minutes-old offspring.

She makes a brave and final attempt

to scare off the big cat.

But her calf is now at another's mercy.

why the lioness hesitates to make the kill is unknown.

astonishingly, the calf is imprinting,

compelled to treat a nearby warm body

as its provider and protector,

a very rare and usually fatal mistake.

But for some mysterious reason,

the lioness tolerates the behavior.

attention diverted, the calf is left alone.

Somewhere in there is a mother bereft of her calf.

It's believed that mothers recognize their own calves

by scent.

But successful reunions like this are rare.

This zebra has just given birth,

and she's the crown winner in our countdown.

As a new mom, she has one simple mission:

To keep her seven-week-old foal alive on his first migration

across the brutal plains and treacherous rivers

of the masai Mara.

Every year, the search for food and water

drives 1.5 million wildebeest

and hundreds of thousands of zebras

on an 1,800-mile journey across this east African Savannah.

By the time they complete this great migration,

almost a quarter of the animals will perish.

For many, the violent Mara river is the ultimate choke point

and the setting for nature's deadliest ambush.

Lurking below are the biggest crocodiles in Africa.

For months they've survived on little but scraps...

And they are hungry.

Mom and foal take the plunge

and are quickly swept downstream.

As mom fights the rapids,

there is no way the little foal can keep up.

The pair is ripped apart,

and the foal disappears into the chaos.

as more zebras are washed downstream,

the young foal follows.

After crossing twice midstream,

he finally makes it to the riverbank.

this time... There's no turning back.

meanwhile his mother is fighting her own battle.

She gathers her strength

and readies herself for a final push.

It's do or die.

her young foal is not giving up either,

but he's clearly exhausted.

After hours of searching,

mom still has not found her foal.

Amazingly, she decides to plunge

back into the crocodile-infested Mara...

perhaps thinking he's on the other side.

luckily the crocs are too far downstream...

And mom makes it to the shallows.

But the young foal is now on the opposite bank.

it's been more than a day since he's seen his mother.

without her milk, he won't last long.

Miraculously mom has survived a third trip across the river

and is finally back on the same bank as the foal.

A bite from a crocodile jolts her into action.

there's no way out over the pile of carcasses.

The only option is to plunge

back into the blood river one last time.

Her only hope for survival

is if the crocs have finally had their fill.

And it seems this time they have.

thanks to perseverance and the whims of nature,

mother and foal are alive.

Days of imprinting after birth have paid off.

And after two days apart, mother and son reunite.

For the next three months,

they'll join the herds on the bountiful northern grasslands

until the great migration leads them south once more.

For this zebra and her foal, this is life...

tenuous, challenging, and lived one day at a time.