All language subtitles for Attack and Defend Series 1 1of6 Apex Predators 1080p

(♪♪♪)

In the cutthroat world
of hunter and hunted,

it's good to be
an apex predator.

Africa has several top dogs,

but only one of them is
an actual dog.

Prey animals can meet their
death by pack,

pride...

(Lion roaring)

Or ambush.

(Hyenas squealing)

Different predators,
different strategies,

each effective in their own way.

All on the attack.

(♪♪♪)

(♪♪♪)

(Lions roaring)

Lions,

feared,

revered.

The legendary king
of the beasts.

But of all the big cats,
they're not the biggest,

they're not the fastest.

Proportionality speaking,
they're not even the strongest.

So what makes lions seem
so regal?

What makes them king?

The simple answer...

Pride.

(♪♪♪)

Lions work together as a pride
to kill their prey.

And that allows them to
attack, not only larger prey,

but allows them to get
a much more consistent prey,

because
they can help each other.

Now, the adaptations of
hunting in groups

really is to do
with the females.

(♪♪♪)

They cooperate with each other
when they're stalking,

so that they can create
the greatest amount of confusion

when they eventually charge.

And the prey,

they don't know
which way to run.

Lionesses can run close to
50 miles per hour,

but only for short bursts.

So hunting some of the fastest
animals on the continent

means they have to get creative.

To make up for poor stamina,

they stay out of sight
as much as possible.

This also gives them a shot
at an ambush,

hiding in long grass
near a water source,

waiting for a thirsty prey
to wander

within striking distance.

Once the lioness downs her prey,

a quick chokehold
crushes its throat,

cutting off the airway.

The pride then butchers
the flesh

with molars like meat shears.

(♪♪♪)

That level of teamwork
reaches far beyond the hunt.

Prides are made up of
relatives.

All of the females
are related to each other

and therefore, all the babies
are related to each other

and they tend to all give birth
at the same time.

And that means
that because they're relatives,

the one female
is perfectly happy to suckle

any of the babies in the group.

They may not be her own babies,

but they're for sure gonna be
her grandchildren

or nephews and nieces.

So she can act as the nursemaid
and a wet nurse at that,

while the other ones are
catching the food

and supplying the group.

The males rarely hunt,

but they contribute
in a different way.

They defend their territory
and resources

from competing hyena clans
and other lion prides.

The males patrol territories
of up to 100 square miles,

defending their turf
from rivals.

The stakes are high.

An invading pride will kill
all the local cubs

and dominate the lionesses
to swell its own ranks.

Repelling an invading pride

demands brute strength
and strategy.

New research suggests

that lions can actually
determine the size

of a competing pride
by counting it's roars.

With that information,

they can decide to attack
or hold back.

It's like a finely-tuned
military operation

and the survival of their pride
hangs in the balance.

This devotion to the pride,

essential to survival
and unique among big cats

is why lions are rightly called
king.

Lions get all the glory
and hyenas get none.

Demonized
as ugly, noisy scavengers

that steal other animals' kills,
hyenas have an image problem.

Fact is, they're misunderstood.

(Hyenas squealing)

Yes, they scavenge,

but they're also brilliant
pack-hunters,

downing large preys
like wildebeests and zebra.

It's true that hyenas also prey
on the young,

the old and the weak,

even disembowelling them alive.

(Groaning)

And they do it all
with a big ugly smile

and a blood-curdling cackle.

(Hyenas cackling)

So it's not hard to see why
hyenas are such an easy animal

for people to hate.

(Hyenas squealing)

Except that many other predators
commit the same easy kills,

including
the noble and brave lion.

As it turns out,

the difference between hyenas
and many other predators

is only skin-deep.

Despite their
skulking-scavenger reputation,

hyenas actually hunt and kill
95% of their prey.

Don't let their looks fool you.

Hyenas are intelligent
and even brave.

And they heroically protect
their kills

from marauding larger predators.

They care for each other

and can hear a pack member's
distress calls

from 6 miles away.

These adaptations have made them
a Serengeti success story.

Hyenas are much more numerous
than lions are.

We've got maybe 2,000 lions
in Serengeti.

There's about 7,000 hyenas.

Hyenas wear down their prey

through sheer numbers
and endurance.

They count on the energy
of the pack,

not an individual,

even taking turns
leading the chase.

By hunting in packs,

it allows them
to pull down a bigger prey

than they would be able to do
if they were on their own.

Once they've run their prey to
exhaustion on the openplanes,

the pack moves in for the kill.

For hyenas,
hunting is a team sport.

Anything to get the job done.

But the rules around feeding
aren't open to interpretation.

This is a matriarchal society.

Females rank highest,
so they eat first.

Then, the pubs.

And then, the males.

Any hungry jokers,
who get caught jumping the kill,

will get a walloping to remember
from the boss lady.

They also must endure
the pestering

of obnoxious
and higher-ranking juveniles

or risk violent reprimand.

Savage brutality isn't
the only method of discipline.

That shrill cackle can also be
used to resolve disputes.

(Cackling)

Studies have revealed
that the pitch of a laugh

reveals age,

and the frequency indicates
social rank.

We only get these packs out
on the open treeless plains

of the Serengeti.

Once you get into the woodlands
of the Serengeti,

which is 2/3rds of Serengeti,

then the hyenas are solitary and
they feed only on small prey.

Because they can adapt to

whatever the Serengeti
has to offer,

they will almost never
go hungry.

A recent study,
conducted at Duke University,

pitted chimpanzees against
the spotted hyenas

in a battle of wits.

To be clear,

spotted hyenas are not smarter
than chimpanzees,

but amazingly,

they are fully capable
of outperforming chimps

in cooperative
problem-solving tests.

2 chimpanzees required extensive
training and cooperation

to complete the same challenge

the 2 spotted hyenas were able
to crack in just a few minutes.

In the wild,
this problem-solving teamwork

can be the difference
between life and death.

Traditionally, people think
of hyenas as being scavengers.

In fact, they're only scavengers
in certain circumstances,

often when they're on their own,
when they're hunting singly.

And they're obviously
extremely successful

because they're very numerous
in a system.

Even scavenging
sometimes takes ingenuity.

If hyenas see vultures
circling in the distance,

they know where to go
for an easy meal.

Spotted hyenas weigh 175 pounds.

That's half the weight
of a lion,

but incredibly,
they have the same bite force,

1,000 pounds per square inch.

So if they find bones
already picked clean,

they can still crush
and eat them

to extract
the nutritious marrow inside.

A big cat wouldn't bother
and that alone is the reason

why these incredible survivors
deserve more respect.

They might not be pretty,

but hyenas always get
the last laugh.

(Hyenas cackling)

For any animal to survive in
the wilds of Africa,

keeping up with the competition
is critical.

Some use strategy.

Some use strength.

Cheetahs use speed.

Their perfectly-adapted bodies

can catch dinner
in less than 30 seconds.

(♪♪♪)

Leave the brute strength
to the lions and hyenas,

at less than 2-feet tall
and barley 110 pounds,

the cheetah is built for speed.

It can reach speeds of up to
a 100-kilometers an hour.

That is twice that
of a grey hound dog.

It's more than twice of
the fastest human on Earth.

It takes more than small size
to reach that velocity.

Compared to other land
mammals of the same weight,

a very large proportion
of their body

is made out of skeletal muscles.

These are the muscles that drive
the limbs and movement.

They have
very long muscle fibers

and very strong muscle fibers
that contract at very high rate.

>>The cheetah's spine works like
an extension of its hind legs.

As the leg moves forward,
the spine bends and recoils

driving those legs backwards.

This then creates a lot of
force at a very high velocity

accelerating the animal forward.

In order to fuel
the high-speed chase,

cheetahs have adapted
an efficient way to breathe.

In order to then move that
fast, you require lots of

oxygen. So they have
then physiological adaptations

in addition to the muscular
and skeletal adaptations,

is they have very large
nasal passages

to allow lots of air to go
to their lungs.

They have relatively large lungs
and they have very large heart

that contracts
at very high rate.

Cheetahs are built for speed,

but a predator cannot survive
on speed alone.

They've adapted
different strategies

that allow them to hunt solo
or in groups.

Female cheetahs with no cubs
or cubs too young to hunt,

are perfectly happy to fly solo.

When the cubs
are old enough to hunt,

they join forces with mom
to hunt in a group,

a rare but valuable strategy
in the big cat world.

Adult male cheetahs also
hunt in groups.

But whether solo or in a group,

their slight stature limits
the size of their prey.

But that doesn't make the hunt
any easier.

They focus on the smaller
prey,

but the very fast prey,
which are the gazelles.

Thomson's gazelle,
Grant's gazelle.

The cheetah has world-class
speed and hunting prowess,

but it's not perfect.

It has one major disadvantage.

Stamina.

Despite its large nasal passage,

if it doesn't nail its prey
in the first 1,000 feet,

it will completely run out of
steam and go home hungry.

A typical chase is about
200 meters

and the chase is typically
over in 10 seconds.

So noteworthy,
they don't run very far

because of the speed
that they generate

is very hard on the animal's
respiratory physiology.

To catch supper,

the cheetah must get as close
to its prey as possible,

ideally within 164 feet or less.

To get that close
without being spotted,

it stalks from behind bushes,
trees and tall grass.

Once it's close enough,
the chase is on.

(♪♪♪)

They can't outrun the
cheetah, so they zigzag.

And the cheetah,
in order to catch the gazelle,

has to also zigzag very rapidly.

They have adaptations
in their legs,

so the foot pads on their feet
are rigid.

Their claws are permanently
extended for gripping.

So they can turn very rapidly.

It knocks its prey
to the ground,

grips it by the throat
and strangles it to death.

(♪♪♪)

As the gazelle,
loses its breath,

the cheetah's breathing returns
to normal

as those bug nostrils
bring in air.

But even in victory,

a cheetah much like a hyena,
has to be on guard.

A lion may have caught
wind of the hunt

and be waiting
to steal the prize.

To prevent that,
the cheetah eats extremely fast.

They gobble it up and try to
get as much eaten as they can,

cos they know that
they're going to lose their prey

most likely.

And they have to feed
their young at the same time.

So they're quite vulnerable

and to the predation

and competition from stealing
from the bigger predators.

All predators face
challenges, but you gotta eat.

The cheetah
has astonishing speed.

It's what they're known for.

Even so, nearly 70% of its prey
would get away.

But that's
life in the fast lane.

They're called
African painted dogs,

African wild dogs

or African hunting dogs.

Whatever you call them,

these dogs
are not man's best friend.

(Dogs squealing)

They're vicious
pack-hunting killers,

honed for taking down
large prey.

(♪♪♪)

This is not your average Fido,

Rex

or Rover.

They are African painted dogs.

These distant cousins
of domestic dogs

know that they're strength
in numbers.

They live in packs of up to 30.

(♪♪♪)

Despite the large pack size,

African wild dogs work as
an efficient, organized team

to catch their communal meal.

The more that are in a group,

the more successful
they're gonna be huntin'.

They're kind of
a mid-sized predator,

so most of what they're trying
to hunt is gonna be

substantially larger than them.

So not only do they get tired
of tryin' to chase them down,

but then if you're
tryin' to hunt a zebra

that weighs something, like,

close to 8 to 10 times
your size,

havin' all those
additional bodies to help,

it makes it a lot more likely
to be successful.

This makes them some
of the most effective hunters

in the animal kingdom.

African wild dogs successfully
bring down a kill

90% of the time.

Compare that to a lion

with a success rate
that's less than 40%.

They're also very efficient,

working fast
to keep bigger predators

from stealing their meal.

Once they spot somethin'
they wanna hunt,

they'll start to actually kinda
surround a little bit.

They'll kinda run relays
a little bit.

So as the one starts to chase,
as they tire up,

then you have other ones
that can take their place.

So they, kind of, will leapfrog
through the process

and then whoever can actually
get a hold of the animal first,

will try to stop that animal.

A lot of times,
they'll actually go for,

like, the abdomen.

A dominant breeding male
and female leads each pack

comprised of their offspring
and relatives,

with males greatly outnumbering
females.

The group bond is so tight that
they're one of the few species

that mourns
the loss of a pack member.

And unlike other predators
such as wolves,

if the alpha pair were to die,

the pack will completely disband
and start over.

Their pack mentality extends
beyond their hunting abilities.

In fact,
for a pack of wild dogs,

they're surprisingly
non-confrontational.

Extensive studies

of these maligned
and misunderstood animals

have revealed
unbelievable things.

Outside the odd scrap between

dominant
and subordinate females,

they run a very peaceful ship.

They even maintain
their own social support system.

Bonding is regularly reinforced
with friendly greeting rituals.

They jump,
squeal, wag their tails

and lick each other's faces
every morning.

Painted dogs will actually
take on full-time roles

suited to their skills.

Long-term observation has
documented males

giving up hunting altogether

to take on the full-time role
of nanny,

minding the pubs
while the pack hunts.

Others have been observed
taking on

the sole responsibility
of head nurse

bringing food
to sick pack mates

and nursing them back to health.

It's a near-utopian
team concept.

Not the behaviour you'd expect
from a pack of wild dogs.

All of the pack members
will actually contribute

to the caring
for any weaker members.

For the pups, for example,

every single member contributes
to feeding them.

They contribute to protecting
them at play time, etc.

They're all very focused
on those pubs

and making sure
that they have what they need.

No 2 wild dogs have
the same painted patterns.

Scientists suspect

the colouration might help them
during the hunt,

but no one really knows.

What scientists do know

is that these dogs are
incredibly skilled

at communicating

with a vocal diversity that's
comparable to dolphins.

Not only do they bark and growl
like a domestic dog,

but they also make high-pitched
chirps and long loud howls

to keep track of each other
across great distances.

As with a lot of
different species,

they do have different calls

that they use
for different situations.

We can tell
what the vocalization means.

If we separate the group
for any reason,

like sometimes we'll bring
the male in to feed,

separated from the female,

so that he gets a chance
to actually eat

without being pestered.

And the 2 females outside,
they'll do the long call,

and, like, you know
it's specifically his call

that they're trying to
track him down.

Working together is the key
to the painted dog survival.

As members of a pack
they're strong, effective

and incredibly intelligent

making them some of the most
proficient hunters

in the animal kingdom.

(♪♪♪)

Apex predators seem to have won
the evolutionary lottery.

These species hunt and kill
with superior strength

and attack with impressive
strategy and mechanics.

They are
at the top of their game

and at the top of
their food chain.

(♪♪♪)