All language subtitles for Predator.Coast.2012.1080p.WEBRip.x264-RARBG

[instrumental music playing]

[narrator]
A mountain barricade
on one side,

and an immense blue ocean
on the other.

A vast lake between,

with dark forests that open
onto classic African savanna.

This is the Predator Coast,

a unique African arena
that's a battleground for both
the hunter and the hunted.

But this battle for survival
plays out on a stage that
changes with the seasons.

Nature has the power
to give life,

and the power to take it away.

All are subject to its rule.

Every creature
must have a plan...

to survive the Predator Coast.

The Predator Coast is a mix of
different African environments

all thrown into one area.

[instrumental music playing]

The lake is ruled
by Nile crocodiles,

the grassland by lions,

[lion growls]

and the thick brush by leopards.

Tiger, blacktip
and ragged-tooth sharks
hunt the waters,

while gannets must search
the ever-changing
ocean currents.

They all have a strategy.

But so does their prey.

[insects buzzing]

All these hunters share
the Predator Coast,

and they have to be either
strong or clever to make it
through winter alive.

[rhythmic music playing]

Rising up to meet the sky,

a jagged barrier of basalt
runs for hundreds of miles.

This is the imposing western
wall of the Predator Coast.

It looks hostile and dangerous.

And it is.

But it's also the source of life
for everything below.

The Dragon Mountains,
or Drakensberg,

play a large part
in the seasonal cycle
of the lake and plains.

In summer, these peaks
become a living being,

seething and writhing
with heavy water vapor.

Moisture from below rises
and mixes with alpine winds.

Warm air strikes the rock face,
generating clouds,

sending moisture down
to the savanna.

[thunder rumbles]

[hippo snorts]

The summer season brings
more and more rain,

[vultures cackling]

[crickets chirping]

and with it comes rich grazing.

[birds calling]

Impala fawns stick close
to their mothers.

At this age,
she's their only protection.

The woodland is green and dense.

A great place to hide
if you're prey.

But even better cover
if you're a predator.

[leopard panting]

Although food is plentiful,
the cat-and-mouse game
of survival still plays out.

The hunter is always alert.

And the hunted
should always be wary.

This young leopard
has blown his cover.

He has to look
elsewhere for food.

By midday, it's hot,
and the waterhole
is getting crowded.

A troop of vervet monkeys
join the party.

[vervet monkeys chattering]

Everyone's wallowing,
and the heat makes them
drop their guard.

[ominous music playing]

[chattering continues]

Meanwhile, the leopard
is eager to make up
for his previous failure.

And the baby monkeys
are too busy playing
to spot him.

[suspenseful music playing]

The sentry loses focus.

[panting softly]

[monkey calls continue]

[panting softly]

[yawn]

The leopard strikes.

[monkeys calling]

But misses.

The young monkey is quick,

[leopard growls]

but not quick enough.

[leopard growls]

[alarmed monkey calls]

The adult monkeys are in shock.
They're now fully awake,
and angry.

The leopard clearly
has a lot to learn.

It doesn't finish the kill.

Bigger, stronger prey
would've escaped.

But this is the training ground
of the wild.

It can seem cruel.

[leopard growling softly]

[leopard growls loudly,
monkeys screeching]

But the leopard is learning.

It's not a cub anymore.

It needs to hunt for itself.

But it's going to have to do
a lot better than this
to survive.

The monkeys, too, have learned
an important lesson.

It pays to be vigilant.

[instrumental music playing]

As the Predator Coast reaches
towards the ocean,

the woodlands and plains
are interrupted
by an open expanse of water.

This is no ordinary lake.

St. Lucia is Africa's largest
coastal lagoon.

It's connected to the sea,
but with all the summer rain,
the lake is less salty.

Hippos frolic and romp
out in open water.

The lake is full of them.

[hippo grunting]

But it's also home to a far more
menacing resident.

The Nile crocodile
has ruled these waters
for thousands of years.

After using its scales
as solar panels to absorb
the morning heat,

it has to return to the water
to cool down.

Crocodiles can stay submerged
for up to two hours

by slowing the heart
to beat twice per minute.

In this lake, they're perfectly
adapted for ambush,

like a coiled spring
waiting to strike.

[birds calling]

Closer to the sea,
the water is saltier,

and the lake is alive
with nesting cormorants.

[cormorants squawking]

But for the young,
learning to fly is a huge risk,

because the cold-blooded
crocodile lurks beneath
the tree.

[suspenseful music playing]

Hunting birds
is the crocodile's easiest
option at this time of year.

[cormorant squawks]

The fledglings
that can't take off,
get waterlogged and heavy.

[cormorants squawking]

The crocs just have to loiter
in the area.

Parents are so busy feeding
the greedy chicks,

that they don't notice
the reptile.

It's hard work keeping
this rabble in the nest.

It's even harder
finding enough food for them.

When the crocodile dives,
it becomes invisible.

[eerie music playing]

The open water is a prism
of green.

Lush foliage thrives in summer,

and this offers great cover
for crocodiles.

But their real secret
lies closer to the banks.

Deep caves.

Dark tunnels snake
under the floating foliage.

This is the ultimate
stealth network.

The caverns are dark,
with only a faint green light
in the distance.

Gaps in the floating vegetation
make good spy holes,

great for attack.

The croc is at home here.

It can sneak closer
and move around undetected.

[insects chirping]

The birds don't know
that they're being watched.

[birds chattering]

[heartbeat thudding steadily]

Stealth pays off.

A sudden lurch...

and this croc has scored itself
a feathery lunch.

[crunching]

[instrumental music playing]

The entire lake passes through
a narrow tidal channel

and drains
into the Indian Ocean.

[insects buzzing, birds singing]

It enters silent
mangrove forests

where secretive creatures
wait for a different
kind of prey.

The black mangrove tree loads
its leaves with unwanted salt,
and drops them.

[wind blowing, trees rustling]

The mud bank comes to life.

To mud crabs,
leaves like these are a treat.

But there's not enough
to go around,

and battle lines are drawn.

The crabs are vegetarian,
and the leaves are their
staple diet.

A simple tug of war
sends the loser home
empty handed.

[instrumental music playing]

Between lake and sea
lies a great coastal barrier,

a dense forest.

It's a clear division
between fresh and salt water.

But beneath the canopy,
a treacherous world lies hidden.

[birdsong, insects buzzing]

It's a contrast of light
and shade.

But the hunters here
are far more devious.

[ominous music playing]

The Gaboon adder
is a cold-blooded master
of camouflage.

It's marking are so cryptic,
it's almost impossible
to detect.

Even on the move,
it's difficult to make out.

The Gaboon adder has evolved
the perfect suit of scales
for its environment.

It puts prey
at a distinct disadvantage.

When the adder smells food,
it settles in to wait.

This is a common domestic rat,
but it's set up house
in the forest.

The rat smells something,
but it sees nothing.

[birds calling]

[sniffing]

By the time it's settled,
the snake's nearly invisible,

but carefully poised to strike.

The coast seems clear,

so the rat leaves the burrow...

and walks right into trouble.

The bite is quick,
and the rat is free.

But not for long.

The venom is applied
with the longest fangs
in the snake world.

The rat dies
within feet of the adder.

The potent hemotoxic venom
causes internal bleeding.

It's a quick,
but excruciating death.

Snakes don't have hands
to help them eat,

so the adder uses its long fangs
to walk the prey into its mouth.

The Gaboon adder
has used its hardware well.

This meal will tide it over
for two weeks.

[instrumental music playing]

Beyond the folds of forest,

the Predator Coast
finally breaks onto the ocean.

Cool water from the south

meets the warm Mozambique
current, and this mix
brings life.

In springtime,

the deep caves and crevasses
of the reef eagerly await
new arrivals.

This warm water
tempts a secretive predator
from the cold south.

Lurking in the deep,

the ragged-tooth shark settles
in and begins patrolling.

But it's not on the hunt
for food.

It's looking for a mate.

After a 500 mile migration,

ragged-tooth sharks arrive
on the Predator Coast to breed.

Their goal is to conserve energy
during the day,

floating in the cover
of the reef, out of the current.

These rocky spires
are their mating bower.

Much of their breeding behavior
remains a mystery

because it happens
under cover of night.

It's likely the scars
and scratches on their bodies
come from mating.

But no one has ever
witnessed this behavior.

[suspenseful music playing]

More and more fish
meet in the warm water.

Every one of these slinger
could be a meal,

so they mass together to form
a bigger, scarier shape.

Snappers use color
and markings to deceive.

They each have a black dot
mimicking another eye.

To a predator,
they could be a group
of bigger animals facing off.

This loggerhead turtle
has a more basic form
of defense,

an armored shell.

She'll need to lay eggs soon,

and she needs all the protection
she can get.

She's travelled miles,
heading for the same beach
that she was born on.

The nesting instinct is strong,
pushing her on.

She has to keep moving,

because the warm summer water
brings the most feared ocean
hunter to the Predator Coast.

Tiger sharks eat turtles.

Their saw-like teeth
can cut through
a turtle's shell.

This shark is feared
by many here.

They're one reason that rays
adapted to be flat.

To hide better.

And they're the reason
why giant mantas have chunks
of flesh and tails missing.

All from run-ins with sharks.

[ominous music playing]

This manta
has to be wary of attack.

It can beat a powerful retreat
if it needs to.

But as long as the coast
is clear, the manta hunts
near the ocean floor.

It's a predator too,
but it's not after fish.

It eats tiny floating eggs
and larvae.

The more water the manta
can funnel through its specially
adapted paddles, the better.

As it is on land,

predator and prey adapt to stay
one step ahead of the other.

The manta is a giant
filter feeder,

but it's not alone.

And there's another
that's a true giant.

In the sandy shallows,

the biggest fish in the sea
arrives to feed.

The whale shark is the size
of a school bus,

twenty tons,

and it's a great predator,

also of tiny plankton.

Like the manta,
it trawls for smaller,
but more nutritious prey.

It has travelled hundreds
of miles for this rich,
warm summer water.

As the whale shark steams south,

a female turtle
heads for the shallows.

She hugs the reef,
staying close to cover
from any threat above.

But eventually,

she has to surface for air.

She chooses the wrong time,

and the wrong place.

[ominous music playing]

[turtle grunts]

The tiger shark
starts on her soft flippers.

But the jaws are strong enough
to break through the shell.

[turtle grunting]

The cover of darkness
is what the turtles
are waiting for.

The ones that make it through
have to leave the water
to dig a nest.

Despite its size,

the leatherback could fall prey
to leopards, jackals,
and even humans.

[turtle huffing]

She's slow, because she weighs
close to a ton.

She's dug the egg shaft.

She'll drop up to 100 eggs.

It's exhausting work.

And while it may look
like it's making her cry,

those aren't tears.

The turtle's eyes emit a jelly
to keep them moist
and free of sand.

[turtle huffing]

Eggs in place, it's time
for the last critical step,

covering them up
to keep them safe.

She's tired and she has to rest,

but the longer she spends here,
the more vulnerable she is.

Now she has to haul 800 pounds
of bulk back to the sea.

[turtle huffing]

She's been out of the water
for 90 minutes,

but soon she feels the cool wash
of the ocean.

She won't be back for two years.

She will never know
which of her young survive.

[dog howls]

But within five weeks,
the sand on the beach
begins to stir.

Tiny hatchlings breech
the fortress that their
mother built,

and on sheer instinct, they make
a break for the water.

[suspenseful music playing]

They're small, four inches long,

and the beach's predators
are an even bigger threat
to them.

If they stop moving,
they're going to become a meal.

Ghost crabs are quick to pounce.

[crunching]

Some are stronger than others.

They'll be the first
to the water.

One by one,
the survivors make it through.

[seabirds squawking]

[instrumental music playing]

The hatchlings grow
out in the ocean,

eventually,
becoming stronger swimmers.

Females will return to the same
beach to lay their own eggs.

Males will stay at sea
until they die.

Beneath the travelling turtle,
lies a unique part
of the Predator Coast,

a 40-year-old wreck,

a monument to man's presence
on the ocean.

Steel beams and plates,
that once plied the surface,

now serve as a healthy reef,

a place that fish gravitate to.

Hundreds of tiny grunts
use the cover of the wreck

to hide from
the blacktip sharks above.

And any shark dipping down
toward the bottom,

sends a wave of panic
through the shoal.

As the summer progresses,

more and more fish
congregate here.

And autumn will bring mackerel.

As they arrive,
more and more sharks gather too.

But a stalemate develops.

The shark biding
their time above,

and the clouds of fish
barricaded in their wreck
fortress below.

This dead ship is set to play
a great part in the cycle
of life on the Predator Coast.

As the summer turns to autumn,

the sharks have less
and less to eat.

But soon, great numbers
of small fish will arrive.

Too many for the wreck to hold.

The sharks just have
to wait for them.

Before long,

there's up to 80 blacktips.

All hungry,

all hunting.

While the sharks are gearing up
for a great feast,

an aerial division
is doing the same.

[gannets squawking]

Gannets are busy
raising their young,

and they'll need to prepare
an attack on the predator
coast soon.

They haven't hunted
for themselves for weeks.

They'll need to search
the ocean's surface for fish.

And their chosen direction
will be north,

towards the wrecks and reefs
where the sharks are waiting.

This is their launch pad.

If they don't leave their chicks
and get airborne soon,

they'll face starvation.

[instrumental music playing]

As cool autumn water
flows past the island,

gannets take off.

Their urge to leave
is strong now.

They set off to hunt
for their next meal.

While the gannets
take to the wing,

the savanna flats
of the Predator Coast
have dried.

The grass is turning brown,
and for prey,

the future will be fraught
with hardship.

[zebra yipping]

Winter is here.

Great herds of herbivores
are at the mercy
of the dying grass,

and they have to choose
their movements carefully.

For the lions,

this is hunting season.

It's dry,

and the movement of animals
is constricted by the little
available water.

[lion grunting]

[grunting continues]

But having nothing to drink
can be tough for lions too.

This pride is forced in
from higher ground

to one of the last remaining
waterholes on the coastal plain.

The buffalo
are in the same situation.

A great herd is camped
at the water.

[buffalo grunting]

And the lions set up shop
on the other side.

[lion purring]

Predator watches prey for days.

The buffalo are big and mean.

They can do the lions
serious damage,

and will work together
to fend off the pride.

The lions can't just run in
and catch one.

They have to wait
for the right opportunity.

Crocodiles are cornered
in this last water too.

And they're also waiting.

[lion panting]

Sooner or later,

a move must be made.

[buffalos grunt]

One by one,
the lions get mobile,

fanning out in a strategy

that will put them
in deep cover.

[suspenseful music playing]

[lion growls]

The buffalo may spot one or two
of them, but others are hidden,

waiting to pounce.

[lion growls]

[music intensifies]

[buffalo grunts]

A buffalo is separated
from the herd.

[lions growling]

It's old, it's slower
than the rest.

But it still takes nearly
the entire pride to wrestle
it to the ground.

[lions growling]

The lead lioness suffocates it,

and finally it falls,

close to the waterhole.

[buffalo grunts]

[lions growling]

[bird calling]

[flies buzzing]

The pride makes the most
of their hard-won meal.

[lion panting]

The crocs watch eagerly
from the water.

There is nothing they can do
but observe the feast.

[birds calling]

Bringing down the buffalo
was hard work,

and the lions take a breather.

[lions growling]

For a moment, they leave
their prize unguarded.

For the crocs,
it's a great opportunity.

They just have to pull the kill
into the water.

Finally, the crocodiles
have the carcass to themselves.

[insect buzzing]

Now the feast is theirs.

The smell attracts a horde,

but like the lions,
crocs have a pecking order.

[flies buzzing]

The bigger ones
will get the first bite.

The bloated stomach
is the most attractive part.

[ominous music playing]

Lions avoid stomach contents,

but for crocs,
it's like a dinner bell.

Even more home in on the smell.

[monkeys calling]

[crocodile growls]

The biggest takes the lead.

No knives or forks necessary.

Crocs have a special way
of tearing prey apart.

It's called the death roll.

Effective for killing,

but also for pulling off chunks
of tasty flesh.

The spins are so powerful,
that the entire carcass
is wrenched through the water.

And crocs that rip away
bits of meat, swim off
to eat without competition.

[lions growling]

The lions have fed enough.

[instrumental music playing]

[birds calling]

And the herd can deal
with one loss in a hundred.

While the savanna has dried out,

the coastal dunes
are still lush.

The tropical reefs are shrouded
in green water.

The colorful shoals have gone.

But now the wrecks are packed
with thousands more fish.

Fat, oily mackerel have arrived.

And they're very appealing
to hungry predators.

By late winter, the sharks
are desperate for food.

Just to the north,
dolphins form ranks
and head towards the wreck.

The new arrivals bunch together.

With all the other fish
occupying the wreck below,

they're left in open water.

They're totally exposed
in an ocean of predators.

As the fish pack closer
and closer together,

the gannets are on their way.

[gannets squawking]

Sharks feel the tremors
of an imminent meal
and they pick up the pace.

[suspenseful music playing]

The dolphins
are the first to attack.

The mackerel panic.

To the predators,
they're a seething ball of food.

Much needed food
in the midst of winter.

The dolphins form up.

They take command.

[dolphins clicking, squeaking]

They chase the mackerel
up towards the surface.

As soon as the fish approach
the surface, the gannets
get their chance.

They dive-bomb the depths,
each picking off a fish.

But for many, the mackerel
are too big to handle.

Some can't hold on, but they're
up and ready to dive again.

[gannets squawking]

The dolphins and gannets
are busy.

Now the sharks get their chance.

[dramatic music playing]

The sharks don't
have a fancy strategy,

they just wait for the dolphins
to pack the fish, and they
barrel in head first.

Some come up empty,

but others make off with a big,
juicy mackerel.

[gannets squawking]

[dolphins clicking and
squeaking]

Fat sharks cruise past,
spewing blood trails
as they feed.

The sharks, dolphins and gannets
attack in waves.

But even in this chaos
they tolerate each other.

Each predator sticks
to its own technique.

And the fish are eaten
one by one.

[dolphin clicking continues]

What seems like
a strong survival strategy,
bunching together,

has now become
the mackerel's fatal mistake.

The shoal started off huge,

but now it's only half the size,

and the great feeding event
rolls on.

The team of predators
go through the same motions
to gorge on fish.

They have to make the most
of this windfall.

Huge bronze whalers arrive.

They move in to gulp fish.

The dolphins are relentless.

They do their duty
keeping the ball together.

The feeding
is a great banquet dance.

Predators hit a rhythm,

as if they're synchronized.

But eventually,

the feeding slows.

Despite their massive losses,

the mackerel
aren't completely wiped out.

Now that the predators are full,

the survivors are able to breed
the next banquet.

[dolphins clicking
and squeaking]

The fat sharks disperse.

The gannets dissolve
back into the sky.

The dolphins head home.

[instrumental music playing]

The cool winter water
is eventually washed away
by the looming summer current.

The reefs take on the blue
tinge again.

The ragged-tooth sharks
are back.

The lions catch their breath
in the green of summer.

And crocodiles can bask
in the sun.

Despite their struggles,
the hunted also thrive.

Predators might seem
to dominate,

but their prey
has strength in numbers.

Some give
the ultimate sacrifice.

Many more live and flourish

to be hunted another day.

[gannets squawking]

Nature's cold calculation

keeps the Predator Coast
in balance.

[instrumental music playing]