Original subtitles

Africa.

A land where life competes with tooth and claw.

Desert, forest and grassland.

Predator and prey have evolved to blend in.

Confusing spots and clever camouflage.

Silent moves...

and deadly illusions.

Prey outwits predator...

and predator fools prey.

These masters of deception are Africa's Deadliest.

(roaring)

(music)

(music)

It's the heat of the day in the Greater Kruger National Park.

Two mothers and their cubs

are waiting for it to cool down enough to go hunting.

Each lioness eats about 17 pounds of meat a day;

that's almost 90 pounds for the whole pride.

They're well-equipped to get it,

with their inch-and-a-half-long retractable claws.

Loose belly skin cushions the impact of kicks

from struggling prey.

(music)

Lions are the most social of the big cats,

and these related females will hunt together

to benefit the whole pride.

Working together, the lionesses have almost nothing to fear.

And as the afternoon cools down,

it's time to go grab a bite.

The cubs depend on their mother for almost a year and a half,

and some of the females might share her territory for life.

They're still too young to hunt,

so everything rides on mom's hunting prowess.

The pride's territory could cover an area

up to 150 square miles if prey is scarce.

(lowing)

Not a problem today.

Ample wildebeest are on the move.

The lioness's plan is to get in close and remain invisible.

(lowing)

She'll go in alone, but her pride isn't far behind.

(lowing)

The wildebeest still don't notice her.

There's a reason her coat is the same color

as the dry grass.

But the wildebeest are twitchy.

(music)

(music)

One of them senses something's up.

(music)

(music)

She needs to tread carefully.

(music)

Keeping her distance, she curls her lip

and inhales through her mouth to detect more scent.

(music)

And the smell of her prey.

It's called the flehmen response.

But the wildebeest relies more on sight than smell.

(lowing)

Giving the well-camouflaged cat a great advantage.

(lowing)

(lowing)

Her hunt is going exactly according to plan.

But she still needs to take it slowly for the ambush.

(music)

Slinking into position,

one wildebeest stands right next to her

and doesn't even see her.

She's that shadow in the center,

right where she needs to be.

(music)

(music)

She started out so well.

Kept low and undercover.

But she didn't single out a target and blew it.

Lions wage a shrewd ambush, but not a long chase.

Now she has to wait until things settle down

and try a different strategy.

(music)

Tonight, the pride goes hungry.

(insects chirping)

The next morning, she starts again with a new target:

zebras.

(music)

(music)

This time she has the help of others.

The zebras suspect nothing...

(music)

...as a lioness flanks one side.

(music)

(music)

Now they see one lion ahead of them,

but not her accomplice.

(music)

(music)

Or a second flanker on the other side.

(music)

(music)

The zebras are jittery and dangerous.

Their kick can shatter a lion's jaw or even kill it.

They know if they bolt, the big cats could chase them.

By standing together, their stripes might make it tough

for the lions to pick out a single zebra.

While all eyes are on the front cat,

the flanking lions are in the best position to make the kill.

(music)

(music)

(music)

The first lioness goes for it,

targeting a weak or slow one.

(braying)

(music)

(music)

(music)

(music)

(music)

(music)

(music)

(music)

To bring down a zebra, the lion needs to grab it by the throat.

Not an easy move with the powerful, bucking prey.

It's all in the grip.

She uses her claws and teeth to hang on

while she gets a powerful chokehold.

Reinforcements arrive.

But only one lion makes the kill.

At last, the cubs can eat.

Game is plentiful, but never easy or guaranteed.

In bad times, rodents, eggs, or carrion will do.

But today no one goes hungry.

There are other ways to use deception

to kill in the African bush.

(music)

(music)

With its high-speed, elastic weapon,

this otherwise awkward lizard

becomes a formidable insect predator.

(music)

The chameleon shoots out a suction cup

on the end of its tongue

and has a shell-crushing set of jaws to finish the job.

Its feet are shaped to grip thin branches,

but its color-changing skin allows it to mimic the foliage,

giving it the upper hand.

But one member of this bizarre reptile's family

has forsaken the canopy of green.

(music)

This chameleon thrives

in one of the harshest environments on Earth.

And changed its killer camouflage accordingly.

The Namib Desert.

Formed roughly 55 million years ago,

this wilderness is littered with granite boulders

and scorching sands.

Yet against all odds, the Namaqua chameleon has evolved

to survive this merciless landscape.

Its color-changing skin doubles

as a temperature control system.

In the freezing winter mornings,

it becomes darker to absorb sunlight.

But in the blazing heat of the day,

it goes ash white to reflect it.

Or in this case, it does both.

(music)

(music)

This desert dweller has no problem with overheating.

The Tok Tokkie beetle is a favorite meal

for the chameleon.

Specially adapted to gallop over sand,

the beetle generates its own cooling wind.

Despite the chameleon's specially modified toes

that spread wide for extra traction,

it can't keep up with the beetle on the soft sand.

(music)

(music)

(music)

(music)

Thwarted by this quick-moving Tok Tokkie,

the chameleon changes tactics.

It heads to what little vegetation there is,

and waits for prey to come to it.

(music)

(music)

Matching its color to its surroundings,

the chameleon can afford to be patient.

Many Tok Tokkies pass this way.

No direction is safe.

The chameleon really does have eyes in the back of its head.

(music)

(music)

(music)

A short chase, and the deadly tongue seals the beetle's fate.

(music)

(crunch)

This high-speed muscular organ can pull far larger prey

into the chameleon's mighty jaws.

Snakes, lizards and poisonous scorpions can fall prey

to the Namaqua chameleon.

In Africa's Namib Desert, hunters can't be picky.

(music)

(music)

Even their own kind is fair game.

In the vast, empty expanse, prey is scarce.

There's no love lost

between Namaqua chameleons and their young.

An infant is as good a protein source as any.

(music)

The desert reptile is just acting on instinct to survive.

(music)

On Africa's grasslands,

scavengers watch from the wings.

They pick up the pieces

and try very hard to stay out of the way of the predators.

It doesn't always work.

Some of the deadliest hunters are the least visible.

(hiss)

The African rock python is the largest snake species

in Africa.

It can grow as long as 30 feet.

And its method of death: constriction.

Its tongue picks up a chemical trace of a rodent in the air.

(music)

(music)

Up to eight heat-sensitive pits on its lips

pinpoint prey like a radar gun.

(squeaking)

The snake's cheek muscles can stretch open

to embrace something as big as a fully grown impala...

or even a six-year-old child.

(music)

After swallowing the mouse,

potent acids begin to dissolve the carcass.

The bigger the snake gets, the larger prey it can kill.

African rock pythons are known to attack monkeys,

antelope and even crocodiles.

Speed is not the python's forte.

Ambush is more its style.

And it can set its trap in water

and on land.

This python normally hunts at night, but it's hungry.

Today, this big snake is out looking for something

a bit more substantial than a mouse...

like a jackal.

(music)

(music)

(music)

(howling)

An African rock python has found the den

of a jackal family.

It's death by squeeze.

Every time the jackal exhales,

the snake's coils tighten.

(music)

(music)

At the moment,

the python is listening to the mammal's heartbeat.

The snake has ears inside its body

and can hear vibrations

traveling through the ground and air.

(heart beating)

When the heartbeat stops, the python loosens its grip.

And then, it slips its muscular face over the jackal's head.

(music)

(music)

Now the python is in danger.

It must digest the jackal before it rots.

Oxygen stirs the big reptile's metabolism.

To digest big prey, a python increases its oxygen absorption

into the blood by a factor of 36.

It took only a few minutes

for this African killer to snuff out a life.

Trees make a great hiding spot for both predators and prey,

but in Africa's woodlands, the trees are looking back at you.

What appears to be a branch

is in fact one of Africa's deadliest.

The vine snake.

This venomous reptile possesses

such incredible cryptic coloration,

it is a master of deception.

Its long, slender, bark-colored body

allows it to blend perfectly into its forest habitat.

But the vine snake isn't just camouflaged

to look like a branch.

It acts like one, too.

The vine snake can freeze its body, rocking back and forth,

to imitate a branch swaying softly in the breeze.

This deadly act further deceives prey

into thinking that it's just part of the tree.

The snake also boasts 3D stereoscopic vision,

through a unique, keyhole-shaped pupil.

This allows it to spot prey standing completely still

at significant distances.

(music)

(music)

(music)

Creeping through the woodland branches,

the vine snake edges into position above its victim.

(music)

(music)

The snake strikes the lizard

with a deadly, blood-destroying bite.

Its fangs at the back of its mouth

release a potent, hemotoxic venom.

The poison spreads through the lizard,

causing extensive internal bleeding.

The bite has no antidote and is even fatal to humans.

Hanging from its lair,

the snake proceeds to swallow the dying lizard whole.

(music)

(music)

Back on the ground, there's a popular prey animal

that has mastered some cunning survival skills.

(snorting)

Digging up plants and roots,

warthogs can go months without water.

(music)

Mom weens her piglets after four months,

but they'll stay with her for a year or more.

(squealing)

Which isn't a bad idea,

because these three little pigs are in danger.

(snorting)

And it's not the big, bad wolf.

A leopard.

From desert to mountaintop,

he's an indiscriminate and deceptive killer.

(music)

(music)

Powerful and patient.

He tracks the warthogs to an old aardvark burrow.

(music)

The wild pigs backed in

so the cat is only greeted by their sharp tusks.

(music)

But he has them cornered.

They have to come out sometime.

And when they do, it's at up to 30 miles an hour.

That little head start is all they need.

Always expecting danger at their doorstep,

each morning they bolt, prepared for an ambush.

The leopard is a pouncer, not a chaser.

But Africa's most widespread big cat

doesn't give up that easily.

He moves on to hunt an even trickier victim,

and this time there's no room for failure.

Sub-Saharan Africa's most pervasive monkeys: vervets.

Squabbling over territory.

(chirping)

(chirping)

(music)

(music)

Until they sense that there's a big cat around.

(music)

(music)

(barking)

The sentry sounds the leopard alarm.

(chirping)

(barking)

He has more than 30 specific calls for different threats.

(barking)

The leopard pays no attention.

And apparently neither do the bickering vervets.

(barking)

They can usually find safety in the treetops,

but they underestimate a cat

that is very much at home there, too.

(music)

(music)

He inches into range.

(barking)

(barking)

(music)

(barking)

(barking)

(barking)

Finally, he's in the strike zone.

(barking)

(barking)

One monkey hesitates and the chase is on.

(music)

(roaring)

Game over.

(music)

What's the secret to the leopard's success?

The agile cat steals as close as he can,

ignoring all distractions.

(music)

(barking)

He sprints faster than 35 miles per hour.

(music)

(music)

But it's the leopard's incredible leap,

almost 10 feet high and 20 feet across, that gets the job done.

(music)

(music)

He can pull his prey down a tree

and climb back up another one

to savor it in his private, treetop dining room.

(music)

While the lone leopard commands the trees...

One of Africa's most feared predators rules the rivers.

(music)

A cold-blooded reptile

so supremely adapted to its habitat,

it has barely changed over 65 million years.

The Nile crocodile.

Crocodiles are explosively fast,

but with limited stamina compared to lions and cheetah.

These prehistoric giants have evolved to get within inches

of their prey completely undetected.

(music)

(music)

On land, this aquatic killer is slow and awkward,

but it has to venture out of the water

to recharge in the sun.

The crocodile's armor-plated scales

also act as solar panels, absorbing the sun's rays.

(music)

A web of capillaries carries the warmed blood

to the crocodile's core, activating its systems.

(music)

The crocodile's eyesight sharpens,

and its hearing tunes in

to the thunderous sound of approaching hooves.

A galloping buffet.

(music)

(music)

(music)

Reenergized from the sun,

it's time for the crocodile to return to its hunting grounds.

(music)

Its short, muscular limbs streamline against its body.

(music)

Eyes, ears and nostrils lie along the top of its head,

allowing the crocodile to conceal a body

that can reach 20 feet in length and weigh up to a ton,

in water only a foot deep.

(music)

(music)

As the thirsty herds creep to the water's edge,

the crocodile drops below radar.

Underwater, a transparent lid protects the eye

while special magnifying crystals within their eyeballs

give the crocodile excellent vision.

Sensory cells along the side of their jaw

allow the big reptile to detect the slightest disturbance.

To remain hidden,

it closes the valve to its four-chambered heart,

supplying just enough oxygenated blood

to keep its vital organs running.

By slowing its heart rate to two beats a minute,

the croc can stay submerged for up to two hours.

An eerie stillness floats over the water.

(music)

(music)

Submerged just inches below the surface,

a cold-blooded killer awaits.

The wildebeest are unknowingly staring death in the face.

(music)

(music)

(lowing)

(music)

(music)

(music)

(music)

Over 2,500 pounds of bite force snaps shut

onto any available limb.

(music)

(music)

Once clamped in these merciless jaws, few escape.

(music)

(music)

(music)

(music)

(music)

(music)

(wildebeest cries)

(lowing)

(lowing)

(crying)

Unchanged for millennia, this prehistoric predator

continues to do what it does best.

Africa's plains are a proving ground

for three big cat predators in training.

(music)

(music)

Cheetahs have killer instincts but need some coaching.

And that's Mom's job.

(barking)

Every two years or so she'll train a new litter.

Today's lesson: Thomson's gazelle 101.

The mother cheetah's three sons are stellar students.

Deadly serious,

except there's always a class clown.

(music)

(music)

(music)

(music)

She gives the little calf a head start

and shows the boys how it's done.

Now it's their turn.

(music)

(music)

Cheetahs only score a kill about half the time.

It won't be so easy when they're on their own

in about a year.

The takedown is only part of the lesson.

To make a living, they'd better learn to eat fast

or they could lose their prize to aggressive lions or hyenas.

(music)

(music)

Mother cheetah does her job well.

The seasons pass.

The cubs grow up, leave mom, and band together:

a triple threat.

They look so tough, but their swagger is premature.

(music)

(music)

They cross paths with a pair of cheetah brothers

who've already claimed this swath of savanna.

(yipping)

A brawl could bring crippling injury

and slow death by starvation.

(hiss)

(yipping)

Unless these two bands of brothers

settle their differences and form an even bigger coalition.

A gang of five.

The new cheetah coalition sizes up

their first major assignment: oryx.

A target too risky for a single cheetah to tackle.

Those saber-like horns aren't just for show.

And hunting on an open plain is never easy.

(music)

But the boys hatch a plan.

(music)

(music)

One races in to spook and split the adults.

(music)

(music)

While the others surround the calf.

But they're forced to abort.

No meal is worth losing life and limb over.

The coalition's lack of experience doomed their scheme.

They planned the heist but forgot the getaway.

(lowing)

A herd of wildebeest might provide another chance,

except this cheetah's hunting solo today.

Recklessly, he makes his move.

(music)

(music)

And gets beest-blocked.

Big baby animals make tempting targets,

except there's always someone bigger watching out for them.

(thunder)

Large prey might work for the coalition,

but he's out of his league.

To get his mojo back,

he needs to pick off something a little smaller or go hungry.

(music)

(music)

(music)

He returns to the basics.

(music)

(music)

Gazelles, just like mother used to take.

Patience, stealth, speed:

Those are his best weapons.

(barks)

(music)

From zero to sixty in three seconds,

the fastest cat on Earth.

But gazelles are almost as fast.

(music)

(music)

(music)

At last, he pins her.

He sports an oversized heart and lungs in a racecar body.

But if he doesn't catch his meal in less than a minute,

he'll run out of gas.

He's the only cat with non-retractable claws

and tire-tread pads

so he can turn on a dime.

A strangling bite finishes the job.

He eats as much as he can, as fast as he can,

before bigger predators come

or vultures advertise his kill.

Cheetahs may be the smallest of Africa's deadly big cats,

but they're equally fit, fast, and fatal.