Original subtitles

NARRATOR: A brutal way of life where every day is a test to survive.

(hiss)

(growl)

And staying on top means being the fastest...

biggest...

smartest...

or the most powerful.

These are the best equipped.

(roaring)

These are Africa's Deadliest.

They're agile, they're loyal,

they're smart.

But you don't want these dogs licking your face.

(squeaking)

With an 80% kill rate,

this pack of wild dogs never needs to beg.

Sometimes called African painted dogs,

their favorite color is red.

(wildebeest lowing)

They're some of the most successful predators

in the world.

(lowing)

Their target: anything that tries to run.

(lowing)

(lowing)

With the power of numbers, who needs stealth?

♪ ♪

The nimbler dogs try to shake out weaker wildebeests.

♪ ♪

Not today.

They aren't done yet.

The pack, over a dozen strong, can set its sights and fangs

on prey that other carnivores can't touch.

♪ ♪

(lowing)

Cape buffalo, one of the brawniest, meanest members

of Africa's Big 5.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

(grumbling)

For the hungry dogs, it's game on.

♪ ♪

A brazen attack to scatter the herd.

♪ ♪

A panicked animal makes easy prey.

But the buffalos don't budge.

Another fail.

♪ ♪

Undeterred, the dogs decide go big or go home.

Even Africa's giants close ranks

when wild dogs come around.

(trumpets)

♪ ♪

The pack doggedly stares down the elephants.

Who will blink first?

♪ ♪

(grumbling)

(roars)

The matriarch, able to scatter entire lion prides

with a wave of her trunk, has little impact.

(trumpeting)

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

(trumpets)

♪ ♪

(trumpets)

Eventually the elephants retreat.

♪ ♪

(trumpeting)

Another missed opportunity.

♪ ♪

(squeaking)

These rovers may hunt over 30 miles in a single day.

♪ ♪

Any meat will do, though these dogs have a favorite treat.

Impala.

(impala barking)

The original fast food.

♪ ♪

But they can't sustain that speed for long.

♪ ♪

The alpha male leads the chase.

♪ ♪

Up to 25 miles an hour,

the speed of an Olympic sprinter,

for about three miles.

(barking)

♪ ♪

A final burst to nearly 40 miles an hour

and the dog's a winner...

by a neck.

♪ ♪

(squeaking)

The pack has it all:

speed, agility, stamina, and strategy.

♪ ♪

With arguably the most powerful bite force for their size

of any carnivore,

they can strip this carcass in under 10 minutes.

(squeaking)

(whoop)

And no scavengers allowed.

♪ ♪

(dogs chattering)

(growling)

(squeaking)

Even lone lions occasionally tuck tail

and submit to large dog packs.

(growl)

(squeaking)

One wild dog stands little chance against a large hyena.

(growl)

But his crew always has his back.

(squeaking)

Like a swarm of flies with fangs.

(yelp)

The wild dogs bully everyone.

Almost.

♪ ♪

They wouldn't think twice about killing a savanna baboon.

(barking)

Only the dogs can't climb.

And the baboons know it.

(barking)

♪ ♪

(barking)

Besides, scouts constantly warn the troops,

up to 100 members strong.

(barking)

While the baboons' defenses foil the dogs,

the monkeys have other things to worry about,

like the alpha male's two-inch fangs.

Larger than a lion's, those canines aren't just for show.

♪ ♪

This guy rules this gang, for now.

♪ ♪

Rivals are always plotting,

and when fights break out, death can follow.

(bark)

(screeching)

(screeching)

NARRATOR: The dominant savanna baboon demands obedience.

♪ ♪

(screeching)

(bark)

(screeching)

If he catches underlings bullying weaker members,

he can show no mercy.

(screech)

(barking)

(screeching)

(barking)

But he would defend the troop with his life.

♪ ♪

Though this cheetah isn't a threat.

A baboon can rip her to shreds.

And she knows it.

She gives them a wide berth.

♪ ♪

(barking)

Apparently not wide enough.

(barking)

She's faster, but they have greater numbers.

♪ ♪

Today they're just showing who's boss.

(chirping)

(barking)

They're the hunters here.

(chirping)

(bark)

(chirping)

♪ ♪

(screeching)

When a high-ranking baboon craves meat,

lower troop members would be crazy

to try to take it from him.

For good measure, he holds a baby hostage

so he isn't ganged up on.

(screeching)

(barking)

♪ ♪

The kids are happy to play along if it means some meat.

Leaving the rest to scrounge for scraps.

When their carnivorous craving grows too strong,

the ruthless baboons will betray their allies.

Baboons and impala usually play on the same team,

foraging together while the impalas benefit

from the troop's warning calls.

♪ ♪

But once a year, the baboons violate the treaty.

♪ ♪

Lambing season.

♪ ♪

(birds chirping)

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

(lamb crying)

(barking)

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Defenseless, the impala can only watch

as the baboon's two-inch fangs slice into her lamb.

She will produce another lamb in the coming year,

and this protein boost is a rare and welcome treat

for the baboon troop leader.

Off Africa's western coast,

a different batch of babies draws the crowds.

Cape fur seals pile onto islands

for the pupping and mating season.

Each bull, 650 pounds of belligerent blubber,

fights tooth and claw for his patch of beach.

(growl)

It's every seal for himself.

This lost pup, stumbling into the path of another mother,

gets brutalized.

Each year, almost a third of the pups will die,

lost and alone.

This lithe, streamlined killer slices through the waves

at 18 miles an hour.

He's mainly after small fish,

drawn by the millions to the cold nutrient-rich waters.

He can hold his breath for more than seven minutes,

and dive 650 feet to chase them.

But he knows an easier way to dine.

(cooing)

And African penguins are dressed to serve him.

♪ ♪

Every day, the birds return to the islands off Africa's tip.

♪ ♪

But not if the seal team gets there first.

NARRATOR: Cape fur seals don't eat penguins.

This seal guts one like a fish-filled piñata

to scarf down its stomach contents.

Gruesome and efficient.

♪ ♪

The move is strictly special ops.

Most seals aren't penguin-killers.

♪ ♪

But every season, a few go rogue.

♪ ♪

While solo seals commit piracy off Africa's coast,

banded mongooses deliver death by a thousand bites.

♪ ♪

Small but ferocious.

♪ ♪

They're equipped for the kill

and tactically brilliant.

(squeaking)

Enemy in range.

♪ ♪

Time to earn their stripes.

♪ ♪

This 55-pound python could easily gobble down

a creature one-twelfth its size.

(hiss)

But that's not really what he's up against.

Call in the troops, as many as 75,

each armed with three-quarter-inch claws

and 36 razor-sharp teeth, adapted for crushing.

They're agile enough to evade the fastest strikes.

The python retreats.

♪ ♪

The troop heads out, scratching for grubs

until something better comes along.

♪ ♪

A dead bird will do for now.

♪ ♪

(chirping)

♪ ♪

Like all good soldiers, they follow a hierarchy.

♪ ♪

And when they're not foraging,

they're running commando drills.

♪ ♪

Snapping at civilians.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

But this olive snake is no defense exercise.

He's a target.

♪ ♪

The snake strikes in a third of a blink of an eye.

Like dodging bullets.

♪ ♪

Some mongooses distract the serpent, others bite it.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

The snake never had a chance.

♪ ♪

(squeaking)

It takes an army of banded mongooses

to vanquish a single snake.

So their daredevil cousin, the slender mongoose,

working solo, must have a death wish.

♪ ♪

A black mamba, one of the deadliest snakes on Earth.

One bite can kill 40 men!

(squeaking)

A one-and-a-half-pound mongoose shouldn't stand a chance.

(squeaking)

Not so fast.

The mongoose fights like a ninja.

♪ ♪

(hiss)

♪ ♪

(hiss)

The snake just can't keep up.

And the mongoose has a secret:

He's immune to the snake's venom.

♪ ♪

One quick bite and the mongoose crushes its skull.

♪ ♪

He'd better eat fast because bigger trouble's on the way.

♪ ♪

Savoring his meal, he doesn't see it coming.

And there's no antidote for this.

NARRATOR: One slender mongoose versus a pride of hungry lions.

They corner him.

(screeching)

But he brings the fight to them.

(screeching)

With his snake hunter's agility,

and a stream of mongoose expletives,

the shoe is on the other foot,

which is exactly where he targets his attack.

(screeching)

Never underestimate the power of one crazy ankle-biter.

♪ ♪

The lions lose interest.

They've found meat that's a little less tough.

(wildebeest lowing)

A week-old wildebeest calf.

♪ ♪

(snort)

♪ ♪

The lead lioness, 265 pounds of taut muscle,

can sprint at 30 miles an hour, even on a full belly.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

(calf crying)

♪ ♪

She makes her kill in seconds.

But it won't feed the whole pride.

♪ ♪

Under cover of darkness, they rally.

Their padded feet silent as a shadow.

♪ ♪

With night vision eight times better than ours,

they lock on to a herd of waterbuck.

♪ ♪

One of the lighter, faster lionesses breaks cover.

♪ ♪

(waterbuck cries)

Driving the waterbuck into four sets of 1.5-inch claws.

(waterbuck cries)

♪ ♪

(purring)

Lionesses may be smaller, faster

and more agile than the males,

but the kings have brute strength.

(roaring)

Critical where Cape buffalo are concerned.

(buffalo lowing)

Many a big cat has met its end

on the tips of those three-foot-wide horns.

♪ ♪

Some buffalos won't back down...

♪ ♪

...until the pride males arrive.

At 500 pounds each,

they've spent their lives girding for battle.

(bellowing)

There's no escaping

some of the most powerful paws of any cat on Earth.

(bellowing)

Jaws with 1,000 pounds of force crush the windpipe

as 1.5-inch fangs silence the beast for good.

♪ ♪

Even at a feast, lions don't like sharing.

(growl)

Especially with scavengers.

Brazen black-backed jackals.

Always hustling for a free meal.

They're fast, agile and ferociously fanged.

But they wouldn't dare tangle with a pride of lions.

They're too smart for that.

And that's why they're some of Africa's

most successful little canids.

(yelping)

Maximizing meals with minimal effort.

♪ ♪

Namibia's arid west coast offers little to scavenge.

It's all about the hunt.

(pup cries)

Cape fur seal pups.

Blubbery blobs of fat and protein.

Defenseless and delicious.

NARRATOR: For the jackals of Namibia's Skeleton Coast, life's a beach.

(grunt)

Cape fur seal pups.

Mouth-wateringly helpless,

except for their 170-pound mothers.

♪ ♪

The jackals target a pup whose mother is off fishing.

♪ ♪

(pup crying)

She'll return to find only bones and skin.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Elsewhere in Africa, where meals don't come so easily,

dinner takes teamwork.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Once again, the jackals switch tactics,

forming gangs to raid herds of impala,

picking off the frail or the young.

♪ ♪

Luckily, this lamb understands stranger danger

and escapes the jaws of death.

♪ ♪

When the menu features succulent newborn gazelle,

sometimes mom's protection is not enough.

♪ ♪

(yelping)

♪ ♪

Jackals can be team players.

Gazelles, not so much.

Rams won't risk their necks for an unrelated lamb.

(growling)

♪ ♪

She may be one of the fastest antelopes in Africa,

but she can't be in three places at once.

(growling)

A fact not lost on the jackals.

♪ ♪

(yelping)

♪ ♪

(yelping)

♪ ♪

(yowl)

Finally, she can't hold them off any longer.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

(yowl)

The tenacious jackal doesn't even compare

to this lady's dogged disposition.

She's one of Africa's most savage creatures,

with one of the continent's strongest bites.

The hyena queen leads a hunting party

that can take down some of the largest prey in Africa.

(grunting)

♪ ♪

(grunting)

She's not particularly fast;

she doesn't need to be.

(yipping)

She has stamina and an army.

(yipping)

Unlike big cats that asphyxiate their kill,

hyenas use their vise-like jaws

to bite off chunks of their living, fleeing prey.

♪ ♪

(snarling)

(whooping)

Their ruthlessness extends to clan outsiders.

(yipping, howling)

The matriarch, fierce and aggressive, sets the tone.

(yipping)

A foreigner, drawn from the neighboring territory

to sneak a bite from their kill, has crossed a line.

NARRATOR: A hyena's toothy jaw crushes

with the force of 1,000 pounds per inch,

easily ripping flesh and pulverizing bone.

(shrieking, growling)

(shriek)

(growling)

(yowling)

(yowling)

The matriarch makes her point.

The intruder limps back across the boundary

to lick his wounds.

His beating would have killed most other animals,

but besides aggression,

resilience is a hyena's other superpower.

Which doesn't make them popular with the locals.

For Africa's predators, killing is only half the battle.

Staying alive is the rest.

It helps to steer clear of hyenas.

This male leopard stashes his kill

where snapping jaws can't follow.

♪ ♪

With supernatural patience,

these young hyenas can wait for days.

♪ ♪

Squabbling over dropped scraps

as they anticipate a meatier payoff.

♪ ♪

(yipping)

Only about 18 months old,

their fangs could still rip the leopard limb from limb.

♪ ♪

The cat can't stay up there forever.

♪ ♪

He takes a leap of faith.

He wins this round,

but the leopard/hyena conflict never ends.

(bark)

Another leopard hunts in complete silence.

She suffocates her prey, cutting off its distress calls.

(yipping)

Too bad the impala herd's snorting alarm

attracts the sharp-eared hyenas.

(yipping)

She flees at the sight of one, abandoning her kill.

♪ ♪

A 175-pound hyena can eat a third of her body weight

in minutes, so this single impala won't go far.

♪ ♪

Feeding an entire clan demands something larger.

♪ ♪

Something the size of a wildebeest.

Hyenas have an uncanny eye for spotting weakness.

♪ ♪

Wildebeest and hyenas both have strong front shoulders

and sloping backs for long distance running.

♪ ♪

(snorting)

But the predator has superior night vision,

teamwork and a taste for blood.

♪ ♪

The high-stamina hyenas chase the fight out of their prey.

(yipping)

Wolfing down as much as possible, as fast as possible.

(shriek)

♪ ♪

The greatest spoils usually fall

to the larger, most dominant females.

(shrieking)

Then they go after the calf.

(yipping)

(shrieking)

Their powerful shoulder and neck muscles,

which support their six-pound head,

let them lift a heavy carcass with ease.

(yipping)

(shrieking)

In 13 minutes, a clan of 20 hyenas

can reduce 200 pounds of meat

to a bloodstained patch of grass.

(yipping)

That's what it takes to survive out here,

where the next meal is never guaranteed,

and missed opportunities can be the difference

between life and death.

Captioned by Cotter Media Group

Repair and Synchronization by Easy Subtitles Synchronizer 1.0.0.0