All language subtitles for y08

[narrator] Meet the
heavyweights. - These are
massive, massive animals.

They're one of the big ones.

[narrator] When they fight,
everything is supersized.

The stakes...

Any fight can unfortunately
lead to death.

[narrator] The weaponry.

It's got a razor-sharp hook
at the end of the beak.

[narrator] And the attitude.

This is my last warning.
If you don't listen to this,

we're about to get in a fight.

[narrator] These big brawlers
will do whatever it takes to get
what they want.

These are not playful little
playground shoving matches.

You're going to see punches,
you're going to see wrestling.

[narrator] They bite
with no remorse.

Their mouth, those huge
canines, that is their weapon.

[narrator] And one
apex alpha,

with a reputation
as gargantuan as its mouth.

White sharks leave
other predators in the dust.

[intense music]

[narrator] Everyday,
everywhere,

our planet is a battleground.

Turf wars.

Food fights.

And mating mayhem rage on,

as animals outwit and
outmanoeuvre their own kind

in Battle of the Alphas.

[♪]

In the jungles
of equatorial Africa,

he is King.

The largest primate on Earth.

Powerful,

and intimidating.

The gorilla is huge.
These are big guys.

The males can get up
to 400 pounds.

When they stand up or
raise up,

they can get about
six feet tall.

They have an arm span of
six to seven feet.

These are massive, massive animals.

And yet even
with all that power,

they are surprisingly peaceful.

[narrator] Gorillas live
in troops of up to 30 members,

led by a mature,
dominant male,

known as a silverback.

He gets the largest share
of food,

even when resources are low.

And has almost exclusive
mating rights

with every female
in the troop.

Serious perks.

But for all the glory,

he also carries
a hefty responsibility.

The troop leader
is really responsible

for the decision-making
of the group.

You know, this is where
we're going to nest.

This is where
we're going to eat.

But he's also responsible
for protecting them.

He has a really big job
looking after his family.

[narrator] Every day,
this alpha leads his troop

through the Virunga Mountains
in East Africa.

They never sleep
in the same spot twice.

If you stay in an area
too long,

then you're going to completely
deplete your resources.

And you're going to have
nothing left.

So they're kind of
always moving on, you know,

grazing from spot to spot
to spot.

But, you know, there's more
than one troop of gorilla

out there at a time.
And so,

there's a chance that
they'll bump into one another.

And that's when
you'll start to see

really this uncommon violence.

And they'll try to mitigate it
to start with.

But if they get pushed
too far,

then they will get
kind of nasty.

[narrator] So what pushes
an alpha over the edge?

Up and coming males
might want to, you know,

challenge the alpha for
his position.

The benefits of being alpha is
access to those females.

They're the ones having
the babies,

so he's siring
the next generation of gorilla

for years to come.

[narrator] Gorillas
learn to fight from a young age

You're going to see punches,

you're going to see biting,
you're going to see wrestling.

[narrator] Their teeth are
powerful weapons.

That is a scary mouth.
Look at that skull.

That strong skull

that houses some really strong
jaw muscles

that can chop down and
do some real damage to an enemy.

[narrator] It looks
incredibly rough,

but it's all play
for these youngsters.

We really think
that these play fights

really serve as an opportunity
for young ones

to earn their skills,
to gain expertise,

to build up muscle.

[narrator] It's training for the
violence they may encounter as adults.

Improving coordination.

Developing motor skills.

And testing their own strength.

After years of play fighting,

this silverback
is ready for the real deal.

He wants dominant status

and all the perks that come
with it.

He approaches the alpha,

who rises to attention.

And sizes up his competition.

It's not always ideal
for a gorilla

or really any animal to get
into conflict.

It imposes a huge cost.

Not only might you get injured,

but you might also
lose your dominant status.

So they really have to weigh

when it's appropriate
to get into any sort of fight.

[narrator] Before launching
a physical attack,

dominant males
play the intimidation game.

What they want to do is show
their strength

and their prowess.

[narrator] They pound
their chest,

cupping their hands
to amplify the sound.

That sound, that thump,
really communicates.

It's what we call
an honest signal.

In other words, that signal
tells you something true

about that animal's size
and condition.

[narrator] The bigger
the male,

the lower the frequency of the
thump. - So the rival gorilla
might not even be

directly in front of them.
But just hearing that

from a distance is like,

"Oh, maybe I don't want to mess
with that gorilla." [narrator]
And if chest beating isn't
enough

to make an opponent scram...

- They'll just do a full-on
- charge towards the opponent.
- And,
you know, in and of itself,
that's terrifying.

Along with that,
you might also see

some pounding on the ground.

They'll start grabbing vegetation

and throwing it everywhere.

Just making this huge display
showing, you know,

"You didn't listen to me
the first time.

So now I'm going to show you

this is really
what I'm capable of.

And this is my last warning.

If you don't listen to this,
we're about to get in a fight."

[narrator] For the dominant male,

the stakes are sky high.

Gorillas are one of
the many species

that we see infanticide in.

So if an incoming male wins,

he might kill some of the older
gorillas' existing offspring.

And that can be disastrous.

Because that's the end
of his line.

That's the end of his legacy.

So when that's taken away, that
is just the ultimate cost.
[narrator] Today the alpha won't
have to pay that price.

His threatening display
scares the challenger off.

Sometimes the male will just,
you know,

just throw his hands up and say,
you know, "I bit off

more than I can chew here
and I need to just back off."

[narrator] The heavyweight defender

strides back to his troop.

Today he's a winner,

but who knows who he'll meet
in the forest tomorrow.

[♪]

From the largest primate

to the largest member of
the deer family.

Moose are imposing creatures.

Moose are huge.
They're one of the big ones.

They can get
over six feet tall,

which is about nearly
two metres high

from foot to shoulder.

And they are heavy.

They can get up
to about 2,000 pounds,

so nearly a ton in size.

And it's not just the body
that's big.

If you've got a male, you've got
these great big antlers too. And
they are not just like some tiny
little horns

sticking out the side.
They are heavy,

big pieces of weaponry.

[♪]

[narrator] Known as a rack,

a set of antlers can weigh
40 kilograms

and be as wide as a person
is tall.

Every year males grow
a new set,

just for mating season.

By having a giant rack,

a male gets to communicate
without ever getting into
a fight,

"Hey, females, I'm pretty big.
You might like me.

Hey, males, I'm pretty big.

You probably don't want
to fight me."

And as they mature every year,
the antlers come back.

And if they're doing good
and staying healthy

and eating well, those antlers
will come back bigger

and more beautiful year
after year.

[narrator] This bull is itching
for love.

Quite literally.

As his hormones shift
into breeding gear,

the soft, blood-filled skin,
known as velvet,

that helped his antlers grow,
begins to shed.

If you see it,
it's a pretty grisly sight.

It's like rips of bloody fabric
coming all off.

It can be a little gross.

[narrator] He looks like
a bloody mess now,

but within days, he scratches
the dead skin off

and emerges with
a magnificent rack.

But looks aren't everything.

Smell is important too

and males create their
own special brand of cologne.

A moose can dig a little pit,
squat down,

pee into that pit in a way
so that the urine sprays back

and hits the body.

It gives a signal to females that,

okay, this male is in good condition.

He probably will have
some good genes to pass on

to my offspring.

Now, as a human,

you probably think peeing all
over yourself is disgusting. I
would never do that. But if you
think about the things

you do to try to be attractive.

The effort you put
into dressing yourself,

fixing your hair,
putting on your makeup.

That is exactly what peeing on
yourself does for moose.

So, you know, before you start
poo-pooing their weird thing

about peeing on themselves,
you know,

how come you spent so much time
fixing your hair?

[narrator] Females like it
so much,

they'll fight each other for
access to a prime urine pot.

It can get feisty.

But the nastiest bash ups
are between bulls,

as they compete
for mating rights.

When bull moose fight,
they mean business.

The breeding period
is a really,

really short period of time
for moose.

It's a quickly closing window
for them.

85% of the pregnancies
are going to happen

in a 10-day window from
late September

to early October.

[narrator] Moose are solitary creatures,

but during that short
breeding window,

they gather together.

The males will kind of come
and show out,

tussle with one another,
size each other up.

The females are hanging out
on the edge,

checking out
who all the fellas are,

to see who's available.

[narrator] To limit
the competition,

males try to scare
each other off.

Bellowing out
warning signals

and aggressively raking
their antlers across shrubs.

It creates this kind
of clack clack,

clack, clack, clack sound.

That's a signal to others
in the area,

to rival males how big he is.

[narrator] It's noisy

and males aren't the only ones
making a racket.

When the females
have something to say,

it changes the whole dynamic.

[narrator] This is
a protest moan,

a female's way of telling
a suitor

that she's just not into him.

In other words, she's like,
"No, not interested in you."

And when that goes out into
the environment,

it really alerts bigger males
in the area.

Like, literally their ears perk
up and go like, what's going on?

It has the effect that
it makes all the males go nuts.

Once they hear a female make
that noise, they're like,

"There's a female who's not
impressed around here
somewhere."

And so it's been shown
in scientific studies

that when a female makes
that noise,

the males all start
fighting more.

She wants to make sure
she has

the best genetic contribution possible.

And so strong males only
need apply.

And that's a pretty powerful
trick that a female can do

to influence all the males
that way.

[narrator] They fight
with everything they've got.

These are not playful little,

you know, playground
shoving matches.

[narrator] There's a lot
on the line.

One study that ran
for a long time in Alaska

showed that just a handful
of males were having

90% of the sex.

And the rest of them were left
with nothing.

It's not easy being a moose.

[narrator] After hours
of shoving,

one fighter
gets the upper hand.

They can sometimes get
a spot on the side of the neck

or in their flank
and pierce them or poke them

and cause an injury.

And that's enough to cause
a competitor to back off

and be like,
"Oh, this is gone too far.

I've gotten hurt.
I must go now."

[narrator] With the battle complete,

both male and female step
forward to collect their prize.

When it's all said and done,
it becomes a win-win situation.

For the male that wins,
he knows he's won access

to these females in estrus.

And for the females, it's a win
because she knows that

she's got the strongest
competitor possible

in that moment.

[narrator] It's a riveting love
story, with a big, happy ending

[♪]

[narrator] From colossal antlers
designed for mating
brawls......to huge bills
perfect for food fights...

Pelicans have a lot going
for them.

Agility...

They just shoot down
like bullets

and then plunge underneath
the surface

to catch
what they're looking for.

[narrator] Size...

Pelicans are huge.

The bird with the largest beak
is the Australasian pelican.

They can weigh up to
12 kilograms.

So this is a big, big,
beautiful bird.

[narrator] But when it comes
to personality...

I think the word
you would use is grumpy.

If you think of the most
crotchety person that you know

and then kind of amp that up
by a couple of degrees,

you might have the personality
of a pelican.

[narrator] There are eight
pelican species.

They live and fight on every continent,

except Antarctica.

I think one of the facts
that really surprised people

about pelicans is that
they're a migratory bird.

They can actually migrate
long distances.

[narrator] Their wingspan can
reach 3.5 metres.

And they use those giant wings
to stay in the air

for up to 24 hours
at a time.

They're not very good at
the flapping flight.

But what they are good at doing
is using

those very large, rounded wings
to ride thermals,

invisible clouds of warm air
that are flowing up

much like a hawk or an eagle
would on migration.

[narrator] They usually migrate
in large harmonious flocks,

but that doesn't mean
they get along all the time.

They squabble over mates,

to protect their nests,

and things get really messy
around meal time.

There is one way that humans
and pelicans are pretty similar,

and that's that we get even
grouchier when we're hungry.

[narrator] In a pelican
food fight,

its bill is its weapon.

One it's been wielding
since birth.

So female pelicans often
just lay two eggs.

But only one of the young
from that nest

tend to survive
into independence,

and there's a number of reasons
for that.

The older sibling tends to
be incredibly rough

with its younger sibling.

It tends to outcompete it
for food.

It tends to get kind of
physically aggressive with it.

And this can get
to the point where...

they kill their younger sibling outright,

literally by pecking it
to death.

[narrator] By the time
a pelican is full grown,

its bill can reach lengths of
up to 50 centimetres.

It's got a razor-sharp hook
at the end of the beak.

This is incredibly useful
if you're a fish-catching bird,

but it's also incredibly useful

for fighting with other pelicans.

[narrator] It's an impressive
piece of anatomy,

but a pelican's pouch
is the real showstopper.

They've got this an amazing
sort of thick,

leathery skin sack
that stretches

from their lower mandible
to their throat

called the gular sack.

And these sacks expand,

and they use those sacks underwater

to grab a whole bunch of water
and a whole bunch of fish.

[narrator] Contrary
to what some think,

pelicans don't stockpile food
in their pouch.

It's not a fridge,
it's a fishing net.

And once they've got
a bunch of water

and a bunch of fish into
their gular sack,

they will slowly drain out
the water,

leaving the fish for
their meal.

And it's quite difficult
if you're a pelican

to swallow
what you've caught.

You need to kind of gulp it,

a fish down in the right orientation.

And that is the time when you
are extremely vulnerable

to attack from those who would
want to steal your food.

[narrator] This is a little
something called

kleptoparasitism.

A long scientific term
that means stealing resources,

including food,
from another animal.

It can manifest
into some brutal brawls.

So what pelicans will do is
come in and attack

and peck at the bill
and at the gular sack

that's holding the fish.

Just trying to get them to drop
what they caught.

[narrator] The defender fights
back with everything it's got.

They are extremely motivated
to try and keep the meal

that they worked so hard
to get.

So they'll do almost anything
they can.

They'll maneuver,
they'll try and fly away,

they'll attack back with
their wings and their own bills.

And they do actually manage
to keep ahold

of their hard-won catch
most of the time.

[narrator] In this battle,

the defender does keep
its catch

and neither bird
is seriously injured.

So these aggressive interactions

are usually very, very quick.

They're generally focused
on food

and they seldom lead
to any major damage.

[narrator] These grumpy giants
may be kleptos,

but they know when to draw
the line.

[♪]

All species
fight their own kind.

But for the top of every
food chain there is no contest

this is an apex alpha.

After 450 million years,

this may be nature's perfect
killing machine.

The Great White Shark.

It is the finest piece
of kit

that evolution
has ever come out with.

This thing is
so beautifully built

that you really can't improve
on it at all.

Unmatched, unrivaled,
and just kick ass.

[♪]

[narrator] Sharks grow
as they age,

and they never stop growing.

Females can get up to
six metres long.

That is a big girl.

They'll weigh well over
a tonne-and-a-half.

[narrator] Great White Sharks
are the largest

predatory fish in the ocean.

Alpha, alpha predators.

With an incredible
sense of smell.

They smell the way you hear.

They have nostrils on either
side of the snout,

and they pay attention
to the differences

between the smells that go into
each of those nostrils.

So they can smell in stereo

and know which direction
the smell is coming from.

And as they're swimming
through the scent current,

"Oh, it's a little stronger
on the left.

Oh, it's a little stronger
on the right."

[narrator] Smell brings them
close enough

to see their target.

Excellent eyesight helps
them hunt

even in the dark depths
of the ocean.

But when a great white is withi
striking distance,

it rolls its eyes back
to protect them

and can no longer see
the prey,

so it switches
to another sense.

It's got the five senses
that we've all got

and then it's got this amazing
sixth super sense

that just catapults it
into another dimension.

They can detect electrical
fields, electro reception.

[narrator] All living creatures
generate electric fields.

Great whites can sense them

with special jelly-filled pores
on their snout.

A superpower that keeps them
locked on their target.

Pair that with a great white's
distinct hunting strategy

and it's unstoppable.

It's going after a seal.

That is a very hard thing
to catch.

Those things are predators
in their own right,

going after elusive fish.

So for a shark to be able to
sneak up on that and take one of
those out, that is an impressive ability.

[narrator] Hunting at dawn
gives the white another edge.

The sharks have an unfair
advantage against seals

and sea lions and
the other animals they eat

because those are visual prey.
They're looking for threats.

And so by hunting at night
or early dawn,

the shark doesn't need
to use that light.

It can use its super sniffer
to find that mammal

and get close to it

when the mammal doesn't even see
it coming. [narrator] Target
identified.

To go high,
the white goes low...

Deep enough to be undetectable
before launch.

Pumping its tail, the shark
charges upward

at 40 kilometres per hour,

launching its body vertically
out of the water.

It's called a polaris attack.

It's not just a matter
of clamping onto it.

It's trying to kill
that animal.

And it does that by whipping
its head back and forth,

hopefully snapping the neck
of the prey

so that it can't swim away,

even if it does survive
that first bite.

[narrator] That's not likely.

It's got 300 teeth
in its mouth at any one time,

and these are
the active teeth.

These aren't the teeth that are
waiting to come round in this
fantastic conveyor belt system.

Great White Shark has
the chance to go through

20,000 teeth in a lifetime.

Be glad you're not
a great white shark tooth fairy

because you would be bust
very quick.

There's big daggers
all through the mouth

and those just rip
the flesh apart.

But there's no chewing.

The thing goes down in big,
ugly chunks.

Parts of it come out the gills,
out the side.

It's a giant mess.

[narrator] Their table manners
may be lacking,

but these alpha hunters
don't go hungry.

White sharks leave
other predators in the dust.

If you have a lion,

it might be successful
a quarter of the time

that is goes after an animal.
If you have a cheetah,

it might get half of the prey
it goes for.

But if you're talking
about a shark,

I mean, they have
like an 80% kill rate.

That's unreal.

They're not going after
easy things.

They're just
really good predators.

[narrator] The great white
shark is critical

to the balance
of the marine ecosystem.

In the past few years,

the alpha predator has
reappeared near Cape Cod. A
direct result of the surge in
the seal colonies

along the New England seaboard.

A great white shark keeps
the colonies of seals

at smaller levels so they don't
get out of control.

And as a result of that,

you've got more of the fish that
the seals would otherwise eat.

So there are all these animals
that can only exist

because they're protected by
the great white shark.

It's counterintuitive, but if
you take the white sharks out,

it means death
for way more animals

than if you leave them in.

[narrator] The typical lifespan
of these colossal

denizens of the sea
is 30 years.

But some live
into their seventies.

Which leaves a lot of time
to kill.

[♪]

When you're this big,

fighting is a huge deal.

With menacing weapons,

and life or death stakes.

In a clash of the titans,

there can only be one winner.