Original subtitles

NARRATOR: The quiet of an African night.

The soft whistle of wind through the tall grass.

The subtle creaks of the earth cooling in the dark.

But the calm is an illusion,

and one false step means death.

(growling)

(shrieking)

Over the course of a single night...

(hisses)

...the quiet will be shattered...

...as rampaging giants,

cold-blooded killers,

and creatures with a thirst for flesh...

*

...bring death to the savanna.

*

*

The African wilderness--

one of the animal kingdom's most iconic battlegrounds.

*

In this vast, unforgiving place,

thousands of species of plants, insects, and wildlife

engage in a never-ending competition for survival.

But the familiar daytime savanna

transforms into something completely different

after the sun goes down.

It's a world witnessed by few

and a world many don't survive.

(shrieking)

In the fading light of another day's end,

young lion cubs seek comfort by their mother's side.

(mewing)

She's trying to rest before leaving for the night's hunt.

But with a litter of young cubs to care for,

that's not always easy.

(mews)

With less than a half an hour before sunset,

tensions on the savanna rise.

Predator and prey watch each other from a distance...

(growls)

...aware of what's to come.

(elephant trumpeting)

The lionesses head out for the hunt,

a signal to others that their world

is about to violently transform.

(roaring)

Out here, predators own the night,

when the cover of darkness provides them better chances

against the many prey animals they seek to take down.

*

*

(howling)

*

*

Darkness sets,

and another countdown till dawn begins.

While many of the savanna's predators hunt in packs,

others prefer to work alone.

*

This is the assassin of the grassland--

a caracal.

She's the last thing many of the creatures here see...

...if they see her at all.

*

*

Her large tufted ears scan constantly,

picking up even the faintest sounds.

(hisses)

Caracals can take down prey twice their size, but tonight,

this female's locked on to something much smaller...

...sleeping guinea fowl.

*

(snap)

The caracal's misstep alerts her prey...

*

...making it much more difficult

to sneak up on them unaware.

(bird squawking)

*

Now that her prey is awake and alert,

she must choose her approach carefully.

*

*

(squawking)

*

*

(squawking)

*

*

(squawking)

*

(yipping)

The hyena, thief of the night.

(hisses)

(whoops)

(hisses)

He'll steal the caracal's kill if he can.

*

*

(hisses)

*

*

*

The hyena's bold aggression pays off.

(yipping)

(growls)

He reaps the benefits of another's hard work.

(crunching)

She'll go hungry for now.

(whooping)

But she's not alone.

This savanna brush forest is brimming with creatures

eager to fill their stomachs.

*

*

The thick-tailed bush baby,

his day begins when the sun goes down.

*

*

He might look harmless,

but this tiny primate

is one of the most successful hunters in these trees.

His large eyes are well-adapted to the darkness

and all the dangers lurking within it.

*

He isn't a picky eater,

and he'll spend most of his evening

searching for tree gum and insects to chow down on.

*

But a gecko makes for a rare treat.

*

*

It's a risky, fast-moving target,

and a misstep up here could be fatal...

(squeaking)

...especially when others...

(growling)

...watch from below.

NARRATOR: In an African brush forest,

a bush baby miscalculates his strength,

and hangs on for his life.

(growling)

With a jaw more powerful than a lion's,

this hyena would make short work

of this tiny primate.

But it'll take more than a little slip

for this expert climber to fall,

and the hyena leaves in search of an easier meal.

*

The bush baby got lucky, but the night is still young.

And other hunters lurk in these trees...

...including a snake, who has spent months in hibernation,

waiting to hunt a very specific type of prey.

*

*

He smells with a special receptor

on the roof of his mouth called a Jacobson's organ.

This sixth sense works by detecting the scent particles

he catches on his tongue.

And like sonar with smell,

it allows him to pinpoint the location of his prey.

*

*

He finds what he's been looking for--

a bird's nest.

*

For him, every hunt is a risk,

because if there are birds home,

they'll peck him to death.

But it's been months since his last meal.

Luckily, the coast is clear,

and this egg eater finds his prey--

the unborn.

But his powerful sense of smell

tells him something his eyes can't.

These eggs are rotten,

a possible explanation for why the nest is abandoned.

He'll have to wait a little longer

before breaking his fast.

While he continues to search for food,

others on the savanna look for something entirely different.

Some are looking for love.

*

*

(chirping)

This Romeo is a king cricket,

and he sends his love song into the night sky.

Distances on the savanna can be vast,

especially for a ground-dwelling insect.

If he's going to have any chance at romance,

he'll have to sing his heart out all night long.

This female hears the call,

but she has a long way to go before finding him.

*

The king crickets risk everything for love,

because others can also hear his romantic ballad.

*

*

*

*

*

She makes it back to her burrow

as a crafty killer arrives on the scene.

He gives up on the crickets

and moves on to his preferred hunting grounds...

*

...the marshy areas of the grassland.

*

*

This is the water mongoose...

...and in the wetlands,

he'll eat just about anything he can get his paws on.

But he has a special affinity for frog meat.

*

*

He'll spend most of the evening

combing the muddy shallows with his paws,

looking for plump amphibian meals.

*

*

*

*

*

*

(crash)

(branches breaking)

*

(branches breaking)

NARRATOR: In the dark of night on the African savanna,

a giant approaches.

*

*

(crash)

*

*

(trumpeting)

(branches breaking)

(grumbling)

*

(squawking)

(grumbling)

*

The African elephant,

the titan of the savanna.

(grumbling)

Some of them weigh more than five tons,

and their strength and power is unmatched.

*

Even though they are plant eaters,

African elephants can be extremely aggressive

to any perceived threat.

Even lions keep their distance.

*

*

(growling)

The herd grazes in relative peace,

safe in their size and strength.

(growling)

But while most keep their distance,

one hunter senses an opportunity.

With everyone else out of the way,

the path is cleared.

*

(roars)

*

The elephant has frightened the guinea fowl away,

leaving their nest unguarded.

The egg eater has a window, but he has to act now.

If the guinea fowl return while he's still in their nest,

they will attack and rip him apart with their beaks.

*

*

*

*

*

*

(squawking)

He makes his move,

but swallowing an egg several times the size of his head

will take time.

*

*

He's now at his most vulnerable,

and the guinea fowl could return at any moment.

(squawking)

By stretching elastic ligaments in his mouth,

he engulfs the egg.

(squawking)

But ingesting the egg is only half the battle.

Now he has to crack it

so he can drink the yolk within.

*

When he contracts,

sharp bones lining the back of his throat pierce the egg.

(cracking)

*

*

*

*

*

The only evidence he leaves behind,

a regurgitated shell.

*

(squawking)

His gamble pays off.

Before the guinea fowl returns, he's back in the trees.

*

While the trees provide safety for some,

they're a hunting ground for others...

...like the predatory katydid,

known as the lion of the insect world.

It impales its prey on its spiked legs.

But even this nightmarish hunter

must be mindful of the hungry bush baby.

*

*

This praying mantis stays still,

allowing its camouflage to blend into the tree bark.

*

*

*

*

The mantis' camouflage works,

or does it?

*

*

The mantis escapes...

...but this is a case of out of the frying pan

and into the fire.

*

*

Something deadly hides in the dark...

*

*

...an African tree scorpion.

Armed with his venomous stinger and two powerful front claws,

he's a natural-born killer.

But like the mantis,

the African tree scorpion is an expert in camouflage.

He waits patiently,

letting his prey come just a little closer.

NARRATOR: Night on the African savanna.

A caracal roams hungry after a hyena steals her meal.

(whoops)

An egg eater risks everything

for his first feeding in months.

(crash)

(grumbling)

Giants patrol the grasslands,

and on a smaller stage, a deadly face-off unfolds.

A tree scorpion prepares to battle a praying mantis.

*

*

This mantis isn't going down without a fight.

*

*

But few escape the scorpion's claws,

and he's saved his deadliest weapon for last.

*

*

A dose of venom from his stinger

subdues the praying mantis, and the scorpion feeds.

*

*

He tears apart his victim

with tiny, claw-like appendages in his mouth

called chelicerae.

As he eats, he spits up digestive juices,

dissolving the organs of the mantis into a slurpable stew.

While scorpion devours his prey in the trees,

another small savanna resident navigates the undergrowth.

(squeaking)

(squeaking)

The South African soft-furred rat

emerges at night to scavenge for food,

while trying to avoid becoming someone else's meal himself.

*

But his constant scurrying

inevitably attracts unwanted attention.

*

*

*

(growls)

*

*

*

*

A puff adder,

one of the most dangerous snakes in Africa.

*

The caracal knows there are some fights not worth picking.

*

The puff adder is a perfect ambush hunter.

*

She's a nearly silent stalker

with two powerful camouflages,

one visual and the other chemical,

as she gives off no perceptible scent,

making her virtually invisible.

*

*

Camouflaged against the forest floor,

the adder settles into position and watches.

*

*

*

Curled up by this log,

she waits for the perfect opportunity

to pass right in front of her.

*

*

*

The puff adder can lie in wait for weeks, hardly moving.

This is why so many don't see her until it's too late.

*

*

(squeaking)

But when she strikes,

few snakes on the planet are faster.

*

(squeaks)

*

NARRATOR: In an African savanna, a puff adder,

one of the fastest-striking snakes on the planet,

prepares to attack.

(squeaking)

*

(squeaking)

(squeaking)

*

If the adder's bite doesn't kill her prey, her venom will.

*

The rat is lucky.

Better to be dead than eaten alive.

She can go months without eating,

and tonight her patience pays off.

(crunching)

And though few snakes strike faster,

swallowing her prey whole takes some time.

*

*

*

Back near the marsh, the coast is finally clear,

and this male king cricket tries again to attract a mate.

(chirping)

His potential queen has been waiting

for his love ballad to return.

The star-crossed lovers are close at last.

But a voracious African bullfrog

has other plans for this love story.

This Casanova doesn't realize

he's leading potential partners

to the killing floor.

*

*

At least his love song worked for someone.

*

While the bullfrog digests,

life by the water goes on.

And a snake who specializes in amphibians

eyes a tasty-looking reed frog.

*

*

A young herald snake,

small but deadly.

His venom is harmless to humans,

but it's more than enough to take out a frog.

*

*

The frog senses danger,

but he might already be too late.

*

*

The young snake is still learning

that the slightest hesitation when hunting frogs

can cost you dinner.

*

*

*

This serpent is a snake hunter,

the file snake,

and its sudden appearance sends the herald on the run.

*

*

*

*

In this case,

the more skilled hunter wins,

teaching his prey a final, deadly lesson.

The herald snake struggles against the file snake's grip,

but there's no escaping now.

*

*

And because he's a snake hunter,

the file snake is immune to even the deadliest venom...

...allowing him to swallow his prey alive without worry.

*

*

Dawn is just an hour away,

and the bush baby still hasn't had any luck.

If he doesn't make a kill now, he may not feed before sunrise.

But the savanna offers plenty of second chances.

*

For the bush baby,

sometimes the hardest part of his hunt

is finding a route through the maze of branches...

...to reach his prey.

*

*

His persistence finally pays off,

and the bush baby enjoys a nice plump gecko for dinner.

But while he eats,

something stirs in the grass nearby.

(mewing)

A scared lion cub searches for his mother,

who's out on her nightly hunt.

(mewing)

He doesn't realize that his every cry

exposes him to others looking for a meal.

(mewing)

(mewing)

(mewing)

(mewing)

(mewing)

NARRATOR: Moments before dawn,

a lost lion cub's cries attract a terrible danger.

The hyena won't hesitate to kill this defenseless cub.

(mews)

*

*

(mews)

Being in the open is a death sentence.

(mewing)

*

*

(barking)

And its only chance of survival is to hide...

...and be silent.

(yipping)

(mewing)

(mewing)

He locks onto the young one's calls,

but so does a mother lion.

(mewing)

(growling)

(mewing)

(growling)

(whoops)

(mewing)

The hyena knows this is a fight he can't win.

(mewing)

The distracted predators give this duiker

an opportunity to graze in peace.

*

*

He's almost made it through another night,

but others haven't been so lucky.

*

Rather than being frightened or repulsed,

the sight of carrion lures him in,

and he begins to feed.

These gentle grazers are, surprisingly, omnivores

and will occasionally eat small animals and the dead.

*

But he's not the only one looking for meat.

*

*

(growling)

*

*

(growling)

*

*

*

*

*

(growling)

*

*

First light.

Death can no longer hide in the darkness.

*

Exhausted mother lions return to their cubs

after the violence of the night.

But the hunt never truly ends.

The ongoing struggle to survive continues...

...because out here,

death never sleeps.

Captioned by Side Door Media Services

Repair and Synchronization by Easy Subtitles Synchronizer 1.0.0.0