Original subtitles

NARRATOR: In nature, villains are everywhere.

All this fly wants is sweet nectar.

But he's landed in the jaws of a predatory plant.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

Just another wicked fiend

with the weirdest of appetites.

(FILM REEL CLICKING)

NARRATOR: Among the fast

and fearsome

are the astoundingly crazy.

With strange behaviour...

..and outrageous fashion sense.

They're all in a competition to survive...

..and weirdness always wins.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC STING)

(EERIE MUSIC)

NARRATOR: Welcome to the mind-bending world of fungi.

A fascinatingly weird kingdom of creatures that rule our planet.

More than one and a half million species.

Greater than all plants combined.

And they proudly let their freak flags fly.

(MUSIC WHIRS, FLOURISHES)

(JAUNTY, OMINOUS MUSIC)

NARRATOR: Fungi eat the dead to create new life.

Returning nutrients to the ground,

and feeding the soil on which all living things depend.

They seem like plants,

but fungi DNA is closer to that of animals.

For all the benefits they bring,

some fungi have a darker side.

(EERIE MUSIC)

Their urge to multiply has mushroomed

like a fiendish contagion.

Most fungi throw their spores to the wind,

mingling with the soil wherever they land.

But some have more ghoulish tastes.

As this ant forages,

fungal spores contaminating the forest floor

have latched on and penetrated its exoskeleton.

The body-snatcher is known as cordyceps.

Days after contact, the spores have bypassed the creature's brain,

taking control of his movements.

The ant is now a mindless slave,

a walking time bomb.

(CLOCK TICKING)

The fungus drives its host toward the perfect destination

to complete its life cycle.

A place that's warm and humid.

The ant's nest.

Ants are usually good at spotting the sick

and forcing them from the colony.

But nobody detects the zombie in their midst.

The enslaved ant is now a Trojan Horse,

ready to burst forth.

The cordyceps fungus eats it from the inside out.

Nourishment for its final act.

Spores erupt from the carcass,

zombifying one ant after another.

The ants that survive?

Seed stock for future attack.

Cordyceps always need fresh hosts.

But these body-snatchers don't limit themselves to ants.

(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)

There are more than 700 species of cordyceps...

..each infecting a different species of invertebrate.

Victims litter the forest floor.

Prey to a parasite that's neither plant nor animal...

..but something in between.

Imagine the world of a meerkat.

Sweethearts of the African savannah...

..but surrounded by skilled and heartless killers.

(LOW GROWLING)

(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)

Innocent eyes in a land of brutal cut-throats.

(MUSIC STOPS)

But despite it all,

they remain eccentric.

Funny.

And totally adorable.

An easy mark for a clever manipulator.

(SINISTER MUSIC)

The fork-tailed drongo

is watching the meerkats closely.

She's one of nature's shrewdest con-artists.

When meerkats forage for food,

it's a family outing.

Mum, Dad and the kids hunt scorpions and insects

nine-to-five.

This guy's the family lookout.

Watching for any signs of danger.

While meerkats take care of business,

crafty drongos wait.

Oddly, meerkats trust the drongos to help them.

From the bird's vantage point,

they can see and hear danger before anyone else.

(BIRD CROWING)

A martial eagle!

The meerkat's arch-nemesis.

The drongos sound their alarm call...

(CHIRPING)

..alerting the meerkats.

(CHIRPING)

Crisis averted.

But the double-dealing drongos can exploit a flaw

in this escape strategy.

When meerkats catch their prey...

..they wait for their pups to join in.

It's customary to let the young have first bite.

The juvenile meerkats handle their meal carelessly.

The drongos take note.

They wait for the next handover.

Dad uncovers another scorpion.

And now it's the baby's turn.

(WARBLING)

Just what the drongos are waiting for.

(CHIRPS)

Again, the bird sounds the drongo alarm call.

(CHIRPING)

(TENSE MUSIC)

But this time, there's no eagle.

In their haste, the meerkats abandoned their food.

The drongo swoops in to pick up the scraps.

As grifts go, this one is flawless.

The meerkat has no idea.

The drongo's cunning use of mimicry is crooked genius.

NARRATOR: Orcas stalk every ocean on the planet.

But each hunting ground sports unique prey.

Different families have a trusted method

to capture their favourite meal.

Putting the "killer" into killer whale.

It may not be summer,

but school is out for these herring.

(BRIGHT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

As spring brings a touch of warmth

to the frigid northern oceans,

this school of herring migrate south...

..hoping to sow their wild oats with other graduates.

(MUSIC STOPS)

Incoming!

Black fins of death!

(TENSE MUSIC)

The Norwegian orca pod surrounds the school...

..herding the herring closer and closer together.

These orca are a tight-knit family of hunters...

..emitting a cacophony of calls

to coordinate their attack.

(LOW SCREECH)

They slap their tails...

stunning some of the fish.

The rest of the herring form a defensive bait ball...

..exposing the least of their numbers

to the circle of predators.

The orcas are having a killer whale of time.

But who invited them to this ball?

(LOW SCREECH)

Finally, the leader dives below the mass of fish,

and emits a fountain of bubbles.

Escaping the wall of air,

the herring are forced to the surface.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

The scene is black and white...

..with red herrings all over.

In Alaskan waters,

a transient pod have developed a richer palette.

(BRIGHT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

This sea lion colony ballooned during summer breading.

Young and old take to the water and feast.

(MUSIC FADES)

The size of an orca pod

is determined by their preferred prey.

This is one large family.

(LOW SCREECH)

They rush the frolicking sea lions,

who make a quick escape.

One of the herd is injured in the chaos.

(TENSE MUSIC)

But armed with large canines,

he is far from an instant meal.

The pod keep their distance

before launching their villainous attack.

They take turns ramming the sea lion.

They lash their tails...

..until their prey loses strength.

Finally, the matriarch delivers the death blow.

(LOW SCREECH)

The feast will fuel the family

as they search for their next hunting ground.

Killing comes easy to this spider.

Its cold-blooded eyes scan the jungle for movement.

It's picky.

Nothing too big to tackle.

The arachnid knows...

the right victim is out there.

The net casting spider,

A.K.A Ogre-Face,

is no ordinary thug.

In the dark, she sees 2,000 times better than a human.

One pair of specialised eyes track her pray...

..while the other six scan for danger.

(TENSE MUSIC)

She's got to be patient.

As the mark approaches, she prepares her secret weapon.

(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)

A super sticky net of webbing.

Accuracy is everything.

The white dot on the leaf below is a splat of her own poop.

A marker to help her aim.

(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CONTINUES)

(MUSIC FLOURISHES, ENDS)

Another one in the bag.

(UPBEAT FUNKY MUSIC)

Most spiders must wait for their prey to ensnare themselves.

But Ogre-Face strikes while the iron is hot.

Unlike ordinary spider silk,

her woolly net is fine,

sticking to the cricket's waxy shell like Velcro.

She turns the cricket into a bug burrito.

Now, for the hot sauce.

Her neurotoxic venom paralyses the cricket...

..dissolving its tissues into gooey liquid.

So she can drink to her own success.

Twenty-five years ago,

this female green sea turtle

left the island where she was born...

..to build a life for herself

in the wide open ocean.

Now, it's time to return home and start a family.

To succeed, she'll need to get the shy turtle guys

to come out of their shells.

But be careful what you wish for.

When female green sea turtles are ready to breed,

they instinctively migrate toward the beach where they hatched.

After a quarter-century at sea,

the journey is epic.

This homecoming queen needs a king.

She releases a heady perfume of pheromones

to attract potential mates.

It's like Tinder for turtles.

All the guys swipe right.

Using special claws on his flippers,

the male clings to his date.

But there are more suitors.

By attracting multiple males,

the female ensures her eventual mate

is the strongest and fittest.

They fight each other for her affection.

But this kind of attention can be deadly.

The competing males weigh her down.

She can hold her breath for hours,

but if she can't shake them, she'll drown.

Turtle trysts don't come any more complicated.

But luckily, she escapes with her life,

and the sperm she needs to complete her mission.

Two weeks later, she and hundreds of others

are ready to move ashore and lay their eggs.

But if her encounter with her over-eager lovers

wasn't bad enough...

..these guys are straight up villains.

(SINISTER MUSIC)

Hungry tiger sharks patrol the shallows.

Specialized turtle hunters.

A reef will hide her for a while.

Others forge ahead, driven by instinct.

Straight into the jaws of the waiting sharks.

She can't stay down much longer.

While the sharks are distracted,

she makes a break for it.

(MUSIC FADES)

Finally, she's home.

(SERENE MUSIC)

Exhausted, she lies on the very strip of beach

where generations of ancestors once returned to start a new family.

She digs as deep as her flippers will reach.

Across the summer nesting season,

she'll lay more than 500 eggs.

And then she's gone.

(INSECTS CHIRPING)

Two months later, her babies hatch.

(ETHEREAL MUSIC)

Instinctively, they head straight for the sea.

(SQUAWKING)

But first, they must run the gauntlet

of hungry birds and fish

all waiting for turtle take-away.

Just one out of a thousand will make it.

The hatchlings don't know it,

but this is their first taste of life as a green sea turtle.

Where villains plague every stage

of an otherwise solitary life.

(INSECTS CHIRPING)

(OMINOUS JAUNTY MUSIC)

On the far edges of the natural kingdom...

..savage gardens of carnivorous plants

thrive on their powers of seduction.

(MUSIC SWELLS)

To survive, they must consume the flesh of the living.

(MUSIC FADES)

In some small corners of the world,

there's a rogue's gallery of meat-eating villains.

The round-leaved sundew beckons to its victims

like an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord.

The scent and taste of nectar

makes promises to hungry insects.

The allure of energy-rich sugar is irresistible to many.

It's the original honey trap.

Just as alluring are the jaws of the Venus flytrap.

The plant secretes digestive enzymes...

..killing the insect within,

and absorbing its life juices.

In just a few days,

the trap opens again.

Only an empty husk remains.

While some plants wield jaws of death...

..in the nutrient-poor soils of Australian forests...

..the pitcher plant works hard to feed its need

for essential nitrogen.

Once their leaves have sprouted and their lid's been popped...

..pitcher plants are open for business.

(UPBEAT JAZZ MUSIC)

A sugary syrup coats its rim.

A one-stop shop for insects.

The sweet offerings draw hungry crowds of ants.

For the plant, it's a two-for-one deal.

The ants defend their supply of syrup,

protecting the plant from leaf-eating bugs.

But these ants walk a tightrope.

It's difficult to keep a foothold on the waxy surface.

One wrong step on the pitcher's patio,

and the plant's defender becomes its dinner.

The viscous liquid within is like quicksand.

The more the ant struggles, the deeper it sinks.

The ant decomposes,

and the pitcher has its nitrogen fix for the day.

NARRATOR: On first impression,

these lesser flamingos are delicate creatures.

(SOFT CLASSICAL MUSIC)

But don't be fooled by their long necks and vibrant colours.

These birds are truly hardcore.

This is Africa's most toxic lake.

But for almost two million flamingos,

it's paradise on Earth.

(MYSTICAL MUSIC)

(SOFT SQUAWKING)

Tough scale-like skin on their legs

prevents caustic burns.

They live on poisonous algae

that grows in the lake, with no ill effects.

If anything, they're in the pink.

All in all, a cushy life.

So cushy, in fact,

that crowds gather here in vast flamboyances.

But things aren't as rosy as they seem.

(TENSE MUSIC)

An intruder prowls the banks.

This hyena mother is extremely smart

and opportunistic.

Her cubs haven't had anything to eat in two days.

But she'll need to bide her time

before catching a break.

It comes the next day.

Flamingos flock toward the edge of the lake...

..drinking the fresh water that streams in

during the early morning.

They're nervous,

but there's safety in numbers.

Straying from the flock could be a deadly mistake.

Exactly what the hyena is waiting for.

But today, there are no chinks in the armour.

The hyena must improvise.

(SOFT SQUAWKING)

The birds scatter, but they know the hyena is racing against the clock.

Her determination quickly dissolves in the alkaline water.

Back on dry land, the hyena's paws are burning.

She might be the flamingos' number one villain...

..but she's also a mum trying to feed her family.

Time is running out.

She must try again.

But the flamingos have someone else to worry about.

An olive baboon.

Fast and agile over short distances...

..the monkey does what the hyena couldn't.

(SQUAWKING)

Baboons are usually vegetarian,

but when an opportunity calls, they eat it.

For the hyena, this baboon-shaped cloud

has a flamingo-coloured lining.

A young bird has hurt its leg in the fray.

Just the break the mother needs.

Success, finally.

This time, she'll have more to show

for her efforts than burning paws.

Yet facing toxic waters and plundering predators...

..the flamingos of Africa stand tall,

tough, and brilliant.

On the banks of the Mangoro River in Madagascar...

..a wave of break-ins are sweeping the neighbourhood.

The meanest things on wings,

these wasps are in no mood for mercy.

Time for the locals to take cover.

This frog seeks refuge in its panic room.

But she's not the wasp's intended victim.

High above, her new brood of tadpoles...

..encased in a mucus nest.

Easy pickings for hungry wasps.

The green frog watches

as her kids are picked off one by one.

"Wasp" a frog gonna do?

But when the going gets tough,

the weird whip into action.

These younglings know their emergency evacuation routine.

Sensing danger, frog babies can hatch days before they are due.

(JAZZY MUSIC)

They escape into the waters below.

(MUSIC FADES)

It's sink or swim.

Hungry eyes are a constant threat.

(OMINOUS MUSIC)

The premature tadpoles swim in schools to avoid predators.

Born early, they can't feed for a month

while their teeth grow.

Then, they'll eat anything alive or dead.

Maturing, they lose their tail and grow legs,

ready to take to land.

From an early start, less than one in 100

make it to adulthood.

These tadpole youngsters play the odds.

One percent survival beats a 100 percent chance

of being eaten by wasps.

With bellies full, the wasps retire.

But they'll soon return,

in search of their next big score.

Sharks.

Villains of the deep.

One of evolution's greatest success stories.

Over 400 million years old,

they pre-date the dinosaurs.

Surviving five mass extinctions.

Today, the Mac-Daddy of them all reigns supreme.

Armed with an array of freakish sensory abilities.

Six metres long, packed to the teeth...

with teeth.

Great white sharks love the taste of juvenile seals.

As baby eaters,

they're right up there in the pantheon of villains.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Australia's Neptune Islands are home

to the continent's largest colony of long-nosed fur seals.

(HONKING)

For months now,

the white sharks have been dining on seal pups learning to swim.

But the seals will soon leave the rocks

to hunt in the open ocean.

The hunter needs a new hunting ground.

More than 9,000 kilometres to the west,

South Africa's young cape fur seals

are taking their first swimming lessons.

Attracted to the Cape's higher tide ranges,

underwater visibility and cooler water.

For great whites,

South Africa is the perfect place to hunt baby seals.

The shark embarks on an epic three-month journey.

To navigate the vast Indian Ocean...

..sharks have evolved a sense that still confounds science.

Electroreception.

The same sensitivity that helps them locate prey

lets them read the Earth's magnetic variations like a map.

Guiding them with accuracy across an ocean

to hit land right where the fur seals are pupping.

(SEAL BARKING)

The great white hugs the depths,

scanning the surface for silhouettes.

When hunting, special hormones darken their skin,

matching the surrounding water.

The baby seal is oblivious...

..until...

..it's too late.

But this hunter is not alone.

Other sharks have made a similar journey.

A great white's most acute sense is smell,

able to detect blood in the water

from nearly five kilometres away.

The white's lethal instincts kick in... hard!

Four hundred million years of survival,

unleashed in seconds.

Proof that nature's designs can attain perfection.

In this ancient tropical forest,

Borneo's dense vegetation and stable climate

form a high-speed production line for new species.

Here, nature constantly tinkers with its prototypes,

refining them to deal with life's challenges.

Which explains how flat-pack office workers...

evolved into a lone hunter

that's both flamboyant...

..and secretive.

The dead leaf mantis is the culmination

of millions of years evolutionary testing.

Her camouflage mimics the immediate surroundings...

..dead vegetation.

(INSECTS CHIRPING)

(TENSE MUSIC)

A cloak of invisibility,

and a killer look that rarely fails.

This uptown katydid

has travelled from the green, green grass of home

to a tough neighbourhood

where conspicuous can get you killed.

Bad timing.

The mantis is hidden on a dry branch.

With her compound eyes,

she gets a 245-degree view of her surroundings.

Like a coiled spring, she waits.

(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)

But the katydid has wings.

This calls for patience and stealth.

(CLOCK TICKING)

(MYSTERIOUS MUSIC)

The mantis' forelimbs have interlocking spines,

making escape impossible.

The lesson?

When travelling abroad, blend in.

On a weird planet full of villains,

camouflage secures a predatory edge,

and drawing attention can get you whacked,

like katydid.

Subtitles by Sky Access Services www.skyaccessibility.sky