NARRATOR: Botswana's Okavango Delta.
Fed by the Cubango River,
this is the jewel in the crown of Botswana's wilderness.
It teems with life...
...including Africa's deadliest.
(theme music)
Big and buoyant, hippos cut vast swathes through the vegetation...
creating underwater highways for other creatures.
One of the most dangerous mammals in Africa, they are viciously territorial.
This big bull lords over this prime piece of Okavango real estate.
He may resemble a large beach ball, but he's not to be toyed with.
An intruding bull.
His gaping yawn signals he's staking a claim to the territory.
(hippo groans)
(water splashing)
(dramatic music)
Not without a fight.
(groans)
Each weigh as much as a car...
...their mouths equipped with 50-centimeter dagger-like tusks.
They battle for hours...
their roars reverberating across the swamp.
The victor wins mating rights to any females.
Finally, the smaller, intruding bull concedes.
The champ re-joins his harem.
(chewing)
He instantly turns from deadly foe to floating father-figure.
(light music)
For the Okavango's herbivores, the annual floods bring
a bounty of grasses and sedges.
The tastiest patches may be cut off by deep channels and wide swampy moats.
Survival means embracing a semi-aquatic lifestyle...
no problem for lechwe antelope. They gather here by the hundreds.
With long, splayed hooves and thick waterproof fur,
they wade through the boggy, all-you-can-eat aquatic grass buffet.
But there's no free lunch.
They share the Okavango with one of the world's largest populations of wild dogs.
(splashes)
A pack this size can kill twice a day.
In deep water, the lechwe have the advantage.
But the dogs have something the antelope lack--
teamwork.
These dogs bank on speed and endurance.
Their 80% kill rate makes them some of the planet's most successful predators.
The dogs fan out, testing the herd...
singling out any weaklings.
(suspenseful music)
Wild dogs, a true family, share the spoils equally.
Even late arrivals get a seat at the table.
The pack can devour an entire lechwe in minutes.
All the mother can do is watch from afar, and live to run another day.
(light theme music)
While some animals live life on the run, others must swim for their lives...
steering clear of this hungry hunter.
Secretive, streamlined, fast, and focused--
the spotted-necked otter.
Her razor-sharp claws and crushing molars make her deceptively deadly.
Cute, but ruthless.
(light suspenseful music)
She's after more than fish.
The thick mud and vegetation conceals her other favorite food...
freshwater crabs.
Their strong front pincers mean business...
but she's got a plan.
Her dexterous hands keep the crab's pinching parts
at arm's length while her molars put the crush in crustacea.
She can make almost a catch a minute.
When another otter grabs a bite, the ferocity factor doubles.
(music builds)
Eventually, the intruder relents, and the female enjoys her spoils.
While otters rely on speed and agility to chase slippery prey...
saddle-billed storks count on patience, timing...
and a powerful bill.
The Okavango is home to 71 species of fish and 33 amphibians,
making it a smorgasbord for hungry storks.
At over 150 centimeters, these painted beauties
are the tallest storks on Earth...
which gives them an edge when wading through deeper water.
They hunt mostly by feel.
Their partially open bill snaps shut at the slightest touch.
For larger fish, such as this tilapia, their bill becomes a spear.
There's no escaping his grip.
(light theme music)
The fish always goes down whole and headfirst.
But sometimes, her food isn't bite-size...
and bites back.
The Mozambique spitting cobra shares the stork's appetite for frogs.
And it's slinking towards the bird's fishing spot.
(suspenseful music)
The brightly painted bird shows her true colors.
She's a snake killer.
The cobra is a worthy adversary, armed with powerful cytotoxic venom.
But its fangs can't penetrate the stork's thick bill.
Plan B. It can fire a jet of venom almost two meters with 90% accuracy...
and evade the stabbing stork with every twist.
Today, fangs flee beaks.
The Busanga Swamps of Zambia.
In the rainy season, they're completely submerged.
The receding waters cue the return of the pride.
These are the swamp lions of Busanga Plains.
Dry feet are not an option...
(light theme music)
because their prey is some of Africa's most water-loving antelope.
Puku and black lechwe antelope gather in deeper swampy areas,
seeking safety from the lions.
Embracing swamp life, this pride has honed the art of the hunt.
But lions aren't Busanga's only apex predator.
In the water, Nile crocodiles have the home advantage.
Every step draws the lion deeper into this ancient gladiator's arena.
To reach the best hunting grounds,
the lions of Busanga Swamps must brave the croc-infested water.
Risking her life to claim her prize--
black lechwe.
Literally bogged down, she relies on stealth.
She must get close.
Very close.
Using the long grass for cover, she lets her prey come to her.
One burst of explosive speed and it's game over.
Her success means a full belly...
for her and her three hungry cubs.
This watery world is new to them, but they'll be swamp masters soon enough.
They have an excellent teacher.
Raising lion cubs falls mostly on the shoulders of females.
But some other young swamp-dwellers find themselves entirely on their own.
The onset of the wet season energizes one of Africa's heavyweights--
giant bullfrogs.
Just 50 millimeters of rainfall triggers a flood of activity--
the breeding season...
and a call to battle.
These sumo wrestlers, weighing in at 1.5 kilograms,
use their size and booming calls to attract mates.
When a singing contest doesn't determine the top frog,
they'll go head-to-head.
They fight dirty.
Biting, head-butting and body-slamming intimidate rivals and impress the ladies.
His back legs propel him as far as two meters in a single jump.
Launching at full speed, he can put the hurt on any rival.
And three tooth-like bones in his bottom jaw delivers a monstrous bite.
The champions win mating rights
to as many females as possible, ensuring the most offspring.
They're not above stealing another male's partner.
Mating season finished and eggs laid it takes 30 days for the tadpoles
to complete their metamorphosis.
The tadpoles survive mostly on algae.
But as they change, so does their diet.
And this is where things get deadly.
They're in a race to maturity, and in this competitive environment,
they'll get there by any means necessary.
These amphibians will devour anything they can overpower...
from a fly to a small chicken.
It's a "frog-eat-frog world".
But cannibalism is only one of the dangers they face.
(theme music)
A bullfrog can go from hunter to hunted in the glint of an unblinking eye...
or the flick of a tongue.
NARRATOR: In Africa's swamps, assassins lurk around every corner.
The overgrown banks can't be trusted.
This female boomslang leaves the trees in search of an easy meal.
She's craving, young, giant bullfrogs.
Her sensitive eyes track the smallest movements.
She blends in perfectly as she approaches the water's edge.
She must keep an eye out for big daddy bullfrog.
He'll have no trouble turning the tables and devouring her.
But not today.
Her fangs are small and set far back in her jaw.
Lacking brute force, she uses venom...
chewing on her meal as it goes to work.
The hemotoxic venom bursts blood cells, so the victim bleeds to death internally.
Drop for drop, it's the most potent venom of any African snake.
A meal this size could keep her fed for a week.
Like all snakes, she's a good swimmer, but she's not the best.
That title is held by another killer reptile.
The vast network of waterways is the Nile crocodile's delight.
They effortlessly troll the channels for victims,
or they lie motionless at the water's edge,
waiting for dinner to deliver itself.
With wild dogs back on the hunt, the antelope panic and flee.
The pack has blocked all escape routes...
leaving the impala only one choice.
Facing almost certain death, one young impala makes a desperate decision.
Fear of crocodiles stops most predators in their tracks,
especially where the swamp is deep.
The pack hangs back, waiting for the impala to make its move.
It faces a deadly dilemma--
brave the shore bristling with teeth...
or swim for its life in croc-infested waters.
(tense music)
To avoid the dogs, the impala must head to the opposite bank...
and race against Africa's deadliest aquatic predator,
closing in fast.
One bite from one of the most powerful jaws in the animal kingdom
is all it takes.
The pack doesn't dare contest this meal.
They won't set foot in the water.
In Zambia's Liuwa Plain, these three cheetah brothers
have the run of the swampy grassland.
And running is their specialty.
Forming a coalition makes them more lethal.
They've spotted a herd of wildebeest with calves in tow.
(dramatic music)
They kill the calf before the wildebeest herd even realizes the cats are there.
But when it comes to a drink,
the cheetah don't need stealth, they need their wits.
Quenching their thirst means braving the croc-lined banks.
Cheetah have keen eyesight,
but a crocodile is the master of camouflage.
Like a stealthy submarine, it waits to strike.
(tense music)
Nothing can be done.
(forlorn music)
The coalition scans for any sign of movement.
But their brother is gone.
Summer in the Okavango Delta...
and mother warthog feels the heat.
She picks a shallow spot where crocodiles can't reach her.
But she's got another stalker.
This dip in the water could become a bloodbath.
The warthogs are as happy as pigs in mud...
oblivious to the danger creeping closer.
Lionesses rarely hunt alone.
She's brought backup.
(theme music)
They surround the warthogs, using the patches of tall grass as cover--
out of sight...
until the last second.
(music builds)
Against all odds, the warthogs must outmaneuver the whole pride.
Warthogs are faster than they look.
Bolting at 50 kilometers per hour, they leave the lions in their dust.
Their cover blown, the lions move on, braving the channels for a chance to eat.
Large water-loving creatures, like elephants,
easily navigate the channels that separate feeding grounds.
The cheetah brothers are more wary.
Losing their brother to a crocodile isn't easily forgotten.
They have no choice. They need to hunt...
and must make a leap of faith.
The warthog may out-sprint a pride of lions...
but cheetah are the fastest mammals on land...
going from zero to 110 kilometers per hour in three strides.
(dramatic music)
They can bank at a 50-degree angle in a high-speed turn,
better than a racing motorcycle.
Warthogs have weapons.
Lower tusks, sharp as daggers, can kill a cheetah.
But at the final moment, the brothers' teamwork prevails.
The dry season brings the cheetah larger hunting grounds and a time of plenty.
(thunder rumbling)
With the seasons, the swamps are constantly changing.
As the rain-soaked catchments of the Angolan highlands fill...
the Okavango floodplain returns in all it's soggy glory.
In South Africa's St. Lucia Estuary, this eastern green mamba must adapt
his hunting strategies to the flooded plains.
It lives exclusively in the green coastal regions of Southern Africa,
preferring to hunt in these waterlogged places.
He's the brightly colored cousin of the black mamba,
and his emerald-green scales scream danger.
He even has a coffin shaped head.
A superb swimmer, he scours the swamp's edges for prey.
Locking onto a tantalizing scent...
the hunt is on.
While the mere sight of the green mamba strikes terror,
most of the time, its prey never sees it coming.
His venom affects the nerves, muscles, and heart,
triggering a quick death by respiratory paralysis.
Powerful muscles along his length, and supple skin beneath his scales,
help the rat go down whole and headfirst.
(theme music)
In the wet season in Botswana's Linyanti swamps,
the grassland becomes a quagmire.
The hyena takes it all in their sloping stride.
As some of the top carnivores here, they dominate the best bathing spots.
The swamp provides a secret spot to stash meat for a rainy day.
Often maligned as scavengers and thieves, they are, in fact, expert hunters.
Their matriarch leads her clan on the hunt.
Masters of the long game, hyenas can run for kilometers without tiring.
Their stamina is matched only by wild dogs.
This herd of kudu now have a big problem--
targeted by two different predators.
(suspenseful music)
After kilometers on the run,
the exhausted kudu cow can go no further.
There is no love lost between hyena and wild dogs,
but the promise of meat can create an unlikely alliance.
Unlike wild dogs and hyenas, leopards hunt solo.
She'll conceal her two cubs and head out in search of food.
She relies on stealth and camouflage to ambush her prey.
But Liuwa's open plains leave her no place to hide.
A lost wildebeest calf presents an opportunity.
Will it be enough to make this leopard change her spots?
An open, flooded grassland is not in this female leopard's comfort zone.
But a lost wildebeest calf is too good to pass up...
especially with two cubs to feed.
She'll need to get as close as she can before she pounces...
no easy feat without much cover.
With each precise footfall, she places her back paws in the print of the front.
(tense music)
The calf is hungry and weak.
(calf cries)
Each year, the flooded plains of Liuwa attract tens of thousands
of migrating wildebeest.
The pools are a lifeline for the thirsty herds.
But wild dogs are hot on their heels.
The alpha male and female rally the pack into hunting formation,
their puppies safely kept at a distance.
(dramatic music)
They charge the herd to flush out any weaklings.
A newborn calf, slowed by the thick mud, fits the bill.
The puppies join the meal.
The small kill is not enough to go around.
To the pack's surprise, the calf's mother refuses to leave.
Her maternal instincts put her in the cross hairs,
of the ravenous pack.
Wild dogs may be some of Africa's most effective hunters,
but an adult wildebeest is a tall order.
Those sharp horns mean business.
They mob her, nipping at her back and sides.
(birds caw)
An inexperienced pack member slips and gets gored.
Thanks to the soft swampland, the dog escapes serious injury.
(music builds)
The pups, only about six months old, watch and learn from a safe distance.
(wildebeest groans)
In true wild dog fashion, family comes first.
The puppies get the prime cuts and no one goes hungry.
In the unending cycle of life in these deadly swamps,
survival demands precision.
Every creature must develop the skill, strength, and tenacity
to stay on top, generation after generation.