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(dramatic music)
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NARRATOR: Africa's wild places brim with danger.
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In this land of giants,
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the continent's smaller creatures
have their work cut out for them,
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relying on skill, specialized
weaponry, and tenacity.
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This is no place for weaklings.
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(gusts of wind)
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These are Africa's deadliest.
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Surviving here is a daily battle.
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(bird calls, insects droning)
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A challenge this ferocious,
lone warrior rises to.
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The honey badger, officially known
as the most fearless animal on Earth.
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Twelve kilograms of short-fused dynamite.
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Right now, Africa's fiercest creature
is more interested in snacks,
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than threats lurking in the bush.
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His sensitive nose
tells him X marks the spot.
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One of the best diggers in the business,
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his four-centimeter claws quickly uncover
one of his favorite foods--
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rodent.
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Even well-fed honey badgers
constantly search for food.
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A whistling rat, usually protected
by its network of tunnels,
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finds itself in the crosshairs.
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His wolverine claws trap
the rat inside the burrow
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while his hind paws dig another entrance.
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Game over for the whistling rat.
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The honey badger is at ease here. A small
creature with an oversized attitude,
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the honey badger just assumes
he's at the top of the food chain.
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So he pays little attention to potential
danger. And there's plenty of it.
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A pack of wild dogs,
Africa's most effective predators.
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With an 80% success rate,
they're natural-born killers,
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and they outnumber him four to one.
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(tense music)
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But the bad-tempered badger
takes the challenge.
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For an animal that bullies lions
off their kill and wrangles black mambas,
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this is business as usual.
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He teaches this pack who's top dog.
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While the lone honey badger's
feisty disposition helps save his skin,
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other less-aggressive creatures get by
with a little help from their friends.
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Meerkats may be small, but they're
deadly when they need to be.
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These mascots of the Kalahari Desert
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earned their title not just
from their cartoonish good looks
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but because they have
what it takes to make it out here.
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At daybreak, the troop spreads out
in search of prey.
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With their speedy metabolisms,
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they can lose up to 10%
of their body mass during the night.
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They need to make up for it, fast.
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While their superb sense
of smell guides them,
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two-centimeter front claws
unearth any buried treasure.
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They're mostly after grubs,
beetles, and other invertebrates.
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A single meerkat can excavate
50 times its body weight in sand
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and dig 400 holes in just half a day.
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As the meerkat mob scans
the ground like minesweepers...
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sentries scan for signs of danger.
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They can see up to 4.8 kilometers,
and can even look into direct sunlight.
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A good thing, too, because predators
can come from anywhere.
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Especially from above.
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(tense music)
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The sentries sound the alarm,
and the mob scurries for shelter.
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A martial eagle.
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Constant vigilance keeps the
pack alive in this deadly land.
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Once the danger passes,
the all-clear sounds.
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Meerkats have no body fat reserves,
so they must constantly forage for food.
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But danger lurks around every corner.
Even their meals fight back.
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Scorpions come girded for battle.
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But a hard exoskeleton,
sharp pincers, and a venomous stinger
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are not enough to deter a hungry meerkat.
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(tense music)
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No need to worry about the venom.
The meerkat's partially immune.
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Unfortunately,
that's not true of all venom.
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With the foraging party in full swing,
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most of the meerkats have buried
their heads in the sand.
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The Cape cobra smells opportunity.
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(tense music)
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One bite would be fatal to the meerkat.
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At the last moment,
the sentry spots the danger.
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A lone meerkat doesn't stand much chance
against a dangerous snake.
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But meerkats are never alone.
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The cobra finds itself surrounded
by a dozen jaws with needle-sharp teeth.
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(dramatic music)
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They're fast enough to avoid
a snake's lightning strike.
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The tables turn.
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They'd kill and eat the snake,
given the chance.
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It's lucky to escape alive.
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In this perilous environment,
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meerkats thrive in their desert home
by cooperating.
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Together, these little creatures
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can handle anything
the desert throws at them.
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(light music)
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While the meerkat family uses teamwork
and dramatic intimidation tactics,
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other creatures
take a more subtle approach.
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(birdsong)
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Southern Africa's Bushveld
is home to a sleek, secretive assassin.
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(crickets and birdsong)
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While leopards are known
as the stealthy nighttime killers,
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they share the dark
with an even more elusive relative.
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The African wildcat.
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(purring)
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Her species is thought to have
given rise to domestic cats.
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While her modern relatives live a pampered
life, she clings to her wild ways.
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(sneaky music)
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Her food doesn't come in a bowl,
and she'll eat whatever she can find.
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Even termites.
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She's fast enough to pluck them
right out of the air.
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Focused on dinner, she's forgetting the
cardinal rule-- constant vigilance.
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And unlike her city slicker cousins,
she's not the biggest cat in town--
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(lions huffing)
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lions are.
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(tense music)
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Lions wouldn't hesitate
to kill a fellow feline.
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The African wildcat's only option
is keeping out of their way.
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Her small size, speed, and agility
help her stay under the radar.
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(light music)
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While the lions devour their dinner,
she needs to find her own main course--
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rodent.
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(dramatic flourish)
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(sweeping music)
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While she does most of her hunting at
night, she'll make exceptions.
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(sneaking music)
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With the start of the rainy season,
puddles are where the action is.
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But a meager frog isn't enough
to tempt her into the water.
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A fat, juicy quail is more her style.
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It's a reluctant flyer,
preferring to lie low and stay hidden.
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(tense music)
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(dramatic music)
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Landing close by was a mistake.
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(sweeping music)
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The start of summer
in Africa's Bushveld region
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brings a welcome change
to the parched landscape.
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The rain-soaked catchments
fill streams and rivers,
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and the landscape flushes
brilliant green once more.
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In the heat, Africa's heavyweights
spend the days lazing in the shade.
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(light music)
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But for some of the smaller creatures,
it's all systems go.
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Small pools of water
trap hundreds of little fish.
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For specialist fishermen,
it's a buffet of easy prey.
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Danger can rain down like missiles.
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Pied kingfishers are the largest birds
that can hover,
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keeping their heads still
as they scan the water for movement.
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The pied kingfisher's eyes compensate
for light refraction off the water,
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keeping their aim true.
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They club any live victims to death
before swallowing them headfirst.
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They can catch two fish in a single dive
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and gulp down
half their own body weight every day.
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(tense music)
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Along the riverbanks,
there's another secretive hunter
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that punches above its weight class--
the tiny fishing spider.
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Short, velvety,
water-repellent hairs cover its body.
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Fine hairs on its legs
pick up vibrations of prey.
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They use surface tension
to stand or run on the water.
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She's locked onto a group of tadpoles.
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A near miss.
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The tadpole dives to a safer depth.
But the spider's not done.
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She waits until the tadpole is close to
the surface and back in striking range.
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Once her powerful front mandibles
get a good grip,
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her deadly venom cocktail goes to work...
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turning her prey into
a smoothie from the inside.
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(dramatic music)
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Spiders may rank high on the "eek" factor,
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but the temperate rainforests
and savannas of Central and West Africa
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host an equally creepy creature--
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a serpent with a terrifyingly
sophisticated hunting technique.
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The royal python. At 1.2 meters, she
may be the smallest python in Africa,
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but don't underestimate her.
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(tense music)
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Legend goes that the bravest
of African kings
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once coiled these elegant snakes around
their wrists and necks as living jewelry.
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She smells rodent,
until the trail dies at the water.
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But thanks to a secret sense,
the hunt has just begun.
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Adult royal pythons
mainly eat warm-blooded animals.
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(tense music)
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A series of pits below her nostrils track
her prey like a heat-seeking missile.
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The scurrying mouse
has the advantage of speed,
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but it has to see the danger coming first.
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At about 12 kilometers per hour,
the mouse is fast,
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but the python's strike is faster.
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(dramatic music)
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Africa's reptilian reign of terror
doesn't end with stealthy snakes.
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This next predator looks
positively prehistoric.
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(tense music)
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The rock monitor lizard.
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He has excellent eyesight
and a forked tongue that smells in stereo
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as he sweeps the savanna
for signs of prey.
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This diminutive dragon, usually under a
meter long, has a giant appetite.
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His strong front claws and powerful
limbs make him an excellent climber.
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(dramatic music)
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In the leaf litter below a fallen log,
he smells dinner.
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His claws become shovels, as his tongue
tells him he's getting warmer.
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Playing hide-and-seek with
a rock monitor is a deadly game.
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The spotted bush snake
makes a break for it.
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Too late.
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The monitor's teeth may be small,
but his jaws are vise-like.
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The spotted bush snake goes down whole,
even before it's stopped moving.
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(jaunty music)
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While the daily battles of Africa's
creatures play out on a grand scale,
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one little animal often goes unnoticed.
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Ants make up about 25%
of all animal biomass on Earth.
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This colony of army ants is on the march.
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A chemical trail keeps
the battalion in formation.
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(tense music)
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But one soldier has strayed from the path
and straight into a minefield.
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This is the hunting ground of an antlion,
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a venomous killer
that specializes in ants.
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To catch them, it uses cunning
and simple physics.
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Its body acts like an earthmover.
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It takes about 15 minutes for this master
engineer to excavate the perfect pit.
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The trap is set.
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(dramatic crash)
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(frantic music)
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The ant's fall into the sand trap
triggers the antlion's jaws to snap shut.
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The struggling ant causes
a sand avalanche.
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While the ant struggles, the antlion's
paralyzing venom goes to work
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as it drags his victim below the surface.
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In the dark, it sucks out
the ant's liquefied insides,
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then discards the empty exoskeleton
before resetting its trap.
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(sweeping music)
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In the heart of the Kalahari Desert
lies Botswana's Okavango Delta.
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A vast watery oasis.
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15,000 square kilometers of swamp
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crisscrossed by a network of channels,
dotted with lush islands.
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It's home to some of Africa's
largest predators
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and also some of the smallest.
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From the protection of
an abandoned termite mound,
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a banded mongoose colony
emerges from a good night's rest.
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They may be small and cuddly-looking,
but don't be fooled.
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They're superb little hunters.
And as a troop, they're a powerful force.
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A few of the older females
have recently given birth.
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They often synchronize their breeding,
and the entire troop raises the pups.
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The 3-week-old pups still rely on milk,
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but now they embark
on their first adventure
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away from the den for a foraging lesson.
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(suspenseful music)
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They must learn their place
in the predator hierarchy.
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Out here, life's a constant game
of eat or be eaten.
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The whole troop keeps watch
as they explore their world.
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The adults show the curious youngsters
what's edible
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and what's too tough to crack.
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Their next lesson?
Getting along with the nosy neighbors.
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(dramatic music)
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African elephants,
the largest mammals to walk the Earth,
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could squash a mongoose, if it wanted.
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00:29:14,763 --> 00:29:17,523
A loud warning finally ends
the game of chicken.
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00:29:24,123 --> 00:29:27,083
But one straggling pup
is about to find other trouble.
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00:29:32,123 --> 00:29:37,203
A water monitor, Africa's largest lizard,
with a voracious appetite.
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00:29:52,003 --> 00:29:55,763
Luckily, an adult intervenes
before the monitor can make his move.
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00:29:59,003 --> 00:30:02,323
His cover blown, he won't dare
tackle the entire troop.
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00:30:03,003 --> 00:30:05,563
These little guys
always have each other's backs.
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00:30:10,363 --> 00:30:11,163
(light music)
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00:30:11,243 --> 00:30:15,843
With the pups safely accounted for,
the troop resumes its search for food.
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00:30:24,203 --> 00:30:26,843
Mongooses, attuned to their surroundings,
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00:30:26,963 --> 00:30:30,043
even recognize the alarm calls
of other creatures.
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00:30:32,403 --> 00:30:36,363
The squawk of the spurfowl
sends the troop into high alert.
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00:30:42,363 --> 00:30:46,043
Danger is close,
even if they can't see it yet.
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00:30:50,283 --> 00:30:51,643
(dramatic swell)
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00:30:54,483 --> 00:30:55,563
(tense music)
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00:31:01,603 --> 00:31:06,483
The kite dive-bombs their bolt-hole,
hoping to flush out a panicked youngster.
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00:31:12,603 --> 00:31:16,363
Another lesson for the pups--
heed all warning calls.
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00:31:23,523 --> 00:31:27,643
Being a bite-sized predator,
it's best to know when to hide,
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00:31:28,163 --> 00:31:30,523
when to flee, and when to fight.
259
00:31:30,603 --> 00:31:31,763
(dramatic music)
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00:31:44,963 --> 00:31:45,963
(tense music)
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00:31:51,483 --> 00:31:52,843
A snouted cobra.
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00:31:55,003 --> 00:31:59,243
Its potent neurotoxic venom
would easily kill a mongoose.
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00:32:01,203 --> 00:32:03,243
Time to evacuate the pups,
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00:32:07,803 --> 00:32:11,403
while the rest of the troop
deals with the threat head-on.
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00:32:16,643 --> 00:32:18,483
Here's where they earn their stripes.
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00:32:47,003 --> 00:32:50,443
The mongoose are tactically brilliant
and equipped for the kill,
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00:32:50,843 --> 00:32:56,163
with two-centimeter claws and 36
razor-sharp teeth, adapted for crushing.
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00:33:09,843 --> 00:33:13,483
They're also agile enough
to evade the fastest strikes.
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00:33:15,083 --> 00:33:21,203
The snake came looking for food.
Instead, it's now in a fight for its life.
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00:33:28,723 --> 00:33:31,123
Now it retreats to find an easier meal.
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00:33:34,683 --> 00:33:35,923
(sweeping music)
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00:33:37,043 --> 00:33:39,923
While banded mongooses
face the world together,
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00:33:41,843 --> 00:33:43,803
the caracal prefers to go solo.
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00:33:49,443 --> 00:33:53,723
This youngster developed a taste
for meat after just four weeks.
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00:33:58,283 --> 00:34:00,923
He still relies on Mother
to catch his food--
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00:34:01,603 --> 00:34:04,603
a concept he can't
quite seem to grasp yet.
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00:34:24,123 --> 00:34:26,603
For now, a mouse is out of his league.
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00:34:30,923 --> 00:34:34,523
A tortoise is more his speed,
but there's no way in.
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00:34:56,443 --> 00:35:00,963
A year passes, and the young caracal
has gone from kitten to killer.
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00:35:04,723 --> 00:35:07,243
The time for cat-and-mouse games are over.
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00:35:08,003 --> 00:35:10,763
His survival depends
on his hunting prowess.
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00:35:11,403 --> 00:35:12,403
(tense music)
283
00:35:20,563 --> 00:35:25,403
20 muscles move his ears independently
to pinpoint potential prey.
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00:35:27,123 --> 00:35:27,963
(dramatic music)
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00:36:01,083 --> 00:36:02,403
Score one for the quail.
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00:36:08,163 --> 00:36:12,963
The caracal spots his next target,
a dove, completely unaware.
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00:36:18,443 --> 00:36:23,643
The caracal can bolt at 80 kilometers
per hour and jump up to three meters,
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00:36:31,483 --> 00:36:33,883
to literally pluck a bird from the sky.
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00:36:39,763 --> 00:36:42,123
(sweeping music)
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00:36:44,243 --> 00:36:48,163
In Africa's southwest lies
the world's oldest desert.
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00:36:49,883 --> 00:36:54,923
The Namib, beautiful,
temperamental, and deadly.
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00:36:56,603 --> 00:36:59,363
Rising 700 meters from the desert floor,
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00:37:00,003 --> 00:37:04,083
these monoliths are the remains
of ancient, extinct volcanoes.
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00:37:05,323 --> 00:37:06,403
(tense music)
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00:37:08,323 --> 00:37:10,923
Below, a rock monitor is on the hunt.
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00:37:16,283 --> 00:37:20,803
In the desert, overexertion can be
as deadly as the scorching sun.
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00:37:23,323 --> 00:37:28,563
Rock monitors usually hide in the heat of
day. But a lizard's got to eat.
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00:37:41,003 --> 00:37:44,323
The wind changes,
carrying a tempting scent.
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00:37:52,603 --> 00:37:54,803
Now he must be deadly silent.
300
00:38:07,243 --> 00:38:11,443
A mouse emerges to search for grain
blown by the hot desert wind.
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00:38:16,843 --> 00:38:19,123
It's too distracted to monitor the lizard.
302
00:38:25,443 --> 00:38:26,443
(dramatic music)
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00:38:28,963 --> 00:38:32,043
The desert offers no second chances.
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00:39:06,243 --> 00:39:09,963
While many larger African mammals
can't handle the heat here,
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00:39:10,483 --> 00:39:14,563
268 species of reptile call Namibia home.
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00:39:16,083 --> 00:39:20,443
This is one of the deadliest --
the horned adder,
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00:39:21,603 --> 00:39:24,603
perfectly camouflaged, perfectly lethal.
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00:39:35,603 --> 00:39:39,323
Two of the Namib's deadliest
go head-to-head.
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00:39:45,483 --> 00:39:49,643
The slow-moving snake relies
on camouflage to avoid enemies.
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00:39:50,723 --> 00:39:52,923
That won't work on this giant lizard.
311
00:39:58,763 --> 00:40:00,043
Nor will its venom.
312
00:40:26,843 --> 00:40:29,523
(sweeping winds and suspenseful music)
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00:40:31,283 --> 00:40:35,283
Despite the desert's enormity,
most of the inhabitants are small.
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00:40:38,363 --> 00:40:41,163
Able to withstand immense
temperature changes,
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00:40:41,523 --> 00:40:45,283
scorpions thrive in even the most
hostile parts of the Namib.
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00:40:48,323 --> 00:40:52,843
This scuttling parabuthus,
only a few centimeters long,
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00:40:53,203 --> 00:40:57,363
has a potent weapon--
a stinger loaded with venom.
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00:41:01,163 --> 00:41:05,483
He's normally a night stalker,
so he retreats to the shade until dark,
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00:41:07,163 --> 00:41:09,083
which is his time to shine.
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00:41:29,603 --> 00:41:31,363
The cricket succumbs quickly.
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00:41:34,123 --> 00:41:39,323
But out here, catching a meal and keeping
a meal are two different things.
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00:41:40,443 --> 00:41:44,123
(dramatic music)
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00:41:53,683 --> 00:41:56,363
His cousin, a muscle-bound
burrowing scorpion,
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00:41:57,443 --> 00:42:00,203
has traded venom strength
for brute strength.
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00:42:00,603 --> 00:42:03,043
(tense music)
326
00:42:11,523 --> 00:42:16,243
Even with his massive pincers,
the larger scorpion has a tough time
327
00:42:16,323 --> 00:42:19,243
separating the little fighter
from his hard-earned meal.
328
00:42:35,363 --> 00:42:39,763
Like a forklift truck, he scoops up
the little guy and the cricket,
329
00:42:39,843 --> 00:42:41,003
and carries them away.
330
00:42:55,563 --> 00:43:01,203
The heavyweight then unceremoniously dumps
his tiny opponent and steals his meal.
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00:43:18,443 --> 00:43:21,683
He can only suck up liquid,
so he mashes the cricket,
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00:43:22,043 --> 00:43:25,363
bathing it in enzymes
that dissolve its insides.
333
00:43:43,203 --> 00:43:45,563
(cautious music)
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00:43:49,963 --> 00:43:54,603
The smaller scorpion's not done,
so the big fellow flees with his meal
335
00:43:55,203 --> 00:43:58,283
rather than go another round
with the venomous featherweight.
336
00:44:00,123 --> 00:44:03,763
Sometimes, it is not the size
of the animal in the fight,
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00:44:04,283 --> 00:44:10,083
but rather the size of the fight in the
animal, that makes it Africa's deadliest.