BENEDICT: Enter a world
just beyond your perception.
A world of extraordinary animals...
with hidden powers
and super senses.
If you think you know nature...
think again.
In a competitive world,
it can be very hard...
to tell friend
from foe.
The Kalahari Desert.
Here, the harsh sun
forces some of the juiciest and toughest critters
to hide underground.
Only the most super-skilled hunters can get at them.
Meerkats can sniff out the best prey beneath the surface.
But when your head's buried in the sand,
digging eight hours a day...
it pays to have friends...
(BIRD CALLS)
BENEDICT: ...in high places.
A drongo's razor-sharp vision
can pinpoint a tiny bug
over 300 feet away.
And from way up here,
it can spot an enemy a mile off.
(EAGLE CALLING)
BENEDICT: Like a 14-pound meerkat-eating,
martial eagle.
(CHIRPS)
BENEDICT: Meerkats understand
that's drongo for...
(CHIRPS)
BENEDICT: ..."threat from the skies".
(MEERKATS SQUEALING)
-(BIRD CALLING) -(MEERKATS CHATTERING)
BENEDICT: When their trusted friend...
(WHISTLES)
BENEDICT: ...gives the all-clear,
the meerkats know it's safe to come out again.
(MEERKATS CHATTERING)
BENEDICT: And they get back to work.
(SQUEALS)
BENEDICT: Jackpot.
Protein and water
in one poisonous package.
Thankfully meerkats are experts...
-(MEERKAT CHATTERS) -BENEDICT: ...at dispatching scorpions.
But this story
has another sting in the tail.
(SHARP BIRD CALLS)
BENEDICT: That's the alarm again.
-(SHARP BIRD CALLS) -(MEERKATS CHATTERING)
BENEDICT: But this time...
there is no eagle.
(WHISTLES)
BENEDICT: The drongo
is a liar,
a cunning con artist,
who takes advantage
of the meerkat's hard work
to steal a free lunch.
But cry eagle too many times...
(BIRD CALLS)
(MEERKAT PURRING)
BENEDICT: ...and the meerkats get wise to the game.
(WHISTLES)
BENEDICT: Now, that call can't be ignored.
(BIRD CALLS)
BENEDICT: It's a meerkat alarm.
(MEERKATS SQUEALING)
BENEDICT: Or is it?
-(BIRD CHITTERS) -BENEDICT: The devious drongo...
is also a mind-blowing mimic.
She can switch
between 30 different alarm imitations.
And as long as she tells the truth,
sometimes,
meerkats can't afford to ignore their two-faced frenemy.
(SQUEAKY BIRD CALLS)
BENEDICT: Animals use extraordinary powers to outsmart the competition.
But often, the greatest enemy
is the one you least expect.
(MEERKATS CHATTERING)
(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
BENEDICT: In nature, conflict is everywhere.
An Austrian park may seem peaceful enough,
but there's an animal here
who knows how to stir up the competition,
and turn it to her advantage.
This female European hamster
is looking for the fittest mate possible.
A dozen normally solitary males live here.
But rather than waste time checking them out,
she arranges a little contest.
(SQUEALS)
BENEDICT: Her siren song has a powerful ultrasonic pitch.
It's been slowed down so we can hear it.
But any male within 60 feet
receives her call loud and clear.
(FEMALE HAMSTER SQUEALS)
BENEDICT: The race is on.
(SQUEALS)
BENEDICT: Being quick to respond
is a good sign.
But how to choose between the two front runners.
She releases a signature scent,
a potent aphrodisiac.
Just the slightest whiff
sends a rush of adrenaline coursing through the male's blood.
Testosterone levels can increase tenfold...
turning these fluffy rodents
into one-pound balls of teeth and fury.
Fights can turn deadly.
And all the female has to do...
is let the competition play out.
Rival chased off,
the victor makes himself presentable,
then he's ready
to meet his mate.
But it's the female who's the real winner.
Making males fight over her
to secure the perfect partner.
Standing up to your rivals risks a fight.
So, some creatures go to amazing lengths to avoid coming to blows.
In California's giant kelp forests,
there's a hand-sized fish
called a Sarcastic Fringehead.
Its bizarre bulging eyes
give a panoramic view of dangers all around.
Many predators would happily snap up a little fish like this,
so he needs somewhere to hide.
A snail shell...
is the perfect place.
But...
it's already occupied
by a two-spot octopus.
Hiding places are in such demand,
they have to be fought for.
But better to pick on someone his own size.
Another Fringehead.
To avoid injury,
these fish have an extraordinary way
to face each other down.
Their mouths can expand three times wider than their bodies.
And there's even more to this jaw-dropping display.
Invisible to us,
their gape is enhanced
with a striking ultraviolet warning.
It's a secret signal of strength,
thought to help Fringeheads judge who is more powerful
before the battle goes too far.
Evicted,
but at least unharmed.
Now he's the one exposed.
While the intruder takes shelter from the outside world.
Nature may appear abundant,
but whether in ocean
or on land,
space and food have to be fought for.
In Botswana's Okavango Delta,
fierce competition pits carnivore...
against carnivore.
(WHINING AND GRUNTING)
BENEDICT: A lone hyena up against the power of a wild dog pack.
She split from her clan
to cover more ground in the search for food.
Now it seems a risky strategy.
(HYENA CACKLING)
BENEDICT: But with an incredible immune system,
and almost supernatural survival skills,
she's far from the underdog.
Her phenomenal sense of smell can detect opportunity
two miles away.
(PUFFING AND GRUNTING)
BENEDICT: Nearly six-feet-tall,
fifteen-hundred pounds,
one Cape buffalo
would feed her entire clan for a week.
(GRUNTING)
BENEDICT: She can't take on a buffalo alone.
(PUFFING)
BENEDICT: But with primate-level intelligence,
she can take a more strategic approach.
(PUFFING)
BENEDICT: Let her rivals control the game.
(LOW GROWLING)
BENEDICT: Up to twice her size,
four times her weight,
lions are a hyena's greatest enemy.
Hunting as a pride,
they're even more powerful.
(PUFFING)
BENEDICT: But when buffalo move as a battalion
up to 600 strong,
even the most heavily armed hunters
can't engage.
(LION SNARLING)
BENEDICT: The smartest predator...
bides its time.
And as night approaches...
(CHITTERING)
BENEDICT: ...the tables turn.
(BIRD HOOTS)
BENEDICT: Lions have a reflective backing in their eyes,
which gives them night vision six times stronger than our own,
revealing a world we only see
with super-sensitive cameras.
In the cool night,
hunters become more active.
And use the darkness
to conceal their attack.
(GRUNTING)
BENEDICT: Hyenas have excellent night vision, too.
All the better to watch as the lions do the hard work.
(LION GROWLING)
(LIONS GROWLING)
BENEDICT: Now...
time to execute her plan.
(HOWLING)
BENEDICT: Bouncing her battle cry into the ground
amplifies the sound.
So, it reaches super-sensitive ears
up to six miles away...
(HOWLING AND LAUGHING)
BENEDICT: ...and mobilizes her scattered clan.
(LION GROWLS)
BENEDICT: Waiting for backup,
she plays for time.
Harassing the lions distracts them, and slows their feeding.
(LION GROWLS)
(HYENA YIPS)
-BENEDICT: But she must be careful. -(HYENA LAUGHING)
BENEDICT: One swipe of a lion paw can kill.
Alone, she's on the defensive.
(HYENA WHINING)
BENEDICT: But with 20 of her clan behind her,
it's time to make her move.
(HYENAS LAUGHING)
BENEDICT: Hyenas are even more effective team players than lions.
(LION GROWLING)
BENEDICT: Working together,
the clan exhausts the pride.
Lions know when they're beaten.
-(HYENAS LAUGHING) -(CRUNCHING NOISE)
BENEDICT: With jaws that crush bones,
and stomachs strong enough to digest them,
in just a few hours,
any trace of the buffalo will be gone.
Bellies full, the whole clan back together.
For today at least,
the hyenas hold the power
in the age-old carnivore war.
Another animal rivalry has played out over millions of years.
Time enough to evolve a secret weapon
to ward off a far more powerful enemy.
A giant Asian hornet,
the largest wasp in the world.
Two inches long,
and highly carnivorous.
(BUZZING)
BENEDICT: Four times smaller
-Japanese Honeybees... -(BUZZING)
...seem almost defenseless
against a heavily-armed hornet.
With a quarter-inch stinger,
and outsized mandibles,
she can kill 40 bees in a minute.
(BEE SQUEALS)
BENEDICT: But it's not the bees she's after.
(BUZZING)
BENEDICT: It's their babies.
Hidden inside this tree,
are thousands of larvae,
protected by 20,000 dedicated workers.
It's too much for one hornet to take on alone.
So, she marks the bee's fortress
with a chemical beacon.
Hornets cover 60 miles a day
looking for food.
As soon as her kin sends the signal...
(LOUD BUZZING)
BENEDICT: ...they know their search is over.
In just hours,
a gang of these deadly assassins
could annihilate the whole hive.
Outer defenses breached.
Next...
the nursery.
(BUZZING)
BENEDICT: The fate of the colony is sealed...
Almost.
The bees have one last chance at survival.
A chemical alarm compels them to move as one,
and swarm the hornets.
Then each bee begins flexing its flight muscles.
It only produces a tiny amount of heat,
but when combined,
it becomes a formidable force.
Thermal cameras reveal the core temperature is rising.
This glowing bee ball
is a precision weapon.
Just one degree higher would kill the bees.
But exactly 117 degrees Fahrenheit
is the perfect temperature
to cook hornets alive.
-(BUZZING) -(THUD)
BENEDICT: Both sides suffer casualties.
But the bees' amazing ability to work as one,
ensures the colony lives on.
(BUZZING)
BENEDICT: Strength in numbers brings protection,
but it also brings competition closer to home.
(BIRDS SQUAWKING)
BENEDICT: Bass Rock, Scotland.
One hundred and fifty thousand Gannets,
all nesting on one rock,
less than one mile square.
(SQUAWKING)
BENEDICT: From a bird's eye view,
it looks like life in perfect harmony.
But it's just an illusion.
Each nest
is two beak lengths apart,
for good reason.
Any that overstep that mark,
reveal the unseen tensions at play.
Beaks designed to cut through water,
and snatch fish at 60 miles an hour,
also make vicious weapons.
(SQUAWKING)
BENEDICT: Fights for nesting space can last for two hours...
(SQUAWKING)
BENEDICT: ...and come at a cost.
In nature,
peace exists on a knife-edge.
Conflict is always hiding...
just below the surface.
When it comes to securing their bloodline,
some sink to new depths.
Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania
is a breeding ground for conflict.
A male burtoni cichlid
is desperate to impress a female.
He performs a signature dance.
She may not look it,
but she's charmed.
The aquatic Romeo sweetens the deal
with a cichlid love potion.
A pheromone designed to stimulate the female,
that also travels through water,
attracting the wrong attention.
A local gang of cuckoo catfish.
Their skin, covered in taste buds,
detects the slightest hint of pheromone.
They know it means...
the burtonis
are ready to spawn.
Laying 100 eggs,
each the size of a sesame seed,
it's the perfect moment for an ambush.
The catfish eat as many eggs as they can.
And now...
they spawn.
Leaving behind
tiny, ticking, time bombs.
The burtoni mother instinctively collects any eggs.
She's not eating them.
She has a special ability.
Some cichlid super-moms
raise their babies
in their mouths,
using them as mobile nurseries to keep their young safe as they grow.
But this burtoni cichlid has been hijacked.
Hidden from sight,
inside her mouth,
her mixed brood begins to hatch.
And some...
grow much faster than others.
The oblivious burtoni is devoting time
to raising the wrong offspring.
Twice the size,
ravenous baby cuckoo catfish...
turn on the cichlid young.
Opening jaws wide enough to swallow their foster siblings,
headfirst.
The treacherous catfish babies
soon outgrow their nursery.
They head off alone,
keeping a low profile,
until ready to prey on another unsuspecting mother.
Leaving the burtoni
to protect her surviving offspring,
giving them the best chance she can
in this dangerous world.
In Italy's Alpine meadows, there's one baby animal...
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
BENEDICT: ...who takes living with the enemy
to a whole other level.
Meet the intrepid Alcon blue caterpillar.
Only two weeks old,
and just the size of a grain of rice.
It's about to embark on one of the most amazing adventures
in the whole of the natural world.
In search of food,
it must descend into the underworld,
patrolled by savage armies of Myrmecia ants.
They can take down prey
thousands of times their size.
A tiny grub seems an easy target.
Especially one that emits an alluring scent,
betraying its presence.
With antennae five times more sensitive than most other insects,
an ant is onto it like a bloodhound.
The caterpillar is an easy size to carry back to base,
where ants prepare food for their young.
But this caterpillar
doesn't smell like food,
it smells like family.
Born to deceive,
that special caterpillar odor
smells so similar to the ant's grubs,
that they treat it like their own.
And that's not all.
To enhance its disguise,
the caterpillar sings.
(PULSATING NOISE)
BENEDICT: It's copying the song of the most important ant in the colony,
the queen.
Forcing dedicated workers
to tend to its every need,
and neglect their own.
While the colony protects it,
cleans it, and feeds it,
the audacious caterpillar can keep up the act
for two long years.
(PULSATING NOISE)
BENEDICT: Until 100 times its original weight,
the baby blue
is finally ready to reveal its true colors.
Inside the chrysalis,
caterpillar tissue is broken down...
and reformed.
But, when an Alcon blue becomes a butterfly,
it loses its protective power.
No longer smelling like a baby ant,
it needs to get out...
fast.
Before the ants catch onto the intruder in their midst.
Finally, the Alcon blue
is free.
Over billions of years,
living things have evolved amazing abilities
to compete for their place on this planet.
But when a new rival comes along,
it changes everything.
The coastal waters of British Columbia
are home to a legendary sea monster.
One of the planet's fastest-growing animals.
It doubles its weight every two months on a diet primarily of crustaceans.
Since before the age of dinosaurs,
the giant pacific octopus
has been the unrivaled crab hunter down here.
Until now.
We have cunning ways
to catch seafood
without even entering the water.
Traps are effective in attracting the octopus's favorite food.
But when the world's most intelligent invertebrate
is presented with a challenge,
it doesn't give up,
it solves it.
Two thousand suckers,
every individual one
with more taste receptors than a human tongue,
help to detect prey in the murkiest water.
Guided by nine brains,
one in its head,
and a mini-brain in each of its eight arms,
the octopus closes in.
A boneless skeleton made of water,
means it can contort it's nine-foot body
through a hole,
the width of a grapefruit.
Now, to dine
before the trap is lifted.
The trap only opens one way.
But that's no problem
for this extraordinary escape artist.
We may be smart,
but we're still discovering animals have countless skills,
every bit as impressive.
Overlook them,
and we may be left empty-handed.
In a world full of unexpected foes,
competition
is evolution's ultimate driving force.
The secret behind the incredible diversity of life on earth,
and the most extraordinary animal powers.
If you think you know nature,
think again.
(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)