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(wind whistling)
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One and a half million years ago
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much of the Earth's land was covered by short grass steps.
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It was the Pleistocene age.
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(dramatic symphonic music)
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Throughout this tumultuous time,
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the Earth was being pummeled by repeated ice ages.
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With each ice age, forests retreated, and grasslands spread.
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Huge herds of prey were laid bare for a host of hunters.
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The cat-like saber-toothed Megantereon,
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with its enormous fangs, lay in ambush.
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Spotted hyenas, and ice aged giant hyenas,
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tested the herds for signs of weakness.
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Top of the food chain was the dagger-toothed Homotherium,
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pack-hunting killers that were rampant across the world,
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from Africa to the Americas.
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They were on the lookout for something big, really big.
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Like a young step mammoth.
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(dramatic drumming)
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This was the age of the sabertooths.
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These were the worlds top land predators.
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But things were changing.
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New forces threatened the old order,
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with skills the planet had never seen before.
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(growling)
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The big cats.
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From this point in time, they rose to power,
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ending millions of years of world domination,
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by terrifying, now extinct, predators.
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Every species of these sabertooths vanished,
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while almost all the big cats survived.
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Why them?
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What's their story?
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In this episode, we go back to when the big cats
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were just beginning their ascent,
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to discover how the cheetah became so fast,
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why the elusive snow leopard takes such incredible risks,
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and how the jaguar traveled to the ends of the Earth.
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(dramatic drumming)
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Big cats were on the rise.
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Among the earliest to appear were cheetahs.
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They lacked the enormous fangs of the sabertooths,
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and didn't have the bone-crushing jaws of the hyenas.
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But like most cats, had something the others didn't,
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much more of a special kind of extra powerful muscle,
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known as very fast-twitch muscle.
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When this is combined with the cheetah's light-weight frame,
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it can deliver record-breaking speed.
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It could outrun all the other predators,
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but more importantly, its prey.
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As far as we can tell, cheetahs are the fastest land mammals
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that have ever been.
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But their gift came at a price.
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They have no stamina.
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Here, in Asia, during the Ice Age,
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these grasslands stretched for thousands of miles
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in every direction.
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Prey animals roamed in their millions
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over the steps following the best grazing.
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This was the habitat the cheetah evolved to exploit.
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Today, the cheetahs of Asia are practically extinct.
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Luckily, in Africa, about 7,000 of these elegant wanderers
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still survive.
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By observing modern cheetahs, we can learn more
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about how they found their place in the ancient world,
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and why their existence is so fragile.
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Cheetahs need open plains, and just as in the Ice Age,
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here, there are still elephants
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that keep the plains free of trees,
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removing saplings as they emerge from the grass.
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The steps of the Serengeti are among the few places
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left on Earth where there are wide open spaces
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packed with potential prey.
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And today, as in the past, there's no shortage of predators
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that could easily overpower a cheetah.
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And vultures still crowd the numerous kills
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of the numerous predators.
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Most of the grazers stay as far from cover
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as they possibly can,
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so they can see if trouble is coming their way.
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Any sign of a lurking killer, the herds generally run,
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or display their extreme fitness,
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so the cheetah has a problem,
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which it solves in a unique way.
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Near the equator, the mid-day sun roasts the ground.
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With no shade, it's 40 degrees.
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Most hunters are much less active at this time of day.
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The fragile cheetah uses this moment of quiet
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to its advantage.
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Its super-sharp daylight vision
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enables it to see far off tiny details,
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like a small group of gazelles grazing a kilometer away.
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From this distance, the gazelle's stamina
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could easily beat a cheetah.
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So, this young male will need every ounce of patience
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to get near enough for a strike.
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He uses the heat haze as camouflage.
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From the gazelle's low position,
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only the upper part of the cheetah is visible.
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It can often take an hour for a cheetah to get within range.
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Ideally, less than 100 meters.
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His super strength muscle kicks in.
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In a few seconds, he accelerates
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to almost 100 kilometers an hour.
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The cat has covered 50 meters before the gazelle
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hears its paws hitting the ground.
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By the time the gazelle has reached its own full speed,
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the gap is down to five meters.
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In slow motion, it looks effortless,
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but the cheetah is now using much of his strength
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just to push through the air.
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He pulls his legs tight below his body to reduce drag.
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Now he is practically flying, getting lift from every bound.
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But he needs to be careful,
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there is a time limit on his run.
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The gazelle's tiny hooves dig into the ground
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to make extremely sharp turns.
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The cheetah's extended claws grab hold of the earth,
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to match the gazelle turn for turn.
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He is burning energy at a prodigious rate,
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and only has seconds left before his reserves are exhausted.
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Very fast-twitch muscle delivers extra power
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but only for a short time.
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This is the kind of knife edge that drives evolution.
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The gazelle has increased his chances
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of passing on his genes,
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while the cheetah will have to search for a meal
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that is not quite so fast.
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This mother and her almost full-grown cub
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have found themselves in an area with no gazelles,
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and the only prey on offer are wildebeest.
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Compared to a gazelle,
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wildebeest are quite slow and less agile.
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This ought to be easy.
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But she fails to trip her victim,
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to use its own momentum to bring it down.
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Luckily, her cub is here to help.
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The sabertooths had weight and powerful forelimbs
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to stop their prey.
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The light-weight cheetah has neither.
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They are working at the very limit of their abilities,
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only acting together do they have any chance
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of pulling the wildebeest to the ground.
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While the cheetah's body weight is reduced for speed,
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their typical cat-like short faces
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give them a powerful bite,
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strong enough to silence the victim
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and to cut through skin quickly, which is just as well.
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Vultures are already circling.
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They can spot the tell-tale dust trail from 3,000 meters up.
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The cheetahs will have to each as fast as they can
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because dropping vultures are a sign that hyenas use
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to find free food,
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as they were back in the Pleistocene.
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As the first hyena arrives, the cheetahs move on,
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having put away as much as they can.
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Of all the cats, the cheetah is the only one
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that is a true nomad.
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As long as they stay on the move, they can survive
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among much more powerful predators.
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In the Pleistocene, these amazing cats could walk,
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unhindered, across continents, and they did.
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From the southern tip of Africa, to the Russian far-east.
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But today, they have lost almost all of their range,
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and in many areas, their continued existence is in doubt.
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As cheetahs disappeared from Asia, their fate in Africa
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is following the same trajectory.
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Extensive step grasslands like the Serengeti
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are becoming increasingly rare.
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In the past, all over the world, the spread of grasslands
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had favored the running hunters, like Homotherium,
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hyenas, and now, the cheetahs.
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They were so successful, they evolved into two kinds,
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the standard cheetah, and the 90-kilo giant cheetah,
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big enough to go after horses.
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(neighing)
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This was a dangerous place to be unless you were fully fit.
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As a result, some of the prey animals moved off the plains
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onto rocky country, where the runners couldn't catch them.
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For a period, the mountain grazers
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had the cliffs all to themselves,
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and evolved into many new forms.
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These were to be the bait that lured
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a new predator into the mountains,
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one that bore a remarkable similarity to a big cat,
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that still survives here today.
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The ice ages may be over,
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but the rocky peaks throughout Central Asia
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are some of the harshest places on Earth.
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Even today, winter temperatures can drop to as low as -40.
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This is the world the snow leopard inherited.
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To survive in these desolate places,
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snow leopards must have evolved some special abilities.
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We have no evidence that the sabertooths
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ever adapted to live in mountains.
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The snow leopard much have been a real pioneer.
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Firstly, it had to invent its own super warm fleece,
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a coat so thick,
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it could even cushion the cat against accidents.
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It carries a huge tail, weighted with fat,
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and massive, fury paws.
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Adaptation to match its query for agility and grip.
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This cat is practically the opposite of a cheetah,
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retiring, and extremely tough.
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Yet, like the cheetah, snow leopards share the same kind of
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high-power, very fast-twitch muscle,
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and the same short, powerful bite.
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Like the cheetah, its biggest problem
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is getting close to prey.
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Here, there are plenty of places for animals to hide.
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And they are acutely aware of the risk of attack.
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From their high vantage points,
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ibex watch every move of every living thing.
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A mother with her cub is clearly visible
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on a distant ridge, and the cub doesn't help
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by playing hide and seek with itself.
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So, if a snow leopard wants to sneak up on anything,
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it has to take hidden routes,
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which sometimes lead to a dead end.
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Incredibly, this snow leopard isn't injured.
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Perhaps the ability to bounce
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is a critical skill for a cliff hunter.
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One mistake from a stalking cat,
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and the ibex just move to the next valley.
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For the snow leopards,
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night is the best time to follow them,
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so they prey can't see where they go.
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The ibex settle down quietly, eyes and ears open.
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They can't see the cat moving.
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As the stars rise over the mountains, their dim light
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challenges even the snow leopard's superb cat vision.
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And yet he moves with ease on a near vertical cliff face.
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His incredible hearing and sense of touch
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help him to navigate.
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He scent marks a regular spot on the edge of his range.
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Like most male cats, his territory overlaps
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that of two or three females.
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In some areas, male snow leopards often clock up
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100 kilometers in a week,
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just to keep in touch with their neighbors.
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At dawn, he is in the next valley,
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and finds the scent of one of his mates.
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He leaves her a message.
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Snow leopards have lived in the mountains
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of Central Asia for so long,
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they have become superbly adapted to this environment.
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Their range is sometimes so vast
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and so sparsely inhabited by prey,
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that when there is any chance at all of catching a meal,
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they need to act quickly,
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without planning.
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It's hard to believe, but they are both still alive.
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In slow motion replay,
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it's possible to get a better idea of what happened.
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Incredibly, she doesn't let go of the ibex.
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While the pair tumble,
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the cat still has the agility and strength,
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to release her grip,
259
00:25:15,460 --> 00:25:18,463
and grab the throat of the ibex to kill it.
260
00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:36,823
Now she rolls the ibex to prevent it gaining a foothold.
261
00:25:42,290 --> 00:25:43,873
She's in control again.
262
00:25:51,570 --> 00:25:52,853
Was she even injured?
263
00:25:55,800 --> 00:26:00,700
Here is the same cat three days later, apparently unhurt,
264
00:26:00,700 --> 00:26:04,130
making her way back to her now-frozen meal,
265
00:26:04,130 --> 00:26:07,470
which does suggest snow leopards are better adapted
266
00:26:07,470 --> 00:26:10,693
to mountain life than we ever could imagine.
267
00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:18,760
Snow leopards today inhabit most of the mountain ranges
268
00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:19,903
of Central Asia.
269
00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:27,520
Estimates of their total population vary from between
270
00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:30,963
over 10,000 and just 2,500.
271
00:26:34,660 --> 00:26:38,110
Snow leopards are so elusive and thinly spread,
272
00:26:38,110 --> 00:26:41,730
we are only just learning how to study them in the wild.
273
00:26:41,730 --> 00:26:43,750
But one thing is clear,
274
00:26:43,750 --> 00:26:46,623
their already low numbers are shrinking.
275
00:26:57,130 --> 00:26:59,010
While snow leopards themselves
276
00:26:59,010 --> 00:27:01,533
didn't spread far and wide, like the cheetah,
277
00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:05,150
a few of their ancestors managed to escape
278
00:27:05,150 --> 00:27:06,700
their mountain refuges,
279
00:27:06,700 --> 00:27:10,023
and found themselves in a completely different world.
280
00:27:14,060 --> 00:27:18,203
Life among trees and forests demanded a new set of skills.
281
00:27:20,420 --> 00:27:21,820
Because the ice age world
282
00:27:21,820 --> 00:27:24,660
in which they lived was constantly changing,
283
00:27:24,660 --> 00:27:27,363
new animals were constantly evolving.
284
00:27:32,190 --> 00:27:34,433
Wolves were making an appearance.
285
00:27:36,310 --> 00:27:39,513
Wild boar had just arrived here from the south.
286
00:27:40,790 --> 00:27:42,473
Elephants grew longer fur.
287
00:27:49,900 --> 00:27:53,200
This is the world that gave rise to a big cat
288
00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:55,313
that took a very different path.
289
00:27:58,090 --> 00:27:59,950
According to the fossil record,
290
00:27:59,950 --> 00:28:03,670
it seems to have been in the lost forests of Europe and Asia
291
00:28:03,670 --> 00:28:06,463
that this hunter first honed its skills.
292
00:28:10,810 --> 00:28:13,393
This new predator was a big cat.
293
00:28:14,590 --> 00:28:16,993
Bigger than any that had lived here before.
294
00:28:21,610 --> 00:28:24,810
And yet it most closely resembles a species
295
00:28:24,810 --> 00:28:28,070
that would eventually only be found in the tropics
296
00:28:28,070 --> 00:28:29,670
on the other side of the planet.
297
00:28:33,910 --> 00:28:38,203
These ancient European predators were in fact, jaguars,
298
00:28:39,950 --> 00:28:43,680
super-sized, ice age jaguars,
299
00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:46,603
twice as big as their snow leopard ancestors,
300
00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:50,893
and that meant they could hunt bigger prey.
301
00:29:02,190 --> 00:29:06,350
At 120 kilos, the ice age jaguars
302
00:29:06,350 --> 00:29:09,043
equaled the fearsome Megantereon in weight.
303
00:29:12,710 --> 00:29:16,150
These animals had held sway in the forests and scrublands
304
00:29:16,150 --> 00:29:18,843
of Eurasia for millions of years.
305
00:29:29,998 --> 00:29:32,248
(neighing)
306
00:29:35,930 --> 00:29:40,640
To kill large prey, Megantereon used its enormous fangs
307
00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:43,640
to stab through the soft tissue in the throat,
308
00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:47,373
severing the windpipe, and avoiding biting into bone,
309
00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:52,683
a big risk with such long, fragile, teeth.
310
00:29:54,550 --> 00:29:57,280
Jaguars didn't have the slashing fangs,
311
00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:01,150
but they did, and still do, have the most powerful bite
312
00:30:01,150 --> 00:30:04,993
of all the cats, with small, strong, canines,
313
00:30:09,300 --> 00:30:12,683
which enabled them to hunt a wider range of prey.
314
00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:23,530
Sabertooths would soon be extinct in Eurasia,
315
00:30:23,530 --> 00:30:26,143
while the jaguar would spread to new continents.
316
00:30:27,150 --> 00:30:28,790
Why did it survive,
317
00:30:28,790 --> 00:30:31,473
while so many of its contemporaries vanished?
318
00:30:37,190 --> 00:30:40,130
Some of these ancient jaguars headed east,
319
00:30:40,130 --> 00:30:42,463
adapting to new prey along their journey.
320
00:30:51,740 --> 00:30:54,340
Sticking to cover or forested area,
321
00:30:54,340 --> 00:30:57,363
these intrepid cats traversed Central Asia.
322
00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:02,033
They survived the harshness of Siberia.
323
00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:13,310
At times, when the planet was at its coldest,
324
00:31:13,310 --> 00:31:15,980
so much of the world's water was frozen,
325
00:31:15,980 --> 00:31:20,680
that sea levels dropped by as much as 120 meters,
326
00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:23,653
exposing the land between Asia and the Americas,
327
00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:29,203
creating a place known as Beringia.
328
00:31:33,754 --> 00:31:36,103
The jaguar walked into a new world,
329
00:31:53,830 --> 00:31:56,483
and eventually, arrived in the tropics.
330
00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:02,703
Cooler and dryer than today,
331
00:32:04,730 --> 00:32:07,253
forests clung to moist valleys.
332
00:32:09,430 --> 00:32:14,430
In the Pleistocene, these places were full of giants,
333
00:32:14,490 --> 00:32:17,463
huge scavengers soared over the hills.
334
00:32:18,700 --> 00:32:22,137
There were enormous snakes that could crush a big cat.
335
00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:30,073
And America's own sabertooth, Smilodon.
336
00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:35,623
At twice the size of the Eurasian Megantereon,
337
00:32:35,623 --> 00:32:37,650
(growing)
338
00:32:37,650 --> 00:32:41,330
Smilodon would have towered over the jaguar.
339
00:32:41,330 --> 00:32:45,500
Even so, jaguars and Smilodon coexisted here
340
00:32:45,500 --> 00:32:47,123
for half a million years.
341
00:32:48,820 --> 00:32:51,890
Why did the jaguar make it into the present day,
342
00:32:51,890 --> 00:32:52,903
and not Smilodon?
343
00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:07,370
By observing modern jaguars,
344
00:33:07,370 --> 00:33:10,723
perhaps we can find the secret to their continued survival.
345
00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:16,440
While the giant birds that once
346
00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:18,720
patrolled these skies are missing,
347
00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:21,040
their smaller relatives indicate there are still
348
00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:24,623
plenty of predators here, keeping the scavengers in food.
349
00:33:36,740 --> 00:33:38,780
For a big cat like the jaguar,
350
00:33:38,780 --> 00:33:41,220
this remote shoreline in Costa Rica
351
00:33:41,220 --> 00:33:43,083
would normally offer slim pickings.
352
00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:53,087
But this beach is special.
353
00:34:00,500 --> 00:34:04,410
As darkness falls, baby turtles emerge from the sand
354
00:34:04,410 --> 00:34:06,053
and make their way to the ocean.
355
00:34:17,810 --> 00:34:21,290
For the first time, special night vision cameras
356
00:34:21,290 --> 00:34:22,933
reveal an ancient scene.
357
00:34:42,330 --> 00:34:46,253
Night herons and raccoons emerge to gorge themselves.
358
00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:04,923
Crocodiles join the feast.
359
00:35:13,060 --> 00:35:16,110
These aren't much of a meal for a giant predator,
360
00:35:16,110 --> 00:35:18,050
but at least there's plenty of them.
361
00:35:33,290 --> 00:35:35,603
The jaguar has no interest in any of these.
362
00:35:41,080 --> 00:35:42,923
It's waiting for something else.
363
00:35:44,810 --> 00:35:47,183
As the baby turtles make for the sea,
364
00:35:48,210 --> 00:35:52,573
another wave of adults are arriving to make new nests.
365
00:35:58,600 --> 00:36:01,360
In the darkness, the noise her flippers make
366
00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:05,300
as they slap on the hard sand is just the information
367
00:36:05,300 --> 00:36:07,053
the jaguar is waiting for.
368
00:36:13,630 --> 00:36:15,840
Human ears would not be able to discern
369
00:36:15,840 --> 00:36:17,433
the sound above the waves,
370
00:36:20,390 --> 00:36:23,260
but the jaguar's super sensitive cat hearing
371
00:36:23,260 --> 00:36:24,750
picks it out clearly.
372
00:36:45,612 --> 00:36:47,380
Compared to the snow leopard,
373
00:36:47,380 --> 00:36:50,730
this must be the most casual big cat hunt ever.
374
00:36:57,153 --> 00:37:00,360
All the jaguar needs to do to restrain his prey
375
00:37:00,360 --> 00:37:03,300
is push the turtle's face into the sand,
376
00:37:03,300 --> 00:37:06,973
exposing the back of its neck to the jaguar's powerful bite.
377
00:37:13,570 --> 00:37:15,623
Flailing flippers are no defense.
378
00:37:28,720 --> 00:37:31,460
With the arteries in the prey's neck severed,
379
00:37:31,460 --> 00:37:34,203
the jaguar laps up the turtle's life-blood.
380
00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:45,580
Its thirst sated, the cat will want to get its 40 kilo prize
381
00:37:45,580 --> 00:37:46,853
away from the beach.
382
00:37:52,164 --> 00:37:53,410
But this isn't to take it further
383
00:37:53,410 --> 00:37:55,113
from the reaches of the crocodile.
384
00:37:57,100 --> 00:37:59,980
Eight different jaguars have been seen on this beach
385
00:37:59,980 --> 00:38:00,940
in a single night,
386
00:38:00,940 --> 00:38:03,673
and these cats are not known for sharing.
387
00:38:08,790 --> 00:38:12,833
Strong, stubby canines easily pierce the turtle's armor.
388
00:38:19,490 --> 00:38:23,140
For sabertooths, with their giant teeth and weak jaw,
389
00:38:23,140 --> 00:38:24,763
turtle wasn't on the menu.
390
00:38:26,230 --> 00:38:29,140
The tough shell and boney skeleton of turtles
391
00:38:29,140 --> 00:38:32,253
could easily have damaged long fragile canines.
392
00:38:34,660 --> 00:38:38,330
And so, the jaguar had found a new food source,
393
00:38:38,330 --> 00:38:41,130
avoiding competition with its giant enemies.
394
00:38:43,990 --> 00:38:47,000
This could explain why jaguars and sabertooths
395
00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:49,153
were able to live together for so long.
396
00:38:56,490 --> 00:38:59,163
On the beach, more turtles are coming ashore.
397
00:39:12,860 --> 00:39:15,923
This time, another jaguar is spoiled with choice.
398
00:39:22,523 --> 00:39:25,273
Again, the technique is the same.
399
00:39:34,600 --> 00:39:38,240
But as the jaguar starts for the forest with its prize,
400
00:39:38,240 --> 00:39:39,983
it appears to change its mind.
401
00:39:53,470 --> 00:39:57,480
In cats, the need to feed and the desire to kill
402
00:39:57,480 --> 00:39:59,163
are not necessarily linked.
403
00:40:05,100 --> 00:40:07,980
Despite the first turtle being enough of a meal,
404
00:40:07,980 --> 00:40:09,673
a second is killed too.
405
00:40:19,120 --> 00:40:21,000
The turtle's defense strategy
406
00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:22,823
is to synchronize their nesting.
407
00:40:24,920 --> 00:40:26,920
When the beach is inundated,
408
00:40:26,920 --> 00:40:30,270
even jaguars with the most instable drive to kill
409
00:40:30,270 --> 00:40:33,363
are unable to make a significant impact on the turtles.
410
00:40:45,290 --> 00:40:49,380
The bounty on this beach allows the jaguars here to thrive
411
00:40:49,380 --> 00:40:51,690
and fossil evidence proves turtles have been
412
00:40:51,690 --> 00:40:55,183
part of their diet for hundreds of thousands of years.
413
00:41:03,306 --> 00:41:04,860
When the beach is empty,
414
00:41:04,860 --> 00:41:07,323
jaguars look back to the forest for their prey,
415
00:41:09,120 --> 00:41:10,643
as their ancestors did.
416
00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:23,793
In the dry season, many animals congregate at water holes,
417
00:41:25,410 --> 00:41:29,933
but deer are agile and fast, not ideal for a stalky jaguar.
418
00:41:32,610 --> 00:41:37,420
Instead, jaguars normally target the white-lipped peccary,
419
00:41:37,420 --> 00:41:40,947
an echo of the wild boar they certainly hunted in Europe.
420
00:41:51,840 --> 00:41:55,810
These tough animals live in large, wandering herds,
421
00:41:55,810 --> 00:41:57,483
several hundreds strong,
422
00:41:59,180 --> 00:42:01,483
following the rains and fruiting trees.
423
00:42:04,500 --> 00:42:06,933
In the wake of each herd is often a jaguar,
424
00:42:07,780 --> 00:42:09,223
and the peccaries know it.
425
00:42:15,440 --> 00:42:18,533
So, they've developed an excellent early warning system,
426
00:42:20,120 --> 00:42:24,044
using their canines to make this strange sound.
427
00:42:24,044 --> 00:42:26,794
(teeth snapping)
428
00:42:30,230 --> 00:42:33,410
As long as a jaguar stays in touch with a herd,
429
00:42:33,410 --> 00:42:35,857
there will always be a chance to catch one.
430
00:42:38,370 --> 00:42:40,940
And it is likely that in the Pleistocene,
431
00:42:40,940 --> 00:42:43,650
the big cats followed the wandering peccaries
432
00:42:43,650 --> 00:42:45,053
into South America.
433
00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:51,530
By half a million years ago, the jaguar had populated
434
00:42:51,530 --> 00:42:54,173
all but the coldest or driest regions,
435
00:42:56,800 --> 00:42:58,900
especially rainforests,
436
00:42:58,900 --> 00:43:00,270
savannas,
437
00:43:00,270 --> 00:43:01,233
and swamps.
438
00:43:04,310 --> 00:43:07,970
It is among these swamps that the jaguar found a world
439
00:43:07,970 --> 00:43:10,063
with a completely fresh menu.
440
00:43:16,200 --> 00:43:20,713
This is the Pantanal, the largest wetland on Earth.
441
00:43:29,560 --> 00:43:31,910
There are still relics of the Pleistocene here.
442
00:43:34,230 --> 00:43:38,193
Caiman, smaller versions of crocodiles, crowd the banks.
443
00:43:40,490 --> 00:43:43,583
Giant otters still patrol the waterways.
444
00:43:47,230 --> 00:43:50,323
Capybaras, the world's largest rodent.
445
00:43:53,670 --> 00:43:56,183
And the biggest cats in the western hemisphere.
446
00:44:04,080 --> 00:44:07,340
This is one of the very few places on Earth
447
00:44:07,340 --> 00:44:11,563
where it is even possible to see wild jaguars in action.
448
00:44:23,730 --> 00:44:27,350
The vultures that scavenge jaguar kills in Costa Rica,
449
00:44:27,350 --> 00:44:28,883
are here in numbers too,
450
00:44:32,500 --> 00:44:34,513
keeping an eye on their meal ticket.
451
00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:42,500
So, something must be going right for the jaguars.
452
00:44:43,890 --> 00:44:46,400
Despite the fact that there are more caiman here
453
00:44:46,400 --> 00:44:49,363
than any kind of crocodile anywhere else on Earth.
454
00:45:00,800 --> 00:45:03,960
There are thought to be as many as 10 million
455
00:45:03,960 --> 00:45:05,083
in the Pantanal.
456
00:45:12,670 --> 00:45:16,283
On the surface, it doesn't seem to be typical cat country.
457
00:45:24,590 --> 00:45:27,173
Normally, jaguars are very nocturnal.
458
00:45:28,320 --> 00:45:31,960
But here, they can be seen basking in the sunlight,
459
00:45:31,960 --> 00:45:36,243
or patrolling their territory, or hunting.
460
00:45:39,720 --> 00:45:44,340
Unlike the snow leopard, the jaguar has plenty of options,
461
00:45:44,340 --> 00:45:47,273
but this habitat doesn't suit a high-speed chase.
462
00:46:09,625 --> 00:46:11,530
With the approach of a big cat,
463
00:46:11,530 --> 00:46:15,930
everything makes for the water, which is what you'd expect,
464
00:46:15,930 --> 00:46:17,463
it's broad daylight.
465
00:46:23,780 --> 00:46:28,120
Caiman, with their own set of powerful jaws and sharp teeth,
466
00:46:28,120 --> 00:46:31,313
are not the kind of animal that is normally preyed upon.
467
00:46:34,170 --> 00:46:38,583
As potential victims, they pose a few problems.
468
00:46:40,490 --> 00:46:42,710
Firstly, once in the water,
469
00:46:42,710 --> 00:46:45,340
the caiman will have far superior speed,
470
00:46:45,340 --> 00:46:47,203
and would easily out swim a jaguar.
471
00:46:49,730 --> 00:46:52,480
Secondly, cats usually kill their prey
472
00:46:52,480 --> 00:46:54,563
with a suffocating bit to the throat.
473
00:46:56,960 --> 00:46:59,720
Caiman could hold their breath for half an hour,
474
00:46:59,720 --> 00:47:00,803
so that won't work.
475
00:47:04,090 --> 00:47:07,490
In the jaguar's favor, the cold-blooded reptiles
476
00:47:07,490 --> 00:47:10,430
need to bask in sunshine during the day,
477
00:47:10,430 --> 00:47:14,223
and this is the only chance the big cats have to catch one.
478
00:47:16,070 --> 00:47:19,140
However, caiman can see a jaguar coming
479
00:47:19,140 --> 00:47:20,623
from a great distance,
480
00:47:21,600 --> 00:47:25,063
unless the jaguar is cunning and stealthy.
481
00:47:27,540 --> 00:47:30,073
A successful hunt requires planning.
482
00:47:33,110 --> 00:47:36,813
The jaguar has to get very close without being seen.
483
00:47:42,230 --> 00:47:45,723
It goes into the forest and moves upstream out of sight.
484
00:47:50,140 --> 00:47:52,090
The jaguar emerges from the forest,
485
00:47:52,090 --> 00:47:55,533
directly behind the caiman in its blind spot.
486
00:48:09,610 --> 00:48:11,513
The cat slips into the water,
487
00:48:16,850 --> 00:48:19,803
and swims directly to the basking reptile,
488
00:48:20,810 --> 00:48:23,693
staying exactly where the caiman can't see it.
489
00:48:43,150 --> 00:48:46,220
Instead of the typical big cat throat bite,
490
00:48:46,220 --> 00:48:48,940
the jaguar uses crushing jaw power
491
00:48:48,940 --> 00:48:50,953
to bite straight into the brain casing.
492
00:48:53,980 --> 00:48:56,523
The kill is almost instantaneous.
493
00:48:59,890 --> 00:49:01,810
Perhaps this explains the jaguar's
494
00:49:01,810 --> 00:49:03,473
daylight loving habits here,
495
00:49:04,530 --> 00:49:07,050
as Caiman spend the night in the water,
496
00:49:07,050 --> 00:49:08,650
where the cats can't reach them.
497
00:49:11,550 --> 00:49:15,500
Once again, the jaguar's short face and powerful bite
498
00:49:15,500 --> 00:49:17,600
gave it the ability to hunt prey
499
00:49:17,600 --> 00:49:20,053
the sabertooths had the wrong tools to kill.
500
00:49:25,810 --> 00:49:29,630
With its ability to swim, its eat-anything attitude,
501
00:49:29,630 --> 00:49:31,800
and unparalleled jaw strength,
502
00:49:31,800 --> 00:49:33,650
the jaguar survived some of the most
503
00:49:33,650 --> 00:49:35,653
tumultuous times in history,
504
00:49:38,630 --> 00:49:39,793
but only just.
505
00:49:42,490 --> 00:49:46,730
In the past, they avoided human contact whenever possible.
506
00:49:46,730 --> 00:49:49,180
Today, in protected areas,
507
00:49:49,180 --> 00:49:51,480
they are beginning to come out of the shadows.
508
00:49:53,460 --> 00:49:56,770
To see a mom and cub playing in the open like this,
509
00:49:56,770 --> 00:49:59,163
was, until recently, extremely rare.
510
00:50:05,600 --> 00:50:08,200
The jaguar's conquest of the Americas
511
00:50:08,200 --> 00:50:12,053
made it one of the most wildly distributed cats of all time.
512
00:50:14,580 --> 00:50:16,253
But its reign was not to last.
513
00:50:20,800 --> 00:50:24,170
In Eurasia, the arrival of early human hunters,
514
00:50:24,170 --> 00:50:26,370
possibly lions and tigers too,
515
00:50:26,370 --> 00:50:29,450
put paid to the sabertooths there,
516
00:50:29,450 --> 00:50:31,650
and by 400,000 years ago,
517
00:50:31,650 --> 00:50:34,113
the jaguar had suffered the same fate.
518
00:50:41,640 --> 00:50:44,590
From genetic studies, we now know the jaguar
519
00:50:44,590 --> 00:50:47,203
nearly disappeared in the Americas as well.
520
00:50:50,040 --> 00:50:53,400
It was quite possibly their ability to live in a swamp
521
00:50:53,400 --> 00:50:56,835
like this that enabled them to survive.
522
00:50:56,835 --> 00:51:00,502
(dramatic symphonic music)
41658
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