All language subtitles for y01

[narrator] Come rain,
snow, hell or highwater,

these alphas are ready
to throw down.

This is hard core brutal
mother nature.

They've got protection
from the elements...

It can cope with the worst
Scottish weather,

endless rain.

The polar bear is essentially
wearing nature's own wetsuit.

[narrator] And a nasty bag
of battle tricks...

They're incredibly cunning,
they're incredibly aggressive

and they're incredibly smart.

[narrator]
When angry neighbours meet

or an apex alpha gets hungry--

Fur will fly.

[growling]

[narrator]
Every day, everywhere,
our planet is a battleground.

Turf wars,

food fights

and mating mayhem rage on

as animals outwit and
outmanoeuvre their own kind

in Battle of the alphas.

This is wolverine territory.

Harsh and remote.

In a climate where few can
survive, the wolverine thrives.

Part of what makes wolverine
so successful is that fur.

There's an under layer
that keeps them warm,

and then there's this outer
layer that's oily and waterproof

that keeps the snow
off of them,

keeps the frost off of them
and makes sure

that they're able to function
in those cold climates.

It is one of the toughest
animals on the planet.

It can climb trees.

It's a really adept swimmer.

It can climb mountains.

The wolverine is an animal that
spends its life

constantly on the move.

[narrator] Most people
will never see one.

They're solitary creatures
with an almost mythical status.

Wolverines are so aggressive,
they're so legendary

that you could probably
even make up a superhero
based on them.

I'm just saying.

[narrator] They're not
hospitable neighbours.

If one wolverine crosses
another's path,

violence is almost guaranteed.

Males have a huge home range,

up to 1500 square kilometres.

To put that in perspective,

that's about the size of three
million professional basketball
courts or the size of the entire
island of Maui.

That's like the size of
a bear's home range

or a cougars home range.

It's just a little golden
retriever size thing,

but it thinks it's big.

It's definitely punching
above its weight.

[narrator] A male will share
his vast territory

with three or more females.

Wolverines are polygamous,

which means they can mate with
a number of females,

so females will have smaller
home ranges

within the vast territory
of the male.

[narrator] Defending their
turf is a never-ending job.

One they take very seriously.

It's an animal that rarely
encounters its own kin.

But if it does, there will be fireworks.

[narrator] Wolverines fight
to protect their domain

and everything that comes
with it.

These animals have
everything they need to eat
meat in cold places,

they can scavenge on things
that have died by other means.

And when that doesn't work,

they'll kill the food
- themselves.
- If they have a
territory that they live on

with a certain amount
of prey in it,

they don't want other wolverines
coming in

and getting some of the action.

[growling]

[narrator]
This male is prepping for one
of his busiest battle seasons.

Winter.

A lot of animals survive the
winter by hibernating, but not
wolverines, they don't hibernate
at all.

They're active year-round
looking for prey,

trying to find food
in the middle of winter
that's very hard to do.

That's when the animals
get desperate.

They'll start to move into
neighbours' territory

if their noses pick up
a recent kill,

that's when
they'll come to blows.

[narrator] He's got to beef up
his security,

and nasty weather
won't stop him.

The wolverine is able to cope
with these sub-zero
temperatures,

so it's ready for action
at a moment's notice.

[narrator]
He's laying a scent trail.

It's like building a fence or
a moat but stinkier.

There are a few other
nicknames for wolverines

like skunk bear or stink bear,

because they can produce these
smells that are pretty pungent,

so they have anal glands.
They have glands

next to their belly button.
They have glands on their legs,

all these different glands
producing smells

so they can tell other members
of the species not to come in.

[narrator] This rival wolverine
doesn't heed the warning.

These two may be neighbours,

but there is nothing friendly
about this meet-up.

Wolverines are built to kill

and so when that weaponry
shows up,

when those big, tough arms,
those big, sharp teeth,

all of that comes together
into a battle,

you can really see
what these animals are made of.

[narrator] They're fighting
on treacherous turf,

deep snow and ice,

their feet are perfectly adept
to handle the terrain.

If they put their foot down
on the snow,

they can spread it out
to twice the area

that it would normally have in
order to really distribute the
weightacross a larger surface,
just like a snowshoe.

They've got some formidable
weapons, first and foremost,

they'll be slashing with
those huge claws

on the end of
very powerful limbs.

[narrator]
They throw their full
body weight into each swipe.

Males can weigh up to
18 kilograms,

and they work hard to stay
in battle-ready form.

I like the Latin names
of animals you always learn something,

and the Latin name for
the wolverine is a perfect
example of that.

It's called gulo and
gulo means glutton.

And it's totally a glutton
because they eat a ton of meat.

The wolverine's teeth,
all 38 of them

are perfectly evolved
for catching and killing prey.

The molars at the back
are turned inward

and rotated 90 degrees,

and they have an amazing
bite force for crushing bone

and biting through frozen meat
from a carcass.

[narrator]
Molars are for crushing,

canines for puncturing,
tearing and strategic attacks.

In this battle, the defender
tries for a tactical advantage:

jumping on his opponents back.

There are two reasons to get
on the back of your opponent if
you're a wolverine. One,

you have access to all
the tendons in their back
and their neck.

That's a great place
to be attacking, but I think,
more importantly,

you're getting away
from all their sharp parts.

[narrator] On rare occasions
wolverines will fight to the
death. But usually one admits defeat.

In this battle, it's
the intruder that scampers off.

Wolverines aren't dumb,
so they'll fight,

and when they reach the point
where they realize

that they're probably not going
to win, they're smart enough to
cut and run.

[narrator]
It's a sweet win.

But the triumphant wolverine
doesn't have time to celebrate.

As the snow picks up...

he's off to scent mark
his territory yet again,

at least this time
it'll be a victory lap.

[♪]

[narrator]
From fur to feathers ...

mallards are the most abundant
duck on the planet.

Some might say they're ordinary
maybe even boring,

but these little ducks are
surprisingly gritty.

Mallards have a variety
of very special adaptations

to help keep them warm
in the winter.

They have really dense feathers.

This layer of fat under
their feathers,

and also this amazing
circulatory system

to help keep their feet
from freezing.

[narrator] They're built to
battle the weather

and each other.

[intense music]

For most people, when
they're thinking of an alpha,

you're probably not thinking
about the mallard.

But what people don't see is
that they're not just the calm
and docile duck,

they can actually be
downright violent.

[narrator]
These fights are dangerous

and so are the events
that lead to them.

In the spring and summer

mother ducks sit dutifully
on their eggs.

Once a pair forms and
the female starts laying eggs,

the male doesn't linger.

[narrator] It's not because
he's a deadbeat,

in fact, it's quite
the opposite.

That nest is very susceptible
to predation.

If that male is around,
he's just going to give away

the nest location like,
he has to get lost.

[narrator]
She's got to stay if she want
her offspring to survive.

Putting her life on the line
for theirs.

They can spend up to 23 hours
a day sitting on those nests.

There is no time in a female
mallard's life

when she is more vulnerable than
when she is incubating her eggs

and she's under constant
threat from predators

like raccoons, foxes, weasels.

She is quite literally
a sitting duck.

[narrator]
The mortality rate of
female mallards

more than doubles when
they're incubating their eggs.

A lot of adult females
don't survive.

And what you get
in the end is that

there are generally more
male mallards in the population

than female mallards.

[narrator]
That imbalance becomes
a problem during mating season.

Not every guy will get a girl
and so,

the males battle
for the right to pair up.

They are like little speedboats.

They go so fast on that water
after one another.

[narrator]
But the competition starts
more like a pageant.

When a male mallard wants to
court a female mallard,

he puts on a whole show with
a number of different parts.

The females are the ones
that pick out the males

which they deem as being
good enough, strong enough,

having the best genes to pass on
to the next generation.

[narrator]
First, they try to impress her
with their looks.

The males have this wonderful
green, iridescent head.

They do lots of flapping
to show off their wings.

But the best thing to see,

they like to stick their
head up and their butt up
at the same time,

much like cat cow in yoga.

And that's not the only talent
they put on display.

[narrator]
They serenade her too.

They do lots of grunt
whistle noises.

They make really
interesting sounds

as they're swimming around
in circles.

All of those different things

are designed to try to show
the female

that they are going to be
the perfect father

of her offspring.

The whole reason for any
animal's existence

is to be the best it can be.

So, it is all about passing
on the strongest genes

in order to survive a life,
and then to perpetuate.

[narrator] This female likes
what she sees.

She lowers her head flat
in the water,

it's her way of saying
she's picked someone

and is ready to pair up.

But this male wasn't picked.

And he's not happy about it.

His testosterone is surging.

The only way he'll get access
to a female now

is to steal her from
another male

and that means
he's got to fight.

He approaches his target
and opens his mouth.

Tt's all about saying,
"Listen, look how big I am,

look at me. Check me out!

If you want some of this,
come on, let's have it!"

This bill is made of a really
extraordinary substance,

keratin which is both hard and
can be quite sharp

and is also a little bit
flexible as well.

This is something that they use,
you know, for finding food

and for gripping things, and
also for fighting one another.

They'll try to actually pluck
the feathers

out of another male,
especially in their chest.

So if you pluck away
all that beautiful plumage,

you are all of a sudden
not going to be very appealing
to a female.

You might not be able to find
a mate the rest of that season.

[narrator]
Losing feathers isn't just
about losing mates,

that plumage keeps the ducks
warm and waterproof.

If you've ever seen
a mallard or any other kind
of duck preening,

it looks like they're kind
of dipping their head under
their wing

and kind of moving things
around. What they're really
doing is

taking this particular oil from
a special gland near their tail

and running it through their
feathers to weatherproof them.

[narrator]
The battle continues until
one male swims or flies away.

And the other male mallard
will continue to go after it

and vocalize at it to make sure
it knows,

hey, this is my territory.
This is my space.

You can't come back.

[narrator] In rare cases,
neither male will retreat, and
the fight can become deadly.

Mallards can occasionally
kill each other,

and most often the way that
they do this is by drowning,

just by flapping their wings

and putting their body weight
on that of another duck

to the point that that duck
can't breathe and they die.

They may even end up killing
female ducks

that kind of get caught
in the crossfire

of these sorts of arguments
as well.

So the stakes can be
incredibly high.

[narrator]
From severe weather to
fiercely competitive pageants

and mating brawls.

Mallard life isn't easy.

And it's definitely not boring.

Mallards may be mighty ducks,

but when it comes to cattle,

one rugged breed stands alone.

Highland cows are pretty
different from your average cow.

They can cope with
the worst Scottish weather,

gales, endless rain,
really cold freezing conditions.

They have these two layers
of fur.

There's a short layer underneath
that you don't really see.

That's what keeps it warm.

But then there's this baggy
outer coat that's waterproof.
It's oily. And because they're
built for those tough

they're tough animals,
and that means

that when a conflict happens
they're built for a tough fight.

[narrator]
This is a leader.

An alpha male.

He rules over a kingdom
in the Scottish highlands.

Right now, it's calm.

No one is testing his rank.

Most cows are in groups
called herds,

but a highland's cow
is in a group called a fold.

There is a strict hierarchy
within this fold.

The older you are, the higher
up you are in the hierarchy,

and males tend
to outrank females.

Right at the top of that is
the dominant male, the big bull.

Now he's the daddy,
he's the head honcho,

he's the man in charge.

[mooing]

[narrator] The alpha gets dibs
on food and mating. And his
subordinates show him respect.

If you are a highland cow
and a dominant animal

is coming towards you,
you get out of their way.

And if you have the opportunity,
you groom them,

you lick their head,
you lick their neck

just to show that you respect
their position in space.

Everybody knows where
they are in line,

so you don't get a lot of
conflict over territories and
stuff like that because everyone
knows what they're supposed to

And it's only really when
a bull male

that's not the dominant male
wants to become the top dog...

Or you might have a farmer
that buys a bunch of new cows

and they have to figure out
how they fit into societies
that already exist.

That's when you'll say horns
come together

and massive animals really
getting down to

the business of fighting.

[narrator]
This young male is near
the bottom of the social heap.

And he's fed up.

He approaches the alpha, ready
to fight for dominance. - You
can tell there's a fight
brewing, because what happens is

one of the animals will
lower their horns it's saying,

"I'm going to get under you,

I'm going to push your centre
of mass off centre,

I'm ready to go with you."

That initial phase where they're
pushing against each other

and they're just getting a
sense of how big one another are

is really important because
that's when they decide

if they're going to really
go for it.

[narrator]
The alpha isn't backing down.

It's bristling with aggression.

It's full of testosterone.

It's ready for action.

You've got two 800 kilogram animals

that are angrily trying to knock
one another off

of that hierarchy ladder.

So you see them pushing.
You see them twisting,

really communicating
to each other

just how much muscle there is
on the other side.[grunts]

[narrator] Keeping bulked up
for battle takes work.

Highland cattle eat up to
18 kilograms of vegetation
every day.

They're feeding
in an alpine environment

where food is hard to come by.
They're using their horns

to pull down branches
so they can get food that way.

They eat some of the most
indigestible plant material

you could possibly imagine.

Rough, rush hard grasses.

I mean, life can be tough up
in the north of Scotland,

and the food it's eating

requires a huge amount
of digestion.

[narrator]
It can take up to 100 hours
for a highland cow

to fully digest its meal.

It's so important for their
digestive system to be effective

because they're able to have
that muscle

and they're ready for
those conflicts.

[narrator]
During battle, the bulls
throw around their weight

and use their horns
like weapons.

When you look at
these wrestling matches
between the cows,

it's more like hand-to-hand
combat.

Those horns are extensions
of bones

with blood vessels in them.
That's part of their body.

It's not a weapon on top
of their body.

It's part of their body.

If they can get those big
horns into the flank

and gore the other animal.

Then there they're at distinct advantage,

and they could well be on their
way to winning the battle.

The stakes are so high.
If you lose this fight,

you lose your position in
the hierarchy,

it really pays to be the alpha.

[narrator]
The fight ends when one male
can't take any more

and backs down.

This time, the defending alpha
is triumphant.

The best part is that once
the battle is over

everybody looks at the results
and everybody says,

"Okay, we're good.
We got this figured out."

And as soon as you have
a winner,

a victor and a vanquished,

peace and tranquility will
be restored.

[♪]

[narrator] All species
fight their own kind,

but for the top of every
food chain there is no contest

this is an apex alpha.

This bloody face
means it's been a good day.

Proof of a successful hunt.

A well-fed polar bear
is covered in red.

It lives in the harshest environments.

It really is up there

with the top apex predators
ever on planet earth.

It hunts prey that spends
90 % of its time in the ocean.

[narrator]
To find that elusive meal,

it searches far and wide,
crossing land and sea.

And it's equipped for
the journey.

The polar bear is essentially
wearing nature's own wetsuit.

When it gets wet, it can whisk
that water away very quickly.

[narrator]
But it's no secret that
climate change

is melting the polar bear's
hunting grounds,

making it harder for them
to catch their favourite food:

seals.

Forcing them to embark on far
more dangerous hunting missions
- You don't need to go to the
Arctic to know

that it isn't exactly
stock full of food.

[narrator]
Finding prey in this barren landscape

takes patience and stamina.

While it's making these
huge trudges across the ice,

it's burning around
about 12,000 calories a day.

So give or take, it can go about
10 days without feeding .

But as it gets closer and closer
and closer to that deadline,

it will get more and more desperate.

[narrator] But it can't eat
just anything.

To survive the bitter cold
of the arctic,

polar bears need
a thick layer of blubber

and they don't get that
by eating light.

You might think that
a polar bear could take down

maybe a reindeer
and yes, it certainly can.

But that lean meat is no good.

Polar bear can't get enough
energy for it.

The perfect meal is blubber.

This guy loves fat.

[narrator]
He uses his nose to
sniff it out.

They have an amazing
sense of smell.

And by having that little bit of
moisture on the tip of the nose,

it actually helps
magnify whatever odours
that it's smelling.

[narrator]
Polar bears use crosswinds
to hunt.

When a bear moves perpendicular
to the wind,

new streams of air are
constantly hitting its nose,

giving it information about
what's upwind.

An animal can hide under snow

but its scent
will still be carried

right to the nose of
a hungry bear.

When the wind is blowing by,

they can do a type of calculus
to help them calculate

where that prey item
is potentially coming from.

This just further demonstrates
how this apex predator

earned this title.

It uses all the tools available
to it in its environment to its advantage.

[narrator] His super sniffer
leads him to this herd of
walruses. He scopes the scene,
looking for an ideal target.

They're looking for weak
and injured animals.

They're looking for young ones.
They're looking for calves.

Anything that indicates
to the polar bear

that this prey will be
relatively easier to take out.

[narrator]
Hunting a walrus is
a gutsy move.

Walruses are like tanks
of the ocean.

They are ton, ton and a half,
two-ton animals.

It has those characteristic teeth,

those long incisors
that are like ice picks.

They could be up to
a meter long.

Just ice picks.

They're not to be messed with
and they're not the usual prey

of the polar bear. But drastic
times call for drastic measures.

And that's where the polar bear
ends up.

[narrator] The walrus is
a formidable opponent,

but the polar bear doesn't
retreat.

It's bold and fearless,

with its own set of
battle weaponry.

When it comes to apex predators,

the polar bear really does
take the cake.

[narrator]
Polar bears are the largest
land carnivore.

Males can weigh up
to 650 kilograms.

Their giant paws are equipped
with thick, curved claws.

And their canine teeth
are five centimetres long,

designed for grasping prey and
tearing through hides.

This bear will rely
on all his weaponry for
what comes next.

The polar bear rises up
on those hind feet

and comes crashing down.

It usually tries
to attack it from its back.

It tries to stay away
from what I call

the business end of
the walrus.

[narrator] A good plan,
but it doesn't work.

He backs off.

He may be down,
but he's not out.

He goes for a smaller target.

This one's tusks aren't nearly
as brutal,

but its thick hide is hard
to penetrate.

It's four centimetres thick
and then underneath that,

is thicker layers of blubber.

This is an armour-plated
machine.

[narrator]
That calorie-rich blubber is
exactly what the bear is after.

But his target gets help
from a friend.

Thwarted again.

If a walrus is cornered,
it's going to fight.

And if a walrus doesn't like
the fact that a bear is eating
its friend,

it's going to have something
to say about it as well.

[narrator]
The bear is exhausted

but hunger drives him back
to the battle ground.

And there's some serious,
serious risk involved with this.

You know, they're wasting
a lot of energy in these fights.

[narrator]
Against all odds,
third time's the charm.

If a polar bear is in fact
successful enough

to collar a walrus,

they can't kill it on land,

they will drag it into the water
and drown it.

And this is hard-core, brutal
Mother Nature.

[narrator]
It may be brutal, but
it's also powerful and clever,

true traits of
the mighty apex alpha.

No matter the conditions...

these weatherproof alphas
fight to stay on top.

Defending territory,

attacking for survival,

competing for love

and claiming respect.