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DOG BARKS
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Meat - the muscles of mammals -
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is the richest,
most energy-packed food you can get,
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and we human beings have set aside
great areas of the countryside
just in order to produce it.
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In this case - mutton.
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And there is other meat
to be had here too -
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rabbits.
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We sometimes eat these as well,
but today rabbits are more in danger
from another hunter...
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..a stoat
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It's tiny - less than a foot long.
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But nonetheless,
it's a skilled and determined killer.
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00:02:13,820 --> 00:02:20,100
Its fangs,
stabbed into the rabbit's neck,
have crushed the back of its skull.
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The rabbit weighs
ten times as much as the stoat
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but the stoat
prefers to eat in privacy.
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It's those daggers at the front
of the jaw that killed the rabbit.
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Now triangular blades farther back,
like secateurs,
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help the stoat to cut meat
away from bone.
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Those two kinds of teeth are the
hallmark of all meat-eaters - small
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and large.
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There are two great tribes
of carnivores.
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There are the cats...
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..and there are the dogs.
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Both are skilled
in the art of stalking.
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And both have a lethal pounce.
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The serval is so athletic,
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it can sometimes bring down birds.
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It's one of the smallest of the cats.
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And this is the biggest -
the Siberian tiger,
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ten feet long from nose to tail.
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The earliest fossils of meat-eating
mammals, about 50 million years old,
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have been found in North America.
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It seems that they lived
up in the trees, hunting birds.
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One of their descendants,
the marten, still does.
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Its claws are long
but they can be partly retracted,
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which helps to keep them sharp,
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and they give it a superb grip.
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But other prey sometimes
tempts it down from the trees.
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And it's on the ground that
most meat-eaters today go hunting.
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Dogs - descendants of those
North American tree-dwellers -
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soon spread round the world and,
as they did, so their bodies changed
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to suit their new homes.
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This is the Sahara.
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The dog that lives here
is the smallest of all the foxes -
the fennec.
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Its huge ears help it
to avoid overheating.
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Here, it's so dry that moisture
is very precious
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and the fennec doesn't waste it
on sweat.
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Instead it cools its blood by
circulating it through capillaries
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close to the surface of its immense
ears which act like car radiators.
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00:06:18,500 --> 00:06:23,220
But these enormous ears also help it
detect the tiniest sounds -
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even faint scrabblings in the sand.
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The larva of a beetle
is full of juice -
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just what the fennec needs,
for it's seldom able to drink.
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The desert viper is very small,
as snakes go,
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but it's a bigger meal
than the beetle grub.
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It's also a much more dangerous one.
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00:07:12,180 --> 00:07:15,180
First, those poison fangs
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must be put out of action.
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The snake's venom will only kill
if it gets into the bloodstream,
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00:07:45,740 --> 00:07:49,900
so, providing the fennec
has no cut in its mouth,
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the poison in its meal
will cause it no harm.
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Dogs in a COLD climate
have a rather different shape.
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Long ears would get frostbitten, so
the Arctic fox has very short ones.
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Its fur is particularly long with a
dense under-layer that keeps it warm
even in the worst Arctic weather.
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It's also white - good camouflage.
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In summer, it changes its coat
to a thinner, darker one.
FOX CALLS
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Summer is breeding time and this
pair's cubs are already half-grown.
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There's no shortage of food
at this time of year.
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In fact, there's a glut.
Sea birds are nesting on the cliffs
in thousands.
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00:08:59,100 --> 00:09:03,700
The guillemots, high up on their
ledges, are, for the most part,
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beyond the foxes' reach.
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00:09:06,460 --> 00:09:12,020
But the foxes know that the chicks
can't stay perched up there for ever.
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They have to fly down to the sea.
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But this is their first flight
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and the sea is a long way away.
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Some don't get that far.
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Food for the cubs.
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And STILL they come.
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00:10:29,860 --> 00:10:34,740
There's far more food now than
the foxes and their cubs can eat.
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00:10:34,740 --> 00:10:39,340
Indeed, there's sometimes
even more than they can carry.
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00:10:48,020 --> 00:10:51,860
But these good times
won't last for ever.
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00:10:51,860 --> 00:10:55,460
So now the Arctic fox does
what many dogs do -
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it buries the surplus.
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00:10:57,940 --> 00:11:02,940
And in this cold climate, the meat
will stay tolerably fresh for months.
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00:11:10,900 --> 00:11:15,900
Birds are not the only sea-going
animals that come to land to breed
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00:11:15,900 --> 00:11:18,380
and assemble in great numbers.
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00:11:18,380 --> 00:11:22,060
On the south-western shores
of Africa, in Namibia,
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there are huge breeding colonies
of sea mammals.
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You might think that these fur seals
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00:11:33,820 --> 00:11:39,020
would be particularly sensitive
to danger that comes from the sea.
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00:11:39,020 --> 00:11:42,740
But, in fact,
they are most easily alarmed
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00:11:42,740 --> 00:11:45,820
if you approach them from the land,
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and, since I don't want to scare
them, I have to move with great care.
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(Their pups are just up here.)
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00:12:04,060 --> 00:12:06,700
(And they STILL haven't seen me.)
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00:12:13,900 --> 00:12:16,500
These little pups
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are only a day, or maybe two days,
old.
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00:12:21,460 --> 00:12:26,220
It's so hot that their mothers
have gone to sea to cool off,
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so their babies are now unprotected.
99
00:12:29,020 --> 00:12:33,500
But I had better retreat
before someone raises the alarm!
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00:12:34,540 --> 00:12:38,060
From here, I've got a splendid view
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00:12:38,060 --> 00:12:41,020
of almost the entire colony,
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so, if attackers come from the land,
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they'll come down there.
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00:12:48,020 --> 00:12:50,980
All I have to do now is wait.
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It's a brown hyena.
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00:13:21,820 --> 00:13:25,140
Hyenas, most of the time,
feed on carrion -
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00:13:25,140 --> 00:13:29,420
but they will certainly take
a defenceless seal pup.
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PUP CRIES
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SEALS CALL
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The carcass is brought back
to be shared with the family.
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00:14:32,660 --> 00:14:36,260
All dogs communicate by smell
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but none do so more eloquently
than hyenas.
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Their scent comes from a pouch
beneath the tail
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and proclaims WHO they are
and HOW they are.
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00:14:50,940 --> 00:14:55,540
They also use scent to post notices
around their territory.
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00:14:55,540 --> 00:15:00,260
An individual will put one up
every quarter of a mile or so.
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And this
is one of their message posts.
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00:15:09,140 --> 00:15:11,980
The smear at the top there
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00:15:11,980 --> 00:15:14,580
comes from the anal gland
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00:15:14,580 --> 00:15:17,300
of one of the hyena family.
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00:15:17,300 --> 00:15:20,700
And that smell fades very rapidly
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and is a message
to other members of the group,
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saying, "I was here half an hour ago,
or quarter of an hour ago,
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00:15:28,660 --> 00:15:32,500
"so there's no point in searching
THIS patch for food."
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00:15:32,500 --> 00:15:35,540
But beneath it, there's a second one
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00:15:35,540 --> 00:15:40,140
which was milky white
when it was first pasted on.
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Its smell is long-lasting
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00:15:43,060 --> 00:15:48,100
and it's intended to be a message
to other clans of hyenas, saying,
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00:15:48,100 --> 00:15:51,060
"Keep out. This land is ours."
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00:15:54,660 --> 00:15:58,980
So their noses enable the hyenas
to divide up the desert
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between their clans and so ensure
that no source of food is neglected.
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These dogs crop their territory
in a very different way -
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racing along special paths
through the undergrowth.
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00:16:15,260 --> 00:16:20,020
They live in the forests of the
Amazon and run in a strict order -
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the females in front, headed by
the most senior, the males behind.
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00:16:25,460 --> 00:16:30,180
They prefer wet country around
the banks of the numerous rivers.
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00:16:30,180 --> 00:16:32,820
But they are not common anywhere.
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00:16:32,820 --> 00:16:37,060
These are the most mysterious,
the least known of ALL dogs -
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the South American bush dog.
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00:16:42,580 --> 00:16:47,900
The leading females sprinkle
their scent as high as they can.
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00:16:58,380 --> 00:17:01,340
The males do no more than cock a leg.
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Their bodies are also adapted
to their environment.
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00:17:06,140 --> 00:17:09,860
Short legs make it easy
to run through the undergrowth,
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and they have skin between
their toes which helps them swim.
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They're the only dogs
with webbed feet.
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The rodents whose paths
through the bush they often use
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are also their prey. But they'll
pounce on water-living creatures
as well, if and when they find them.
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The trouble with that
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is that very few water-living
animals have any scent.
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00:17:40,980 --> 00:17:45,940
When THESE dogs hunt, they must use
their eyes as much as their noses.
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00:17:58,340 --> 00:18:01,620
And if you want to look for things
underwater,
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you have to be prepared
to get your face wet.
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The pack may accept rules
about their running order,
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but at meal times,
it's a free-for-all.
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00:18:26,860 --> 00:18:30,220
DOGS GROWL AND SQUEAL
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00:18:34,140 --> 00:18:39,060
The luxuriant Amazonian forest
may appear to be full of food,
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but, in fact,
meat here is hard to come by.
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Not so on the open plains of Africa.
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00:18:55,620 --> 00:19:00,020
Here, there is more meat
than anywhere else in the world,
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so, not surprisingly,
there are dogs here too -
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hunting dogs.
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00:19:07,580 --> 00:19:10,460
But wildebeest are BIG animals.
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To bring one down, these dogs
have to hunt together as a team -
sometimes as many as 50 of them.
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00:19:18,580 --> 00:19:22,220
They're the most successful
of all hunters.
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80% of their chases
will end in a kill.
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Once they've selected the victim,
they work together to bring it down.
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They have only their teeth
to get a grip on their prey.
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They don't have swivelling wrists
with a sideways grip.
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Their claws, unlike cats', are not
retractile, so they're blunted
as a result of so much running.
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00:20:26,420 --> 00:20:29,060
They kill in silence.
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Too much noise would attract
the attention of lions, who are
big enough to drive them off a kill.
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That's also why they bolt down
as much meat as they can
as quickly as possible.
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Their bellies full, they return
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to the pups and the females back at
the dens, maybe several miles away.
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The pups can hardly wait.
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PUPS SQUEAL
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00:21:18,940 --> 00:21:23,940
They beg for food by frantically
licking the mouths of the adults.
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All these pups are the offspring
of the senior pair -
the alpha male and female.
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00:21:30,260 --> 00:21:33,460
Normally, no others will breed.
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00:21:33,460 --> 00:21:39,780
So the returning hunters are either
the pups' uncles and aunts
or brothers and sisters.
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00:21:40,780 --> 00:21:44,820
They squabble among themselves -
as youngsters do.
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But they also give food
to one another -
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as they will do
throughout their lives.
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00:22:01,220 --> 00:22:04,140
The adults share domestic duties,
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00:22:04,140 --> 00:22:08,820
the young females helping their
mother - the alpha female -
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00:22:08,820 --> 00:22:12,260
to look after
her latest litter of pups.
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00:22:45,580 --> 00:22:50,060
So dogs, by and large,
are sociable animals,
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a fact that people who live up here
in the north of North America
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have taken advantage of
since early times,
190
00:22:58,780 --> 00:23:02,820
training them to pull their sledges
as a team.
191
00:23:02,820 --> 00:23:07,580
And up here, too, lives
the biggest of all the dog family.
192
00:23:07,580 --> 00:23:10,420
And it, too, lives in packs.
193
00:23:17,300 --> 00:23:20,300
If animals are to work in a team,
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00:23:20,300 --> 00:23:23,780
they need to be able
to communicate with one another.
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00:23:23,780 --> 00:23:28,380
And sometimes it's possible
for YOU to communicate with THEM.
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HE HOWLS
197
00:23:49,820 --> 00:23:52,780
HE HOWLS AGAIN
198
00:23:59,460 --> 00:24:02,740
DISTANT HOWLS
199
00:24:02,740 --> 00:24:05,780
IT HOWLS
200
00:24:10,220 --> 00:24:13,100
RESPONDING HOWL
201
00:24:20,460 --> 00:24:25,300
Wolves howl to warn neighbouring
packs to keep their distance.
202
00:24:25,300 --> 00:24:31,740
But they also do so to reunite
their own pack if it's got scattered
after a long hunt.
203
00:24:31,740 --> 00:24:34,660
And as they assemble again,
204
00:24:34,660 --> 00:24:38,060
they visibly delight
in one another's company.
205
00:24:47,140 --> 00:24:53,980
This pack, too, like that of African
hunting dogs, is ruled by an alpha
pair who are the only ones to breed.
206
00:24:53,980 --> 00:25:00,460
But there's also a strict hierarchy
among the other members -
one for males and one for females.
207
00:25:00,460 --> 00:25:05,420
This is reinforced daily by
mouth-licking, crawling and mounting.
208
00:25:05,420 --> 00:25:10,100
These rituals become intense just
before the pack leaves on a hunt.
209
00:25:10,100 --> 00:25:15,260
It's a bonding session that reminds
each hunter of its place in the team.
210
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Invaluable in the struggle to come.
211
00:25:20,220 --> 00:25:22,660
And off they go.
212
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Those distant dots
are their targets...
213
00:25:34,140 --> 00:25:38,820
..elk - the North American
equivalent of the European red deer.
214
00:25:48,140 --> 00:25:51,660
Snow drifts
will make the chase difficult.
215
00:25:51,660 --> 00:25:57,980
A wolf's pads are particularly broad
but in really deep snow, the elks'
long legs give them the advantage.
216
00:25:57,980 --> 00:26:03,020
In such country, there is little
chance of taking them by surprise.
217
00:26:03,020 --> 00:26:07,740
So the chase is likely to be
a long and exhausting one.
218
00:26:18,700 --> 00:26:21,300
One of the stags is flagging
219
00:26:21,300 --> 00:26:25,540
and the pack have managed
to separate it from the herd.
220
00:26:25,540 --> 00:26:29,380
Another sprints past close by
and confuses things.
221
00:26:34,100 --> 00:26:38,140
Most of the wolves
stick to their original quarry.
222
00:26:38,140 --> 00:26:44,580
They have, after all,
been harrying it for some time
and it may be tiring.
223
00:26:44,580 --> 00:26:46,940
But it's got away.
224
00:26:49,580 --> 00:26:53,980
Another wolf is chasing
the stag that ran by them earlier.
225
00:27:02,500 --> 00:27:05,140
But that escapes too.
226
00:27:05,140 --> 00:27:08,820
Only one in ten wolf hunts
is successful.
227
00:27:15,300 --> 00:27:17,740
The weather worsens.
228
00:27:17,740 --> 00:27:21,980
It's a week since the wolves fed.
They're getting desperate.
229
00:27:32,980 --> 00:27:37,300
They have no alternative
but to continue to follow the herd.
230
00:27:48,860 --> 00:27:55,780
Now they have a real chance.
A female has become isolated and
is close to the end of her strength.
231
00:28:01,300 --> 00:28:04,060
She can go no further.
232
00:28:04,060 --> 00:28:09,180
But even now, TWO wolves are not
strong enough to bring her down.
233
00:28:16,860 --> 00:28:19,420
But then the rest of the pack arrive.
234
00:28:19,420 --> 00:28:21,740
Now she has no chance.
235
00:28:31,700 --> 00:28:34,100
The herd moves on.
236
00:28:45,820 --> 00:28:50,820
The herds of North America are
rivalled in size by those in Africa.
237
00:28:50,820 --> 00:28:57,300
And it's here in the Old World
that the other great group
of hunters first appeared.
238
00:28:57,300 --> 00:29:00,780
This is the original home
of the cats.
239
00:29:04,620 --> 00:29:11,500
There's no problem at all in finding
the hunters that dominate
THESE hunting grounds...
240
00:29:15,420 --> 00:29:17,460
..lions.
241
00:29:17,460 --> 00:29:23,100
With all this meat walking around,
they're taking no notice whatsoever.
242
00:29:23,100 --> 00:29:28,540
The fact of the matter is most lions
do most of their hunting at night.
243
00:29:28,540 --> 00:29:31,420
The daytime's a bad time.
244
00:29:31,420 --> 00:29:38,740
It's very hot. Now it's near
the middle of the day and the lions
have found a nice cool place to rest.
245
00:29:38,740 --> 00:29:42,180
And during the day, too,
it's so bright,
246
00:29:42,180 --> 00:29:45,860
their prey can see them -
hunting is very difficult.
247
00:29:45,860 --> 00:29:50,220
Much better to hunt
during the darkness of the night.
248
00:29:52,940 --> 00:29:59,660
Their eyes are more sensitive
than ours, but neither they nor I
can see THESE lights.
249
00:29:59,660 --> 00:30:04,140
They're infra-red and
visible only to our special cameras.
250
00:30:04,140 --> 00:30:07,980
WHISPERS:
Lions hardly ever roar in the day.
251
00:30:07,980 --> 00:30:10,980
It's very much a night-time thing.
252
00:30:10,980 --> 00:30:13,500
And now in the darkness,
253
00:30:13,500 --> 00:30:16,260
there are a number of them roaring
254
00:30:16,260 --> 00:30:18,700
just around here.
255
00:30:18,700 --> 00:30:24,420
There are two, I know, within three
or four yards of where I am now.
256
00:30:24,420 --> 00:30:27,620
And there's a third
257
00:30:27,620 --> 00:30:30,140
perhaps 20 yards over there,
258
00:30:30,140 --> 00:30:36,620
though it's difficult to tell
because it's pitch black
except for just faint moonlight.
259
00:30:36,620 --> 00:30:41,700
Three of them belong to the same
pride and they are communicating,
260
00:30:41,700 --> 00:30:44,500
telling one another where they are.
261
00:30:44,500 --> 00:30:47,420
LIONS ROAR
262
00:30:59,180 --> 00:31:05,180
Those are not aggressive roars.
They are communication roars.
263
00:31:05,180 --> 00:31:09,140
But they are quite enough
to chill the blood
264
00:31:09,140 --> 00:31:11,620
in the blackness of the night...
265
00:31:11,620 --> 00:31:14,860
LIONS ROAR
266
00:31:14,860 --> 00:31:21,060
..especially when you know
that the lions making them
are within a few yards of you
267
00:31:21,060 --> 00:31:23,540
but you can't see them!
268
00:31:24,540 --> 00:31:27,020
A hunt is beginning.
269
00:31:27,020 --> 00:31:31,380
The shine in their eyes
comes from our infra-red lights
270
00:31:31,380 --> 00:31:36,780
reflected by a mirror-like membrane
at the back of their eyes.
271
00:31:36,780 --> 00:31:43,460
That, and pupils that open far wider
than ours, enables them to see eight
times better at night than we can.
272
00:31:43,460 --> 00:31:45,860
The big male is going too.
273
00:31:52,860 --> 00:31:55,780
The cubs are bringing up the rear.
274
00:32:37,700 --> 00:32:41,500
The slightest noise
could stampede the zebras.
275
00:33:04,340 --> 00:33:07,540
ZEBRA CRIES
276
00:33:07,540 --> 00:33:10,340
LIONS GROWL
277
00:33:15,220 --> 00:33:19,260
The lioness's jaws are clamped
in the zebra's throat.
278
00:33:19,260 --> 00:33:21,620
They're throttling it.
279
00:33:24,340 --> 00:33:26,860
Now there is food for all -
280
00:33:26,860 --> 00:33:31,020
so much, in fact,
that there's very little squabbling.
281
00:33:49,900 --> 00:33:54,860
Dawn - and the pride are still
lounging around with full bellies.
282
00:34:04,660 --> 00:34:10,020
The zebra know that - for the moment,
at least - there's no danger.
283
00:34:13,740 --> 00:34:17,220
Considering how powerful
and aggressive lions can be,
284
00:34:17,220 --> 00:34:21,860
life within the pride is
remarkably peaceful and harmonious.
285
00:34:23,300 --> 00:34:29,820
Just as they hunt together,
so they also help one another
in bringing up the young.
286
00:34:29,820 --> 00:34:34,900
A nursing mother will allow cubs
belonging to others to take her milk.
287
00:34:34,900 --> 00:34:38,700
The lionesses in a pride
are nearly always sisters,
288
00:34:38,700 --> 00:34:42,820
but, even so, such co-operation
and tolerance is remarkable
289
00:34:42,820 --> 00:34:45,860
and very unusual indeed among cats.
290
00:34:55,380 --> 00:34:57,820
Most cats are solitaries,
291
00:34:57,820 --> 00:35:00,260
living and hunting by themselves
292
00:35:01,540 --> 00:35:06,020
These are the cubs
of a single mother - a cheetah.
293
00:35:08,580 --> 00:35:15,340
She has a heavy responsibility.
Neither her sisters nor the cubs'
father help in bringing them up.
294
00:35:15,340 --> 00:35:19,620
Finding food for them -
and for herself - is not easy.
295
00:35:29,660 --> 00:35:32,660
She moves off...
296
00:35:32,660 --> 00:35:35,340
and they follow.
297
00:35:35,340 --> 00:35:39,820
But they're likely to be
more of a hindrance than a help.
298
00:35:52,900 --> 00:35:55,860
Impala are grazing nearby.
299
00:35:55,860 --> 00:35:59,820
They move away as she approaches
but they don't panic.
300
00:35:59,820 --> 00:36:04,260
Unless a cheetah is within 30 yards,
they can outrun her.
301
00:36:04,260 --> 00:36:08,020
She knows that too
and doesn't want to waste her energy.
302
00:36:08,020 --> 00:36:11,780
She won't charge
unless she gets really close.
303
00:36:13,940 --> 00:36:20,300
The cubs seem to realise
that an attack is imminent
and settle down to watch.
304
00:36:20,300 --> 00:36:22,860
Is she close enough?
305
00:36:50,980 --> 00:36:53,580
They're beginning to drift away.
306
00:36:58,660 --> 00:37:01,100
She starts her sprint.
307
00:37:17,060 --> 00:37:19,660
Now she's running flat out.
308
00:37:19,660 --> 00:37:26,540
She's bounding so swiftly that her
feet are off the ground for almost
half the time. She's almost flying.
309
00:37:35,620 --> 00:37:37,940
The race is over.
310
00:37:37,940 --> 00:37:40,940
The slowest will not compete again.
311
00:37:50,260 --> 00:37:54,020
Cheetahs are the fastest thing
on four legs.
312
00:37:54,020 --> 00:37:56,900
Their backbones are so supple
313
00:37:56,900 --> 00:38:01,860
that their hind legs can reach
forward on either side of the front.
314
00:38:01,860 --> 00:38:04,500
She's so slim and agile,
315
00:38:04,500 --> 00:38:08,380
she can rival a gazelle
in dodging and swerving.
316
00:38:30,540 --> 00:38:34,340
Unusually,
another has come to share her prize.
317
00:38:34,340 --> 00:38:38,380
It's probably a grown-up cub
from last year's litter.
318
00:38:38,380 --> 00:38:40,860
She wouldn't tolerate anyone else.
319
00:38:51,860 --> 00:38:55,500
Her slim athletic build
is now a liability -
320
00:38:55,500 --> 00:38:59,900
heavier animals like lions
could push her off her kill.
321
00:38:59,900 --> 00:39:02,940
So she and her cubs eat fast.
322
00:39:02,940 --> 00:39:08,140
All big cats are widely distributed,
but one is particularly adaptable.
323
00:39:08,140 --> 00:39:12,540
It lives in tropical rain forests
from the Congo to Vietnam,
324
00:39:12,540 --> 00:39:15,620
in deserts from Algeria to Iran
325
00:39:15,620 --> 00:39:19,660
and here
in the rocky hills of northern India.
326
00:39:19,660 --> 00:39:22,620
Prey is scarce here.
327
00:39:22,620 --> 00:39:26,660
By far the most abundant
are the domestic animals
328
00:39:26,660 --> 00:39:32,860
that those other great meat-eaters -
human beings -
keep to consume themselves.
329
00:39:32,860 --> 00:39:36,100
GOATS BLEAT
330
00:39:58,780 --> 00:40:03,460
The villagers know
that this cat usually hunts at night,
331
00:40:03,460 --> 00:40:10,260
so every evening they drive
the goats into this thorn-walled
enclosure to keep them safe.
332
00:40:20,820 --> 00:40:24,220
Even a BIG cat
won't be able to cross THIS.
333
00:40:31,620 --> 00:40:35,020
It's now absolutely dark
334
00:40:35,020 --> 00:40:38,020
and all I have to help me is a torch.
335
00:40:39,300 --> 00:40:43,140
Beyond its beam,
there is absolute blackness.
336
00:40:44,460 --> 00:40:47,740
So I feel pretty vulnerable,
337
00:40:47,740 --> 00:40:52,500
because this big cat
can move at night in total darkness.
338
00:40:52,500 --> 00:40:55,100
It could be anywhere.
339
00:40:56,180 --> 00:41:00,180
But we DO have infra-red cameras
in this village
340
00:41:00,180 --> 00:41:03,380
so if it does come, we will see it.
341
00:41:24,420 --> 00:41:29,260
And this thatched hut is our
technical operations control centre!
342
00:41:31,580 --> 00:41:38,100
We've got three cameras
stationed around the village,
each with its own monitor,
343
00:41:38,100 --> 00:41:42,260
so whichever way the raider comes,
we should see it.
344
00:41:48,020 --> 00:41:51,700
I can scan each one of them.
345
00:41:55,700 --> 00:41:59,500
There it is -
a silent, moving shadow.
346
00:42:06,300 --> 00:42:09,460
It's a leopard -
347
00:42:09,460 --> 00:42:14,340
a female - and she's moving down
the main path through the village.
348
00:42:44,380 --> 00:42:46,740
That's our hut!
349
00:42:48,780 --> 00:42:55,980
She's just beyond the curtain
across the doorway -
within a few yards of me.
350
00:42:58,860 --> 00:43:02,300
But I'm not what she's looking for.
351
00:43:05,140 --> 00:43:07,580
She's leaving.
352
00:43:07,580 --> 00:43:11,700
The flock has survived without loss
for another night.
353
00:43:25,700 --> 00:43:28,220
Of all the big cats,
354
00:43:28,220 --> 00:43:33,580
the leopard is perhaps the best
stalker - and the least seen.
355
00:43:33,580 --> 00:43:36,780
In Africa, it hunts gazelles.
356
00:44:03,860 --> 00:44:07,860
Each paw is placed
with the utmost care.
357
00:44:16,220 --> 00:44:18,460
IT SNORTS
358
00:44:25,940 --> 00:44:29,100
SHORT, SHARP COUGHS
359
00:44:29,100 --> 00:44:30,660
ALARM CALLS
360
00:44:35,620 --> 00:44:40,220
No dog can equal the stealth
with which cats can stalk,
361
00:44:40,220 --> 00:44:44,860
they dispatch their victims.
362
00:45:10,780 --> 00:45:14,940
I'm in the frozen north
and this is the trail
363
00:45:14,940 --> 00:45:18,580
of the biggest of the cats -
the tiger -
364
00:45:18,580 --> 00:45:21,900
and the biggest of the tigers -
365
00:45:21,900 --> 00:45:24,300
a Siberian tiger -
366
00:45:24,300 --> 00:45:27,700
surely the most formidable hunter
of all.
367
00:46:04,460 --> 00:46:08,180
Until human beings devised weapons
for themselves,
368
00:46:08,180 --> 00:46:12,820
this was the most powerful killer
on Earth - the top predator.
369
00:46:15,500 --> 00:46:19,660
Few creatures could escape it.
Nothing could threaten it.
370
00:46:19,660 --> 00:46:22,420
But that has now changed.
371
00:46:24,060 --> 00:46:27,620
Hunting animals need hunting grounds,
372
00:46:27,620 --> 00:46:31,940
and that, inevitably, brings them
in conflict with humanity.
373
00:46:31,940 --> 00:46:35,340
Once,
there were tigers all over Asia -
374
00:46:35,340 --> 00:46:38,500
from Sumatra and Bali in the south,
375
00:46:38,500 --> 00:46:42,540
India in the west,
up to Siberia in the north.
376
00:46:42,540 --> 00:46:45,740
But sadly, over much of those areas,
377
00:46:45,740 --> 00:46:48,380
the tiger has disappeared.
378
00:46:51,380 --> 00:46:54,060
And even THIS one
379
00:46:54,060 --> 00:46:56,700
is in captivity.
380
00:47:01,820 --> 00:47:06,020
Big cats like the same sort of meat
as human beings -
381
00:47:06,020 --> 00:47:09,300
as well as eating human beings!
382
00:47:09,300 --> 00:47:14,140
So it's scarcely surprising that
the two don't co-exist very easily.
383
00:47:19,620 --> 00:47:23,380
But once,
these magnificent meat-eaters
384
00:47:23,380 --> 00:47:26,340
were the lords of the land...
385
00:47:32,300 --> 00:47:35,860
..the ultimate
in lethal grace and beauty.
386
00:48:29,380 --> 00:48:36,460
I don't really know why it is that
lions don't jump into a Land Rover
with no doors on its sides
387
00:48:36,460 --> 00:48:40,700
and take out the people
who are sitting in there.
388
00:48:40,700 --> 00:48:45,460
But they don't, and that's the
thought you want to hang on to
389
00:48:45,460 --> 00:48:50,220
if you have no doors to your Land
Rover and lions all around you!
390
00:48:51,260 --> 00:48:53,820
Most big cats are nocturnal hunters
391
00:48:53,820 --> 00:48:59,860
so, until now, we've only witnessed
a fraction of their lives.
392
00:48:59,860 --> 00:49:06,300
Scientific studies and daylight
filming have pieced together
evidence of the night action
393
00:49:06,300 --> 00:49:12,300
but our understanding of the
nocturnal life of all the big cats
has been, at best, tantalising.
394
00:49:13,340 --> 00:49:16,460
The leopard
is a stealthy, solitary hunter.
395
00:49:16,460 --> 00:49:23,340
It's rare for an individual
to kill by day and rarer still
for us to be able to film it.
396
00:49:26,620 --> 00:49:30,700
The leopard's territory may cover
25 square kilometres
397
00:49:30,700 --> 00:49:37,580
and, even with the cover of darkness,
it's thought that
less than 5% of hunts are successful.
398
00:49:37,580 --> 00:49:42,660
We can only try to interpret
the evidence left in the morning.
399
00:49:42,660 --> 00:49:47,340
But there ARE people very practised
in this particular art.
400
00:49:48,420 --> 00:49:52,940
For many years,
field biologist Philip Stander
401
00:49:52,940 --> 00:49:57,900
has worked with the Ju'hoan bushmen
to study the leopards of Namibia.
402
00:49:59,540 --> 00:50:04,300
This leopard can be within five
metres, perhaps behind that bush,
403
00:50:04,300 --> 00:50:07,540
and in this habitat,
we will never see it.
404
00:50:07,540 --> 00:50:12,100
But with the bushmen's skill,
we learn much from the tracks.
405
00:50:12,100 --> 00:50:14,460
We know that it's an adult male.
406
00:50:14,460 --> 00:50:20,460
There's a vast amount we can learn
on the animals, just from tracking.
407
00:50:20,460 --> 00:50:24,700
More than 100 kills
have been interpreted in this way.
408
00:50:28,820 --> 00:50:34,940
The bushmen can read the prints
so accurately that they can follow
the leopard's approach to its prey -
409
00:50:34,940 --> 00:50:39,500
even see how he dug his paws into
the sand before his final pounce.
410
00:50:46,660 --> 00:50:52,780
The tiger, too, is a nocturnal
ambush hunter with a large territory.
411
00:50:52,780 --> 00:50:58,660
But in the Indian forest,
there is even less chance
of finding footprints in sand
412
00:50:58,660 --> 00:51:01,420
or evidence of a nocturnal attack.
413
00:51:02,700 --> 00:51:07,380
Once again, ANY film
of a tiger hunt in daylight is rare.
414
00:51:24,660 --> 00:51:30,540
Ullas Karanth is a tiger expert who
follows the animals in the forest
415
00:51:30,540 --> 00:51:36,420
by combining modern technology and
a traditional ally - the elephant.
416
00:51:38,700 --> 00:51:43,660
Radio telemetry enables tracking
of animals that are secretive
417
00:51:43,660 --> 00:51:48,580
and which are active at night,
and which use very dense cover.
418
00:51:48,580 --> 00:51:51,260
The tiger does all these things.
419
00:51:51,260 --> 00:51:56,260
The cover's very dense so you don't
get much visual observation.
420
00:51:56,260 --> 00:51:58,780
Radio tracking has revealed
421
00:51:58,780 --> 00:52:04,020
how tigers use their territory,
and guided researchers to kill sites.
422
00:52:04,020 --> 00:52:08,940
The team has made a first step into
the night. These photographic traps
423
00:52:08,940 --> 00:52:15,740
provide a snapshot of
the tiger's nocturnal movements, and
stripe patterns identify individuals.
424
00:52:15,740 --> 00:52:21,940
Yet, without more complex technology,
we're still very much in the dark.
425
00:52:21,940 --> 00:52:24,580
And what of lions?
426
00:52:24,580 --> 00:52:29,420
We've observed and filmed
daylight hunts for many years,
427
00:52:29,420 --> 00:52:34,100
but always in the knowledge that
most of their kills are at night.
428
00:52:34,100 --> 00:52:40,020
Only after decades of research has
the strategy of lion hunts emerged.
429
00:52:40,020 --> 00:52:44,060
It's less a form of team-work,
as was once thought,
430
00:52:44,060 --> 00:52:49,180
and more an exercise in individual
risk analysis by each lioness.
431
00:52:56,660 --> 00:53:01,340
This is how the pride spends
most daylight hours.
432
00:53:01,340 --> 00:53:05,820
Generally, hunting happens
after the sun has set.
433
00:53:06,940 --> 00:53:10,060
But to follow the action
into the night,
434
00:53:10,060 --> 00:53:12,900
we needed to see in the dark,
435
00:53:12,900 --> 00:53:19,260
with cameras so sensitive
that they could get pictures
in moonlight or even starlight,
436
00:53:19,260 --> 00:53:24,300
or sometimes to use a completely
different light source - infrared.
437
00:53:24,300 --> 00:53:30,820
The technology for doing that
was developed by a very different
kind of human hunter,
438
00:53:30,820 --> 00:53:36,260
but film-makers, like Justine Evans,
have now become expert in its use.
439
00:53:36,260 --> 00:53:39,940
The technology
to film animals at night
440
00:53:39,940 --> 00:53:45,220
has all come from the military, and
there is quite a lot of similarity
441
00:53:45,220 --> 00:53:51,940
between the way we approach
difficult, shy animals
and the way the military operate.
442
00:53:51,940 --> 00:53:58,020
You need to assess
the area you're working in,
443
00:53:58,020 --> 00:54:05,540
you need to think of tactics,
how to get close to something that
doesn't want you to get close to it.
444
00:54:05,540 --> 00:54:10,300
It can be intense working at night.
No-one gets used to the dark.
445
00:54:10,300 --> 00:54:14,820
I think it's natural for all of us
to feel quite fearful.
446
00:54:14,820 --> 00:54:17,420
If I turn this infrared light out,
447
00:54:17,420 --> 00:54:22,420
which is actually illuminating
the picture that you're seeing,
448
00:54:22,420 --> 00:54:25,020
and I turn on this tiny torch,
449
00:54:25,020 --> 00:54:30,100
this is the sort of level of light
I'd use to see the controls.
450
00:54:30,100 --> 00:54:32,540
You're seeing more than I can see
451
00:54:32,540 --> 00:54:38,460
because you've got an infrared
camera which is sensitive to this.
452
00:54:38,460 --> 00:54:42,140
Justine's experience
of nocturnal filming
453
00:54:42,140 --> 00:54:44,620
has been built up since 1996,
454
00:54:44,620 --> 00:54:50,140
when she first went to Africa with
the inventor of the low-light camera,
455
00:54:50,140 --> 00:54:53,540
wildlife cameraman Martin Dohrn.
456
00:54:53,540 --> 00:54:58,340
We assumed we'd be able to film
most of it in natural moonlight
457
00:54:58,340 --> 00:55:03,220
but we discovered that, on bright,
moonlit nights, nothing happened.
458
00:55:03,220 --> 00:55:06,780
The lions just slept,
and so did their prey.
459
00:55:06,780 --> 00:55:11,660
It wasn't until it got really dark
and stormy and moonless
460
00:55:11,660 --> 00:55:14,020
that things started happening.
461
00:55:14,020 --> 00:55:17,820
The worse the weather,
the more carnage.
462
00:55:17,820 --> 00:55:21,820
This made the work
even more demanding,
463
00:55:21,820 --> 00:55:25,060
but the behaviour it revealed
464
00:55:25,060 --> 00:55:27,580
was quite extraordinary.
465
00:55:31,260 --> 00:55:34,900
I started filming
a group of ten lions
466
00:55:34,900 --> 00:55:37,380
that were all very young.
467
00:55:37,380 --> 00:55:41,340
They had a specialisation -
digging up warthog.
468
00:55:41,340 --> 00:55:44,060
Because there were ten of them,
469
00:55:44,060 --> 00:55:49,060
one would dig and the rest would
sleep, and they'd take turns.
470
00:55:49,060 --> 00:55:51,580
Eventually, they'd get to it,
471
00:55:51,580 --> 00:55:55,180
and then ten mouths
would just reach in
472
00:55:55,180 --> 00:55:59,140
and this pig would disappear
in ten directions!
473
00:55:59,140 --> 00:56:01,900
That was a vulnerable situation.
474
00:56:01,900 --> 00:56:05,980
What's now clear
is that lions and other predators
475
00:56:05,980 --> 00:56:10,460
have a quite different
sense of purpose in the night.
476
00:56:10,460 --> 00:56:16,140
What's very natural for them
is equally unsettling for us humans.
477
00:56:16,140 --> 00:56:21,180
It's a strange feeling
if you sit down somewhere at night
478
00:56:21,180 --> 00:56:26,060
and you don't have your back
to something solid, like a tree,
479
00:56:26,060 --> 00:56:28,740
you feel vulnerable from behind,
480
00:56:28,740 --> 00:56:33,180
and you can feel unnerved
by the sounds around you.
481
00:56:33,180 --> 00:56:38,740
You can't see, and you think
that other animals CAN see you.
482
00:56:38,740 --> 00:56:43,780
Since Justine first filmed her lions
with the Starlight camera,
483
00:56:43,780 --> 00:56:49,420
infrared technology has evolved
to take us deeper into the night.
484
00:56:52,740 --> 00:56:55,340
In this series,
485
00:56:55,340 --> 00:57:00,420
we've filmed nocturnal hunters
and behaviour never seen before,
486
00:57:00,420 --> 00:57:04,740
from jungle streams in Ecuador
to bat caves of Texas.
487
00:57:04,740 --> 00:57:07,500
And this is just the beginning.
488
00:57:07,500 --> 00:57:09,860
As the technology develops,
489
00:57:09,860 --> 00:57:14,620
and we gain more techniques
and experience in working at night,
490
00:57:14,620 --> 00:57:20,740
the behaviour that has until now
been hidden will be revealed.
491
00:57:20,740 --> 00:57:25,660
There's much more to discover
in the nocturnal life of mammals.
43385
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