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Africa.
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A continent of extremes,
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where predators join forces
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to wage a war for survival.
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These killer armies work together,
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to surround,
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overpower,
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and take down their victims.
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Prey doesn't stand a chance
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against swarms of Africa's deadliest.
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Africa.
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A continent famous for its extraordinary wildlife...
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...but shaped by violent forces.
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Fire and radical seasons wrench landscapes between extremes.
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Plains that teem with life in one season
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are scraped bare in the next.
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Forests cannot survive the drought,
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only rains hold the desert at bay.
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Across two thirds of Africa,
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grasslands peppered with trees take hold.
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On these vast savannahs, the largest and toughest herbivores
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on Earth have evolved.
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To take them on,
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leagues of the world's deadliest predators join forces.
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Even killers that usually operate alone
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will enlist an army if the prey is right.
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This lone hunter lurks in waterways,
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preying on the desperate that must drink to survive.
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The Nile crocodile.
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They terrorize waterways across the continent.
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But in one Zambian river they've amassed into a reptilian fleet.
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The Luangwa.
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There are more Nile crocodiles here
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than in any other river on Earth.
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They thrive here because this landscape is deadlier
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than any predator.
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In the dry season, barely a drop of rain falls for six months.
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The Luangwa is the last major water source,
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but many don't make it in time.
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Parched corpses litter its banks,
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and feed the growing army.
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But it's not just the dead that make the menu.
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On the banks, hunger pangs gnaw at a herd of zebras.
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The grass is clipped to dust.
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They must seek better grazing across the river.
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On land, zebras can kill with a kick.
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But here in the river, they're out of their element.
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It's the perfect opportunity for a massacre.
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Crocodiles deploy like a fleet of living submarines,
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and vanish.
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Crocs can hold their breath for two hours
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by excreting carbon dioxide into their guts.
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Invisible just below the surface,
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the deadly armada moves into position.
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The zebra can't see the danger surrounding them.
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Once they are in too deep to escape,
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the crocodiles launch an ambush.
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The zebras have one advantage-- they're warm-blooded,
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so they're faster and more agile than the cold-blooded reptiles.
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The crocs need just one clean bite.
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The jaws clamp down with enough force to lift a pick-up truck,
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and pull the zebras under.
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The croc uses the water to make the kill.
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Once the prey is dead,
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the crocodiles must work together to devour it.
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Their round teeth don't cut, and two-foot jaws can't chew.
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The only way for the crocs to tear up the carcass
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is to use each other as leverage.
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They lock jaws and spin against each other
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to wrench the carcass into pieces.
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They swallow hooves, skin and bones whole.
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Nothing is left behind.
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But when these giants leave the water,
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they lose their advantage.
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Their long, flat bodies are clumsy and slow.
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On dry land, different killers compete for the title
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of Africa's deadliest.
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One ranks amongst the most feared predators in the world.
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Twice the muscle of a heavyweight body builder,
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yet capable of speeds over 40 miles per hour,
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lions can kill virtually any large mammal in Africa.
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Yet even these mighty predators have a nemesis.
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A prey animal famous for turning the attack.
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The Cape buffalo.
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Predation has shaped these wild cows
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into one of Africa's most aggressive herbivores.
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The half-ton goliaths are quick to charge
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and famous for goring their enemies
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with their two-foot horns.
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When it comes to predators, their best defense is attack.
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For lion prides to take on these fierce beasts,
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they need the strength of numbers
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and a foolproof plan.
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Today, they have both.
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This pride has driven their victim into the perfect trap.
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Stuck in a Luangwa water hole,
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this buffalo has nowhere left to run.
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The lions have blocked all exits.
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The bull can kill with a blow of his horns.
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The lions can't tackle him head-on.
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Instead, they'll wear him down.
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In the water, fear and cold sap the strength the bull needs
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to defend himself.
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The lions just need to hold the bank,
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and wait.
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The adult lionesses conserve their energy.
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They let the sub-adults taunt the victim.
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Their expertise will be needed after dark.
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By nightfall, they've maneuvered the bull out of the water hole,
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and he's exhausted.
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He's weak and bleeding from dozens of small wounds.
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The lionesses step up for the coup de grĂ¢ce.
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The young males hold the perimeter to prevent escape.
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Like clowns at a rodeo, the lionesses taunt the bull
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to draw his attention,
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but stay just out of range of his horns.
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The distraction allows another female to attack from behind.
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[bellows]
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As the bull weakens, the youngsters join the fight.
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The lioness on top bites into his spine to disable his legs,
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as the rest target his tendons.
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[bellows]
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Pain and exhaustion win at last.
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The bull can fight no more.
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Suffocation brings the battle to a merciful end.
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The reward is worth the risk.
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The bull's giant carcass will feed the pride for a week.
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Buffalo are one of lions' primary prey,
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but hunts aren't always this successful.
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Numbers are the swing vote between these enemies.
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When the buffalo have backup, the odds change.
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Some of the largest buffalo herds in Africa
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roam the Luangwa Valley.
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Among their ranks are hundreds of weak, vulnerable calves,
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but they are guarded by mothers who will kill to protect them.
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When threatened, the herd moves in a tight convoy.
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The adult females hold the front line
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and look out for danger,
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to protect the weaker animals at the center.
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To breach the solid wall of angry muscle,
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lions must risk their lives.
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If a lion gets cornered by them, it's in deep trouble.
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A tree offers temporary refuge.
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Lions are awkward climbers.
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The herd won't leave until they've drawn blood.
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The lion loses its fight with gravity,
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above a sea of enraged buffalo.
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The herd shows no mercy.
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This is a game of survival,
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and every lion eliminated may be a buffalo saved.
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But brute strength is not always the best defense.
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600 miles south of Luangwa, in the dusty bush of Tuli Botswana,
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one cast of prey animals have found a less brutal way
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to stay alive.
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Antelope traded strength for speed.
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Their spring-loaded legs allow rapid acceleration
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up to twice the speed of the fastest Olympian.
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Here, only the fastest and fittest survive.
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Because this is wild dog country.
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A quarter the size of lions, but double their speed,
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these dogs kill fast, brutally, and often.
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One dog weighs little more than a German shepherd,
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but they're armed with the most powerful jaws for their size
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of all mammals.
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Working together, they're the most efficient killers
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on the continent.
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What they lack in size, they make up for in numbers.
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Their home base is the den where they hide their cubs,
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but they're always ready for action.
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A herd of eland passes dangerously close
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to the hidden barracks.
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It's time to move out.
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These giants are the slowest of all antelope,
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but that doesn't make them an easy prey.
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They're ten times the size of a wild dog,
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and they, too, can kill with their horns.
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It could be suicide to tackle the herd head-on.
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Like the lions, the dogs need to weaken their prey,
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but they won't do it with pain.
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This will be a battle of endurance.
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The pack slits into two groups-- flankers and chasers.
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Flankers move ahead to block side escape routes,
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as chasers start to push the herd from behind.
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There's no stalk.
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They want the herd to see them, and bolt.
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The flankers channel the fleeing antelope through the bush,
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as the chasers increase the pace,
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until the prey can run no more.
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Exhaustion drives the eland to stop and face their enemies.
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The pack splits up and isolates victims.
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Three eland go down.
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Each dog latches on with jaws like a bear trap
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and jerks hard to rip open the skin.
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Though it looks brutal, shock numbs the pain,
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and death is swift.
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In a matter of minutes,
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there's nothing left but bones and a bloodstain.
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Stomachs full, they head home.
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But this meal isn't over.
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Each dog's gut literally acts as a doggie bag.
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At the den, the hunters regurgitate meat,
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and share it among the pups and the adults.
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They feed more than 30 mouths off a single hunt,
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but tomorrow, they'll do it all over again.
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Feeding this growing predator militia is a full-time job.
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This landscape teems with prey,
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but most of it is too small to make the wild dogs' radar.
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The undergrowth hides a resource that large predators don't tap.
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The tiny creatures that crawl the woodland floor
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are packed with nutrients,
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but giants like lions and wild dogs
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would have to eat thousands of them to stay fed.
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But a predator one-tenth their size evolved to cash in
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on this hidden stash.
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Banded mongooses are top of the food chain below the grass line.
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They live in large, close-knit troops,
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and like wild dogs, they stick together.
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But on the hunt, their tactics couldn't be more different.
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It's every mongoose for itself.
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Each animal raids the undergrowth
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for anything that crawls...
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and hordes what it finds to itself.
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So why do they stick together?
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At half the weight of a dachshund,
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mongooses are small predators with a big problem.
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They're also prey.
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Every predator larger than them is a threat.
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Especially to the bite-sized babies they hide in their dens.
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Hunting together means there's always a set of eyes
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scouting the terrain.
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They're always ready to retreat at the first sign of danger.
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But not everyone makes it.
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Ever-present danger has groomed mongooses
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into nervous, flighty creatures.
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Yet there are some deadly predators
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that bring out a side to this troop that borders on suicidal.
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Snakes are specialists at invading the narrow dens
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where mongooses hide their infants.
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When scouts spot one, they put out a call to arms.
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The entire troop races to meet the enemy.
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This Mozambican spitting cobra can kill a human.
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Its bite packs a potent cytotoxin that dissolves flesh.
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Yet this one killer, the mongooses will fight.
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The snake is a deadly threat to their young,
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but if they defeat it,
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it doubles as a protein-rich meal.
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Eons of conflict with snakes has armed them for this moment.
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They're virtually immune to cobra venom.
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Now, the mongooses' teamwork pays off.
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With so many moving targets,
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the cobra can't choose who to attack.
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Biting isn't its only weapon.
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It can shoot a blinding jet of venom
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straight for its enemies' eyes.
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The mongooses' lightning-quick reflexes
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keep them out of the line of fire.
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They keep the pressure on, until the snake tries to escape...
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...and attack when it's on the retreat.
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With needle-like teeth, they tear the snake apart,
260
00:26:17,166 --> 00:26:19,126
and devour it.
261
00:26:27,333 --> 00:26:28,673
Mongooses and their relatives
262
00:26:28,700 --> 00:26:33,870
are among the top natural enemies of African snakes.
263
00:26:33,900 --> 00:26:37,270
But 10 million years ago, one of their ancient relatives
264
00:26:37,300 --> 00:26:40,570
abandoned the undergrowth in search of richer pickings
265
00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:42,730
on the open plains.
266
00:26:49,266 --> 00:26:52,626
Giants roamed the savannahs, and when they fell,
267
00:26:52,667 --> 00:26:56,067
mountains of meat were left for the taking.
268
00:26:57,900 --> 00:27:01,630
Feeding off these carcasses, the mongooses' evolutionary cousins
269
00:27:01,667 --> 00:27:06,767
transformed into predatory giants themselves--
270
00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:09,370
the spotted hyenas.
271
00:27:12,667 --> 00:27:16,127
Though famed as scavengers, these bone-cracking killers
272
00:27:16,166 --> 00:27:19,496
had fought their way to the top of the food chain.
273
00:27:22,333 --> 00:27:26,173
They're powerful, brutal, and capable of ripping prey open
274
00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:28,870
before it even hits the ground.
275
00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:38,470
In one landscape, spotted hyenas have even ousted lions
276
00:27:38,500 --> 00:27:40,970
as the apex predators...
277
00:27:43,033 --> 00:27:45,303
The Maasai Mara.
278
00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:52,100
The dens of large hyena clans dot this savannah,
279
00:27:52,133 --> 00:27:56,673
but these are no happy families.
280
00:27:56,700 --> 00:28:00,970
Hyena society is a dictatorship.
281
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:02,600
The matriarch rules,
282
00:28:02,633 --> 00:28:06,403
and the highest ranking females enforce her will.
283
00:28:10,667 --> 00:28:16,467
Rank is inherited at birth, and defended until death.
284
00:28:16,500 --> 00:28:19,100
The pecking order governs everything--
285
00:28:19,133 --> 00:28:24,333
those with rank breed, hunt and feed first.
286
00:28:24,367 --> 00:28:27,667
Those without are forced to fight for scraps
287
00:28:27,700 --> 00:28:29,870
against their clan mates.
288
00:28:33,300 --> 00:28:36,970
Spotted hyenas are among the most brutal to their own kind
289
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:38,970
of all mammals.
290
00:28:40,967 --> 00:28:45,427
Clan members bear the scars of battles with their own,
291
00:28:45,467 --> 00:28:48,727
yet this vicious system holds the clan together,
292
00:28:48,767 --> 00:28:52,027
and grooms its members into some of the toughest hunters
293
00:28:52,066 --> 00:28:53,896
in Africa.
294
00:28:55,367 --> 00:28:59,127
Hyenas aren't built for speed.
295
00:28:59,166 --> 00:29:03,126
Their claws are dull, and they're no good at stealth.
296
00:29:06,700 --> 00:29:10,000
Their greatest weapon is cunning.
297
00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:15,930
A herd of topi and wildebeest are the perfect victims
298
00:29:15,967 --> 00:29:18,197
for a deadly scam.
299
00:29:23,700 --> 00:29:27,370
The bustle of hundreds of bodies keeps prey distracted.
300
00:29:31,300 --> 00:29:33,770
The hunting group spreads out.
301
00:29:38,100 --> 00:29:42,470
One by one, hyenas amble straight into the herd.
302
00:29:47,233 --> 00:29:50,433
They barely give prey a second glance.
303
00:29:57,100 --> 00:29:58,870
The act fools the herd into thinking
304
00:29:58,900 --> 00:30:02,330
they're just lone hyenas wandering the plain.
305
00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:08,670
The topi barely react to the predators
306
00:30:08,700 --> 00:30:10,870
infiltrating their ranks.
307
00:30:22,667 --> 00:30:27,497
Once the hyenas are in position, they search for soft targets.
308
00:30:30,934 --> 00:30:35,974
Topi are fast, agile antelope, but they have one fatal flaw.
309
00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:41,600
They need to rest often to digest the course grass cud
310
00:30:41,633 --> 00:30:44,773
fermenting in their guts.
311
00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:47,700
On the ground, they're sitting ducks.
312
00:30:51,834 --> 00:30:56,504
The hyena matriarch ambles into close range of a sleeping topi.
313
00:30:56,533 --> 00:30:58,873
She has backup nearby.
314
00:31:00,367 --> 00:31:03,627
Her dominant females are edging closer.
315
00:31:09,033 --> 00:31:12,573
The matriarch drops her disguise and charges.
316
00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:19,570
The topi is caught before it's perceived the threat.
317
00:31:22,300 --> 00:31:27,300
The nearest ally drops her guise, and races in to help,
318
00:31:27,333 --> 00:31:31,403
as the matriarch holds on with vice-like jaws.
319
00:31:36,133 --> 00:31:40,403
The second hyena latches on as backup bursts out of hiding.
320
00:31:54,133 --> 00:31:58,703
Working together, they tear open the abdomen with sheer force.
321
00:32:03,133 --> 00:32:05,533
The rest of the clan tears the victim apart
322
00:32:05,567 --> 00:32:08,297
before its heart stops beating.
323
00:32:15,667 --> 00:32:18,067
The big females feed first.
324
00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:26,100
Their low ranking clan mates must content themselves
325
00:32:26,133 --> 00:32:27,903
with scraps.
326
00:32:36,934 --> 00:32:42,304
Beyond the mainland, life is governed by different rules.
327
00:32:42,333 --> 00:32:46,533
Temperature is the catalyst that shapes these oceans.
328
00:32:46,567 --> 00:32:50,027
To the west, the Aghulas Current brings icy waters
329
00:32:50,066 --> 00:32:51,896
from the Arctic.
330
00:32:53,834 --> 00:32:57,104
To the east, the warm Benguela carries tepid waters
331
00:32:57,133 --> 00:33:00,573
from the tropics.
332
00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:04,230
At the southern tip of Africa, they collide.
333
00:33:07,734 --> 00:33:11,104
This stretch of ocean is called the Agulhas Bank.
334
00:33:13,767 --> 00:33:16,597
The clash of temperatures creates massive upwellings
335
00:33:16,633 --> 00:33:18,633
of nutrients.
336
00:33:18,667 --> 00:33:24,567
It's the perfect spawning ground for enormous shoals of sardines.
337
00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:26,600
To protect themselves from predators,
338
00:33:26,633 --> 00:33:30,503
these remarkable fish band together in their thousands,
339
00:33:30,533 --> 00:33:34,003
yet they move like one giant organism.
340
00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:38,630
It's hard for predators to lock on to a target
341
00:33:38,667 --> 00:33:42,127
amidst the shimmering mass,
342
00:33:42,166 --> 00:33:45,966
but one hunter has learned to turn the sardines' defenses
343
00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:48,300
against them-- the common dolphin.
344
00:33:53,233 --> 00:33:56,333
These high-speed marine mammals patrol this stretch of coast
345
00:33:56,367 --> 00:33:58,527
in small armies.
346
00:34:01,467 --> 00:34:03,697
Pods of up to 1,000 strong
347
00:34:03,734 --> 00:34:06,004
cruise at more than 20 miles per hour
348
00:34:06,033 --> 00:34:08,173
as they search for prey.
349
00:34:12,300 --> 00:34:15,530
It's like looking for a needle in a haystack.
350
00:34:18,166 --> 00:34:20,296
There may be only one sardine shoal
351
00:34:20,333 --> 00:34:23,703
in more than 200 million gallons of ocean.
352
00:34:28,600 --> 00:34:31,530
By banding together, the dolphins pool their senses
353
00:34:31,567 --> 00:34:34,597
to scan miles of ocean at a time.
354
00:34:39,867 --> 00:34:41,797
They have excellent eyesight and hearing,
355
00:34:41,834 --> 00:34:46,774
but they also have a sixth sense--sonar.
356
00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:48,800
Dolphins emit low-frequency sounds
357
00:34:48,834 --> 00:34:50,674
that bounce back off the shoal
358
00:34:50,700 --> 00:34:55,030
and allow them to pinpoint fish even in low visibility.
359
00:34:55,066 --> 00:34:56,966
[squeaking]
360
00:35:04,500 --> 00:35:06,530
Once they lock on to a shoal,
361
00:35:06,567 --> 00:35:09,627
they work together to herd it into a dense mass
362
00:35:09,667 --> 00:35:11,627
called a bait ball.
363
00:35:14,967 --> 00:35:18,867
The tighter the fish are packed, the easier they are to catch,
364
00:35:18,900 --> 00:35:21,830
but keeping them in formation takes teamwork.
365
00:35:27,166 --> 00:35:33,096
Half the pod circles the shoal to herd it tighter and tighter,
366
00:35:33,133 --> 00:35:35,233
while the other half bolts through the throng
367
00:35:35,266 --> 00:35:37,296
snatching up fish.
368
00:35:41,900 --> 00:35:46,070
Mid-battle, they switch roles so that everyone gets to feed.
369
00:35:48,700 --> 00:35:49,770
With this strategy,
370
00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:53,270
each dolphin eats half its body weight in a week.
371
00:36:11,266 --> 00:36:17,396
But when winter hits, everything changes in this stretch of sea.
372
00:36:17,433 --> 00:36:21,733
A band of cold water spreads up Africa's warm east coast,
373
00:36:21,767 --> 00:36:24,927
and expands the bank's unique habitat.
374
00:36:27,767 --> 00:36:31,397
Billions of sardines merge into a supersized shoal
375
00:36:31,433 --> 00:36:33,573
and migrate up the cold channel
376
00:36:33,600 --> 00:36:36,570
as nutrients well up from the ocean floor.
377
00:36:45,333 --> 00:36:47,803
The hordes of sardines are packed so densely
378
00:36:47,834 --> 00:36:50,734
that they blot out the light.
379
00:36:54,834 --> 00:37:00,234
Back on the Aghulas Bank, the dolphins prepare for a siege.
380
00:37:06,700 --> 00:37:09,900
Pod by pod, they abandon their home,
381
00:37:09,934 --> 00:37:14,074
and head north up the coast towards the feast.
382
00:37:17,433 --> 00:37:20,103
One by one, pods join forces,
383
00:37:20,133 --> 00:37:24,803
and merge into a fleet of dolphins up to 5,000 strong.
384
00:37:30,700 --> 00:37:32,830
[squeaking]
385
00:37:38,133 --> 00:37:39,333
They march up the coast
386
00:37:39,367 --> 00:37:42,497
in a front more than half a mile wide,
387
00:37:42,533 --> 00:37:46,703
searching for the first sign of the sardine run.
388
00:37:51,667 --> 00:37:53,827
[squeaking]
389
00:38:31,734 --> 00:38:34,834
The instant the common dolphins hit the sardine super-shoal,
390
00:38:34,867 --> 00:38:37,927
the entire army descends.
391
00:38:44,533 --> 00:38:48,973
The giant band of fish keeps surging onward up the coast.
392
00:38:50,834 --> 00:38:53,234
If the dolphins hunt on the main shoal,
393
00:38:53,266 --> 00:38:56,026
they have to constantly chase its tail.
394
00:38:59,367 --> 00:39:01,967
But they have a smarter strategy.
395
00:39:03,700 --> 00:39:06,030
Hundreds of dolphins at a time join forces
396
00:39:06,066 --> 00:39:10,166
to break giant bait balls off the moving bank of fish.
397
00:39:12,967 --> 00:39:16,467
Circling together, they bring the fish to a halt,
398
00:39:16,500 --> 00:39:20,930
and herd them into tight masses up to three stories tall.
399
00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:32,170
With the monstrous bait balls under their control,
400
00:39:32,200 --> 00:39:34,200
they gorge themselves.
401
00:39:55,300 --> 00:40:00,270
But there is a downside to the dolphins' military efficiency--
402
00:40:00,300 --> 00:40:02,470
it can be abused.
403
00:40:03,934 --> 00:40:07,504
Sharks are experts at sniffing out an opportunity.
404
00:40:10,467 --> 00:40:13,167
Many species can smell a teaspoon of blood
405
00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:16,330
in 2,500 gallons of seawater.
406
00:40:21,166 --> 00:40:24,096
Over 400 million years of evolution
407
00:40:24,133 --> 00:40:28,533
has honed them into the oceans' deadliest guild of predators.
408
00:40:30,633 --> 00:40:34,203
Ranks of blacktips, duskies, bronze whalers, and bull sharks
409
00:40:34,233 --> 00:40:38,973
home in on the scent of shredded sardines.
410
00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:42,630
The cold-blooded sharks are not as agile as the common dolphins.
411
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:46,930
When they hunt on the open shoal,
412
00:40:46,967 --> 00:40:52,267
it simply morphs around them, just out of reach.
413
00:40:52,300 --> 00:40:53,830
It's much easier to muscle in
414
00:40:53,867 --> 00:40:56,667
on the dolphins' captive bait balls.
415
00:41:04,433 --> 00:41:08,503
The dolphins have no choice but to share.
416
00:41:08,533 --> 00:41:13,433
Large sharks are among their few natural enemies.
417
00:41:13,467 --> 00:41:15,767
They're unlikely to hunt the dolphins,
418
00:41:15,800 --> 00:41:18,530
but a defensive bite could be deadly.
419
00:41:24,934 --> 00:41:28,934
The pillaging sharks send the dolphins' order into chaos.
420
00:41:30,633 --> 00:41:34,503
But the more fish spread out, the harder they are to catch.
421
00:41:36,934 --> 00:41:42,074
So the sharks push them against a wall they can't escape--
422
00:41:42,100 --> 00:41:43,900
the surface.
423
00:41:51,266 --> 00:41:54,266
The water boils with sharks and fish,
424
00:41:54,300 --> 00:41:57,430
which opens up the battle to another line of attack.
425
00:42:02,133 --> 00:42:05,903
Gannets--the ocean's air force.
426
00:42:05,934 --> 00:42:10,204
Squadrons of birds rain down on the bait ball like missiles
427
00:42:10,233 --> 00:42:12,703
from 100 feet in the air.
428
00:42:15,467 --> 00:42:19,627
They hit the water at a bone-crushing 60 miles per hour.
429
00:42:21,567 --> 00:42:26,867
At that speed, most animals would be dead on impact.
430
00:42:26,900 --> 00:42:29,300
But the gannets are built for this.
431
00:42:32,967 --> 00:42:34,727
Their bodies are perfectly streamlined
432
00:42:34,767 --> 00:42:37,127
to minimize resistance.
433
00:42:39,567 --> 00:42:40,967
And they have sacs in their necks
434
00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:44,230
that work like airbags to absorb the blow.
435
00:42:45,967 --> 00:42:48,727
But what tips the scales between life and death
436
00:42:48,767 --> 00:42:51,267
is high-precision flying.
437
00:42:53,433 --> 00:42:56,673
The birds dive into a soup of bodies,
438
00:42:56,700 --> 00:42:59,570
yet they rarely hit the other predators.
439
00:43:01,967 --> 00:43:04,967
Even though their wingspan is as wide as a car,
440
00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:08,200
and they literally require a runway for takeoff,
441
00:43:08,233 --> 00:43:11,203
they fly with uncanny control.
442
00:43:18,200 --> 00:43:21,630
Their specialized eyes pinpoint a target below the surface
443
00:43:21,667 --> 00:43:23,997
from three stories up.
444
00:43:26,667 --> 00:43:29,467
And they shoot down between the sharks and dolphins
445
00:43:29,500 --> 00:43:33,130
with perfect accuracy to snatch it.
446
00:43:36,233 --> 00:43:38,103
If they miss their prey on impact,
447
00:43:38,133 --> 00:43:41,833
they use their waterproof wings like paddles to swim it down
448
00:43:41,867 --> 00:43:44,667
at depths of up to 30 feet.
449
00:43:50,033 --> 00:43:52,473
Their nostril-less beaks are watertight,
450
00:43:52,500 --> 00:43:55,930
and they can hold their breath for more than 30 seconds.
451
00:43:57,867 --> 00:44:02,827
But even down here, the greatest danger is head-on collision.
452
00:44:06,233 --> 00:44:08,203
There are literally hundreds of predators
453
00:44:08,233 --> 00:44:11,273
competing for the feast,
454
00:44:11,300 --> 00:44:14,830
yet the birds negotiate the throngs of sharks and dolphins
455
00:44:14,867 --> 00:44:18,127
with incredible underwater agility.
456
00:44:24,567 --> 00:44:27,697
The three hunting armies reduce the massive bait balls
457
00:44:27,734 --> 00:44:31,674
to a handful of fish in a matter of hours.
458
00:44:40,233 --> 00:44:43,233
As they feast, more predators pour in,
459
00:44:43,266 --> 00:44:45,726
yet attacks between them are rare.
460
00:44:51,266 --> 00:44:53,896
It is one of the most extraordinary synergies
461
00:44:53,934 --> 00:44:56,974
of predators on earth--
462
00:44:57,000 --> 00:44:59,870
three swarms of some of Africa's deadliest,
463
00:44:59,900 --> 00:45:05,000
attacking in unison to annihilate their common prey.
464
00:45:05,050 --> 00:45:09,600
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