All language subtitles for Tales From Zambia Series 2 3of8 Safari CSI 1080p

NARRATOR:
In this dangerous land,

killers hide in the shadows.

Out here, no one is safe.

And three new victims
have just met their fate.

A big bull hippo,

struck down in his prime.

A young lion,

his life over
before it really began.

(SNORTS)

And a one-ton buffalo,
a stalwart of his herd,

snuffed out.

Who, or what,
ended their lives?

Anyone could be a suspect.

Killers can be victims

and victims can be killers.

Can you guess whodunnit?

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(HIPPOS GRUNTING)

This young male hippo
is eight years old.

A member of the 300-strong pod
of hippos living at Big Bend.

He’s lived here all his life

and has finally
reached sexual maturity.

He’s in the prime of his life.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h(GRUNTING)

Or at least, he was.

This morning,
his body was discovered
floating in the river.

A killer has paid
the pod a visit,

leaving its victim
dead in the water.

But who is the culprit?

Three suspects
were seen in the area.

A group of crocodiles
that hunts along
this stretch of river.

A dominant male hippo,
the beach-master,

who’s always
looking for a fight.

(HIPPOS GROANING)

And the Nsefu lions,

Luangwa’s known
hippo killers.

(GROWLING)

(FLIES BUZZING)

But which one of them
is the culprit?

Let’s analyze the suspects.

Crocodiles share the river
with the hippos.

Proximity to the victim
makes these guys
a prime suspect.

And they’ve got priors.

Crocodiles are frequently
seen eating hippos here.

They have one of
the strongest bite forces
of any animal on earth.

Plenty powerful enough
to take on a hippo.

(HISSING)

They use their
needle-sharp teeth

to rip chunks off the carcass,
swallowing them whole.

And their powerful tails
and infamous death roll

give them the strength
to break through
even the toughest skin.

A hippo would provide
an incredible feast

for a group
of hungry crocodiles,

feeding them for a week.

(HIPPO GRUNTING)

But there are risks
when taking on a hippo.

A fully grown adult could bite
a nine-foot crocodile in half.

So are the crocodiles
the hippo’s killers
or just scavengers?

(BELLOWING)

This is the beach-master,

the dominant male in the pod.

(HIPPOS GRUNTING)

He’s huge, weighing in
at over 4,000 pounds.

He has fought his way
to the top to reign
over this hippo cohort.

He has the ultimate
fighting weapons,

incisors for stabbing
and canines for slashing.

And at this time of year,
the dry season,

competition between
bull male hippos
is at its peak.

In these fights for dominance,
the stakes are high

as the winner
gains mating rights
to the whole hippo pod.

For a young male, a fight
with a beach-master is risky.

But the potential reward
is huge.

Did our victim take a gamble
that cost him his life?

(SQUAWKING)

The Nsefu pride.

They’re renowned hippo killers
with previous convictions.

Only a week ago,
they killed a female hippo
from the same pod.

(SNARLING)

For lions to take on a hippo,
it’s all about teamwork.

Only by working together
do they have the skill
and muscle power

to bring down
a fully-grown adult hippo.

They also have
another killing strategy...

Hunting at night.

(INSECTS CHIRPING)

During the day,
hippos in the water
are safe from attack.

But when night falls,
they venture onto land
to forage.

And the lions
come into their own.

Many nights, the Nsefu pride

hangs by the water’s edge,
waiting for the hippos
to emerge.

(GROWLING SOFTLY)

They’re outweighed.

But they outnumber the hippo,
and try to surround it.

(GROANING)

(SNARLING)

The only option for a hippo
is to try to make it
back to the water.

Sometimes they succeed.

But not always.

Is this how our hippo victim
met his gruesome end?

Three suspects.

Three motives.

And three killing strategies.

But who is the killer?

Let’s review the evidence.

The carcass was
discovered in the river,

so the killing
almost certainly
took place there.

The most obvious suspects
are the crocodiles,
which hunt in water.

But they would have ripped
the carcass to shreds,

tearing off limbs
with their signature
death roll.

So it wasn’t the crocs.

Lions rarely hunt in water,

but if they had
killed the hippo,

they’d also have
taken huge chunks
out of the carcass.

But the skin is unbroken.

And they probably would
have dragged the carcass
onto dry land to feed.

So it wasn’t
the lions, either.

Based on the wounds
on the hippo’s back,
a fight definitely took place.

But many of
these scars are old,

suggesting this
was an ongoing battle.

That leaves one suspect...

The beach-master.

Was he the killer
you suspected?

This is how it happened.

(BOTH BELLOWING)

As the day begins,
a fight breaks out
in the water.

It’s the young hippo
and the beach-master.

Coming into sexual maturity,

the bachelor male has decided

it’s time to take on
the dominant bull.

The two seem equally matched.

Slashing at each other
with their huge canines,

it becomes a bloody battle.

Pushed back into the water,

the young male
starts to struggle

against the brute force
and experience
of the dominant beach-master.

Exhausted from the battle,
he tries to escape.

The beach-master
decides to make it
a fight to the death,

drags him underwater
and holds him down.

The river
becomes still
once more.

Overnight, the drowned carcass
floats back up to the surface.

The dominant bull
drowned the young male.

Conflict like this is common
at this time of year.

Only the strongest
will survive.

Dominant bulls
face many challengers,

so this killer
could strike again.

The culprit
in this hippo carcass case
was the beach-master.

Conflict within a species is
common in the natural world.

Just like hippos,

male impalas fight
to gain mating rights
to the females.

Battles are short, but savage.

One false move
could mean death

as their horns are
the perfect murder weapon,

piercing skin and flesh
like a dagger.

This impala was killed
by a single stab wound from
his opponent’s sharp horns.

But sometimes out here,

carcasses are discovered
where the cause of death
is much harder to uncover.

This is a yearling
from the Nsefu pride.

He has two brothers
and they spend
all their time together.

The pride has recently seen
the arrival of new cubs.

The yearling knows
it won’t be long

before he’ll have to
leave the pride
to fend for himself.

But for now,
he’s taking advantage of being
part of the Nsefu family.

(GROWLING)

He has his whole life
ahead of him...

At least, he did.

This morning,
his body was
discovered in the brush.

Who or what would kill a lion?

The suspect list
is a long one.

Many animals have lions
on their hit list.

Elephants fight
to protect their young,

(TRUMPETING)

and a feisty herd
could easily trample

a young, naive lion.

(TRUMPETS)

Crocodiles are
supreme predators,

almost unchanged
for 80 million years.

They have no qualms
in fighting a lion for food.

Hippos are often
on a lion’s menu.

(GRUNTS)

But sometimes,
even they fight back.

But in the last 24 hours
before the carcass
was discovered,

just three suspects
were seen in the vicinity.

(GRUNTING)

A boisterous herd of buffalo.

A prickly porcupine.

And the Maneless Three,
a gang from a rival pride.

But which of these
potential killers

took the life
of the young lion?

Let’s analyze the suspects.

The buffalo
and the lions of Luangwa
are constantly at war.

Lions love to hunt them,

but the buffalo
are far from defenseless.

The buffalos’ sharp horns
can puncture skin
and cut through muscle.

A bone shield on their heads,

known as a boss,

is like a sledgehammer that
can deliver a lethal blow.

And one kick
could crush a lion’s skull.

Under attack
from a predatory lion,

did these powerful herbivores
turn killer?

This is an African porcupine.

The stumpy rodent hardly seems
much of a match for a lion

but he has
a quiver full of arrows.

Thousands of
needle-sharp quills.

These modified hairs lie flat

until the porcupine
is threatened.

Each quill is attached
to a muscle

which is sent a signal
from the brain to contract

when the porcupine senses
an imminent attack.

But they deliver more than
just a prickle to the nose.

It seems hard to believe,

but these quills can get
so deeply embedded
under the skin,

they’re almost
impossible to remove,

causing internal damage,
but leaving no visible trace.

Most adult lions
are too sensible to go
for this prickly meal.

But did curiosity
kill our yearling cat?

Male lions can be
the biggest threat
to their own kind.

When they attempt
a pride takeover,

the battle can be violent.

They will kill any offspring
that aren’t theirs

to ensure the females
come back into oestrus.

This infanticide always
targets young cubs.

But yearlings can
be victims, too.

And for a teenage lion,
there are added risks.

The pride is focused
on the new cubs

and a curious,
over-confident yearling

could get himself
into trouble.

Did the victim wander off
and stray into

the neighboring territory
of the Maneless Three?

An accidental encounter
with the fiery threesome

would result
in almost certain death
for any young lion.

We have the motives
and killing strategies
for each of our suspects.

But who is the culprit?

Let’s review the evidence.

Death by porcupine spine
is a slow process,

taking days or even weeks.

Our victim died
in just a few hours.

There was also no sign
of any impaled quills
on the body.

So it wasn’t the porcupine.

There are also
no bite marks
on the body

so it’s highly unlikely
to have been another lion.

Whatever killed
the yearling
left no mark.

So who was the killer?

If you thought a buffalo
was to blame, you’d be right.

But how?

The night before
the carcass is discovered,

the Nsefu pride
is on the prowl.

And the yearling
has joined the hunt.

They single out a buffalo
at the back of the herd

and launch an attack.

Surrounding the buffalo,

the female lions
come into their own.

(GROANS)

The yearling hangs back,

as it takes
experience and knowledge
to bring down a buffalo.

(THUDDING)

But the young lion
gets stuck in the wrong place.

Trapped underneath
the buffalo,
he is trampled.

The damage is invisible,

but massive internal injuries

kill him within
just a few hours.

An animal that
is normally prey
became the killer,

though in this case,
it was self-defense.

Every year, many lions
are injured by these
formidable herbivores.

The buffalo was the culprit.

The lion carcass case
is solved.

The problem
with solving crimes out here

is that evidence
disappears quickly.

The clean-up process
for this young lion
has begun with

some of the smallest residents
of Luangwa, the ants.

Ants out here
can be formidable.

Some have a ferocious bite,

and they will often travel
in swarms of thousands,

destroying everything
in their path.

When looking for a carcass,

the ants send out
small search parties.

This impala was dragged
nine feet up a tree
by a leopard.

It’s a strategy
to protect the kill
from other predators.

Lions, wild dogs, and hyenas
would all steal a free meal,
given half a chance.

(HYENA SCREECHING)

It may be safe from them

but not from the ants.

Once they locate
a body like this,

they release a pheromone
to guide in
the rest of the colony.

They use sharp pincers
to tear off tiny chunks
of meat.

But they aren’t
the only ones cleaning up
death in the valley.

These two scavengers,

a hooded vulture
and a fish eagle,

have spotted their food
from the sky

and come down for a feast.

But they need to wait
for their larger cousins
to arrive.

(SQUAWKING LOUDLY)

White backed vultures
have powerful beaks
that can open up the carcass.

With eyesight
eight times better
than a human’s,

they can spot a kill
from up to a mile away.

In a matter of minutes,
there can be hundreds
feeding on a carcass.

Using their strong beaks
to rip and tear,

they gorge themselves
on soft muscle
and organ tissue.

But the racket
attracts another scavenger.

Hyenas’ hearing
is exceptional,

so acute they can even hear
a predator killing prey
six miles away.

(CACKLING)

They’re one of the most
efficient eaters
on the plains,

able to devour
more of a carcass
than any other animal.

Their powerful jaws
are capable

of snapping
and crushing bone
with ease.

Nothing goes to waste.

High levels
of hydrochloric acid
in their stomachs

enable them to digest bones,
horns, ligaments and hair.

Once the hyenas move away,

the vultures vacuum up
any last bone fragments.

Between them,

they are the ultimate
crime scene clean-up crew.

These waste disposal experts
are a vital cog in
the valley ecosystem.

But their efficiency
can make it hard to find

any clues as to why
an animal met its end.

There is one last
mystery killing to solve.

This is a 2,000 pound
male buffalo.

At 15 years,

he’s one of
the older members
of the herd.

An experienced male,

he’s fought off
many lions in his time

and fathered
numerous offspring.

But in the late afternoon,
a horrifying scene
is discovered.

Buffalo are
the ultimate prey species.

Already being devoured
by vultures,

this stalwart male is found
facedown in the mud.

Evidence is quickly being lost

as the more
dominant birds fight
for the best cuts of meat.

Dozens descend.

A carcass like this
can be completely consumed
in a matter of hours.

But vultures aren’t killers.

They must rely
on something else
to do the dirty deed.

But who would have
left the vultures
this incredible buffet?

Let’s take a look.

There are three possible
suspects in this case.

First, a group of lions
from the Nsefu pride.

The Hot Springs wild dog pack.

Or Olimba,
the solitary resident leopard.

Let’s analyze the suspects.

The Nsefu pride, as we know,

are experienced
buffalo killers.

So they are high
on the suspect list.

They have the pack power
to take on a buffalo

and these serial killers
have a long list
of previous victims.

But 70% of their hunts fail,

so were they successful
this time?

Another group hunter.

The Hot Springs pack
are wild dogs
at the top of their game.

These African assassins
have the perfect
team hunting strategy.

(YIPPING)

They travel huge distances
looking for prey.

Once they spot a target,

their strategy is
to run it to exhaustion
over long distances.

(BARKS)

At best, their prey only has
a 30% chance of escaping.

Wild dogs are
the most efficient
of all the African hunters.

(YIPPING)

Once they’ve made a kill,
they need to be on high alert.

There are thieves about.

There’s no time
for table manners.

Speed is of the essence
to avoid their prey
being stolen.

This pack of 12
will eat 220 pounds
of meat in just 15 minutes.

But what about
the buffalo victim?

Could this pack
have taken him down?

Buffalo weigh well over
30 times more than a wild dog,

and tower over them, too.

Nevertheless, wild dogs
show no fear and are often
seen taunting them.

So did the Hot Springs pack
use their strength in numbers
to commit the crime?

There’s one more suspect
to consider.

Olimba.

She’s a fit, young leopard.

Her territory includes
the location where
the victim’s body was found.

She’s been seen
eating buffalo before,

but was she just scavenging?

Could she really defeat
a Luangwa heavyweight
on her own?

She already has
a criminal record,

but her past victims
were mostly impala.

Impala are ten times
lighter than a buffalo

and the leopard
can take them down
with ease.

Her tactic is to creep
as close as possible.

Superbly camouflaged,
she uses stealth
to move almost unnoticed.

Her powerful jaws
grip her victim
in a lethal stranglehold.

Impala are perfect prey.

Small enough for
a single leopard to take down
with little risk of injury,

but large enough to provide
several hearty meals.

On the flip side,

buffalo are 20 times
heavier than a leopard

and well-armed with horns that
can inflict serious injury,
or even death.

Could Olimba’s
stealthy tactics
have helped her

to achieve
the near impossible?

We have the motives
and killing strategies
for each of our suspects.

But who or what is responsible
for the victim’s death?

Let’s review the evidence.

Wild dogs will
devour their prey
as soon as they bring it down.

But on this body,
there is still plenty of meat
left for the vultures.

Dogs in packs of 30
or more have been
known to kill buffalo

but the Hot Springs pack
only has 12 members,

not enough to be the killers.

If it wasn’t the wild dogs,
was it one of the big cats?

The Nsefu lions or Olimba
would have taken huge chunks
out of the buffalo.

But before the vultures
had their way,

the carcass seemed
remarkably intact.

(FLIES BUZZING)

What’s more,
there are thousands
of buffalo footprints

at the scene.

And not one big cat print.

Leopards and lions
are ruled out.

But if it wasn’t cats or dogs,

what did kill the victim?

A new suspect has emerged.

The Luangwa Valley
is dotted with lagoons,

vital watering holes
for hundreds of animals.

During the dry season,
they evaporate

and accessing
the dwindling water
becomes trickier.

But there’s an upside
that makes it
worth the struggle.

In addition
to quenching their thirst,

a mud bath is the perfect way
to cool down
in the heat of the day.

The buffalo cover themselves
in this natural sunscreen.

So, how did
this scene of tranquillity
turn into tragedy?

Who or what
is the mystery killer?

Let’s examine the evidence
more closely.

As the day began to warm,

the buffalo herd
crossed the muddy gauntlet

to get a well-deserved drink
and a soothing mud bath.

But soon,
the temperature sky-rocketed,

sucking the last
of the moisture
from the cooling mud.

Mud can set like concrete,

trapping its victims.

The buffalo spa
became a death trap.

When the herd moved on,

he was stuck fast.

Unable to escape, hours later,

exhausted and dehydrated,
the buffalo died.

Drought is
a more deadly killer
than any predator.

The buffalo carcass case
is solved.

Every carcass
in the Luangwa Valley
has a story.

The cause of death
can be surprising

as killers come
in all shapes and sizes.

Carnivores aren’t
always the bad guys

and herbivores aren’t
always the victims.

With our three
mysteries solved,

it’s only too clear
that out here
in this harsh environment,

death can come in many guises.

(HYENAS CACKLING)

(HIPPO GROANING)

Only the strongest

and the luckiest will survive.

(♪)

(♪)

(♪)

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