Original subtitles

(thunder rumbling)

NARRATOR: In the killing fields of the Kalahari,

both the hunters and the hunted

have extraordinary powers

to give them the best chance in life.

These superpowers have created a world of indestructible weaponry...

-(buffalo grunts) -(lion growls)

...graceful agility...

...ingenious adaptations...

...and magnified senses.

Exceptional abilities that catapult these animals

into the realm of superheroes.

The king of beasts,

the mighty lion,

earns its title through sheer hunting prowess.

Working together there isn't much a pride of lions cannot capture...

and kill.

From agile mongooses...

-(elephant trumpets) -...to huge elephants.

But it's not just teamwork that makes them prolific hunters.

The lion is the only big cat capable

of regularly taking down prey far larger than itself.

(grunts)

A one ton buffalo versus a 270 pounds lioness

may not be a fair fight.

But where the buffalo has huge horns to defend itself,

the lioness keeps her weapons cleverly concealed.

The lions get the herd on the run.

To avoid being impaled,

they launch their attack from behind.

At the last moment

she exposes her weapons.

Ten razor sharp, curved claws.

She hooks into the two inch thick buffalo skin,

bringing this 1000 pounds beast to a standstill.

For extra grip, the lioness digs her teeth in.

Her bite is 30 times stronger than a domestic cat.

And the gap behind the three inch long canine

means she can clamp down like a vice around the buffalo's spine.

But the hulking buffalo is still standing.

Time for the lioness to pull out the big guns.

(buffalo grunts)

With an unshakable grip

she uses her muscular forearms to pull the beast

to the ground.

The equivalent of the average person trying to pull a grizzly bear

off its feet.

(buffalo grunting)

With effective weapons and super forearm strength

lions are some of Africa's deadliest hunters.

They have perfected their technique to become the only big cats

that are true giant killers.

(growls)

Another big cat on these grasslands is the cheetah.

Their hunting strategy relies on a different type of muscle power.

The cheetah has genetically morphed over the years

to be the ultimate speed freak.

Sleeker and less bulky than any lion,

their muscles are built for speed rather than strength.

With a reinforced skeleton,

elongated legs,

enlarged heart,

even its head is aerodynamic...

Everything comes together to make the cheetah

the fastest animal on land.

Flat out they can reach speeds of 70 miles an hour.

But, amazingly, speed is not their real superpower.

Cheetahs are usually solitary,

but these two males have formed a hunting coalition.

Together they've been tracking the fastest antelope in Africa,

the tsessebe.

It's a battle of the sprinters.

Using stealth and camouflage this cheetah gets as close as possible.

(birds chirping)

But he's merely a distraction.

As soon as the herd flees

his accomplice launches an ambush,

revealing the cheetah's unique power,

super acceleration.

From zero to forty-five miles an hour in just three strides...

his extra flexible spine acts like a spring for the back legs

and stretches out to cover 22 feet in a single bound.

To gain ground on the antelope,

he uses his exposed claws like running spikes

for maximum traction.

But for speed, he has sacrificed sharpness

and blunt claws mean a less effective grip on his catch.

Swinging his heavy tail like a counterweight

he can stop, turn on a dime and try again.

This time, the cheetah pair go hungry.

It takes a huge amount of muscle power to generate their lightening acceleration

and they will need to recover before hunting again.

Superpowers sometimes come at a cost.

It's not only Africa's deadliest predators that possess superpowers.

In order to evade them,

prey species have their own unique set of skills

and adaptations.

Impala herds, grazing on the open grasslands,

are a common sight in the Kalahari.

And a tempting one to a predator.

But, years of predation pressure have turned these timid animals

into anything but an easy catch.

Their slender build and delicate legs may give the impression of vulnerability,

but these are what give the impala its greatest advantage.

With huge ears and eyes on the side of their head,

giving them almost 300 degree vision,

impala are hyper-vigilant.

An approaching, hungry, wild dog pack pose a direct threat.

The alarm is sounded.

(snorts)

A sudden explosion of impala scattering in all directions

is a deliberate tactic to confuse their hunters.

But, against wild dogs, some of nature's greatest runners,

speed just isn't enough.

So they also leap,

and impalas take leaping

to another level.

Their hugely powerful thighs

and flexible legs propel them gracefully into the air,

giving them almost unparalleled jumping ability.

In full flight, an impala can leap a distance of 33 feet.

And up to ten feet high.

Clearing anything in its path,

including the wild dogs.

As they jump, high kicks release scent from glands on their ankles,

leaving a trail so the scattered herd can find each other.

The impala's impressive hurdling has left the wild dogs standing.

Outmaneuvered by their super-powered prey.

Other familiar sights on the plains

include the giraffe,

its silhouette utterly unmistakable due to its distinctive, long neck.

But it wasn't always the case,

one of their ancestors, seven million years ago,

had a shorter neck.

So why did the giraffe develop such a long neck?

Did it elongate over time

so they could feed on leaves no other animal could,

ensuring its survival in even the sparsest of landscapes?

It is unlikely to have evolved to aid their escape from predators.

And when they come to take a drink,

their necks somehow don't seem long enough.

Giraffe have the same number of neck bones as humans,

but, each vertebrae is ten inches long,

containing unique ball and socket joints,

this turns their neck into a highly flexible super-weapon.

Within a herd, the males fight for dominance.

But they don't have horns to clash or claws to strike,

so they use their necks instead.

The tussle starts with a bit of pushing and shoving.

Until one makes the first move

and the battle is on.

At around six foot long and weighing six hundred pounds,

the giraffe's neck acts like a wrecking ball

as the males exchange violent body blows.

The longer the neck, the greater the impact,

with some strikes creating enough force to break bones.

Or knock his opponent of their feet.

To get mating as well as bragging rights

winning literally means putting your neck on the line

to pass on your genes to future generations.

Where there are superpowers there are often super gadgets,

and the elephant has one of the best.

It's not just a distinguishing feature,

it's also a phenomenally useful multi-tool.

A fusion of nose and top lip,

an elephant's trunk contains over 100,000 muscles,

giving it exceptional strength,

maneuverability,

and dexterity.

Compare that to the paltry 600 plus muscles in the entire human body

and you get the idea how intricate this appendage is.

Unsurprisingly,

the longest nose in the natural world is also the most effective,

an elephant has twice as many smelling genes as a dog.

But they also use their trunks for grasping food...

drinking, it can hold three gallons of water at one time.

Or dust.

It can be used as a snorkel,

a shower...

...a pacifier...

...to shake hands...

or hold hands.

It is so complex and has so many uses

it may take two years for a youngster to master.

An elephant's trunk is possibly the most amazing body part

in the animal kingdom.

But it's not the only superpower that puts the elephant one step ahead

in the fight for survival.

(trumpets)

Botswana is home to the largest elephant population in Africa,

but here, the lions have turned into

elephant killers.

This huge, lone elephant is under siege...

(elephant trumpeting)

...she charges at the lions

and trumpets loudly to scare them off.

(lions growling)

But she also sends out

a secret, silent warning of danger to others.

(trumpeting continues)

Stomping her feet and giving out a low frequency rumble...

(soft rumble)

...so low it cannot be heard by humans.

Together, these sound waves vibrate through the ground

up to six miles in all directions.

An elephant's unusual superpower

is that they hear this inaudible warning through their feet.

Delicate nerve endings pick up reverberations through the earth,

decoding the messages.

The message is clear,

lions are on the attack.

(trumpets)

This herd of females, with their offspring, go on the defense.

They hustle the young and vulnerable to the middle of the herd

and form a protective wall around them.

Any lion will try and separate the mother from their babies for an easy kill.

Defiant, they remain still.

Listening with their feet and trunks for the all clear.

The elephant's unique early warning system has worked,

danger has been averted.

In the Kalahari, the most elusive cat is a lone hunter.

The leopard has neither the speed nor brute strength of its feline cousins.

Instead, it's a master of the surprise attack.

Not easy in these grasslands,

where prey species are keen eyed and wary.

But the leopard has special powers to transform it into a silent assassin.

First, she must locate her target.

The Kalahari is a cacophony of sound.

(animal sounds)

But the leopard has hearing

five times better than the average human.

With rotating, concave ears to help capture sound waves

her inner ears can pick up vibrations two octaves above what we can hear.

She can single out individual sounds from the background noise.

(indistinct animal sounds)

This leopard has zeroed in on the sound

of a small gaggle of geese in the distance.

She focuses solely on the sound of their movements

to track them in the long grass.

She must not make a single sound to betray her intentions.

Tufts of hair between her padded toes muffle the sound of her footfall,

and shoulder blades on the side of her body

allow her to slink along, stealthily,

just inches from the ground.

She waits, silently hidden,

listening for when the goose moves into the perfect position.

A goose dinner will do nicely.

If the leopard is a sophisticated stalker,

then the jackal is the thug of the Kalahari.

But there is much more to this dog like animal

than its brazen reputation would have you believe.

Often seen as just scavengers,

jackals actually have an enormously varied diet

and do catch nearly all of their own food,

from baby antelope to tiny rodents

they have cleverly perfected a different method for each meal.

He may try to chase down his prey...

or use his nose to sniff out scraps and fallen fruit.

But if his speed or sense of smell fails to bring home the bacon

the jackal can utilize another super skill.

Hidden in the long grass are thousands of tiny insects and rodents,

some are underground, some are deftly camouflaged,

some move at lightning speed.

The jackal cannot see them

but he can hear them.

His huge, funnel like ears

means that not only can he hear every tiny scratch or footstep...

(squeaks)

...he can also pinpoint their location,

predict their movements

and pounce.

It's a useful skill to have

for an easy meal with minimal effort,

when all else fails.

No predator has a 100% success rate when it comes to hunting,

but there is one unlikely creature

that comes very close.

On the savanna's of Botswana

lions may be hailed as rulers...

and wild dogs are known as unbeatable pack hunters,

but, surprisingly,

neither of these can claim to be nature's most successful predator.

That title belongs to...

the dragonfly.

They have been around for 300 million years,

pre-dating the dinosaurs,

back then they were huge with a three foot wingspan.

Now, although thankfully a great deal smaller,

they are no less impressive, especially at flying.

Nothing comes close to their feats of aerial dexterity.

Their four wings operate independently

so they can fly upside down

as well as backwards, they can hover in midair

and have a top speed of 50 miles an hour.

Combine this with another incredible super power

and dragonflies have a 95% success rate when it comes to hunting.

They can see in slow motion.

We see at 60 images per second,

dragonflies see at 200,

over three times slower.

Huge, compound eyes containing 30,000 lenses,

view the world in ultra, ultra HD.

(fly buzzing)

Each lens builds up a 360 degree image,

with ten times more color than the human eye can register.

It can track and assess an object in 500ths of a second.

Coupled with a reaction time of 30 milliseconds

that's one fast hunter.

With its expert flying skills,

the ability to slow down time,

and the most enhanced vision in the animal kingdom,

the dragonfly is nature's true superhero.

Leopards also have acute visual superpowers.

But they cannot see underwater.

For this they use another part of their body.

And in this corner of Botswana,

leopards have become adept at fishing for their supper.

his leopard can tell there's fish in the water,

but the water is thick with mud, obscuring her view.

So, instead, she dips the tips of her whiskers in the water.

These long, thick hairs are attached to ultra-sensitive nerves,

each one linking directly to its own location in the brain.

They can detect tiny changes or movements in the water's flow,

providing a tactile image of what the cat can't see.

Giving those with whiskers a huge, sensory advantage.

The power of second sight.

For other animals there is also more to vision than meets the eye.

The python is one of Africa's deadliest snakes,

and it has a rather unconventional way of detecting its prey.

It can smell through its tongue and see through its nose.

Using its forked tongue it tastes the air,

and by picking up the floating odor particles

it can smell its prey with the roof of its mouth.

This python has picked up the scent of a squirrel.

A snake's poor vision is attuned mainly to movement,

so the squirrel keeps dead still.

But it won't work,

this snake has the power to see right through its act.

A crafty squirrel thinks he can outsmart this python by playing statues,

but this snake is not so easily deceived.

Heat sensitive pit organs

on either side of its snout register the warm blood of its prey,

mixing both visual and thermal images together

the python can pinpoint its next meal,

still or not.

(squeaking)

With one gulp the squirrel is swallowed whole.

The python's power to detect body heat

gives it the ability to see through any camouflage

or defensive ploys, right to the beating heart

of its victim.

Keen eyesight is essential for hunting,

but less so for scavenging.

For that you need a different sense.

and a lot of bravado

Hyenas are successful pack hunters and infamous scavengers.

And out of all the carnivores they are the best equipped for it.

This close knit clan is patrolling its territory.

And something has piqued their interest.

Hyenas have a remarkable sense of smell,

it's their primary sense,

and they can sniff out a fresh kill from two and a half miles away.

Unable to resist the scent of carrion,

all this thieving clan have to do is follow their nose.

But, out here there's no such thing as a free lunch,

and the hyenas don't yet know

who they might have to fight to get their feast.

The kill was made by a pair of lions,

dangerous opponents.

Hyenas are both clever and persistent,

they know they outnumber the lions but a fight could still be deadly.

So the cocky hyenas edge gradually closer,

testing the lions tolerance.

The lion gives a half hearted warning.

But it's not enough to phase the hyenas,

and her lack of aggression bolsters their tenacity.

Eventually the hyenas make their move.

But rather than steal the giraffe carcass,

unusually they decide to share.

And dine alongside an old enemy.

There is not much meat left on the bones but this does not deter them.

As die-hard scroungers,

hyenas are armed with all the necessary tools

to consume everything that remains.

Powerful jaws and unique teeth,

for crushing up huge bones, and specialized, tendon slicing molars,

they will eat hair, hooves and horns,

leaving little that is not devoured and digested.

Even the rancid and the rotten.

Hyenas feast on flesh so contaminated

it would sicken if not kill a person,

putrid and maggot infested they turn their noses up at nothing.

But hyenas have a super strong digestive system

with notoriously high levels of acidity.

It destroys dangerous bacteria

and can tolerate toxins without them getting sick.

Their gut is also efficient,

extracting the utmost nourishment from a carcass,

nothing goes to waste.

Their white poop shows that all that is left

is the calcium from digested teeth and bones.

No other mammal has this superpower.

Like hyenas, wild dogs are pack animals, where teamwork is paramount

and communication is key.

Wild dogs have one of the most complex vocabularies of any canine.

They chatter constantly within their pack.

(wild dogs squealing)

It's a way of reinforcing bonds and establishing hierarchy.

But, despite being led by a dominant pair,

their power is not absolute.

When it comes to deciding when to hunt

the pack is a true democracy and put it to a vote.

And they vote in a very peculiar way,

with their nose.

It's the wet season in northern Botswana,

and this pack of wild dogs has woken up hungry.

At first they rally, a form of playing and bonding.

But, operating as a pack you need full on cooperation,

if one wants to turn playtime into meal time

he needs to get everyone on board.

So, the pack take a vote to see who is up for a hunt.

Instead of a show of hands, these dogs cast their vote another way.

By sneezing.

(sneezes)

(sneezes)

A low number of sneezes means the motion is not carried.

But with a majority vote the hunt is on.

(sneezing)

The pack pick up the scent trail of a waterbuck herd.

One of the slowest and heaviest antelopes.

But the waterbuck have an escape plan.

They run towards the water,

which hinders the dogs pursuit.

The dogs have failed this time,

they'll take another vote to decide whether to hunt again.

A sense of smell isn't only for finding food.

Many animals also use scent to send messages.

Glands all over their bodies give off pheromones,

odors that act like tags, revealing the markers identity...

their status and rank...

marking out a territory for intruders...

and even seduction.

In a deliberate act of subversion,

this wild dog is rolling in faeces

to disguise his own scent

and masquerade as a hyena.

Interactions between animals aren't always so subtle.

The Savannah is full with the sounds of vocal exchanges.

(grunts)

(soft growl)

A male lion asserting his dominance.

(grunts)

(dog barks)

(hoots)

Or an owl searching for a mate.

(hoots)

(soft growl)

A mother calling to her cubs.

While a mongoose rallies his gang.

(rumbling)

A warm greeting...

-(squeaking) -...or a warning.

Kudu antelope have big ears,

all the better to hear predators approaching with.

But some predators are not so easily heard.

A tiny tree-top lookout

has their back.

His warning is unmistakable.

The kudu have the last laugh,

leaving the leopard to slope off hungry.

Understanding the languages of the Savannah

can be the difference between life and death.

But some predators don't have to chase down their prey,

they sit and wait for it to be delivered.

A spider spins a trap

and lays in wait for its food to fly in.

The intricate web is ingeniously designed

to lure insects into its sticky infolds.

The silk's flexibility is its strength.

It can stretch under impact to cradle its quarry,

but becomes rigid and breaks easily if poked.

Both resilient and delicate,

a spider's web is also tuned like a musical instrument,

even though the spiders have no ears.

Despite having eight eyes,

this orb weaving spider is incredibly nearsighted

and unable to see if its web has ensnared a meal,

instead, it listens to its web and hears it through its legs.

By using claws on the end of its limbs

it plucks each silk strand like a violin.

The sound vibrations created by each thread

carries information about where and what type of prey has hit the web.

Handy to be forewarned if it's a potentially dangerous catch.

It mummifies the caterpillar in silk

before transporting it to its gruesome pantry.

Having a stockpile for leaner times is something few animals here can rely on.

Most hunt around the clock.

And when the day ends,

it is the species with the power to see in the dark that own the night.

Fearsome hunters by day,

lions become even more threatening when night falls.

Like most cats they have superior night vision

and lions are particularly adept nocturnal hunters.

This pride has their eyes set on a baby elephant.

The elephants can smell and hear how close they are

and do everything they can to ward off the enemy.

(elephant trumpets)

Then an even bigger meal arrives.

This hippo has spent the day submerged in water

but has come out to feed,

blind to the danger it is walking into.

Lions use any faint light given off by the moon

and amplify it using light sensitive cells

and a reflective layer in their eyes.

The distinctive white stripe around their eye also aids night vision,

by bouncing light back into the eyeball.

(hippo growls)

Despite their huge, visual advantage over the hippo,

this 6,000 pounds male is an aggressive opponent.

(hippo growls)

The pride has met its match.

If enhanced senses aren't enough

then an additional, extra sense is required

to find food during tougher times.

The Kalahari is an extreme and brutal place,

during the dry season the landscape is parched.

The vegetation that supports

over 25 different species is scorched by the sun

and turns to dust.

This herd of wildebeest must find fresh grass.

And their continual search for rainfall is driven by an apparent sixth sense.

Wildebeest can sense a thunderstorm from 30 miles away.

Attuned to the minute changes in air pressure

their ability to recognize the subtle changes in weather

triggers an exodus of an epic scale.

As thousands of wildebeest follow the scent of life saving water

and new grass across Africa.

(thunder rumbling)

It is this extra super sense

that has helped wildebeest to become

one of Africa's most abundant species.

From the biggest to the smallest,

every animal has found their unique and ingenious superpower

to keep them one step ahead of the game

in one of the wildest places on earth.

Africa's deadliest have superpowers

a superhero can only dream of.

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