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A yellow mongoose. He's been out feeding through the night and needs some rest and heads straight for the ground squirrel's burrow. The squirrel seems unfazed by this. In fact, knowing the mongoose is there gives him the confidence to forage a little further from the burrow. That's because they have a secret pact which the squirrel can call on at any time. And this morning, there's trouble approaching. A highly venomous Cape Cobra has detected the pups. But they can't see him. He's too low to the ground and the same color as the sand.
This young pup is totally unaware as the snake prepares to strike. The father can see the danger, but he's too small to tackle the snake. It would kill him, too. But he knows someone who might be able to help. The squirrel's desperate cries are a call to arms for his housemate, the yellow mongoose. He's not scared of the snake's deadly venom. The mongoose is incredibly quick on his feet, able to dodge the strikes and fight back. Eventually, the cobra gives in. He's got away lightly.
The ground squirrel's family is safe and sound. The mongoose saved their lives, and because of this, the squirrel is more than happy to accommodate him in the elaborate burrow network. Without any house duties. This formidable hunter and agile tree climber is the greatest threat to a baboon's life. The ebony grove lies within the territory of a 5-year-old male. It's his favorite hunting ground. Keeping the baboons safe is the job of the alpha male. At the first sign of danger, he sounds the alarm.
Nima and the rest of the troop heed the warning. The leopard is aware that he's being spotted, but his scent nonetheless. The alpha male tracks him up the tree. But today, this sleek assassin isn't interested in baboons. His pantry is already full. An antelope he stashed earlier. On the ground, he risks losing his kill to lions and hyenas. Up here, he can eat in peace and come and go as he pleases.
The leopard might have a kill, but as their number one predator, the baboons must keep tabs on his every move. And the alpha male rallies his troop. [screaming] The leopard's low tail means he's not in hunting mode. The alpha male won't rest until their nemesis has been driven off the premises. With a wingspan of nearly 10 ft, the wedge-tailed eagle. She's an apex predator. Soaring high on the food chain. Her hooked beak is for tearing flesh, dead or alive. But it's her wickedly sharp, switchblade-like talons that do the real damage.
A fierce hunter and fiercely loyal to her family. Wedge-tailed eagles mate for life. Like Bonnie and Clyde on the wing. This pair works together to provide food for their chicks. Effortlessly soaring upon desert thermals, she scours the searing landscape for prey. Wedge-tailed eagles possess incredible eyesight. Each eye has a bony ring that can be squeezed to elongate the eyeball, acting like a zoom lens, seeing prey up to 2 mi away.
Even the largest of kangaroos need to be wary of an aerial assault. Movement amongst the boulders has caught her eye. Quick and nimble, rock wallabies are difficult moving targets. They navigate the rocky outcrops with all the agility of a mountain goat. The wallabies know they're being hunted and scramble. Their best chance of survival is to find cover. For those that don't, it's open season. Her lethal talents quickly dispatch the hapless prey, tearing flesh from bone.
Her curved beak makes short work of the carcass. A kill of this size is enough to feed the entire family. The pair has two chicks, recently hatched and voraciously hungry. There's no rest for the adult eagles as the kids constantly demand their pound of flesh. Jaguars are formidable predators and capybaras, the world's largest rodents, are on the menu. As are caiman. The jaguar's spotted fur is great camouflage. The hunter blends in perfectly with the bushes. But as the jaguar emerges from cover, it is spotted.
There are huge numbers of caiman in the Pantanal, but they are not easy to catch. The jaguar's technique is to sneak up as silently as possible. Jaguars are immensely strong, able to ambush prey bigger than themselves. The jaguar has the most powerful bite of all the big cats. Its teeth penetrate the caiman's skull, paralyzing it. With its great strength, the cat hauls the caiman into the vegetation, where it will feast in peace. Otherworldly in appearance, there's more to this odd creature than meets the eye.
Its bizarre appearance is the result of 80 million years of evolution. With an appendage for every occasion, the peacock mantis shrimp is the Swiss Army knife of the marine world. Five pairs of legs for feeding. Three pairs of legs for walking. Two pairs of antenna for reception. 10 gills for breathing. Two eye stalks bearing an extraordinary pair of compound eyes. And even a set of windscreen wipers. But of its 34 appendages, it's those club-shaped limbs at the fore that make it a true killer. At just 6 in, he punches well above his weight.
His hunting strategy is one of brute force. Understandable when prey species include the well-armed and well-armored, not to mention well-camouflaged. But, camouflage is of little use when hunted by a peacock mantis shrimp. His eyes are amongst the most complex in the animal kingdom. While human eyes have just three color photoreceptors, he has 12 with the capacity to see far beyond the human visible spectrum. Very little escapes his attention. While the crab's defenses are formidable, this seasoned brawler treats them with contempt.
He's more than a little territorial and knows exactly who's moving through his patch, Unaware of the mantis shrimp's presence, the crab strays close. Too close. With the velocity of a.22 caliber bullet, the mantis shrimp strike is the fastest in the animal kingdom. The assault is so fast that friction makes the surrounding water boil. The devastating punch knocks limbs off the victim and delivers a quick death. The common octopus. He's on the hunt for unsuspecting prey. In this environment, the octopus is a lethal predator.
Regarded as one of the most intelligent of all invertebrates, he's mastered the art of life on the rocky shore. Examining every nook and cranny, he can move freely between the zones that make up this turbulent, changeable world. Armed with eight dextrous tentacles lined with powerful suckers, he poses a huge threat to his smaller invertebrate neighbors. While most of his mollusk relatives have developed hardy shells to protect them in this environment, the octopus has traded this security for the ultimate mobility and agility. Without a skeleton, this octopus's arms can go more or less anywhere.
He avoids getting tangled thanks to a special chemical produced by his skin, which sends a message to his suckers, preventing them from clinging onto any part of his body. Just as well if he's going to snare his favorite meal, a meaty crab. The octopus's agility protects it against the sun and air. It can keep itself moist simply by sliding into the nearest pool. As long as his gills are moist, he can spend extended periods out of the water.
He is a master of camouflage thanks to his skin. This skin is made of many fine layers, each packed with specialized cells that can change color or texture. Even more remarkable, the skin itself can sense changes in light and shade thanks to light-sensitive cells. Coupled with the octopus's large and highly sophisticated eyes, this helps the animal create exactly the right palette of colors and textures to disappear. Soon, that complex cloak of invisibility will pay off. The rising tide is sweeping over the platforms and reclaiming rock pools, opening the windows of opportunity for the lurking predators.
The octopus has struck. The crab's fierce pincers are now rendered useless by the octopus's suckers. Disarmed and immobilized, the crab will not escape from this death grip. [screaming] With a minimum of fuss, the octopus gets to work on killing its victim. It doesn't take long. Under the folds of its body and legs, its sharp beak is scraping through the underside of the crab's shell. The shell, pulled in half and eaten clean, is carefully pushed to one side. At last, all that's left are disembodied remains and a very satisfied octopus.
Natural born coral killer. At around 30 in diameter, an individual crown of thorns starfish can devour up to 30 square feet of coral in a single year, which might not sound like much, but when present in vast numbers, the results are catastrophic. And these sea creatures produce more offspring than any other marine organism on Earth. Each female develops over 50 million eggs in a breeding season. From the age of 6 months, the diet of juvenile starfish is comprised almost entirely of coral. Its characteristic venomous spines protect it from most predators. On mass, they are a force to be reckoned with. Yet, for the reef, there is hope on the horizon.
An unlikely predator, the giant triton, one of the ocean's largest sea snails. Tritons can measure over a foot and a half from tip to tail. This giant gastropod feeds upon sea cucumbers and sea stars. The crown of thorns starfish seems to be one of its favorite foods. When hunting, the triton uses scent trails to track its prey. But, it's not the only one with an acute sense of smell. The starfish senses the approaching threat and attempts to flee. It may appear that these creatures are going nowhere fast. But make no mistake, this is an active pursuit.
A race to the death. With nowhere to hide, the starfish relies on its venomous spines as a last line of defense. But the starfish's defenses offer little deterrent to the persistent predator. Giant tritons have developed a tolerance to the starfish's toxins. And their saliva contains a paralyzing agent, which brings the pursuit to an abrupt halt. Its hard-fought meal is now ready for consumption. It uses a serrated organ known as a radula to lacerate the soft tissue between the starfish's spines. Then sucks the life from its paralyzed victim.
Leaving little behind but an empty husk. But as is the nature of a sea snail, it's in no hurry. This hardened bully feeds on the dead and the dying. Few species would challenge the freshwater crab. And even its eyes can be retracted when threatened. However, the crab shares the river with an unlikely rival. A leech. A tiger leech. No armor, no obvious weapons, yet this leech is deadly. At just 2 in long, it lives up to its name.
Seeking out the chemical trails of potential prey. The crab sees movement amongst the detritus. A would-be victim. The leech seems wary and keeps its distance from the well-armed aggressor. It watches and waits as other leeches gather nearby. But a second leech arrives seeking the crab's juicy insides. The crab decides that attack is the best form of defense. Its claws could do serious damage to a leech's soft body. But the leeches are slippery customers covered in mucus. It maneuvers behind the deadly claws and tries to latch on.
The crab attempts to shake off its attacker. A master at breaking and entering, the leech has found a [__] in the crab's armor. Once it strikes soft tissue, it tears into the flesh injecting an anticoagulant. The leech begins to suck out the crab's vital fluids. The crab's struggle is futile. Its life is literally being sucked away. The leech will gorge itself consuming up to five times its original body weight.
All that remains of the crab is its armor and the weapons that proved useless against the aquatic vampire. The leech won't need to feed again for months, even a year. Two months have passed since the loggerhead laid her eggs on this beach. Up above the high water mark, the dunes are stirring. The first of the brood makes its way out of the nest. Instinct tells the rest to stay motionless for now, but this one is precocious.
It's a bad move. Dangers lurk in the darkness. Ghost crabs are waiting at the water's edge, gathering for the kill. These opportunists are one of the key predators of baby turtles. If the babies are going to reach the safety of the ocean, they'll have to avoid being caught. The rest are staying put. There's safety in numbers. But their impatient sibling is on his way. Out in the open, alone, there's nowhere to hide. Unaware of the tragedy on the beach, the rest of the brood is surfacing.
Up to 120 babies are pushing up out of the nest, all intent on one all-important dash down the dunes and across the beach. For the tiny, soft, awkward babies not made for moving on land it'll be a monumental struggle. Even small dune plants present major obstacles. The journey is just a few dozen meters but for the hatchlings it's an exhausting trek across an apparently endless desert. A desert full of dangers. A baby has been snared by a ghost crab under the sand. The unlucky do not survive. But this baby is tough.
It battles on through the night rejoining its brothers and sisters as the march goes on. This is the first and last time the males will walk on land. The rest of their lives will be spent at sea. At last they reach the water's edge. They are together for now but they are starting solitary lives. Turtles are self-sufficient from the moment they hatch. And already they're going their separate ways beginning decades of wandering across the world's seas. The magnetic signature of this beach has already imprinted on them, and one day, 20 or 30 years from now, the females will begin to return here to lay their own eggs.
Now, they will let the currents guide them. The warm Mozambique current will take them south, skirting the African continent. After being attacked by the nomads a few weeks ago, the six lionesses have put as much distance between themselves and the males as possible. They're now far from their normal rich hunting grounds. Bearing the scars of the savage attack, matriarch Ava leads her pride to the river in search of food. It hasn't rained for 4 months, and for thirsty prey, the river has become one of the last remaining sources of water. But here, the hungry Hollywoods face competition from other predators.
Huge numbers of crocodiles await in the shallows for the unwary. And a young hippo calf is the perfect target, especially when its mother's back is turned. The wild dogs also sense an opportunity for an easy meal. But in the water, it's the crocs who are the top carnivores. The naive hippo calf seems oblivious to the danger. Crocs have one of the strongest bite forces of any animal on Earth. Once their jaws clamp down, there's no escaping. There's nothing the mother can do but follow in vain.
Nova, one of the pride's two young females, is tempted to try and steal the kill. She's hungry, but it's a rookie mistake. Entering crocodile infested waters is not a risk worth taking. The Hollywoods are stuck on the sidelines. Still hungry, they head away from the river to search elsewhere. Hey love nature fans. Be sure to like and subscribe to catch all our wild animal stories. Get closer to nature right here on YouTube.
