01x04 - Rivals

[bunniefuu]

BENEDICT: Enter a world

just beyond your perception.

A world of extraordinary animals

with hidden powers

and super senses.

If you think you know nature

think again.

In a competitive world,

it can be very hard

to tell friend

from foe.

The Kalahari Desert.

Here, the harsh sun

forces some of the juiciest

and toughest critters

to hide underground.

Only the most super-skilled hunters

can get at them.

Meerkats can sniff out the best prey

beneath the surface.

But when your head's buried in the sand,

digging eight hours a day

it pays to have friends

(BIRD CALLS)

BENEDICT: in high places.

A drongo's razor-sharp vision

can pinpoint a tiny bug

over 300 feet away.

And from way up here,

it can spot an enemy a mile off.

(EAGLE CALLING)

BENEDICT:

Like a 14-pound meerkat-eating,

martial eagle.

(CHIRPS)

BENEDICT: Meerkats understand

that's drongo for

(CHIRPS)

BENEDICT: "threat from the skies".

(MEERKATS SQUEALING)

(MEERKATS SQUEALING)

- (BIRD CALLING)

- (MEERKATS CHATTERING)

BENEDICT: When their trusted friend

(WHISTLES)

BENEDICT: gives the all-clear,

the meerkats know

it's safe to come out again.

(MEERKATS CHATTERING)

BENEDICT: And they get back to work.

(SQUEALS)

BENEDICT: Jackpot.

Protein and water

in one poisonous package.

Thankfully meerkats are experts

- (MEERKAT CHATTERS)

- BENEDICT:at dispatching scorpions.

But this story

has another sting in the tail.

(SHARP BIRD CALLS)

BENEDICT: That's the alarm again.

- (SHARP BIRD CALLS)

- (MEERKATS CHATTERING)

BENEDICT: But this time

there is no eagle.

(WHISTLES)

BENEDICT: The drongo

is a liar,

a cunning con artist,

who takes advantage

of the meerkat's hard work

to steal a free lunch.

But cry eagle too many times

(BIRD CALLS)

(MEERKAT PURRING)

BENEDICT:

and the meerkats get wise to the game.

(WHISTLES)

BENEDICT: Now, that call can't be ignored.

(BIRD CALLS)

BENEDICT: It's a meerkat alarm.

(MEERKATS SQUEALING)

BENEDICT: Or is it?

- (BIRD CHITTERS)

- BENEDICT: The devious drongo

is also a mind-blowing mimic.

She can switch

between 30 different alarm imitations.

And as long as she tells the truth,

sometimes,

meerkats can't afford

to ignore their two-faced frenemy.

(SQUEAKY BIRD CALLS)

BENEDICT: Animals use extraordinary powers

to outsmart the competition.

But often, the greatest enemy

is the one you least expect.

(MEERKATS CHATTERING)

(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

BENEDICT:

In nature, conflict is everywhere.

An Austrian park may seem peaceful enough,

but there's an animal here

who knows how to stir up the competition,

and turn it to her advantage.

This female European hamster

is looking for the fittest mate possible.

A dozen normally solitary males live here.

But rather than waste time

checking them out,

she arranges a little contest.

(SQUEALS)

BENEDICT: Her siren song

has a powerful ultrasonic pitch.

It's been slowed down so we can hear it.

But any male within 60 feet

receives her call loud and clear.

(FEMALE HAMSTER SQUEALS)

BENEDICT: The race is on.

(SQUEALS)

BENEDICT: Being quick to respond

is a good sign.

But how to choose

between the two front runners.

She releases a signature scent,

a potent aphrodisiac.

Just the slightest whiff

sends a rush of adrenaline

coursing through the male's blood.

Testosterone levels

can increase tenfold

turning these fluffy rodents

into one-pound ba*ls of teeth and fury.

Fights can turn deadly.

And all the female has to do

is let the competition play out.

Rival chased off,

the victor makes himself presentable,

then he's ready

to meet his mate.

But it's the female who's the real winner.

Making males fight over her

to secure the perfect partner.

Standing up to your rivals risks a fight.

So, some creatures go to amazing lengths

to avoid coming to blows.

In California's giant kelp forests,

there's a hand-sized fish

called a Sarcastic Fringehead.

Its bizarre bulging eyes

give a panoramic view

of dangers all around.

Many predators would happily snap up

a little fish like this,

so he needs somewhere to hide.

A snail shell

is the perfect place.

But

it's already occupied

by a two-spot octopus.

Hiding places are in such demand,

they have to be fought for.

But better to pick

on someone his own size.

Another Fringehead.

To avoid injury,

these fish have an extraordinary way

to face each other down.

Their mouths can expand

three times wider than their bodies.

And there's even more

to this jaw-dropping display.

Invisible to us,

their gape is enhanced

with a striking ultraviolet warning.

It's a secret signal of strength,

thought to help Fringeheads judge

who is more powerful

before the battle goes too far.

Evicted,

but at least unharmed.

Now he's the one exposed.

While the intruder

takes shelter from the outside world.

Nature may appear abundant,

but whether in ocean

or on land,

space and food have to be fought for.

In Botswana's Okavango Delta,

fierce competition pits carnivore

against carnivore.

(WHINING AND GRUNTING)

BENEDICT: A lone hyena

up against the power of a wild dog pack.

She split from her clan

to cover more ground

in the search for food.

Now it seems a risky strategy.

(HYENA CACKLING)

BENEDICT:

But with an incredible immune system,

and almost supernatural survival skills,

she's far from the underdog.

Her phenomenal sense of smell

can detect opportunity

two miles away.

(PUFFING AND GRUNTING)

BENEDICT: Nearly six-feet-tall,

fifteen-hundred pounds,

one Cape buffalo

would feed her entire clan for a week.

(GRUNTING)

BENEDICT:

She can't take on a buffalo alone.

(PUFFING)

BENEDICT:

But with primate-level intelligence,

she can take a more strategic approach.

(PUFFING)

BENEDICT: Let her rivals control the game.

(LOW GROWLING)

BENEDICT: Up to twice her size,

four times her weight,

lions are a hyena's greatest enemy.

Hunting as a pride,

they're even more powerful.

(PUFFING)

BENEDICT:

But when buffalo move as a battalion

up to 600 strong,

even the most heavily armed hunters

can't engage.

(LION SNARLING)

BENEDICT: The smartest predator

bides its time.

And as night approaches

(CHITTERING)

BENEDICT: the tables turn.

(BIRD HOOTS)

BENEDICT: Lions have a reflective backing

in their eyes,

which gives them night vision

six times stronger than our own,

revealing a world we only see

with super-sensitive cameras.

In the cool night,

hunters become more active.

And use the darkness

to conceal their attack.

(GRUNTING)

BENEDICT:

Hyenas have excellent night vision, too.

All the better to watch

as the lions do the hard work.

(LION GROWLING)

(LIONS GROWLING)

BENEDICT: Now

time to execute her plan.

(HOWLING)

BENEDICT:

Bouncing her battle cry into the ground

amplifies the sound.

So, it reaches super-sensitive ears

up to six miles away

(HOWLING AND LAUGHING)

BENEDICT:

and mobilizes her scattered clan.

(LION GROWLS)

BENEDICT: Waiting for backup,

she plays for time.

Harassing the lions distracts them,

and slows their feeding.

(LION GROWLS)

(HYENA YIPS)

- BENEDICT: But she must be careful.

- (HYENA LAUGHING)

BENEDICT:

One swipe of a lion paw can k*ll.

Alone, she's on the defensive.

(HYENA WHINING)

BENEDICT:

But with 20 of her clan behind her,

it's time to make her move.

(HYENAS LAUGHING)

BENEDICT: Hyenas are even more effective

team players than lions.

(LION GROWLING)

BENEDICT: Working together,

the clan exhausts the pride.

Lions know when they're beaten.

- (HYENAS LAUGHING)

- (CRUNCHING NOISE)

BENEDICT: With jaws that crush bones,

and stomachs strong enough to digest them,

in just a few hours,

any trace of the buffalo will be gone.

Bellies full,

the whole clan back together.

For today at least,

the hyenas hold the power

in the age-old carnivore w*r.

Another animal rivalry

has played out over millions of years.

Time enough to evolve a secret weapon

to ward off a far more powerful enemy.

A giant Asian hornet,

the largest wasp in the world.

Two inches long,

and highly carnivorous.

(BUZZING)

BENEDICT: Four times smaller

- Japanese Honeybees

- (BUZZING)

seem almost defenseless

against a heavily-armed hornet.

With a quarter-inch stinger,

and outsized mandibles,

she can k*ll 40 bees in a minute.

(BEE SQUEALS)

BENEDICT:

But it's not the bees she's after.

(BUZZING)

BENEDICT: It's their babies.

Hidden inside this tree,

are thousands of larvae,

protected by 20,000 dedicated workers.

It's too much for one hornet

to take on alone.

So, she marks the bee's fortress

with a chemical beacon.

Hornets cover 60 miles a day

looking for food.

As soon as her kin sends the signal

(LOUD BUZZING)

BENEDICT:

they know their search is over.

In just hours,

a g*ng of these deadly assassins

could annihilate the whole hive.

Outer defenses breached.

Next

the nursery.

(BUZZING)

BENEDICT:

The fate of the colony is sealed

Almost.

The bees have one last chance at survival.

A chemical alarm

compels them to move as one,

and swarm the hornets.

Then each bee

begins flexing its flight muscles.

It only produces a tiny amount of heat,

but when combined,

it becomes a formidable force.

Thermal cameras reveal

the core temperature is rising.

This glowing bee ball

is a precision weapon.

Just one degree higher

would k*ll the bees.

But exactly 117 degrees Fahrenheit

is the perfect temperature

to cook hornets alive.

- (BUZZING)

- (THUD)

BENEDICT: Both sides suffer casualties.

But the bees' amazing ability

to work as one,

ensures the colony lives on.

(BUZZING)

BENEDICT:

Strength in numbers brings protection,

but it also brings competition

closer to home.

(BIRDS SQUAWKING)

BENEDICT: Bass Rock, Scotland.

One hundred and fifty thousand Gannets,

all nesting on one rock,

less than one mile square.

(SQUAWKING)

BENEDICT: From a bird's eye view,

it looks like life in perfect harmony.

But it's just an illusion.

Each nest

is two beak lengths apart,

for good reason.

Any that overstep that mark,

reveal the unseen tensions at play.

Beaks designed to cut through water,

and snatch fish at 60 miles an hour,

also make vicious weapons.

(SQUAWKING)

BENEDICT: Fights for nesting space

can last for two hours

(SQUAWKING)

BENEDICT: and come at a cost.

In nature,

peace exists on a knife-edge.

Conflict is always hiding

just below the surface.

When it comes to securing their bloodline,

some sink to new depths.

Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania

is a breeding ground for conflict.

A male burtoni cichlid

is desperate to impress a female.

He performs a signature dance.

She may not look it,

but she's charmed.

The aquatic Romeo sweetens the deal

with a cichlid love potion.

A pheromone designed

to stimulate the female,

that also travels through water,

attracting the wrong attention.

A local g*ng of cuckoo catfish.

Their skin, covered in taste buds,

detects the slightest hint of pheromone.

They know it means

the burtonis

are ready to spawn.

Laying 100 eggs,

each the size of a sesame seed,

it's the perfect moment for an ambush.

The catfish eat as many eggs as they can.

And now

they spawn.

Leaving behind

tiny, ticking, time bombs.

The burtoni mother

instinctively collects any eggs.

She's not eating them.

She has a special ability.

Some cichlid super-moms

raise their babies

in their mouths,

using them as mobile nurseries

to keep their young safe as they grow.

But this burtoni cichlid

has been hijacked.

Hidden from sight,

inside her mouth,

her mixed brood begins to hatch.

And some

grow much faster than others.

The oblivious burtoni is devoting time

to raising the wrong offspring.

Twice the size,

ravenous baby cuckoo catfish

turn on the cichlid young.

Opening jaws wide enough

to swallow their foster siblings,

headfirst.

The treacherous catfish babies

soon outgrow their nursery.

They head off alone,

keeping a low profile,

until ready to prey

on another unsuspecting mother.

Leaving the burtoni

to protect her surviving offspring,

giving them the best chance she can

in this dangerous world.

In Italy's Alpine meadows,

there's one baby animal

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

BENEDICT:

who takes living with the enemy

to a whole other level.

Meet the intrepid Alcon blue caterpillar.

Only two weeks old,

and just the size of a grain of rice.

It's about to embark

on one of the most amazing adventures

in the whole of the natural world.

In search of food,

it must descend into the underworld,

patrolled by savage armies

of Myrmecia ants.

They can take down prey

thousands of times their size.

A tiny grub seems an easy target.

Especially one that emits

an alluring scent,

betraying its presence.

With antennae five times more sensitive

than most other insects,

an ant is onto it like a bloodhound.

The caterpillar is an easy size

to carry back to base,

where ants prepare food for their young.

But this caterpillar

doesn't smell like food,

it smells like family.

Born to deceive,

that special caterpillar odor

smells so similar to the ant's grubs,

that they treat it like their own.

And that's not all.

To enhance its disguise,

the caterpillar sings.

(PULSATING NOISE)

BENEDICT: It's copying the song

of the most important ant in the colony,

the queen.

Forcing dedicated workers

to tend to its every need,

and neglect their own.

While the colony protects it,

cleans it, and feeds it,

the audacious caterpillar

can keep up the act

for two long years.

(PULSATING NOISE)

BENEDICT:

Until 100 times its original weight,

the baby blue

is finally ready

to reveal its true colors.

Inside the chrysalis,

caterpillar tissue is broken down

and reformed.

But, when an Alcon blue

becomes a butterfly,

it loses its protective power.

No longer smelling like a baby ant,

it needs to get out

fast.

Before the ants catch onto the intruder

in their midst.

Finally, the Alcon blue

is free.

Over billions of years,

living things

have evolved amazing abilities

to compete for their place on this planet.

But when a new rival comes along,

it changes everything.

The coastal waters of British Columbia

are home to a legendary sea monster.

One of the planet's

fastest-growing animals.

It doubles its weight every two months

on a diet primarily of crustaceans.

Since before the age of dinosaurs,

the giant pacific octopus

has been the unrivaled

crab hunter down here.

Until now.

We have cunning ways

to catch seafood

without even entering the water.

Traps are effective

in attracting the octopus's favorite food.

But when the world's

most intelligent invertebrate

is presented with a challenge,

it doesn't give up,

it solves it.

Two thousand suckers,

every individual one

with more taste receptors

than a human tongue,

help to detect prey in the murkiest water.

Guided by nine brains,

one in its head,

and a mini-brain

in each of its eight arms,

the octopus closes in.

A boneless skeleton made of water,

means it can contort it's nine-foot body

through a hole,

the width of a grapefruit.

Now, to dine

before the trap is lifted.

The trap only opens one way.

But that's no problem

for this extraordinary escape artist.

We may be smart,

but we're still discovering

animals have countless skills,

every bit as impressive.

Overlook them,

and we may be left empty-handed.

In a world full of unexpected foes,

competition

is evolution's ultimate driving force.

The secret behind the incredible diversity

of life on earth,

and the most extraordinary animal powers.

If you think you know nature,

think again.

(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)