- 5/19/2025
Animal Battles
Whether it's the frozen fields of Alaska, or the warm waters of Australia, shocking incidents of animals attacking and killing humans, take place all over the world. Usually, the animals aren't looking for a fight - they're simply in the wrong place, at the wrong time, frequently lashing out in an attempt to protect themselves or their offspring. From Asian Leopards severely mauling people in India, to a 2,000 lb. African Cape buffalo that decides to hunt its human hunter, beasts wreak havoc on tourists and townies trying to share their same turf - planet Earth.
Whether it's the frozen fields of Alaska, or the warm waters of Australia, shocking incidents of animals attacking and killing humans, take place all over the world. Usually, the animals aren't looking for a fight - they're simply in the wrong place, at the wrong time, frequently lashing out in an attempt to protect themselves or their offspring. From Asian Leopards severely mauling people in India, to a 2,000 lb. African Cape buffalo that decides to hunt its human hunter, beasts wreak havoc on tourists and townies trying to share their same turf - planet Earth.
Category
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AnimalsTranscript
00:00There are lots of reasons to go to war.
00:07Food.
00:08Sex.
00:10Power.
00:12The stakes are high.
00:14Winners enjoy the spoils.
00:17Losers can be humiliated.
00:20Exiled.
00:21Or eaten.
00:23And eventually, even the strongest meet their match.
00:29Alphas are some of the world's deadliest animals, and they're ready for combat.
00:41Throughout the natural world, the dominant animal nearly always gains the spoils of war.
00:48Whether fighting over food, mates, or territory, no one has it as good as the alphas.
00:57Getting to that elite status isn't easy, and neither is staying there.
01:08Especially if you're trying to overcome Africa's most dangerous alpha male, the hippopotamus.
01:18He's big.
01:20Males can weigh over 4,000 pounds.
01:23He's fast.
01:25His muscular body can reach speeds of 30 miles per hour.
01:30He's fierce.
01:38Hippos have been known to kill people, even though they're vegetarians.
01:45Very territorial vegetarians.
01:48Dominant hippo bulls usually preside over a territory that includes a pod of females.
01:56This old male is king of this stretch of the river and has the battle scars to prove it.
02:04But a young bachelor is ready to stage a coup.
02:14He gets right to the point, biting off the old male's tail.
02:21Hippo teeth are formidable weapons.
02:24The four tusk-like canines can grow up to a foot long, and they're razor sharp.
02:30Those jaws can open four feet wide and snap closed with a bite force of almost one ton.
02:38Enough to crush a crocodile or take out a powerboat.
02:43Add to that a 500-pound head, and it's like facing off with a very angry armored tank.
02:54Already injured, the senior doesn't even try to overcome his attacker.
03:03For 45 minutes, the young male continues his assault.
03:13He only stops when the old leader submits to his rule, allowing him to mount him in a show of dominance.
03:22It's the ultimate defeat.
03:27The old warrior has lost his tail and his mates.
03:33The new king of the river opens wide to proclaim his victory.
03:41Then he bombs his new territory with feces.
03:50The old alpha male slinks off in defeat.
03:56He may have lost the battle, but to other predators, he's still the king.
04:04And in the cold-blooded realm of the reptile world, battles over mating rights are just as heated.
04:14When out on the hunt in its tropical domain, the monitor lizard likes to fly solo.
04:22His forked tongue helps him sniff out decaying fish, flesh, and females.
04:30But when love is in the air, potential suitors come out of the woodwork.
04:36And with this quick-tempered lizard, that means instant competition.
04:52These scaly battles can last for up to 45 minutes.
05:00This isn't a fight to the death.
05:08It's a battle to the death.
05:16This isn't a fight to the death.
05:22But rather a display of dominance and strength.
05:28A heavyweight sumo match with claws, where the loser gets pinned underwater.
05:36The triumphant male gets the girl, but he better watch out.
05:42The male monitors are just as ready to scrap.
05:46They'll fight their mates for food.
05:50When it comes to survival amongst these lizards, there's no such thing as one big happy family.
06:00The wrestling bouts of the monitor lizard seem almost sporting
06:04when compared with the brutal fighting of the gelida monkey.
06:31In the high mountain meadows of Ethiopia,
06:35marauding gangs of male gelida monkeys are on the lookout for females.
06:46These bachelor bands are an alpha male's worst nightmare.
06:55This alpha is clearly outnumbered.
07:01But he steps up to defend his position.
07:07Gelida harems can range from small family units of 12 to troops numbering in the hundreds.
07:14That's a lot of monkeys to take care of.
07:21He fires his first warning shot, flipping his lip in a clear display of aggression.
07:29But the invaders ignore it, so he takes matters into his own hands.
07:51And flees to higher ground.
07:57But he has to come down eventually.
08:03The only solution, make a break for it.
08:20When he returns to his harem, he reaffirms his bonds with some grooming.
08:31He's a man of his word.
08:37He's a man of his word.
08:44He reaffirms his bonds with some grooming.
08:50Gelida females stay in their family units for life,
08:54banding together to forage, groom, and raise their young.
09:00It's a woman's world, where the males can be replaced.
09:07With the mob closing in, the harem's leader resorts to a chilling tactic.
09:13He picks up an infant and jumps back into the fight.
09:19He may be trying to entice the females to leap to the infant's aid and help chase the bachelors off,
09:25but the plan backfires.
09:28The single males attack anyway, and the baby is hurt.
09:34When he drops the injured infant, he faces an even more enraged enemy,
09:40his own family.
09:45He tries some last-ditch grooming to appease his females,
09:51but when the bachelors return, this time it's for keeps.
10:15The old leader heads for the hills.
10:21These fierce fights can be dangerous,
10:25but Gelida is a man of his word.
10:31He's a man of his word.
10:37He's a man of his word.
10:42These fierce fights can go on for days and inflict fatal battle wounds.
10:54With the old alpha thoroughly vanquished,
10:56the new leader wastes no time in establishing dominance over his harem.
11:11In his final humiliation, the old alpha is allowed to stick around as a babysitter.
11:23Battles over females can be dangerous, especially if a father is protecting his own daughter.
11:42For this young male zebra, the grasslands of Botswana are paradise
11:49when they're full of food, fun, and fillies.
11:55But a single bachelor doesn't get to just walk up and woo his lady.
12:01He has to fight for her.
12:11He has to fight for her.
12:15He has to fight for her.
12:19He has to fight for her.
12:29Zebra herds are made up of smaller family units consisting of two to six mares, their foals, and one stallion.
12:37The mother keeps her foals close.
12:45The stallion also protects them from predators and other zebras.
12:51But no father can really keep his daughter from flirting with boys.
12:57A young filly is ready to mate, and a bachelor stallion plans to win her affection.
13:05To mate with her, he'll have to entice her away from her father's herd.
13:10But this stallion isn't about to let his little filly run off with an unworthy upstart.
13:22To get past him, the suitor will have to show his strength, speed, and cunning.
13:36If he doesn't win this time, he'll just have to try again.
13:42This is the only way to establish his own harem.
13:51He tries to neck-wrestle the older stallion into submission.
14:06The battle continues into the night.
14:16After hours of tussling, the two exhausted stallions call a truce.
14:25And the young one gets the upper hand.
14:35It's the girl.
14:39But he'll need to stay fighting fit until she conceives.
14:43Other bachelors may try to steal her away.
14:52The urge to mate is usually the source of conflict within the ranks, and the competition can be fierce.
15:05For a bull elephant seal, bigger is better.
15:12The males can grow up to 20 feet long and weigh over 8,000 pounds.
15:19But it's that long, trunk-like snout that really amps up the sex appeal.
15:26The bulls use those massive noses to broadcast one message.
15:31This is my turf, and to mate here, you have to get through me.
15:46Elephant seals are the sumo wrestlers of the marine world.
15:52In a battle, bulk is everything, and champs win it all.
15:57Gathering harems of 40 to 50 females, only one in 10 males will become an alpha male and father pups.
16:11If this bachelor wants a sex life, combat is his only answer.
16:18So the time has come to start a fight.
16:27The battle grows more intense, and the battered contenders take their fight to the water.
16:34The bulls are ready to fight.
16:41But the battle is not over yet.
16:48The battle grows more intense, and the battered contenders take their fight to the water.
16:54The bulls are ready to fight.
17:01But the battered contenders take their fight to the water.
17:08The bulls are ready to fight.
17:15But the battered contenders take their fight to the water.
17:22The challenger gets a good thrashing.
17:29And the big alpha returns to his ladies for his prize.
17:35Multiple matings.
17:40Size and strength often carry the day.
17:45But insects prove that tiny can be terrifying.
17:51The Insect World is home to some of the planet's fiercest battles.
17:58But insects prove that tiny can be terrifying.
18:05But insects prove that tiny can be terrifying.
18:12The Insect World is home to some of the planet's fiercest battles.
18:18The stakes are high.
18:24Home, young, and food sources are under constant threat for European honeybees.
18:30They live in colonies that are often over 30,000 strong,
18:35constructing hives filled with wax, pollen, larvae, and of course, honey.
18:41A pretty valuable bounty for an invading army.
18:46When a honeybee hive faces off with Asian giant hornets,
18:50it takes just one recon mission to start a war.
18:55When a single hornet scout spots a beehive,
18:58she marks it with a pheromone and then returns with a hit squad.
19:04These giants are the world's largest hornet,
19:07five times the size of the average honeybee,
19:11and they're armed with a deadly venom.
19:15Their sting feels like a hot nail being driven into your flesh.
19:30Thousands of defenders pour from the hive, ready to give their lives in its defense.
19:38But these European honeybees have no way to stop the onslaught.
19:55A single hornet can kill as many as 40 bees a minute.
19:59Just 30 of them can annihilate a colony of 30,000 bees in a few hours.
20:05It isn't a battle.
20:07It's a massacre.
20:10♪♪♪
20:20♪♪♪
20:30♪♪♪
20:36The ground is thick with the remnants of their victims,
20:42and the enemy penetrates into the inner sanctum of the hive.
20:47With the hive's defenders laid to waste,
20:50the hornets gorge themselves on the spoils of war.
20:55But honey isn't the main prize.
21:00Instead, they carry away the honeybee larvae and pupae,
21:04which will feed their young for weeks.
21:09European honeybees may fight valiantly,
21:12but they haven't evolved any defenses against these giant invaders.
21:18But Japanese honeybees have come up with a tactic
21:21to take on these deadly intruders.
21:25It involves training and teamwork,
21:28an offensive attack aimed at a single hornet scout.
21:36They have to ambush her before she releases any pheromones.
21:41If the hornet manages to signal her army,
21:44the game is up.
21:48The bees wiggle their abdomens,
21:50a dance that signals their battle plan to the hive.
21:55They lure the interloper in, and then they swarm.
22:02Their jaws and stings are no match for the huge hornet,
22:06so instead the swarm turns up the heat.
22:11Hundreds of bees begin to vibrate so fast
22:14that they increase the temperature to 117 degrees,
22:19a temperature the hornet can't withstand.
22:31They roast the scout alive.
22:35And the secret location of the hive
22:38dies with her.
22:47Bees aren't the only insects plagued by giant hornets.
22:51Even the praying mantis can fall victim
22:54to this heavily armed predator,
22:57and the mantis is hardly defenseless.
23:01It can turn its head 180 degrees,
23:05using its five eyes for reconnaissance.
23:08Its powerful front legs are used to seize prey
23:11and clutch their victims in a vice-like grip.
23:14Spikes instantly spear the prey, pinning it in place.
23:19But the hornet is a killing machine.
23:24She's armed with much more than a lethal sting.
23:28Her compound eyes can see the slightest movement,
23:31Sharp tarsal claws seize and hold her victims,
23:34and with just one slice,
23:36her powerful mandibles decapitate prey.
23:46The hornet takes the offensive,
23:48ripping apart the mantis's wings and flesh.
23:53The mantis tries to bite back,
23:56but it's too late.
23:59With deadly surgical precision,
24:02the hornet butchers her victim, ripping it to shreds.
24:09But before she can declare victory,
24:12she has one final chance.
24:15Decapitation.
24:26She chews the mantis's flesh into a pulp
24:29and carries it home to the nest.
24:33A five-star dinner for her hungry lover.
24:37Nourishing the next generation has created some fierce fighters.
24:42And a mother looking to feed her young
24:45will do whatever it takes to make the kill.
25:08The potent venom in this banded sea snake
25:11can kill a scuba diver.
25:16So most underwater predators
25:18leave snake off their daily menus.
25:24But the hornet is not alone.
25:27She's not alone.
25:30She's not alone.
25:33Snake off their daily menus.
25:37Their real danger comes from the sky.
25:56Snake Island, off the coast of Malaysia.
26:00This little chunk of limestone
26:02plays host to hundreds of sea snakes.
26:05It's placid right now, but don't be fooled.
26:09These snakes have come ashore to breed.
26:12And tonight, the competition on this island
26:15for potential mates will be fierce.
26:18Sea snakes usually spend most of their time in water,
26:22but they don't have gills.
26:24Their lungs stretch almost the length of their entire bodies.
26:28To fill them, they have to swim to the surface to breathe.
26:33And that means they're vulnerable.
26:39This white-bellied sea eagle has young to feed,
26:42so it's on the hunt.
26:45Armed with keen vision and sharp talons,
26:48the eagle has perfected the snatch and grab.
26:52And sea snake is one of her favorite foods.
27:23But this snake isn't about to play the victim.
27:27As the eagle flies towards the nest with her prize,
27:31the snake starts to fight back.
27:40Even in midair, he can bite.
27:46If he manages to inject his venom,
27:49he could kill his abductor.
27:52But biting an enemy in midair isn't easy,
27:55especially for a creature that spends most of its time in the water.
28:03For this snake, it's too little too late,
28:07especially when facing down a hungry eaglet.
28:12The sea snake may be lunch meat,
28:15but the eagle doesn't have time to relax.
28:19One of this seabird's biggest threats is other eagles.
28:24It has to constantly defend its feeding ground from freeloaders.
28:32A lone eagle has come to check out the fishing.
28:36But this area belongs to this breeding pair,
28:39and they're not inclined to share.
28:43Their calls act as a warning shot,
28:46which the invader ignores.
28:49He's taking his dinner from their turf,
28:52and they're not putting up with it.
28:55It's time to launch the first defensive volley.
29:00The female takes point, dive-bombing the intruder,
29:03starting a midair tug-of-war.
29:16But she loses both the fight and the fish.
29:21So she tag-teams with her male partner.
29:30The intruder and the defending male fly high,
29:33looking for the advantage.
29:39The male is caught off-guard,
29:42and the female is caught off-guard as well.
29:51Then they lock talons, and the battle is on.
29:58This whirling is a display of dominance, force, and bravado.
30:09The eagles climb higher, ready for another round.
30:21It's an aerial game of chicken, and neither eagle blinks.
30:41The intruder emerges unhurt, but decides to move on.
30:47Their territory once again secure,
30:50the breeding pair takes a victory lap.
31:07The precise maneuvers of many animal battles are a matter of instinct.
31:13But for some young fighters, they have to learn the hard way.
31:24Like human teenagers, adolescent lions are awkward, but eager.
31:32At this age, they'll try to eat anything.
31:42But when it comes to hunting, they still have a lot to learn.
31:47Baboons spend most of their time foraging on the ground.
31:51But in times of danger, they can take to the trees,
31:55and use them to their advantage.
32:13At this age, they'll try to eat anything.
32:34Lions have sharp claws, but they're not great climbers.
32:38But that doesn't stop these young lions from trying.
32:48Their potential prey doesn't seem too worried.
32:56Adult lions rarely chase baboons, and the youngsters are about to find out why.
33:08First, one gets stuck, and there's no fire department to come get this big cat out of the tree.
33:24And the baboon has her own way of telling these incompetent hunters to get lost.
33:31Sticks double as missiles.
33:38Then, she unleashes the ultimate chemical weapon, urine.
33:51And the overgrown cubs beat a hasty retreat.
33:55They've just learned an important lesson.
33:59Don't bother with baboons.
34:01On the plains of Africa, these young lions can afford to learn by trial and error.
34:18But in the unforgiving void of the Arizona desert,
34:23instinct and precision mark the difference between life and death.
34:31In this harsh, dry landscape, temperatures can reach 120 degrees in the shade.
34:39It's high noon, and one of these two gunslingers is going to be pushing up daisies.
34:50Battles here take place out in the open, and survival is never assured.
34:56When this red-tailed hawk faces off with a rattlesnake, it starts with a deadly dance.
35:09With the supple grace of a matador, the hawk draws the snake's fire towards his wing feathers,
35:15where a bite would be harmless.
35:17The snake positions himself for a strike.
35:21The hawk targets the snake's head.
35:26The hawk draws first.
35:30Bullseye.
35:34The hawk shows no fear and no mercy.
35:37The first strike often has the advantage, even on a much smaller scale.
35:45This wasp will do anything to feed her young,
35:50including taking on the baboon spider.
35:55The hawk is not afraid of the hawk,
35:59but it's not afraid of the hawk.
36:01These spiders aren't small.
36:02They can grow to the size of small birds, and they can take care of themselves.
36:10Eight hairy legs, a pair of sharp fangs, and a sticky shield make up the big arachnid's arsenal.
36:18But the wasp is undeterred.
36:21It's not afraid of the wasp.
36:25It's not afraid of the hawk.
36:27But the wasp is undeterred.
36:30She has weapons of her own, speed, flight, and a deadly sting.
36:36This spider is 3.5 ounces of pure eight-legged protein,
36:42protein the wasp needs to feed her young.
36:47She invades the spider's burrow, charging right through its protective shield.
36:52The spider has no choice but to retreat, but he doesn't get far.
37:07In seconds, the wasp paralyzes him,
37:10the venom from her sting putting him into a permanent coma.
37:17It's a big, dangerous spider.
37:21It's a good feast, but it isn't for her.
37:28The spider just became an incubator.
37:33The mother wasp will lay a single egg in the spider's abdomen.
37:39When it hatches, her larva will eat its immobilized host alive.
37:46Big spiders nourish the female wasp larvae.
37:49Small spiders sustain the males.
37:54After a week of gorging on arachnid meat,
37:56the larva will pupate until the next summer to become the next generation of spider hunters.
38:06Victory often goes to the fastest fighter, but sometimes slow can be just as deadly.
38:20The giant horse conch weighs over 11 pounds.
38:25That's a lot of mollusk.
38:30The conch has a taste for snails,
38:33so when the tiny tulip snail spots one of these behemoths, it knows it's in trouble.
38:39The snail tries to outrun the big hunter,
38:42but it's like a tiny shuttle facing off with a star destroyer
38:47in a battle that moves at a snail's pace.
38:56Finally, it's overrun.
39:09The smell of digesting snail attracts new scavengers.
39:13Hermit crabs.
39:19Instantly, the big conch is surrounded,
39:23but the crabs aren't here for leftover escargot.
39:27They're after the tulip snail's shell.
39:31Hermit crabs use cast-off shells to protect their soft abdomens from predators.
39:37They find an empty shell, use their rear legs to attach to it,
39:41use their rear legs to attach to its central column, and move right in.
39:46When their current homes grow tight, they have to look for new real estate.
39:51The competition is fierce.
39:59With the conch ready to release the shell, the housing battle heats up.
40:11So
40:33until one crab decides to jump in and close the deal,
40:41it's a risky move.
40:43The big conch could still be hungry, but the risk pays off.
40:50The crafty crab will have plenty of room to grow in his new home.
40:58The losing crabs could end up homeless or worse.
41:04But other creatures rely on defense to survive.
41:12Scorpions are built for battle.
41:15They have their own body armor, an exoskeleton that glows in the dark.
41:21Strong pincers coated with fine hair sense prey and crush enemies.
41:29They can survive in harsh conditions and go as long as six months between meals.
41:35And then there's that venomous sting.
41:41They use it to immobilize their prey, and sometimes that prey is each other.
41:48So
42:07when one scorpion trespasses on another's turf, it's time to lock and load.
42:13They use their tails as swords, each trying to breach the other's defenses.
42:30If a sting penetrates the armor, it's certain death and digestion.
42:38Scorpions can't eat solid food.
42:40They have to use enzymes to break it down externally.
42:45The victor cannibalizes its brother into a scorpion soup.
42:57But the carnage attracts a shrew, and it smells dinner.
43:11The small furry mammal looks harmless, but the scorpion knows better.
43:16It beats a hasty retreat.
43:19Shrews look like rodents, but they are far from vegetarians.
43:24To survive, shrews must consume nearly their entire body weight in food every day.
43:30And they're dangerous, one of the few mammals in the world armed with venom.
43:35But the scorpion has a formidable weapon of its own.
43:39One well-placed sting can kill a shrew instantly.
44:06In the end, the shrew's lightning-fast reflexes prevail.
44:13This scorpion is about to be the main course at a Thanksgiving dinner,
44:19and there won't be any leftovers.
44:28Such quick reflexes make it tough for any creature to escape.
44:35It has to tame the shrew.
44:40But this garter snake might have a chance.
44:52It can eat almost anything.
44:54Rodents, reptiles, insects, fish, birds, and swallow them whole.
45:01And this shrew would make a tasty snack.
45:05But first, the garter snake has to catch one.
45:10The shrew lives life in the fast lane.
45:13Under stress, its heart can beat up to 1,300 times a minute.
45:18To maintain all that energy, it eats constantly,
45:23digging up worms and grubs in this rich garden soil.
45:26With its strong jaws and swift bite,
45:29the snake seems to have the advantage.
45:33But the shrew's saliva can paralyze prey.
45:39So in this fight, the first bite wins.
45:45The shrew goes right for the neck.
45:47The snake's muscles go slack as the venom takes hold.
46:04And the shrew starts to eat him alive.
46:08Size means nothing when you have the right weapons.
46:12In nature's battlefields, the winner takes all.
46:16It's an evolutionary arms race,
46:18where only the fiercest, the fastest, the bravest,
46:22and the most cunning survive.
46:41Subtitling by SUBS Hamburg
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