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Culture Express
  • 5/30/2025

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00:00Transcription by CastingWords
00:30Life is at its most intense during the struggles between predator and prey.
00:40Each side, to survive, must outwit and outmanoeuvre the other.
00:50The prize for the hunter? A meal.
00:54For the prey, the chance to live another day.
01:00A meal.
01:18Three male cheetahs.
01:23These brothers are very special.
01:30They hunt prey few other cheetahs would dare to tackle.
01:43To succeed, they must first select a victim.
01:47And then work together to overpower it.
01:58It's dangerous work.
02:00An adult zebra is potentially lethal.
02:03The outcome is by no means certain.
02:10The outcome is by no means certain.
02:12The outcome of this war princes would have been by a maiни lex ou Ju-
02:26Howlenn said Al skip.
02:28Okay.
02:30What time is it?
02:33Wh rushing the mél her to a baby with theghlet.
02:35The first cheetah is driven off.
02:51And his brothers have already made a critical mistake.
02:55They aren't close enough to take over the attack.
03:01Each is chasing a different target.
03:06Making it easy for the zebra to defend their young.
03:20A quarter-tonne stallion finally puts paid to their chances.
03:30Chasing different zebra was bound to lead to failure.
03:36Perhaps their enthusiasm got the better of them.
03:43They must try again.
03:44In the shadow of Mount Kenya, the brothers regroup.
04:01Their mistake with the zebra was to hunt as ordinary cheetahs do, as individuals.
04:06To catch such prey, they must hunt like no other cheetahs.
04:19That means acting together as one.
04:22They start again.
04:30They start again.
04:31They start again.
04:33They start again.
04:34They actually feel better.
04:35Theyப the zebra was going in the middle as they're going up with them.
04:38They grow faster than they do.
04:42It is hard now to keep coming into change.
04:45But?
04:46An ostrich outweighs and outguns a single cheetah.
05:12This time there's only one target.
05:16And all three cheetahs are on to it.
05:26The third brother starts to throttle the ostrich.
05:31Even off its feet, it's still dangerous.
05:41The brothers have found a unique way of catching their prey.
05:51The ability to invent such novel hunting tactics is one thing that really sets mammals apart.
06:01But mammals themselves can also be targets for predators, and the hunted also need to devise special tactics.
06:09The desert shores of the Dead Sea.
06:21Living here is difficult indeed.
06:34It's March, and high on these cathedral cliffs, ibex have given birth.
06:49For the first few days, the kids were kept safe, isolated on the clifftops.
06:58But now, the ibex have a problem.
07:07The only food and water is far below at the bottom of the gorge, and that is where predators lurk.
07:15If they're to feed, it's a risk they will have to take.
07:25The adults lead the way.
07:27The adults lead the way.
07:30They know the safest routes.
07:32Though safe here is a relative term.
07:42The kids have no choice but to keep up.
08:10One slip could be the last.
08:30Their only assets are cloven hooves that spread under load.
08:36Astonishing balance.
08:40And the most uncanny agility.
08:47Barely a week old, they are utterly fearless.
08:52Learning to negotiate these cliffs is central to their survival.
09:06But now, the family must be on guard against predators.
09:19Or grab a chance to browse.
09:34And the last youngster.
09:35Trailing behind, the last youngster is almost down.
09:39And runs right into trouble.
09:43A fox.
09:45It's been waiting for a straggler.
09:48The kid has never seen a fox before, but knows it's in real peril.
10:06It appears to be running into more trouble as it heads back up the cliff.
10:19The fox tries to gain the higher ground.
10:44But the kid has found safety on a face so steep that only an ibex could stand there.
11:05The lessons learnt on this morning's descent have saved its life.
11:24Finally, the fox gives it up as a bad job.
11:32Perhaps suddenly aware, it's standing on a precipice.
11:39Despite its tender age, the ibex has outwitted one of the canniest of predators.
11:45The fox's failure epitomizes a predator's plight.
11:59Most hunts fail.
12:01So hunters are continually devising new tactics.
12:06The rainforests of Belize in Central America.
12:21And as evening falls and the shower comes to an end, a predator begins to hunt.
12:33The greater bulldog bat.
13:01A flying mammal.
13:04And a fisherman.
13:08A fish swimming just below the surface creates tell-tale ripples.
13:28And that is all the bat needs to detect them.
13:33With a little more than a fin to aim for, and whilst flying at 40 miles an hour, the bat takes the fish completely unawares.
13:45If the shoal scatters.
13:50If the shoal scatters, the bat trawls the surface.
14:00Raking the water, trying to snag a fish.
14:03Raking the water, trying to snag a fish.
14:07He won't have the best fishing spot to himself for long.
14:23And soon, other bats arrive.
14:33Oncoming traffic would make grabbing a fish almost impossible.
14:38So the bats avoid collisions by honking, dropping their calls an octave to say,
14:44Look out, here I come.
14:45Here I come.
15:13And soon the shoal has either been captured or has fled, and the bats move on.
15:20Here I come.
15:33Skills like this take practice.
15:36And for some mammals, that practice begins in infancy.
15:47A young stoat.
15:49And it's not alone.
16:03These wild games are too much to resist.
16:07Stalking, chasing, and ambushing all practiced in play.
16:28Soon, the young stoats must hunt for themselves.
16:44And then these athletic skills will be crucial.
16:51Soon, the young stoats must hunt for themselves.
16:56And then these athletic skills will be crucial.
17:00It's September in the English countryside.
17:19This stoat is about to take on an adversary ten times its size.
17:34It's too dangerous to rush straight in.
17:41Instead, the stoat's aim is to wear the rabbit down.
17:46The rabbit is flagging, and the stoat's stamina is starting to make a difference.
18:07But stamina alone is not enough.
18:17The rabbit must still be overpowered.
18:19The rabbit must still be overpowered.
18:47A bite to the back of the neck, and a kill.
19:03The incredible agility of the stoat, practiced since it was a kit, was just enough to swing the balance.
19:16There are times when mere physical powers are not enough to give the hunter an edge.
19:21Then mammals must deploy their most sophisticated weapon, their brains.
19:31Strange patterns are visible in the mud of Florida Bay.
19:35A faint hint of a unique hunting tactic.
19:40The perpetrators, bottlenose dolphins.
19:50And they're on a mission.
19:52And they're on a mission.
19:53A mission to catch fish.
19:55The fish here are very difficult to catch, and in such shallow water they ought to be safe.
20:09Yet the dolphins have a plan.
20:11They have learned to corral the fish by working as a team.
20:26The lead dolphin beats its tail on the seabed, stirring up a ring of mud.
20:42Trapped inside, the fish take their only way out.
20:46But they're leaping out of the frying pan and into the fire.
20:49Once the mud ring loses its shape, the fish scatter.
21:04The dolphins move on and repeat the process.
21:21Rain power combined with teamwork.
21:23It's a winning formula.
21:48This behaviour is unique to the dolphins of Florida Bay.
21:53Successive generations have learnt it from their parents,
21:58and in turn they will teach it to their own young.
22:18The ability to pass on such complex behaviours
22:21is one of the mammals' greatest talents.
22:24It enables them to survive where others would perish.
22:28As winter approaches in Alaska, food gets progressively harder to find.
22:31As winter approaches in Alaska, food gets progressively harder to find.
22:34As winter approaches in Alaska, food gets progressively harder to find.
22:38As winter approaches in Alaska, food gets progressively harder to find.
22:51As winter approaches in Alaska, food gets progressively harder to find.
22:57As winter approaches in Alaska, food gets progressively harder to find.
22:59To live here is to walk a tightrope.
23:13Yet every year this coast attracts North America's most impressive hunter.
23:20A brown bear.
23:34A brown bear.
23:35Here they grow larger than anywhere in the world.
23:44Other bears have also gathered at the edge of the surf.
23:47They've come here to fatten up for the winter.
23:57They're waiting for an event that happens just once a year.
24:01The salmon run.
24:12Others will tackle the fish up river, but here in the sea, these bears have the first chance.
24:31Each bear's survival depends on this one of fish staying strong.
25:01There are years when their gamble fails and the fish hardly show.
25:11Then the bears face starvation.
25:13This year promises to be a bumper one.
25:27And the bears will be able to pile on the pounds ahead of winter.
25:44Mammals are supreme in their ability to exploit such fleeting opportunities.
25:53Chances come and go with the passing of the seasons.
26:02But for some predators, conditions are tough whatever the time of year.
26:13At first glance, these mountains seem barren and empty of life.
26:22Like islands thrust up into the sky, they tower above the surrounding plains.
26:28Yet, far from being deserted, they are a refuge.
26:46Isolated here, on the roof of Africa, is one of the rarest hunters in the world.
26:51The Ethiopian wolf, the only wolf in the whole of Africa.
27:15Despite being close to the equator, these peaks are so cold at night
27:19that the wolves face a frost-covered dawn.
27:28Each pack is centred around a single dominant female.
27:32Normally, it is only she who breathes.
27:40This year, she has produced six pups.
27:43But if she is to raise them all in this barren land,
27:48she will need the help of the entire pack.
27:57Every morning, the pack sets off to hunt,
28:00leaving her back among the rocks with the pups.
28:03The pack's hunting ground is about five square miles of mountain top.
28:16They guard it zealously, patrolling its frontiers every day.
28:35Wolves elsewhere cooperate and use their united power to pull down big prey.
28:40But there are no caribou or moose to be found up here.
28:51The pack splits up.
28:53Each member is going to hunt alone.
28:59One of them spots something.
29:01One of them spots something.
29:02One of them spots something.
29:30It's a rat.
30:02But catching rats is not easy, no matter how carefully you stalk them.
30:22Another hunter has a more proactive technique.
30:27And that works.
30:32It's a lot of work for relatively small rewards, and demands its own particular style of hunting.
30:57A hunter returns.
31:02Mother demands food, and the successful hunter delivers it.
31:13So rearing a single litter here takes the combined labor of a dozen or so adults, and the Ethiopian wolves have adjusted their behavior accordingly.
31:32That adaptability is the mammals' great strength, enabling them to survive in some very unlikely habitats.
31:47A star-nosed mole, possessor of perhaps the most extraordinary nose on the planet.
32:01Its nostrils are surrounded by 22 fingers.
32:14Fingers that allow the mole to sense the world around it by touch alone.
32:23It enables it to detect food with astonishing speed.
32:30It can also swim.
32:42And once underwater, its nose helps it in a most extraordinary way.
33:03It blows out a bubble, and breathes it back in, detecting in a millisecond if there's prey close by.
33:27This bubble blowing allows it to sniff out its food underwater, but unfortunately that means it soon runs out of breath.
33:45So it's just as well that it can hunt as fast down here as on the surface.
33:58Few creatures can hunt equally successfully underground and underwater.
34:04Few creatures can hunt equally underground and underwater.
34:27Bandivgarh, India.
34:29At the height of the dry season.
34:32A chital deer.
34:38They must live their lives with all their senses at a high pitch.
34:45A chital deer.
34:50They must live their lives with all their senses at a high pitch.
34:57The faintest smell.
35:07The slightest sound.
35:10The briefest glimpse.
35:12Could give warning of an attack.
35:15The chital deer must detect their enemy before it takes them by surprise.
35:24And they have allies.
35:25Langur monkeys.
35:27And they have allies.
35:29Langur monkeys.
35:31Keen eyesight and a perch high in the trees means they can scan the forest.
35:46The jungle is full of distraction.
35:47The jungle is full of distraction.
35:59Senses are strained trying to detect approaching danger.
36:03And the hunters.
36:04And the hunter must get within striking distance.
36:05And the hunter must get within striking distance.
36:18There's a hint of danger carried on the wind.
36:33The herd shares a nervousness.
36:35The tiger is nearly close enough to launch her attack.
37:00The chital need to come just a little closer.
37:07If she moves now, the langurs will see her.
37:23The hunter's a bitter patient.
37:35The hunter's a bitter patient.
37:40The deer had a moment's head start and escape.
38:05The langur's vigilance saved the Cittau.
38:10And the tiger goes hungry.
38:20For some mammals, attack is the best form of defence.
38:28This squirrel is arming herself.
38:31It's a California ground squirrel, and she's found a snake skin.
38:40She's chewing it into a paste, which she then rubs into her fur, especially her tail.
38:54She now stinks of snake.
38:59She lives in a colony that extends across a wide expanse of prairie.
39:05There is one downside to this neighbourhood.
39:09It's in the middle of rattlesnake country.
39:12Not good when you have young to raise.
39:16Her neighbour has sensed something.
39:25A rattlesnake hidden right next to their burrow.
39:28They both investigate, but what can they do?
39:44Kicking stones only provokes the snake.
39:49Rattlesnakes sense prey by the heat they give off,
39:51and the squirrel is able to take advantage of this.
40:02She heats up her tail with warm blood.
40:08Waving it at the snake is a threat.
40:10It makes her look much larger than she is.
40:30And the scent of rattler on her fluffed tail intimidates the snake.
40:34He decides to retreat.
40:48The mother decides that this part of the neighbourhood is too dangerous,
40:53and moves her young to new quarters.
40:56With luck, this may be a safer place to raise a family.
41:04But the predator and prey must endlessly refine their strategies.
41:25Just occasionally, an individual makes a unique breakthrough,
41:30and learns to do something completely new.
41:35It's December, and a storm rages around the Falkland Islands.
41:43Gen 2 penguins face blizzards of blown sand.
42:04Young elephant seals risk being dragged off the rocks by the surging waves,
42:12and swept out into open water.
42:34Orca, the largest and most predatory of the dolphin family.
42:49Killer whales.
42:59This pod of nine can only survive here by being opportunists.
43:03Normally, young elephant seals are not on the menu.
43:15They stay close to the shore, safe in the shallows of their nursery pool.
43:19The pool is almost entirely cut off from the sea.
43:27A narrow, shallow channel is the only access to the open water.
43:31But this pod of killer whales contains a very special female.
43:45She's easily identified by her calf, which is always close by.
43:49Every year, she comes to the pool at the same time when the seals first swim in the shallows.
43:59She knows how to get them.
44:11Negotiating the channel is her first challenge.
44:14The water near the mouth of the pool is slightly deeper.
44:24Here, she sets her ambush, waiting for a seal to stray out of the shallows.
44:29For mother and calf, this is an extremely risky ploy.
44:37She must continuously assess how big the waves are,
44:41how deep the water is, and what the tide is doing.
44:44One bad decision would see both mother and calf stranded.
44:56The seals lie in the shallows, just out of reach and unaware of her presence.
45:02But she is more than aware of the dropping tide.
45:06A floundering seal catches her attention.
45:22And with her calf, she slowly moves towards it.
45:29The seal is lying right on the edge of a rocky ledge, oblivious to the danger.
45:36The projecting ledge keeps the seal just out of reach.
45:46The projecting ledge keeps the seal just out of reach.
45:55Yet, she has a plan.
45:57Rocking back and forth, she's making a wave, trying to wash the seal off the ledge.
46:16But it is securely surrounded by kelp.
46:18A splash alerts her to a better opportunity.
46:29Another seal has started to swim into the pool.
46:31This is her chance.
46:32This is her chance.
46:43Edging further into the shallows than ever before, she's risking everything.
46:47Half beached and with a struggling seal in her mouth, it takes all her strength to drag it out of the pool.
47:04Get out of the pool.
47:34She is the only killer whale on the planet that knows how to hunt these seals in this way.
47:49And crucially, she's now passing on that skill to her own calf.
47:54Extraordinary strategies like these lie at the heart of the struggle between predator and prey.
48:12They're born of a conflict that is relentless and unforgiving.
48:21A conflict that eternally binds the hunter and the hunted.
48:38This is looking very promising.
48:39The life team had set themselves a tough challenge in trying to film exceptional hunting sequences.
48:49But our teams were lucky enough to observe some of the world's most charismatic predators.
49:00It was the killer whales of the Falklands, though, that brought the team closest to the action.
49:05Every year off Sea Lion Island, killer whales snatch young elephant seals from their nursery pool.
49:18Filming most hunting sequences involves a great deal of waiting and a slice of luck.
49:23But here things were a little different.
49:25Cameraman Mike Pitts and producer Adam Chapman travel to the Falklands having heard that for two weeks each year,
49:35killer whales focus on one particular spot.
49:38The Kinner whales have learnt to target elephant seal pups as they first venture into the water.
49:49And this gives the team their best chance of filming a hunt.
49:53The first task facing the team is to familiarize themselves not only with a new location,
50:08but also with the animals they will be working around.
50:11And the team soon realized that they and their equipment are a great novelty to the seal pups.
50:27I dare look at the camera because I'm all worried about the tripod being knocked over,
50:31so I've got a little friend here, so I'm going to report him for interfering with the film group.
50:36The pups' fascination with the team is rather unexpected.
50:46You've got a great way with wildlife, Michael.
50:48At one with nature.
50:53It's quite difficult out here, there's so many of them.
50:55The large number of youngsters bodes well for the killer whales,
50:59but the longer the team spend with the pups, the more they warm to them.
51:03When you look at these little pups, you can't fail to be captivated by them.
51:06Especially when you gaze into those eyes, it really pulls at your heartstrings.
51:10But an orca, of course, it's 120 kilos of pure protein.
51:16So that's why they're hunted.
51:20As the days go by, the team continue to get a feel for the location,
51:34when suddenly the killer whales arrive.
51:45The pod of nine is clearly interested in the pool,
51:48and one female is particularly confident.
51:51It's coming in.
51:52The female and her calf start to come into the pool regularly,
52:07but there never seems to be a pup within reach.
52:27The team have come to the Falklands prepared to film underwater.
52:31Now the time has come to see if this is a realistic ambition.
52:41With lookouts posted and the whales far away, Mike is able to get in.
52:50Even so...
52:51Who can blame him for being jumpy?
53:03The pup's playfulness is becoming an issue.
53:06The last thing the team want is to have any influence on the events they're here to film.
53:10There's also the question of how the killer whales might react to a person in the water.
53:29Quite intimidating in there.
53:31It shelves up.
53:32So, in the centre of the channel, it just goes down to, I don't know, maybe eight feet, I think.
53:36A couple of meters.
53:37But the visibility's really stirred up.
53:39How do they find their way in that channel, I just don't know.
53:43And what I'm worried about is if I do get in the water with the orca,
53:48which I'm slightly concerned about, I have to say.
53:51She's in a hunting mode.
53:52She's not here just for her past time of day.
53:53She's out there to kill something.
53:55I just don't want to be that personal seal, whatever she thinks of.
54:05She may...
54:06She'll probably realise what she's bitten me, that she's made a mistake.
54:10I don't know.
54:11Is it worth a gamble?
54:12No.
54:15With a week already gone, the killer whales have not yet made a full-blown attack.
54:21And then the weather changes.
54:23Well, hopefully it'll blow itself out, but I think the fall is going to be a couple of days, I think, before that calms down.
54:31The storm rages for two more days, but on the 11th day, the good weather returns.
54:39Mike knows that time is running out.
54:42Well, the orcas are out there.
54:44Still quite their way off.
54:46The team decides a camera on the end of a pole might be the way to reveal the underwater action.
54:51After that storm, it's been so stirred up.
54:58And just bring it slightly out of the water, Adam, so bring it, draw it back to you or to you, and stop.
55:07And that's dark green, basically.
55:09Very dark green.
55:10There's still a lot of...
55:12There's still a lot of...
55:15Suspension, yeah.
55:17The storm had stirred up the pool, making it hard to see anything, but the team remain in good spirits.
55:24Does my bum look big in this?
55:26Massive!
55:27As the seal pups are nearly ready to go to sea, the whale's opportunity to hunt this year will soon pass.
55:35And the team know this could be their last chance.
55:40What size is that fin?
55:46Okay, Mike, she's coming in.
55:48Coming in, Mike.
55:50Coming in?
55:51Just here.
55:54Mike?
55:55One second, mate.
56:02I can talk to you gently here now.
56:04And I can also see where you're pointing.
56:08She's in.
56:12You're recording.
56:13Hold it steady.
56:14Hold it steady.
56:25Got it.
56:35She's gone past, Mike.
56:36She's in the pool.
56:37Can I get in there?
56:45Go, Tom.
56:47We've got one.
56:48Definitely.
56:49Can't mistake it.
56:55We're bringing it out now.
56:56We're taking the slowdown.
56:59We're pulling it out.
57:17God, he just got hammered.
57:21Part of me is elated that I've got it,
57:23but part of me is sort of sad, really,
57:25because I've watched these little characters,
57:27these pups, grow in the last few weeks,
57:29and the orcas, too, they've got to survive,
57:32and they've made a successful hunt,
57:34and they're now continuing their journey,
57:38so what can you say?
57:41Witnessing such events often results
57:43in such a conflict of emotions.
57:46The two-week window is over,
57:48and the killer whales move on.
57:50It'll be a whole year before this exceptional female
57:53returns here to hunt again.
57:55The End
57:57The End
57:59The End
58:00The End
58:01The End
58:03The End
58:04The End
58:05The End
58:06The End
58:07The End
58:08The End
58:09The End
58:10The End
58:11The End
58:15The End
58:16The End
58:17The End