WEBVTT

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Enter a world

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just beyond your perception.

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A world of extraordinary animals,

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with hidden powers, and super senses.

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If you think you know nature...

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think again.

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It's the punch you don't see coming...

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that hits the hardest.

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Coral reefs are swimming

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with so many predators.

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Sometimes, it pays

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to hide in plain sight.

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Blending into the background
comes naturally

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to a stonefish.

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Good looks...

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not so much.

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No matter,

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when things get ugly
on a coral reef,

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skill beats beauty every time,

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and the deceptive stonefish

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has many hidden talents.

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Thirteen spines on its dorsal fin,

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loaded with the most deadly venom
of any fish,

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protect it from attack.

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But still,

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it chooses to hide.

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Burying itself into the sand,

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in a disappearing
act so effective,

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it's scary.

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The stonefish is almost
impossible to spot,

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and to avoid.

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One of the fastest moves

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in the animal kingdom,

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it creates an inescapable suction field,

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gone
in 16 milliseconds.

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Whether predator or prey,

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when life hangs in the balance,

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only the most potent superpowers

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will save the day.

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The hothouse conditions
of the Costa Rican rainforest,

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fuel an intense evolutionary arms race

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between hunter

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and hunted.

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As prey get better at escaping,

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predators get ever more deadly.

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Motmots have a taste for reptiles.

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These visual hunters

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scan for prey
with acute vision,

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highly attuned to movement.

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So this anole lizard

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better tread carefully.

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Whenever she freezes,

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the motmot can't see her,

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but she can see him.

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Her sight has special properties, too.

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Side-oriented eyes

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give almost a 360
degree surveillance,

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and they're sensitive
to the ultraviolet spectrum,

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intensifying the contrast and color

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of the motmot's plumage.

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But she can't stand still forever.

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She needs to eat, too.

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So when the motmot looks away,

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the lizard moves

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just a little.

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Nothing to see here.

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It's like they're playing red light,
green light,

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only this is no game.

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One wrong step...

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...could be fatal.

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As the motmot closes in,

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the lizard moves
just out of range.

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But now, there's nowhere left to run.

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The motmot is a sit-and-wait predator.

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Surely, there's only so long

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that a lizard can
stay underwater.

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But this is clearly no ordinary lizard.

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She has an unbelievable escape strategy

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so recently discovered,

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that it's never been filmed before now.

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When submerged,

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tiny bubbles trapped

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between water-repellent scales

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join up

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and rise towards her head.

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A secret scuba system,

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allowing her to breathe

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underwater.

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This ingenious lizard can stay submerged

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for over 18 minutes.

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Long enough for even
the most patient motmot

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to concede defeat.

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And for the little lizard

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to emerge victorious.

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Most hunts aren't successful.

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Even the most
superpowered predators

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struggle to make a catch.

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Hyper carnivores have a diet
of 70% meat.

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This one is the largest to walk the Earth.

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And one of the very few animals

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known to actively hunt humans.

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But a polar bear's preferred prey...

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is seal.

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To survive a life below zero,

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she must eat more than 50 a year.

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But catching them is tough,

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even for such a specialized seal stalker.

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Orienting tail to the wind,

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a seal uses its sense of smell

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to detect predators approaching
from behind

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while keeping a lookout

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for any attack
from the front.

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UV intensifying eyesight

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helps see through
the bear's snow white disguise,

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and a smart seal always

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keeps an emergency
exit close by.

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Out here, it takes more
than brute strength to make a kill.

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With fewer than two seals
every square mile,

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tracking them down

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is a challenge.

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And now there's less sea ice

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due to climate change.

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Her search for food is even harder.

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Thankfully, she has
an extraordinary super-sense on her side.

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Her sense of smell,

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the most powerful nose
in the animal kingdom.

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She can even sniff out
a seal under the ice.

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From over a mile away,

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she picks up a scent
carried on the wind.

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Locked onto her target,

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approaching from downwind,

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she closes in.

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Securing enough food just

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to stay alive is hard enough.

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Providing for a growing family,
even harder.

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Only a third of cubs
reach their second year.

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Raising the next generation of hunters

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can be a relentless pursuit,

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especially in extreme environments.

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The eat-or-be-eaten world

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of the Arizona desert.

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This roadrunner dad

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is run ragged,

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providing food for
three ravenous chicks.

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One meal delivered,

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and he's on to the next.

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Racing around at 25 miles an hour,

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hunting pretty much anything
he can get his beak on.

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But each time Dad leaves,

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the nest is exposed.

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Seventy percent of chicks
get taken by predators.

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A hognose snake
detects scent molecules

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on each tip of its
forked tongue...

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sensing in stereo to determine

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the exact direction of its prey.

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Another meal secured,

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Dad heads home...

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...just in time.

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With lightning reactions,

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and a sharp two-inch beak...

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...roadrunners are known
as "snake killers" for good reason.

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Dad just turned danger

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into dinner.

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But now, this snake
doesn't smell so appetizing.

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Roadrunners aren't picky eaters,

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but when it comes to rotten flesh,

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it's a pass.

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At least his chicks are safe.

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Or are they?

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A zombie resurrection,

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or just playing dead to save his skin?

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The hognose snake
can even emit a smell

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like decomposing carrion,

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faking his own death,

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so he can live to die another day.

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Some defense strategies
are so extraordinary,

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they're phenomenal.

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A murmuration of starlings,

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moving as one mesmerizing super organism.

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Exactly how and why they make

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these mind-blowing
patterns in the sky

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has remained a mystery.

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But recent discoveries reveal

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that the motivation
behind such beauty,

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is destruction.

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Local peregrine falcons know

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that during the European winter,

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starlings flock in their millions.

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And in the open countryside,

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they're vulnerable to attack.

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So, at dusk,

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they gather
for safety in numbers.

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Flocking like this,
helps them hide

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in the crowd,

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but it makes a tempting target.

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Flying low to avoid detection,

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the Peregrine makes its approach.

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Then it climbs

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high above the flock,

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turns

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and dives.

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With near
aerodynamic perfection,

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it plummets at
250 miles an hour...

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...making it the fastest animal
on the planet.

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Starlings barely reach 50 miles an hour,

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but they have a more subtle secret weapon.

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A single magical number,

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each bird tracks
its six closest neighbors.

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Precision matching distance and speed.

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As this rule of six multiplies
across the flock,

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it creates a dazzling display.

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Each twist and turn ripples
through the formation

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at 65 feet per second.

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Confusing to the eye, hard to predict,

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almost impossible to penetrate.

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The falcon struggles
to pick off an individual.

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In horizontal flight,

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its speed advantage
is vastly diminished.

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Starlings process visual cues

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much quicker than humans

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and counter a peregrine's agility

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with their own aerobatics.

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And thanks to incredible synchronicity,

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even the planet's fastest predator

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is outmaneuvered.

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Eighty percent of the time,
the peregrine is unsuccessful.

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All it can do

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is watch this spectacular
show of strength in numbers.

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Ingenious examples
of how to avoid attack

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can be found hiding everywhere,

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even in an English country garden.

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Look a little closer,

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because plants have predators, too.

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A death's-head Hawkmoth's favorite food
is nectar,

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but her offspring emerge

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as voracious tomato plant killers.

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In just three weeks,

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these very hungry caterpillars

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grow 16 times bigger.

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Now, finger length,

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and armed with scissor-like mandibles,

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one caterpillar can devour
an entire plant.

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An army of them

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will decimate the whole crop.

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But tomato plants

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have an invisible defense.

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Injured leaves release
an airborne distress call.

00:23:34.913 --> 00:23:37.791
Volatile chemicals
that warn neighboring plants

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to prepare for war.

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This call to arms

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rallies nearby leaves

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to produce powerful toxins,

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rendering them inedible.

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And because these caterpillars

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only feed on plants
in the tomato family,

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they begin to starve.

00:24:14.286 --> 00:24:16.344
A recent discovery reveals

00:24:16.368 --> 00:24:19.332
this tale has a sinister twist.

00:24:22.711 --> 00:24:24.867
With nothing left to eat...

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they eat

00:24:32.262 --> 00:24:34.281
each other.

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Cannibal caterpillars,

00:24:41.897 --> 00:24:44.781
a gruesome method of pest control.

00:24:46.443 --> 00:24:49.609
When the killer tomatoes strike back.

00:24:52.324 --> 00:24:55.494
In nature, who's most deadly...

00:24:57.037 --> 00:24:59.703
is all a matter of perspective.

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Beneath a European Meadow

00:25:08.548 --> 00:25:10.514
an Etruscan shrew

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just waking,

00:25:13.699 --> 00:25:15.957
but it's no slow start.

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Her pulse rockets
to over a thousand beats per minute.

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Time to get up, get out, and get hunting.

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With the fastest metabolism
of any mammal,

00:25:34.866 --> 00:25:37.831
this frenzied killer
must consume

00:25:37.855 --> 00:25:40.622
six times her body weight a day,

00:25:42.040 --> 00:25:43.416
or she'll starve.

00:25:45.460 --> 00:25:47.671
It’s finding prey that's the trick.

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Those big ears actually
don't hear so well,

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and with pin-sized eyes,

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she's almost hunting blind.

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Thankfully, another sense
is superpowered.

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Shrews feel their

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world with whiskers.

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A quarter of the length of her body,

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she uses them to scan her surroundings.

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Her sense of touch is so acute,

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the slightest vibration
triggers instant attack.

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25 milliseconds,

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12 times faster
than the blink of an eye.

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And a little larva is just for starters,

00:26:48.356 --> 00:26:50.692
as her killing spree begins.

00:27:06.708 --> 00:27:09.044
Only the size of an almond,

00:27:09.836 --> 00:27:12.297
she's the smallest mammal on Earth.

00:27:14.257 --> 00:27:16.655
But not much is out of her reach.

00:27:21.681 --> 00:27:26.311
Even a locust twice her size is fair game.

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Feeding frenzy over,

00:27:51.878 --> 00:27:54.123
it's time to retire

00:27:54.589 --> 00:27:56.615
and recharge.

00:27:59.844 --> 00:28:02.742
Just a quick seven-minute power nap

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and this voracious little terror
is at large again.

00:28:17.529 --> 00:28:19.739
Above the same European meadows,

00:28:20.448 --> 00:28:23.326
another tiny predator is also on the hunt.

00:28:27.747 --> 00:28:31.876
A mouse-eared bat
has such sensitive hearing,

00:28:32.252 --> 00:28:35.880
it can eavesdrop on insects
from 130 feet away

00:28:36.756 --> 00:28:41.594
to determine the direction, size,
and shape of a target.

00:28:46.683 --> 00:28:48.393
When the bat is patrolling,

00:28:49.394 --> 00:28:52.355
any insect that moves or makes a sound...

00:28:58.361 --> 00:28:59.904
...is flirting with death.

00:29:07.586 --> 00:29:09.442
But a conehead bush cricket

00:29:09.466 --> 00:29:12.024
has other things
on his tiny mind.

00:29:15.463 --> 00:29:17.225
On Summer evenings,

00:29:17.249 --> 00:29:19.382
the meadow is full of males,

00:29:20.216 --> 00:29:23.173
all singing as loud as they can

00:29:23.197 --> 00:29:25.512
to attract a mate.

00:29:29.809 --> 00:29:32.008
And this male is determined

00:29:32.032 --> 00:29:34.652
to be heard above
the competition.

00:29:35.774 --> 00:29:38.168
Bush crickets hear
pretty well, too,

00:29:38.192 --> 00:29:40.188
with ears on their legs.

00:29:42.113 --> 00:29:44.532
So he knows the bat is above,

00:29:45.825 --> 00:29:48.036
but still, he won't be silenced,

00:29:49.329 --> 00:29:53.458
he blasts out his song as loud
as a power drill.

00:29:55.460 --> 00:29:57.003
When the bat closes in,

00:29:59.047 --> 00:30:02.425
rather than shut up, he cranks it up.

00:30:06.429 --> 00:30:09.365
It sounds like the desire
to mate could be the death

00:30:09.390 --> 00:30:11.186
of this little bush cricket.

00:30:13.353 --> 00:30:15.497
But an astonishing new discovery

00:30:15.521 --> 00:30:17.688
reveals his powers of attraction

00:30:18.107 --> 00:30:20.384
also have the power to repel.

00:30:21.986 --> 00:30:23.488
He sings so loudly,

00:30:24.113 --> 00:30:26.950
it's painful to the bat's sensitive ears.

00:30:29.442 --> 00:30:32.602
The bush cricket turns

00:30:32.626 --> 00:30:34.614
the bat's superpower
into a weakness,

00:30:34.639 --> 00:30:39.037
creating a 3-foot, no-fly zone
all around him.

00:30:43.800 --> 00:30:47.595
And as he's not the only one
singing for a mate,

00:30:48.142 --> 00:30:50.264
the whole meadow is protected

00:30:50.288 --> 00:30:52.767
by a deafening blanket of sound.

00:31:00.817 --> 00:31:02.694
Turns out what drives bats away,

00:31:03.570 --> 00:31:06.239
drives female coneheads wild.

00:31:07.490 --> 00:31:09.993
The noisier, the better.

00:31:13.121 --> 00:31:14.747
Often the best defense

00:31:16.958 --> 00:31:18.501
is the best offense.

00:31:21.963 --> 00:31:27.681
In the Caribbean, it helps one animal
snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

00:31:34.517 --> 00:31:36.035
Nightfall,

00:31:36.060 --> 00:31:39.564
a dangerous time
to be a small fish on a big reef.

00:31:41.858 --> 00:31:43.854
Only one inch long,

00:31:43.878 --> 00:31:45.440
this cardinal fish

00:31:45.464 --> 00:31:47.030
needs to avoid becoming next

00:31:47.055 --> 00:31:48.907
on the lion fish menu.

00:32:02.962 --> 00:32:05.214
But he must to catch dinner, too.

00:32:13.848 --> 00:32:16.195
Huge light-sensitive eyes

00:32:16.219 --> 00:32:18.770
help pinpoint small
prey in the dark.

00:32:24.567 --> 00:32:28.863
Ostracods, crustaceans the size
of a grain of sand

00:32:29.489 --> 00:32:32.387
should make a manageable meal.

00:32:41.334 --> 00:32:43.753
But he's bitten off more
than he can chew.

00:32:47.382 --> 00:32:50.722
Ostracods store
a volatile cocktail

00:32:50.746 --> 00:32:53.296
of chemicals
inside their bodies.

00:32:54.385 --> 00:32:55.971
If attacked... t

00:32:55.996 --> 00:32:57.913
the compounds mix,

00:32:57.937 --> 00:33:00.728
igniting an explosion
of bioluminescence

00:33:00.753 --> 00:33:02.480
brighter than a flashlight

00:33:05.108 --> 00:33:07.318
and leaving such a bad taste...

00:33:10.530 --> 00:33:13.908
that the cardinalfish
spits it out unharmed.

00:33:17.829 --> 00:33:20.373
Ostracods store enough
of these chemicals

00:33:20.498 --> 00:33:22.709
to detonate ten times in a row.

00:33:28.881 --> 00:33:32.416
And this crustacean's
escape plan

00:33:32.440 --> 00:33:34.943
is even more brilliant.

00:33:39.642 --> 00:33:41.769
The flash is so bright,

00:33:42.645 --> 00:33:44.230
it not only blinds...

00:33:47.108 --> 00:33:48.943
it also betrays.

00:33:52.780 --> 00:33:55.088
Leaving the poor cardinalfish

00:33:55.112 --> 00:33:57.545
temporarily unable to see,

00:33:58.453 --> 00:34:00.496
but easily seen.

00:34:05.418 --> 00:34:06.461
In the ocean,

00:34:07.628 --> 00:34:10.006
there's always a bigger fish.

00:34:16.596 --> 00:34:18.473
The ultimate hunter,

00:34:21.601 --> 00:34:24.312
the most widespread predator of all...

00:34:26.939 --> 00:34:29.901
...in every corner of every ocean,

00:34:31.152 --> 00:34:33.571
orca adapt their hunting technique

00:34:33.654 --> 00:34:35.281
in extraordinary ways.

00:34:35.995 --> 00:34:37.687
In arctic fjords,

00:34:37.711 --> 00:34:39.956
they stun the
fish with their fins

00:34:39.981 --> 00:34:42.246
and pick them off their school.

00:34:43.750 --> 00:34:45.176
In the open ocean,

00:34:45.200 --> 00:34:46.809
they use combined force

00:34:46.834 --> 00:34:49.208
to chase down blue whales,

00:34:49.232 --> 00:34:52.157
the largest animal
that's ever lived.

00:35:02.308 --> 00:35:05.186
But the most impressive orca hunters
of all

00:35:05.902 --> 00:35:08.026
are found here.

00:35:10.108 --> 00:35:12.424
Patagonia's Peninsula Valdez

00:35:12.448 --> 00:35:14.451
is patrolled by a pod

00:35:14.476 --> 00:35:18.401
with a hunting technique so difficult,
so dangerous,

00:35:18.426 --> 00:35:21.971
it takes years to learn how it's done.

00:35:22.943 --> 00:35:25.213
It's the matriarchs job to pass

00:35:25.237 --> 00:35:27.685
her secrets down
the generations.

00:35:29.002 --> 00:35:31.146
The rest of the
family learn from

00:35:31.170 --> 00:35:33.439
the four decades of
hunting experience

00:35:33.464 --> 00:35:35.299
of this seasoned pro.

00:35:45.088 --> 00:35:49.611
Every spring, sea lions come
to breed on these Patagonian beaches.

00:35:56.028 --> 00:35:59.323
And young pups learn to swim
in the shallows,

00:35:59.824 --> 00:36:02.410
out of reach of the hunters.

00:36:05.079 --> 00:36:06.372
Almost.

00:36:09.834 --> 00:36:13.338
The matriarch is teaching

00:36:13.362 --> 00:36:15.966
her family how to target them.

00:36:16.090 --> 00:36:18.906
Following the same
route almost everyday,

00:36:18.930 --> 00:36:20.165
she guides her pod

00:36:20.190 --> 00:36:22.025
on a coastline charting course.

00:36:24.932 --> 00:36:28.724
With remarkable brain power
and communication skills,

00:36:29.410 --> 00:36:32.740
she motions to her family
pointing out landmarks.

00:36:37.778 --> 00:36:40.696
It helps youngster
build a mental map

00:36:40.720 --> 00:36:43.034
of the best hunting beaches.

00:36:54.045 --> 00:36:56.689
Along the way, she
also teaches them

00:36:56.713 --> 00:36:59.263
how to push beyond
their comfort zone.

00:37:03.179 --> 00:37:06.224
Before an orca can begin
catching its prey,

00:37:07.058 --> 00:37:09.310
they must first learn
how to operate

00:37:09.852 --> 00:37:11.395
in shallow water.

00:37:15.149 --> 00:37:18.361
But the risk of stranding is very real.

00:37:19.320 --> 00:37:23.449
A six-ton orca will quickly crush itself
under its own weight,

00:37:24.450 --> 00:37:27.384
but if they struggle to refloat
themselves,

00:37:27.409 --> 00:37:29.553
the matriarch is by their side

00:37:29.577 --> 00:37:31.791
to help them back to sea.

00:37:42.134 --> 00:37:43.344
Even so,

00:37:43.970 --> 00:37:45.763
an orca is only ready
to attempt hunting

00:37:45.888 --> 00:37:49.433
for real after six long years.

00:37:54.105 --> 00:37:56.894
The master at work.

00:37:59.033 --> 00:38:01.334
Approaching the hunting beach,

00:38:01.358 --> 00:38:04.048
the matriarch stops vocalizing.

00:38:07.743 --> 00:38:08.995
She listens...

00:38:15.626 --> 00:38:17.670
She knows exactly when

00:38:18.587 --> 00:38:20.501
and where to strike.

00:38:22.133 --> 00:38:23.626
High tide,

00:38:25.052 --> 00:38:26.595
a steep beach

00:38:28.514 --> 00:38:31.851
and round pebbles
to help her roll back to sea

00:38:33.269 --> 00:38:36.480
with plenty of unsuspecting prey.

00:38:43.029 --> 00:38:46.161
She waits till the pups
are in prime position.

00:38:48.286 --> 00:38:50.419
Right in the surf,

00:38:52.663 --> 00:38:55.435
too shallow to swim to safety...

00:38:56.763 --> 00:39:00.419
too turbulent to see her coming.

00:39:36.374 --> 00:39:39.265
These masterclasses
in predatory perfection

00:39:39.502 --> 00:39:42.380
are vital to passing on her skills.

00:39:45.216 --> 00:39:48.761
So when they're ready to hunt for real,
the next generation

00:39:48.786 --> 00:39:54.183
is fully prepared for the battle
between predator and prey.

00:39:58.354 --> 00:40:00.564
Life is a mission.

00:40:03.401 --> 00:40:06.362
The main objective: survival.

00:40:10.032 --> 00:40:12.326
Animals have evolved secret weapons...

00:40:15.663 --> 00:40:17.498
and hidden skills

00:40:19.208 --> 00:40:20.668
to outsmart their enemies.

00:40:22.336 --> 00:40:25.047
So in those life or death moments,

00:40:26.924 --> 00:40:31.762
it takes the most extraordinary
super powers to prevail.

00:40:36.267 --> 00:40:38.185
If you think you know nature,

00:40:40.498 --> 00:40:41.730
think again.