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The duels between hunters and hunted

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are as dramatic as any event
in the natural world.

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The stakes could not be higher.

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For both,
it's a matter of life and death.

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Yet, surprisingly,
it's the hunters that usually fail.

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To have any chance of survival,

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predators must be perfectly tuned
to their own hunting arenas.

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Every habitat brings
a different challenge.

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This series will reveal,
as never before,

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the extraordinary range of strategies
predators use to catch their prey.

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But even for the most skilful...

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..success is never guaranteed.

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SCREECHING

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SNIFFS

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BARKS

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BARKS

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BARKS

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BARKS

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A female leopard on the prowl.

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Few predators instil more fear.

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SNIFFS

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Yet, out in the open,

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she has little chance
of catching anything.

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To succeed, she must get within
a few metres of her prey...

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undetected.

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Her strategy is to use cover,

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wearing it like a cloak
of invisibility.

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She's an expert in stealth.

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Impala are her favourite prey.

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This one is just out of her range.

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SNIFFS

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She needs to get closer,
within four metres.

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She only has a short burst of speed.

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She must stay hidden
until she's in the strike zone.

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TWIG SNAPS

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But out of sight
doesn't mean out of mind.

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Impala have acute hearing
and a superb sense of smell.

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SNIFFS

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Now the only prey she can see
is right out in the open.

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But leopards are the most versatile
of all the big cats,

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adept at finding cover
in the most unpromising places.

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The steep walls of the gully
are now her cover for an ambush.

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The male puku is close enough,
but he's too big to tackle.

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She needs to slip past him
without being seen.

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If he spots her,
he'll blow her cover.

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SNIFFS

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Slowly does it...

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To succeed here,

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she needs to find prey
grazing close to the edge.

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Or better still,

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in the gully itself.

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Frustration.

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Success would have staved off hunger
for a week.

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But while there's prey around,
there's hope.

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Peeking over the top is a risk,

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but it's the quickest way
to find a new target.

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SNIFFS

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A burst of speed of 40mph

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and it's all over
in less than six seconds.

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Except...it isn't.

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Dazed and disorientated,

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the impala
makes a miraculous escape.

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It's been the perfect stealth hunt

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and she's nothing to show for it.

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But then, six out of seven
leopard hunts end in failure.

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A leopard's hunting strategy
depends on finding cover.

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But how do you catch your prey

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in a place where there's
literally nowhere to hide?

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That's the challenge facing
Zambia's wild dogs.

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This close-knit pack
is made up of one adult female

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and her 12 offspring from last year.

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Unlike the solitary leopard,

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wild dogs depend for their survival
on teamwork.

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Dogs that play together...

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work together.

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Each morning, the pack heads
out across the open plain,

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prospecting for prey.

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Mother decides
which direction they go.

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The rest stay close.

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They'll keep going for miles until
they find the right kind of prey.

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Adult zebra are too big a challenge.

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And the same goes for tsessebe.

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An oribi is an easier target.

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But is it worth the effort,

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especially on an oribi
that's as fit and bouncy as this one?

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Better to save their energy
for something bigger.

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A wildebeest.

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It's what they've been looking for.

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The dogs need to make
the wildebeest run.

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Their success will depend on
wearing him down in a long chase.

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While the prey's running,
the dogs have the advantage.

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But when the wildebeest stand
their ground, the tables are turned.

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Faced with a wall of horns,

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the pack is powerless.

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But not all the wildebeest
have had the courage to stop.

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Now the real contest begins.

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The wildebeest are big and strong.

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But the dogs have stamina.

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Right now, hunters and hunted
are clocking 40mph.

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The pack can keep this pace up
for miles.

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The wildebeest can't.

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One wildebeest peels off.

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Then another two.

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The split confuses
the inexperienced pack,

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sending them in different directions.

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The mother and one youngster
continue on.

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The rest of the pack stop,
believing they have an easier target.

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It's a mistake.

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Like a beast with two heads,
each bull protects the other's rear.

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And the dogs can do nothing.

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Ahead, the chase continues.

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Another wildebeest peels off.

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Now the mother has just one
in her sights.

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But it will mean nothing without
the help of the rest of the pack.

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The situation here
has reached stalemate.

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The young dogs
have lost valuable time.

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They must try and catch up
with their mother.

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Back at the front,
the mother is beginning to tire.

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And the wildebeest knows it,

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bouncing to show he's still strong
and not worth chasing.

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But fresh, young legs
are catching up fast.

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When one dog tires,

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there's always another member
of the team to take up the lead.

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The dogs now have the numbers
to bring the wildebeest down.

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Each bite risks a broken jaw,

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but going for the legs
is the only way to stop it.

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And they must do so before it reaches
the safety of the herd,

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a few hundred metres ahead.

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After a 20-minute chase,
the bull's energy is near spent.

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This time there will be no sanctuary
within the herd.

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The dogs' stamina has been rewarded.

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All they must do now is to bring
their quarry to the ground.

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Working as a pack

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allows wild dogs to take on prey
ten times heavier

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than any one of them.

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But many mouths need a lot of food.

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The price they pay for these numbers

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is knowing they'll have to attempt
the same thing again tomorrow...

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and every day.

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Teamwork and stamina
on Africa's open plains

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have proved to be
a winning combination.

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But in the dense and complex world
of the jungle,

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hunting is a never-ending game
of hide and seek.

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Here, it pays to sit still...

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..and blend in...

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..because you just never know
who's watching.

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The Parson's chameleon is an expert

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in the see-and-not-be-seen game.

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It lets its eyes do all the work...

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..while the rest of its body
moves in slow motion,

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so as not to scare possible targets.

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The problem is that
it can only see prey if it moves.

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So is this a stick insect...

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..or a stick?

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Ah-hah...

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Time to unleash its secret weapon...

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..a tongue longer than its body.

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The Parson's close cousin,
the nasutum chameleon,

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has the same weapon,
but in miniature.

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As small as a matchstick, he needs
to get much closer to its prey.

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But even with eyes
as big as its stomach,

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this isn't the meal deal
he was hoping for.

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In the jungle, it's hard finding
the right-sized prey

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when you're a tiny predator.

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Promising opportunities

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can quickly turn to disappointment.

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Spotting any kind of prey
in this dense, green world

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is hard.

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If you do find something, you want
to make sure it doesn't escape.

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The praying mantis has arms

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that can strike ten times faster
than a blink of the eye.

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And it's the only insect
known to see in 3D.

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Perfect for judging strike distances.

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But like the chameleon,

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her problem is seeing prey
when it freezes.

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She needs some movement
to be sure it's food.

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Just the tiniest sign of life.

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Yep, that's done it.

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The lightning strike has given her
the edge over her insect prey,

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but it doesn't pay to be complacent.

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In the jungle arms race,

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only too often there's someone else
with a more powerful weapon.

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And there's one predator
that has, perhaps,

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the most ingenious answer of all
to the jungle's challenge.

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It lives along rivers
in the rainforests of Madagascar.

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The insects it hunts fly down
the same jungle corridors.

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But there's a problem.

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It's a web-building spider.

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So how does it get over the river
to hunt?

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It's called Darwin's bark spider

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and the female
has a remarkable strategy.

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Like a real-life Spider-Woman,

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she sprays strands of silk
in one long, continuous flow.

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The threads fan out like a sail

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and drift on air currents
blowing across the water.

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Every few seconds,
she crimps the strands together

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to stop them spreading too widely.

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The breeze will do the rest,

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blowing the threads into
a single line and a 25-metre bridge.

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Now she must reinforce her bridge,
because her web will hang from it.

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But there's something bouncing
the line at the other end.

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Another Darwin's spider is trying
to take advantage of her hard work.

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She must deal with the intruder
head on.

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The cut line is an inconvenience,

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but no more than that.

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With hooks on the tips of each leg,
she gathers in the thread.

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It won't go to waste,
as she'll eat it later.

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When it's all reeled in,
she sprays again.

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Out streams another
25-metre bridging line.

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How a spider,
no bigger than a thumbnail,

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can produce so much silk so quickly

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has baffled scientists.

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And it's no ordinary silk.

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It's the toughest natural fibre
on the planet,

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tougher than steel.

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And it needs to be tough
to span the wide river.

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With the bridge taut

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and the ground anchor in place,

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it's time to construct her trap.

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These spiders can build
the world's largest orb webs,

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up to two metres wide.

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A few hours from the first spray
of bridging line,

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the job is done.

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Now her strategy is simple...

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..sit and wait.

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And there's one final bout
of silk production...

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..shrink-wrapping her food for later.

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Not all rivers
provide their predators

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with a steady supply of prey.

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On the Grumeti River in Tanzania

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lives the planet's
most patient predator.

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A Nile crocodile.

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Five metres long,

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700 kilos

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and very hungry.

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His last square meal
was nearly a year ago.

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The river's other residents
aren't food...

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..just a distraction.

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He is waiting for something bigger

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from over the horizon.

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But beyond the big croc's
isolated river,

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there's still no sign
of the migratory herds

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he depends on for survival.

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Other, smaller crocs
are waiting, too...

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..but their meal ticket depends on
the hunting skills of the big guy.

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The herds could be here in a week,
or a month.

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In rare years, not at all.

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Until then,
the crocs must conserve their energy.

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GRUNTING AND MOOING

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Finally, the sound
they've all been waiting for.

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The herds have arrived.

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It's time for the crocs
to get into position.

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All eyes will be on the big guy.

255
00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:45,080
Only he has the power
to tackle a full-grown wildebeest.

256
00:30:51,280 --> 00:30:54,480
The year-long wait is almost over.

257
00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:05,280
After months on the march, the
wildebeest are desperate to drink.

258
00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:15,280
But experience has taught the adults
to be cautious.

259
00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:25,920
The water is just too inviting
for a calf,

260
00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:28,040
unaware of the dangers within.

261
00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:41,280
But every wildebeest
must take its chances...

262
00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:46,320
..and hope that its reflexes
are faster

263
00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:49,200
than what many know
lurks in the murky waters.

264
00:31:57,200 --> 00:31:59,160
Just a harmless hippo.

265
00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:22,480
That was no hippo.

266
00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:29,440
It's put the wildebeest more on edge.

267
00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:39,040
But here,
fear always gives way to thirst.

268
00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:10,640
Catching the wildebeest
is all about timing.

269
00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:37,760
The big croc's technique is rusty.

270
00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:39,880
It's been a whole year
since his last hunt

271
00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:41,960
and he's out of practice.

272
00:33:46,880 --> 00:33:51,240
But this isn't the end of the drama,
just an intermission.

273
00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:54,680
For the next two weeks,

274
00:33:54,680 --> 00:33:57,760
waves of wildebeest
will pass through the Grumeti.

275
00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:04,760
Time for the big croc
to try a different tactic.

276
00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:09,760
The floating log.

277
00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:16,400
He's hoping the wildebeest won't
notice him until it's too late.

278
00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:42,240
Now the smaller crocs move in.

279
00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:48,960
The big croc will need their help
to tear off chunks.

280
00:34:50,280 --> 00:34:53,600
Crocs can't chew,
so they have to spin together

281
00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:55,680
to tear pieces off the carcass.

282
00:34:57,640 --> 00:34:59,320
Everyone gets their share...

283
00:35:00,720 --> 00:35:03,360
..and it's all thanks to the big guy.

284
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:10,440
He won't feed again until
the wildebeest return next year.

285
00:35:14,360 --> 00:35:19,240
Across the globe, millions of animals
are continuously on the move

286
00:35:19,240 --> 00:35:22,680
in search of seasonal food.

287
00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:25,920
But it's not just prey animals
that must migrate.

288
00:35:27,240 --> 00:35:29,560
Some predators have to journey, too.

289
00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:41,200
Amur falcons are one of the world's
greatest long-distance travellers.

290
00:35:44,920 --> 00:35:49,080
As their prey dries up
in their breeding grounds in Siberia,

291
00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:53,160
they embark on an epic migration
to Southern Africa,

292
00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:57,800
crossing 14 countries,
two continents and one ocean.

293
00:36:00,920 --> 00:36:04,600
Only here, in this remote valley
in northeast India,

294
00:36:04,600 --> 00:36:06,320
do they join forces.

295
00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:19,560
A million falcons

296
00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:22,800
and the greatest gathering
of birds of prey on the planet.

297
00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:42,480
This valley is a vital pit stop
on the falcons' migration.

298
00:36:45,160 --> 00:36:47,400
The tiny raptors can go no further

299
00:36:47,400 --> 00:36:49,920
until they build up
their fat reserves...

300
00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:55,320
..and they've timed
their arrival here perfectly.

301
00:37:02,040 --> 00:37:05,680
For just a few weeks each year,
winged termites, alates,

302
00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:09,600
leave the safety of their mounds
in millions.

303
00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:30,040
High in calories, these alates
are exactly what the falcons need

304
00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:33,080
to fuel their oceanic crossing,

305
00:37:33,080 --> 00:37:36,520
the longest made
by any bird of prey.

306
00:38:00,520 --> 00:38:03,360
To have any chance
of surviving their journey,

307
00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:07,400
they must nearly double their weight
in just two weeks.

308
00:38:11,680 --> 00:38:13,960
Those that make it to South Africa

309
00:38:13,960 --> 00:38:17,760
will have to do the whole trip
back again in four months' time.

310
00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:21,840
For Amur falcons,

311
00:38:21,840 --> 00:38:26,720
survival means flying 14,000 miles
every year of their lives.

312
00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:41,000
For some predators, it's not
the distance they have to travel

313
00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:42,760
that's their greatest challenge,

314
00:38:42,760 --> 00:38:44,280
but the size of their prey.

315
00:38:45,480 --> 00:38:49,080
And few challenges come bigger
than the one in this ocean.

316
00:38:51,080 --> 00:38:53,920
Each year, female humpback whales

317
00:38:53,920 --> 00:38:57,800
journey from their feeding grounds
in Antarctica to Australia

318
00:38:57,800 --> 00:38:59,640
to have their calves.

319
00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:04,240
These calm, warm waters
are a perfect nursery.

320
00:39:05,680 --> 00:39:08,040
Perfect, but for one thing.

321
00:39:11,600 --> 00:39:14,040
Orcas, killer whales.

322
00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:18,320
They appear
just as the migration begins.

323
00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:21,560
And they're on the hunt for calves.

324
00:39:24,040 --> 00:39:28,040
Highly intelligent, orca are
the ocean's most successful predator.

325
00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:34,760
When hunting,
they can travel at 30mph...

326
00:39:37,600 --> 00:39:40,440
..twice as fast
as a mother and calf.

327
00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:06,880
The hunters close in silently.

328
00:40:12,560 --> 00:40:17,240
It's only now that the mother
realises they've been followed.

329
00:40:17,240 --> 00:40:19,360
The orca have the advantage
of numbers,

330
00:40:19,360 --> 00:40:20,960
but they need to be cautious.

331
00:40:23,080 --> 00:40:26,520
The mother's rear is protected
by a five-metre-wide tail

332
00:40:26,520 --> 00:40:28,360
that could slice through them.

333
00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:37,000
Her flanks are defended by a pair
of long, barnacle-covered flippers.

334
00:40:38,360 --> 00:40:40,600
And in the middle is the calf,

335
00:40:40,600 --> 00:40:43,400
riding high on its mother's back
and out of reach.

336
00:40:45,040 --> 00:40:46,880
To separate mother from calf,

337
00:40:46,880 --> 00:40:49,720
the orca must use
all their intelligence.

338
00:40:51,320 --> 00:40:52,960
They take it in turns

339
00:40:52,960 --> 00:40:56,120
to try and wave wash the baby
away from its mother.

340
00:41:01,320 --> 00:41:04,960
In a month, the calf would be strong
enough to withstand the onslaught.

341
00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:08,600
Not now.

342
00:41:12,640 --> 00:41:15,320
But then the tables are turned.

343
00:41:16,720 --> 00:41:21,000
A male humpback arrives, driving
the orca away with its flippers.

344
00:41:29,880 --> 00:41:33,600
And the situation worsens
when a second male appears.

345
00:41:34,920 --> 00:41:39,560
Now the pod face the power
of three 40-tonne whales,

346
00:41:39,560 --> 00:41:42,320
and the escorts
make their weight count.

347
00:41:52,040 --> 00:41:55,880
The bubbles are like a smokescreen,

348
00:41:55,880 --> 00:41:58,360
blocking the orcas' vision
and sonar.

349
00:42:01,040 --> 00:42:03,040
There's a real danger
of being injured

350
00:42:03,040 --> 00:42:05,640
by an unseen fluke or flipper.

351
00:42:17,240 --> 00:42:20,320
With the escorts defending
both sides of the mother,

352
00:42:20,320 --> 00:42:22,960
the killer whales
have been outmanoeuvred.

353
00:42:31,320 --> 00:42:35,200
As the orca retreat, the escorts
drive home their advantage,

354
00:42:35,200 --> 00:42:37,080
pushing the hunters further away.

355
00:42:44,480 --> 00:42:46,600
It's an error of judgment.

356
00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:50,720
With mother and calf unprotected,

357
00:42:50,720 --> 00:42:54,000
the orca double back
before the humpbacks can react.

358
00:43:16,600 --> 00:43:19,800
The killer whales separate the calf
from its mother.

359
00:43:22,640 --> 00:43:24,880
They push the calf underwater

360
00:43:24,880 --> 00:43:27,640
and drown it.

361
00:43:33,240 --> 00:43:37,880
The intelligent hunters
have turned defeat into victory.

362
00:43:45,080 --> 00:43:50,000
The orcas' prize is so large that
sharks are quick to take advantage.

363
00:44:01,240 --> 00:44:04,920
Through intelligence,
stamina and teamwork,

364
00:44:04,920 --> 00:44:08,560
the orca have mastered
the ocean's greatest challenge.

365
00:44:09,840 --> 00:44:13,440
Yet even they fail
as often as they succeed.

366
00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:26,040
Most predators fail
most of the time.

367
00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:30,520
It's what makes them
the hardest-working animals

368
00:44:30,520 --> 00:44:32,320
on the planet.

369
00:44:39,920 --> 00:44:44,120
The pressure is even greater
when they have other mouths to feed.

370
00:44:52,040 --> 00:44:54,080
At eight months old,

371
00:44:54,080 --> 00:44:58,120
these cubs are still
totally dependent on their mother.

372
00:45:01,560 --> 00:45:05,640
To support them she must kill
something large, like a gazelle,

373
00:45:05,640 --> 00:45:07,440
nearly every day.

374
00:45:10,960 --> 00:45:13,200
But these youngsters are proof

375
00:45:13,200 --> 00:45:16,280
that she has overcome the challenge
of their habitat.

376
00:45:20,080 --> 00:45:24,320
Few cheetah mothers get this far
with four cubs.

377
00:45:39,200 --> 00:45:41,960
If the cubs are to survive
without her,

378
00:45:41,960 --> 00:45:44,040
they must watch their mother
carefully

379
00:45:44,040 --> 00:45:48,120
and learn the strategies for hunting
on the open plains.

380
00:45:51,720 --> 00:45:53,600
There's a lot to take in.

381
00:46:15,120 --> 00:46:16,680
They'll need to learn

382
00:46:16,680 --> 00:46:20,400
that their top speed can only
be sustained for a few seconds.

383
00:46:31,800 --> 00:46:36,080
They'll have to master how to match
the twisting turns of the prey,

384
00:46:36,080 --> 00:46:38,280
so they get close enough to trip it.

385
00:46:58,200 --> 00:47:02,240
And they will soon learn
the margin for error is tiny.

386
00:47:06,960 --> 00:47:09,560
The odds are against them.

387
00:47:15,240 --> 00:47:18,080
90% of cheetah cubs

388
00:47:18,080 --> 00:47:20,720
never make it
to their second birthday.

389
00:47:23,360 --> 00:47:26,200
Even with this experienced mother,

390
00:47:26,200 --> 00:47:29,360
the future for this family
is far from certain.

391
00:47:33,480 --> 00:47:38,120
All any predator can do
is to keep on trying.

392
00:47:54,040 --> 00:47:55,880
For The Hunt team,

393
00:47:55,880 --> 00:47:59,120
filming a Nile crocodile
capturing a wildebeest

394
00:47:59,120 --> 00:48:03,200
would require the same skill,
patience and reactions

395
00:48:03,200 --> 00:48:05,440
as the five-metre reptile.

396
00:48:10,120 --> 00:48:12,720
The timing of the shoot
would also be critical,

397
00:48:12,720 --> 00:48:14,760
since this behaviour only happens

398
00:48:14,760 --> 00:48:18,320
when the crocs' river
is at its lowest point.

399
00:48:21,880 --> 00:48:25,320
But things get off
to the worst possible start -

400
00:48:25,320 --> 00:48:29,520
the river in flood
in the middle of the dry season.

401
00:48:31,000 --> 00:48:33,040
What we hoped for
was that the Grumeti River

402
00:48:33,040 --> 00:48:34,680
would be just a series of pools

403
00:48:34,680 --> 00:48:36,680
full of crocodiles.

404
00:48:36,680 --> 00:48:39,560
They're probably scattered over
30 or 40 miles of river.

405
00:48:39,560 --> 00:48:41,200
So we've got to wait
for two things -

406
00:48:41,200 --> 00:48:43,320
the crocs to bunch up
and the wildebeest to come.

407
00:48:44,800 --> 00:48:49,080
As well as Mark,
this small crew includes son Jacca

408
00:48:49,080 --> 00:48:51,560
and camerawoman and wife Vicky.

409
00:48:52,840 --> 00:48:54,360
Are you keeping watch?

410
00:48:54,360 --> 00:48:57,800
I am. I'm watching my son
and my husband

411
00:48:57,800 --> 00:49:01,360
in a very deep, muddy river
with lots of crocodiles!

412
00:49:01,360 --> 00:49:04,560
You could lose a large part of your
family here if you're not careful.

413
00:49:04,560 --> 00:49:06,520
Yeah. Basically, half of us
could be wiped out.

414
00:49:06,520 --> 00:49:09,000
These crocs hunt by stealth

415
00:49:09,000 --> 00:49:11,760
and they can sneak up
in this dark, murky water

416
00:49:11,760 --> 00:49:13,240
right to the edge of the bank.

417
00:49:13,240 --> 00:49:16,920
So the golden rule of filming here

418
00:49:16,920 --> 00:49:20,120
is to be one metre from the water.

419
00:49:25,040 --> 00:49:27,680
Not to be outdone by the floodwater,

420
00:49:27,680 --> 00:49:30,680
the team sets up the first hide.

421
00:49:34,520 --> 00:49:38,200
But any idea of filming
is soon swept away.

422
00:49:39,280 --> 00:49:41,480
Literally, within half an hour,
an hour,

423
00:49:41,480 --> 00:49:43,080
I felt water around my ankles.

424
00:49:43,080 --> 00:49:46,160
If I was still in that hide, then he
definitely wouldn't be on the bank.

425
00:49:46,160 --> 00:49:48,360
We're not going to go in and get it.

426
00:49:48,360 --> 00:49:49,840
The water the colour it is

427
00:49:49,840 --> 00:49:52,520
and knowing that
he's got friends around,

428
00:49:52,520 --> 00:49:55,080
who could be literally
just at the base there.

429
00:49:55,080 --> 00:49:57,560
With a flooded river
and no wildebeest,

430
00:49:57,560 --> 00:50:01,160
the wait was going to be longer
than expected.

431
00:50:01,160 --> 00:50:02,640
Crocs are used to being patient.

432
00:50:02,640 --> 00:50:05,280
But now we've got to show
equal patience.

433
00:50:10,040 --> 00:50:11,960
Leaving the raging river,

434
00:50:11,960 --> 00:50:15,040
the team go in search
of the migrating wildebeest,

435
00:50:15,040 --> 00:50:19,280
to see just how far they are
from the Grumeti.

436
00:50:21,120 --> 00:50:22,760
I think we should go over
the other side

437
00:50:22,760 --> 00:50:24,600
and then we'll get a sense
of the number.

438
00:50:24,600 --> 00:50:27,600
Should be up here.
Do you want to take the controls?
I'll take the controls.

439
00:50:27,600 --> 00:50:30,640
It's some time
before they find the wildebeest

440
00:50:30,640 --> 00:50:33,240
on the Serengeti's vast plains.

441
00:50:34,520 --> 00:50:36,400
Loads there. Loads?

442
00:50:36,400 --> 00:50:38,600
Yeah, spread all the way across...
Oh, OK!

443
00:50:38,600 --> 00:50:40,240
Fantastic. How far away are we?

444
00:50:40,240 --> 00:50:42,800
70 miles away.

445
00:50:42,800 --> 00:50:44,680
Still a long way from the Grumeti,

446
00:50:44,680 --> 00:50:48,520
but at least the wildebeest
were heading in the right direction.

447
00:50:48,520 --> 00:50:51,440
MARK TALKS INDISTINCTLY

448
00:50:57,720 --> 00:51:00,920
but, in the meantime,
we can hopefully pick up

449
00:51:00,920 --> 00:51:04,160
these intimate moments
with these really huge crocs.

450
00:51:06,360 --> 00:51:09,040
Finding the biggest
and most dominant croc

451
00:51:09,040 --> 00:51:11,280
would be key to the team's success.

452
00:51:13,040 --> 00:51:16,960
Only the top croc would be
powerful enough to grab a wildebeest.

453
00:51:19,000 --> 00:51:20,640
To find their star,

454
00:51:20,640 --> 00:51:23,960
Mark and Vicky would need to look out
for territorial behaviour.

455
00:51:25,520 --> 00:51:29,160
Today it's sunny
and it's early in the morning.

456
00:51:29,160 --> 00:51:30,360
I'm full of hope.

457
00:51:31,760 --> 00:51:36,280
But at the end of the day,
all Mark sees is one static croc.

458
00:51:37,560 --> 00:51:41,040
He lay on the sandbank all day,
I guess, seven hours.

459
00:51:42,600 --> 00:51:44,640
Urgh! Patience.

460
00:51:44,640 --> 00:51:47,240
And Vicky wasn't having
much luck, either.

461
00:51:47,240 --> 00:51:50,560
When we first found it, there were
crocs all over the bank over there

462
00:51:50,560 --> 00:51:53,360
and now I've been in here
several hours and there's not one.

463
00:51:54,960 --> 00:51:56,400
After a week,

464
00:51:56,400 --> 00:51:59,520
Mark and Vicky are no closer
to finding their dominant croc.

465
00:52:00,600 --> 00:52:04,320
But at least the news
on the wildebeest was more positive.

466
00:52:04,320 --> 00:52:06,640
34 miles. Getting closer.

467
00:52:06,640 --> 00:52:09,760
Back on the river,
it was like Groundhog Day.

468
00:52:11,000 --> 00:52:12,920
Crocs are all-or-nothing creatures.

469
00:52:14,440 --> 00:52:16,680
And I'm afraid it's been another day
of nothing.

470
00:52:17,720 --> 00:52:21,520
With no sign of any action, the hours
of watching motionless crocs

471
00:52:21,520 --> 00:52:23,600
were beginning to take their toll.

472
00:52:25,640 --> 00:52:27,440
It's like watching paint dry.

473
00:52:32,720 --> 00:52:34,520
Well, that was useless.

474
00:52:34,520 --> 00:52:35,800
Utterly useless.

475
00:52:37,680 --> 00:52:39,240
The crocs just didn't come.

476
00:52:39,240 --> 00:52:42,480
The team needed something to change

477
00:52:42,480 --> 00:52:44,920
and the falling water
seemed a good omen.

478
00:52:45,960 --> 00:52:48,760
This is what the floodwaters
left us - the lower jaw of a croc.

479
00:52:48,760 --> 00:52:50,800
And look at that.
I mean, it's...it's heavy.

480
00:52:50,800 --> 00:52:53,680
This has come from a croc
who must be at least five metres.

481
00:52:56,160 --> 00:52:57,720
And they're down there.

482
00:52:57,720 --> 00:53:00,360
Don't step too close to the water,
sweetheart.

483
00:53:00,360 --> 00:53:02,600
I got too excited by the jaw!

484
00:53:05,360 --> 00:53:06,880
And with the water dropping,

485
00:53:06,880 --> 00:53:10,080
excitement was finally rising
amongst the crocs.

486
00:53:16,640 --> 00:53:18,640
Well, that felt so different
this morning.

487
00:53:18,640 --> 00:53:21,400
It really felt like
there was an energy there...

488
00:53:23,200 --> 00:53:25,360
..that hasn't been there for weeks.

489
00:53:25,360 --> 00:53:29,960
And it isn't long before the team
find their dominant croc.

490
00:53:29,960 --> 00:53:34,480
The big territorial male, who we
hope will do most of the hunting,

491
00:53:34,480 --> 00:53:36,320
has been very active this morning.

492
00:53:36,320 --> 00:53:39,440
He's been displaying,
really patrolling this stretch.

493
00:53:41,960 --> 00:53:44,040
With a big croc to focus on,

494
00:53:44,040 --> 00:53:46,880
all they needed now
were the wildebeest.

495
00:53:48,240 --> 00:53:52,240
Mark and Vicky take to the skies
to check on their progress.

496
00:53:52,240 --> 00:53:54,600
Look, right as far as you can see...

497
00:53:54,600 --> 00:53:57,240
The crocs might actually get a meal.
That's great, Vick.

498
00:53:58,880 --> 00:54:03,320
The wildebeest were, at last, less
than a day away from the Grumeti.

499
00:54:07,800 --> 00:54:11,600
Mark and Vicky take up positions
on either side of the river.

500
00:54:11,600 --> 00:54:14,080
WHISPERS: We can see wildebeest

501
00:54:14,080 --> 00:54:15,920
just trying to come down,

502
00:54:15,920 --> 00:54:18,240
but they're just so nervous.

503
00:54:18,240 --> 00:54:21,320
After such a long wait,
it's a tense time.

504
00:54:23,840 --> 00:54:26,280
Success for crew and croc

505
00:54:26,280 --> 00:54:28,520
will depend on
split-second reactions.

506
00:54:40,760 --> 00:54:44,160
For the big croc,
the first session ends in failure.

507
00:54:45,320 --> 00:54:48,800
It's very easy to have empathy for
the animals that are being hunted,

508
00:54:48,800 --> 00:54:51,680
but I have to say that,
in this instance...

509
00:54:53,080 --> 00:54:55,920
..my sympathies are all with
the crocs.

510
00:54:55,920 --> 00:54:58,800
We've just seen how,
over the past month,

511
00:54:58,800 --> 00:55:00,400
they've had nothing to eat at all

512
00:55:00,400 --> 00:55:03,000
and that's been what they've
experienced for the last year.

513
00:55:05,480 --> 00:55:10,040
And it's a few days
before the wildebeest return.

514
00:55:10,040 --> 00:55:12,080
It's 12 o'clock.

515
00:55:12,080 --> 00:55:15,440
Very hot,
but I can hear the wildebeest again.

516
00:55:18,040 --> 00:55:19,960
There's a baby going in
a bit further.

517
00:55:19,960 --> 00:55:21,720
Come on...

518
00:55:23,360 --> 00:55:25,400
Something's got to happen.

519
00:55:25,400 --> 00:55:27,200
Yeah, now he's right out there.

520
00:55:28,720 --> 00:55:30,440
Croc's right there next to him.

521
00:55:32,000 --> 00:55:34,200
Oh, God, you can see the croc
underneath the surface.

522
00:55:34,200 --> 00:55:37,160
You can just see the swirl
and just the dark shape.

523
00:55:37,160 --> 00:55:39,080
And there he goes! Oh!

524
00:55:40,280 --> 00:55:41,520
Urgh!

525
00:55:43,880 --> 00:55:46,400
And he missed him again.

526
00:55:46,400 --> 00:55:49,040
Yeah, at this time of the year,
it's absolutely crucial for them.

527
00:55:49,040 --> 00:55:51,760
If they don't feed now,
then they're in dire straits.

528
00:55:55,200 --> 00:55:56,880
Oh, here they come.

529
00:55:56,880 --> 00:55:58,280
Thirsty innocence.

530
00:56:01,120 --> 00:56:02,760
Come on, guys. That's better.

531
00:56:02,760 --> 00:56:05,120
Come on, you can do it.

532
00:56:05,120 --> 00:56:09,040
Got two there now, coming down
on their knees next to them.

533
00:56:10,560 --> 00:56:12,520
Come on, you can do it.

534
00:56:12,520 --> 00:56:15,160
Just one footstep further out.

535
00:56:15,160 --> 00:56:16,960
That's all that croc needs.

536
00:56:18,000 --> 00:56:19,040
Oh, yeah, yeah.

537
00:56:19,040 --> 00:56:20,600
Go on...

538
00:56:20,600 --> 00:56:21,840
There he goes!

539
00:56:26,920 --> 00:56:28,960
Well, that was amazing.
I mean, just...

540
00:56:28,960 --> 00:56:31,080
It suddenly happened.

541
00:56:31,080 --> 00:56:34,680
Trying to work out where the crocs
were underwater was a nightmare!

542
00:56:34,680 --> 00:56:36,680
That was so intense.

543
00:56:36,680 --> 00:56:38,560
One minute, there was nothing.

544
00:56:38,560 --> 00:56:41,560
And the next minute, the bank was
covered in wildebeest and then...

545
00:56:41,560 --> 00:56:43,200
one was taken.

546
00:56:47,040 --> 00:56:48,480
But I got it!

547
00:56:52,720 --> 00:56:56,160
Next time, the hunt is on
in the frozen north,

548
00:56:56,160 --> 00:56:58,120
the High Arctic.

549
00:57:00,040 --> 00:57:03,840
One of the toughest places on Earth
in which to make a living.

550
00:57:05,920 --> 00:57:10,520
To succeed here, a predator
must exploit the few good times...

551
00:57:12,040 --> 00:57:14,360
..to endure the bad.

552
00:57:16,520 --> 00:57:24,600
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553
00:57:24,600 --> 00:57:29,080
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554
00:57:29,080 --> 00:57:31,120
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554
00:57:32,305 --> 00:57:38,807
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