Dark Secrets of the Swamp (Full Episode) | Africa’s Deadliest

Botswana's okavango Delta [Music] Fed by the kabango river this is the Jewel in the crown of botswana's Wilderness [Music] It's teams with life Including Africa's deadliest Big and buoyant hippos cut vast waves Through the vegetation Creating underwater highways for other Creatures One of the most dangerous mammals in Africa they are viciously territorial This big bull loads over this Prime Piece of okavango Real Estate [Music] He may resemble a large beach ball But he's not to be toyed with An intruding bull He's gaping your signals he's staking a Claim to the territory Not without a fight [Music] Each way as much as a car [Music] Their mouths equipped with 50 centimeter Dagger-like tusks They battle for hours Their rules reverberating across the Swamp The Victor wins mating rights to any Females Finally the smaller intruding bull

Concedes The champ rejoins his harim He instantly turns from deadly foe into Floating father figure Yeah Okay For the Orca Van Gogh's herbivores the Annual floods bring a bounty of grasses And sedges The tastiest patches may be cut off by Deep channels and wide swampy Moats [Music] The vival means embracing a semi-aquatic Lifestyle No problem for lechway antelope They gather here by the hundreds With long splayed Hooves and thick Waterproof fur they Wade through the Boggy all you can eat aquatic grass Buffet But there's no free lunch They share the okavango with one of the World's largest populations of wild dogs A pack this size can kill twice a day [Music] In deep water the lechway have the Advantage But the dogs have something the antelope Lack Teamwork These dogs Bank on speed and endurance The 80 kill rate makes them some of the Planet's most successful predators The dogs fan out testing the herd

[Music] Singling out any weaklings [Music] Wild dogs a true family share the spoils Equally Even later Rivals get a seat at the Table Can devour an entire lechway in minutes All the mother can do is watch from afar And live to run another day While some animals live life on the Run Others must swim for their lives Steering clear of this Hungry Hunter Lucrative streamlined fast and focused The spotted necked otter Her razor-sharp claws and crushing Molars make her deceptively deadly [Music] Cute but ruthless Thank you [Music] She's after more than fish The thick mud and vegetation conceals Her other favorite food Fresh water crabs [Music] Their strong front pincers mean business Plan Her dexterous hands keep the crabs Pinching Parts at arm's length While her molars put the Crush in Crustacea [Music] She can make almost a catch a minute

[Music] When another otter grabs a bite the Ferocity Factor doubles Eventually the Intruder relents a And the female enjoys her spoils While otters rely on Speed and Agility To chase slippery prey Saddle build stalks count on patience Timing And a powerful bill [Music] The okavango is home to 71 species of Fish and 33 amphibians Making it a smorgasbord for Hungry Stalks At over 150 centimeters these painted Beauties are the tallest stalks on Earth Which gives them an edge when wading Through deeper water They hunt mostly by feel [Music] They're partially open Bill snaps shut At the slightest touch For larger fish such as this tilapia Their bill becomes a spear There's no escaping his grip [Music] [Music] The fish always goes down whole and head First But sometimes her food isn't bite-sized [Music] And bites back [Music]

The Mozambique spitting cobra shares the Stork's appetite for frogs And it's slinking towards the bird's Fishing spot The brightly painted Bird shows her true Colors She's a snake killer The cobras are worthy adversary armed With powerful cytotoxic Venom But his fans can't penetrate the stork's Thick build Plan B it can fire a jet of Venom almost Two meters with 90 accuracy And evade the stabbing stalk with every Twist Today fangs flea beaks [Music] The basanga swamps of Zambia In the rainy season they're completely Submerged The receding Waters cue the return of The pride [Music] These are the swamp lines of the Sangha Plains Dry feet are not an option [Applause] Thank you [Music] Because their prey is some of Africa's Most water-loving antelope [Music] [Applause] And black lechway Antelope Gather in

Deeper swampy areas seeking safety from The Lions Foreign This pride has honed the art of the hunt But Lions aren't basanga's only apex Predator In the water Nile crocodiles have the Home Advantage [Music] Every step draws the lion deeper into This ancient Gladiators Arena Oh To reach the best hunting grounds the Lions of basanga swamps must Brave the Croc infested water Risking her life to claim her prize Lechway Literally bogged down she relies on Stealth [Music] She must get close Very close Using the long grass for cover she lets Her prey come to her One burst of explosive speed and it's Game over [Music] Her success means a full belly For her And her three hungry Cubs Watery world is new to them but they'll Be swamp Masters soon enough They have an excellent teacher Foreign

Cups falls mostly on the shoulders of Females [Music] But some other young swamp dwellers find Themselves entirely on their own The onset of the wet season energize is One of Africa's heavyweights Giant bullfrogs Just 50 millimeters of rainfall triggers A flood of activity The breeding season [Music] And a call to battle These sumo wrestlers weighing in at 1.5 Kilograms use their size and booming Cause to attract mates Content test doesn't determine the top Frog Belco Head to Head They fight dirty Biting head butting and body slamming Intimidate Rivals and impress the ladies Black legs Propel him as far as two Meters a single jump [Music] Launching at full speed he can put the Hurt on any rival [Music] And three tooth-like bones in his bottom Jaw delivers a monstrous bite The champions win mating rights to as Many females as possible ensuring the Most offspring [Music] They're not a buff stealing another

Male's partner Foreign Mating Season finished and eggs laid it Takes 30 days for the tadpoles to Complete their metamorphosis The tadpoles survived mostly on algae But as they change so does their diet And this is where things get deadly They're in a race to maturity and in This competitive environment They'll get there by any means necessary These amphibians will devour anything They can overpower From a fly to a small chicken It's a frog eat frog world Foreign But cannibalism is only one of the Dangers they face [Music] A bullfrog can go from Hunter to hunted In the glint of an unblinking eye Or the flick of a tongue In Africa's swamps assassins look around Every corner The overgrown Banks can't be trusted This female boom slag leaves the trees In search of an easy meal [Music] She's craving young giant bullfrogs Her sensitive eyes track the smallest Movements She Blends in perfectly as she Approaches the water's edge She must keep an eye out for Big Daddy

Bullfrog He'll have no trouble turning the tables And devouring her But not today Her fangs are small and set far back in Her jaw Lacking Brute Force she uses Venom Chewing on her meal as it goes to work Excuse me The hemotoxic Venom bursts blood cells So the victim bleeds to death internally Drop the drop it's the most potent Venom Of any African snake A meal this size could keep her fed for A week Like all snakes she's a good swimmer but She's not the best That title is held by another killer Reptile [Music] The vast network of waterways is the Nile crocodile's Delight They effortlessly troll the channels for Victims Or they lie motionless at the water's Edge waiting for dinner to deliver Itself With wild dogs back on the hunt the Antelope panic and flee The pack has blocked all Escape Routes Leaving the Impala only one choice Facing almost certain death one young Impala makes a desperate decision Fear of crocodiles stops most predators

In their tracks especially where the Swamp is deep The pack hangs back waiting for the Impala to make its move It faces a deadly dilemma Brave the shore bristling with teeth Foreign Or Swim for its life in Croc infested Waters [Music] To avoid the dogs the Impala must head To the opposite back And race against Africa's deadliest Aquatic predator Closing in fast [Music] One bites from one of the most powerful Jaws in the animal kingdom is all it Takes The pack doesn't dare contest this meal They won't set foot in the water In Zambia's lure plane these three Cheetah Brothers have the run of the Swampy grassland And running is their specialty Forming a coalition makes them more Lethal They've spotted a herd of wildebeest With calves in tow Oh [Music] Um [Music] They kill the calf before the wildebeest

Heard even realizes the cats are there [Music] But when it comes to a drink the cheetah Don't need stealth they need their wits Quenching their thirst means braving the Croc-lined banks Cheetah have keen eyesight But a crocodile is the master of Camouflage Like a stealthy submarine it waits to Strike Thank you Nothing can be done The Coalition scans for any sign of Movement Foreign But their brother is gone [Music] [Music] Summer in the okavango delta [Music] And mother warthog feels the Heat Thank you She picks a shallow spot where Crocodiles can't reach her But she's got another stalker This dip in the water could become a Bloodbath The warthogs are as happy as pigs in mud Oblivious to the danger creeping closer Thank you Lionesses rarely hunt alone She's brought back up They surround the warthogs using the

Patches of Tall Grass as cover Out of sight Until the last second Against All Odds the warthogs must Outmaneuver the whole Pride Warthogs are faster than they look Bolting at 50 kilometers per hour they Leave the lions in their dust [Music] [Music] They're cover blown the Lions move on Braving the channels for a chance to eat Large water-loving creatures like Elephants easily navigate the channels That separate feeding grounds The cheetah brothers are more wary Losing their brother to a crocodile Isn't easily forgotten They have no choice They need to hunt And must make a leap of fail The warthog May outsprint a pride of Lions But cheetah are the fastest mammals on Land Going from zero to 110 kilometers per Hour in three strides They can bank at a 50 degree angle in a High-speed turn Better than a racing motorcycle Warthogs have weapons Lower tusks sharp as daggers can kill a Cheetah But at the final moment the brothers

Teamwork prevails The dry season brings the cheetah larger Hunting grounds and a time of plenty With the seasons the swamps are Constantly changing [Music] As the range-soaked catchments of the Angolan Highlands film The okavango floodplain returns in all Its soggy Glory In South Africa's Saint Lucia Estuary This Eastern Green Mamba must adapt his Hunting strategies to the flooded plains It lives exclusively in the green Coastal regions of southern Africa Preferring to hunt in these water-logged Places He's the brightly colored cousin of the Black Mamba and his emerald green scales Scream Danger He even has a coffin-shaped head A superb swimmer he scours the swamp's Edges for prey Locking onto a tantalizing scent The Hunt is on While the mere sight of the Green Mamba Strikes Terror most of the time its prey Never sees it coming His Venom affects the nerves muscles and Heart Triggering a quick death by respiratory Paralysis Powerful muscles along his length and Supple skin beneath his scales help the

Rat go down whole and head first The wet season in botswana's linyanti Swamps the grassland becomes a quagmire The hyena takes it all in their sloping Stride As some of the top carnivores here they Dominate the best bathing spots Foreign Provides a secret spot to stash meat for A rainy day Often maligned as scavengers and thieves They are in fact expert Hunters Their matriarch leads her clan on the Hunt Masters of the long game hyenas can run For kilometers without tiring Thank you Their stamina is matched only by wild Dogs Thank you This herd of kudu now have a big problem Targeted by two different predators [Music] [Music] After kilometers on the run the Exhausted kudu cow can go no further [Music] There is no love lost between hyena and Wild dogs But the promise of meat can create an Unlikely Alliance [Music] Unlike wild dogs and hyenas leopards Hunt solo

She'll conceal her two cups and head out In search of food She relies on stealth and camouflage to Ambush her prey [Music] But Lewis open Plains leave her no place To hide Like A lost wildebeest calf presents an Opportunity Will it be enough to make this leopard Change her spots An open flooded grassland is not in this Female leopard's comfort zone But a lost wildebeest calf is too good To pass up Especially with two cups to feed She'll need to get as close as she can Before she pounces [Music] No easy feat without much cover [Music] With each precise footfall she places Her back Paws in the print of the front [Music] [Music] [Music] Calf is hungry and weak [Music] Each year the flooded plains of lure Attract tens of thousands of migrating Wildebeest The pools are a Lifeline for the Thirsty Herds

But while dogs are hot on their heels The alpha male and female rallied the Pack into hunting formation Their puppies safely kept to the Distance [Music] They charged the herd to flush out any Weaklings A newborn calf slowed by the thick mud Fits the bill The puppies join the meal The small kill is not enough to go round To the Pack's surprise the calf's mother Refuses to leave Her maternal instincts put her in the Crosshairs of the ravenous pack [Music] Wild dogs maybe some of Africa's most Effective Hunters but an adult Wildebeest is a tall order Those sharp horns mean business [Music] They mob her nipping at her back and Sides Oh An inexperienced pack member slips and Gets gored Thanks to the soft swampland the dog Escapes Serious injury [Music] [Music] [Music] The pups only about six months old watch And learn from a safe distance

[Music] Um In true wild dog fashion family comes First The puppies get the Prime Cuts and no One goes hungry In the unending cycle of life in these Deadly swamps survival demands precision Every Creature must develop the skill Strength and tenacity to stay on top Generation after generation Thank you [Music] [Music]