1 00:00:37,700 --> 00:00:41,540 Forests cover one third of the lands of the Earth. 2 00:00:44,060 --> 00:00:48,660 Hiding within them are half of all the animal species on the planet. 3 00:00:53,740 --> 00:00:56,940 But forests are complex places in which to hunt. 4 00:01:05,900 --> 00:01:08,100 There is never a clean line of sight. 5 00:01:11,780 --> 00:01:13,020 No room for the chase. 6 00:01:19,100 --> 00:01:23,260 To get to its prey in this labyrinthine world... 7 00:01:23,260 --> 00:01:24,820 DEER CALLS 8 00:01:24,820 --> 00:01:27,540 ..without being discovered... 9 00:01:30,940 --> 00:01:35,180 ..the forest hunter must master the art of the ambush. 10 00:01:51,740 --> 00:01:55,780 The tiger is the largest of all forest predators. 11 00:01:58,780 --> 00:02:02,380 Yet its life depends on being able to hide itself - 12 00:02:05,020 --> 00:02:10,100 no simple task for a cat weighing up to 200 kilos. 13 00:02:15,340 --> 00:02:19,140 The vanishing act takes years to perfect... 14 00:02:21,100 --> 00:02:23,700 ..beginning when tigers are just cubs. 15 00:02:30,700 --> 00:02:33,060 Like domestic kittens, tiger cubs 16 00:02:33,060 --> 00:02:37,300 can't resist the compulsion to stalk. 17 00:02:37,300 --> 00:02:38,500 TWIG CRACKS 18 00:02:38,500 --> 00:02:41,300 MONKEY MAKES ALARM CALL 19 00:02:45,260 --> 00:02:48,260 At first, it's a game. 20 00:02:55,740 --> 00:02:58,020 But the cubs are learning the skills 21 00:02:58,020 --> 00:03:02,340 needed to move silently over the crunchy forest floor. 22 00:03:09,460 --> 00:03:11,220 It takes practice... 23 00:03:20,820 --> 00:03:22,740 ..and perseverance. 24 00:03:33,580 --> 00:03:36,420 A cub will fail many times. 25 00:03:36,420 --> 00:03:37,460 TWIG CRACKS 26 00:03:37,460 --> 00:03:38,660 MONKEY ALARM CALL 27 00:03:43,740 --> 00:03:48,540 But, ultimately, its life will depend on getting it right. 28 00:03:56,100 --> 00:03:58,180 By the time it is a young adult, 29 00:03:58,180 --> 00:04:02,780 a tiger can move without making a sound. 30 00:04:10,740 --> 00:04:15,420 But to get close to its prey, it must also be out of sight. 31 00:04:22,660 --> 00:04:25,180 Herds have many eyes, 32 00:04:25,180 --> 00:04:27,220 and they never let down their guard. 33 00:04:34,020 --> 00:04:38,180 As long as they can see the tiger, there can be no ambush. 34 00:04:44,940 --> 00:04:48,180 As long as they can see... 35 00:04:48,180 --> 00:04:50,340 the tiger. 36 00:05:32,820 --> 00:05:34,820 Not close enough. 37 00:05:40,340 --> 00:05:42,980 To stand a good chance of catching a deer, 38 00:05:42,980 --> 00:05:46,420 a tiger must stalk to within ten metres 39 00:05:46,420 --> 00:05:48,460 before launching an attack. 40 00:05:53,540 --> 00:05:55,540 And to do that, 41 00:05:55,540 --> 00:05:59,660 it must take advantage of any cover its forest provides. 42 00:06:07,580 --> 00:06:10,620 THUNDER RUMBLES 43 00:06:26,660 --> 00:06:30,460 With experience, a tiger becomes expert 44 00:06:33,340 --> 00:06:36,580 at exploiting any opportunity. 45 00:06:43,340 --> 00:06:45,740 THUNDER RUMBLES 46 00:06:52,940 --> 00:06:58,980 The noises and darkness of a storm can be used to conceal its approach. 47 00:07:03,740 --> 00:07:06,460 It moves in downwind of the herd... 48 00:07:09,940 --> 00:07:12,340 ..undetected. 49 00:07:31,060 --> 00:07:35,500 Once within striking distance, it freezes. 50 00:07:39,580 --> 00:07:42,220 The final trick for a hunting tiger 51 00:07:42,220 --> 00:07:44,060 is to get closer 52 00:07:44,060 --> 00:07:45,700 without moving at all. 53 00:07:49,340 --> 00:07:52,180 Let the stag come as close as it will. 54 00:07:56,020 --> 00:07:58,060 Then wait for it to turn 55 00:08:00,900 --> 00:08:02,340 and take one step away. 56 00:08:15,820 --> 00:08:17,460 The perfect strike... 57 00:08:19,180 --> 00:08:23,740 and brave - this stag weighs almost as much as the tiger. 58 00:08:29,900 --> 00:08:34,420 It instinctively moves its prize out of sight before starting its meal. 59 00:08:45,500 --> 00:08:47,220 An accomplished ambusher. 60 00:08:50,260 --> 00:08:53,580 Years in the making, 61 00:08:53,580 --> 00:08:56,900 with the skills to turn the challenges of its forest 62 00:08:56,900 --> 00:08:59,020 to its advantage. 63 00:09:07,700 --> 00:09:09,900 But not all forests are the same. 64 00:09:13,220 --> 00:09:16,660 They begin where the trees begin, in the far north. 65 00:09:22,460 --> 00:09:25,820 This is the largest forest of all. 66 00:09:25,820 --> 00:09:31,820 An unbroken band of coniferous trees that wraps around the globe - 67 00:09:31,820 --> 00:09:34,340 the Boreal forest. 68 00:09:40,060 --> 00:09:43,100 In winter, it can appear empty 69 00:09:43,100 --> 00:09:48,300 but this endless maze is the arena for a unique game of hide and seek. 70 00:09:54,660 --> 00:09:58,300 Snow falls in this forest for months on end. 71 00:09:59,780 --> 00:10:02,980 As it collects on the fallen branches and trunks 72 00:10:02,980 --> 00:10:05,300 that litter the forest floor, 73 00:10:05,300 --> 00:10:09,500 a hidden labyrinth of snow tunnels is created beneath. 74 00:10:12,940 --> 00:10:15,540 Here, out of the icy air, 75 00:10:15,540 --> 00:10:18,620 is where the forest's rodents spend their winter. 76 00:10:24,340 --> 00:10:28,540 Prey exists even in this seemingly empty forest... 77 00:10:32,220 --> 00:10:33,660 if you know where to find it. 78 00:10:39,220 --> 00:10:40,980 The American marten. 79 00:10:44,100 --> 00:10:46,260 It only lives where, in winter, 80 00:10:46,260 --> 00:10:49,780 the snow is deep enough to create this maze. 81 00:10:51,740 --> 00:10:56,420 Its slim body is ideally shaped for searching snow tunnels, 82 00:10:56,420 --> 00:11:00,740 but that shape means it also loses heat quickly. 83 00:11:02,580 --> 00:11:06,540 To stay alive, it must continually search for food. 84 00:11:11,620 --> 00:11:13,260 The marten picks up a scent. 85 00:11:25,660 --> 00:11:28,380 It listens for any movement. 86 00:11:42,100 --> 00:11:43,180 Found you! 87 00:11:49,860 --> 00:11:51,420 One mouse is not enough. 88 00:11:53,900 --> 00:11:56,540 To keep warm in this frozen forest, 89 00:11:56,540 --> 00:11:59,780 the marten must find three mice every day. 90 00:12:03,260 --> 00:12:09,140 But with thousands of tunnels under the snow, which one do you check? 91 00:12:11,380 --> 00:12:12,580 You check them all! 92 00:12:24,540 --> 00:12:26,660 A frantic game of hide and seek. 93 00:12:32,140 --> 00:12:35,340 Only one in ten tunnels is home to a mouse. 94 00:12:45,140 --> 00:12:49,100 And even then, finding the mouse is not guaranteed. 95 00:12:55,620 --> 00:12:58,700 For hunters in the Boreal forest, 96 00:12:58,700 --> 00:13:02,540 just finding food is the biggest challenge of all. 97 00:13:09,460 --> 00:13:13,100 In the forest further south, prey is more abundant. 98 00:13:19,820 --> 00:13:22,540 The deciduous forest we know so well. 99 00:13:25,340 --> 00:13:27,940 In the summer, it's busy with small birds. 100 00:13:31,820 --> 00:13:34,020 The trees are thick with foliage. 101 00:13:36,700 --> 00:13:39,380 It's a complex world in which to navigate. 102 00:13:42,580 --> 00:13:46,100 A problem for the female sparrowhawk. 103 00:13:49,060 --> 00:13:51,540 Since she has to produce and lay eggs, 104 00:13:51,540 --> 00:13:54,500 her body must be of a certain size, 105 00:13:54,500 --> 00:13:59,420 and she's too big to sneak up on her prey in this crowded habitat. 106 00:14:01,660 --> 00:14:06,900 At this time of year, she relies on another - 107 00:14:06,900 --> 00:14:09,180 a smaller, more agile hunter 108 00:14:11,220 --> 00:14:14,460 able to travel at speed through the tangled woodland - 109 00:14:20,940 --> 00:14:22,980 the male sparrowhawk. 110 00:14:28,500 --> 00:14:32,540 He is well suited to hunting in the dense summer forest 111 00:14:38,300 --> 00:14:41,660 but he must give almost everything he catches... 112 00:14:43,220 --> 00:14:44,500 to his boss. 113 00:14:50,620 --> 00:14:52,020 She's twice his size! 114 00:14:57,340 --> 00:15:04,420 In the summer, she and their young depend on his hunting expertise. 115 00:15:08,700 --> 00:15:13,980 He never rests, surprising small birds on the wing. 116 00:15:17,620 --> 00:15:21,420 Ambushing from lofty hiding places. 117 00:15:26,380 --> 00:15:29,100 He is a specialist summer hunter. 118 00:15:34,900 --> 00:15:38,460 Each day, he provides up to ten small birds. 119 00:15:42,980 --> 00:15:46,340 Until the rules of the game change... 120 00:15:47,900 --> 00:15:49,660 with autumn. 121 00:15:54,420 --> 00:15:58,820 The deciduous trees shed their delicate, frost-prone leaves. 122 00:16:01,660 --> 00:16:05,060 The cover the male relied on all summer... 123 00:16:06,420 --> 00:16:07,860 is blown. 124 00:16:15,100 --> 00:16:19,980 The hunt must change from hide and seek to open chase. 125 00:16:25,100 --> 00:16:29,740 The greater size of the female sparrowhawk is now an advantage. 126 00:16:32,460 --> 00:16:36,540 She has the strength and the weight to catch bigger prey. 127 00:16:39,420 --> 00:16:42,540 Jays are too large for the tiny male to tackle. 128 00:16:47,060 --> 00:16:51,420 But they are the perfect target practice for the fledgling females. 129 00:17:02,340 --> 00:17:05,300 They can't resist the challenge. 130 00:17:41,060 --> 00:17:43,780 It may look like a bit of fun. 131 00:17:44,900 --> 00:17:48,380 But buzzing jays helps the fledglings learn 132 00:17:48,380 --> 00:17:51,780 how to hunt in a place where there is no leaf cover. 133 00:17:53,620 --> 00:17:57,700 In the coming winter, they will rely on the sudden stall... 134 00:17:59,300 --> 00:18:01,260 the tail chase... 135 00:18:05,220 --> 00:18:06,220 the interception... 136 00:18:16,580 --> 00:18:18,700 By taking larger prey, 137 00:18:18,700 --> 00:18:22,660 the females increase their chances of surviving in the winter forest. 138 00:18:28,140 --> 00:18:32,180 Whereas they can last for a week on just one kill, 139 00:18:34,260 --> 00:18:37,300 the male, limited to smaller meals, 140 00:18:37,300 --> 00:18:40,140 must hunt almost twice as frequently. 141 00:18:42,780 --> 00:18:46,860 It's the price the sparrowhawk must pay for hunting in a forest 142 00:18:46,860 --> 00:18:49,500 that changes so radically with the seasons. 143 00:19:00,500 --> 00:19:05,740 There is a forest where the game of hide and seek is even more complex. 144 00:19:07,580 --> 00:19:09,580 The rainforest. 145 00:19:11,820 --> 00:19:15,460 A place in which the perfect conditions for plant life 146 00:19:15,460 --> 00:19:19,340 never end and the forest runs rampant, 147 00:19:21,580 --> 00:19:25,660 forming the most confusing arena of all. 148 00:19:29,100 --> 00:19:31,820 But there has to be prey hidden somewhere. 149 00:19:35,980 --> 00:19:38,940 In fact, it's hidden everywhere. 150 00:19:41,780 --> 00:19:44,740 The great problem of the rainforest is one of scale. 151 00:19:46,980 --> 00:19:49,500 Most of the prey animals here are tiny. 152 00:19:51,660 --> 00:19:55,500 How can a predator hope to survive on such small prey? 153 00:20:01,980 --> 00:20:05,460 One answer is to be a small predator. 154 00:20:12,340 --> 00:20:14,820 This is a Portia spider. 155 00:20:18,140 --> 00:20:23,940 Rather than use a web, Portia ventures out in search of prey. 156 00:20:30,460 --> 00:20:34,700 Playing hide and seek in this, 157 00:20:34,700 --> 00:20:36,940 the mother of all mazes. 158 00:20:45,700 --> 00:20:50,580 To help her in her quest, she's equipped with three superpowers. 159 00:20:52,740 --> 00:20:56,380 First, an amazing approach to getting about. 160 00:21:02,660 --> 00:21:05,140 Portia is a jumping spider, 161 00:21:09,020 --> 00:21:12,380 able to leap up to 50 times her own body length. 162 00:21:17,220 --> 00:21:19,580 Nowhere seems beyond her reach. 163 00:21:23,140 --> 00:21:26,900 Next, her second superpower - superb eyesight. 164 00:21:29,580 --> 00:21:34,620 Essential if she is to distinguish her prey in all this clutter. 165 00:21:36,260 --> 00:21:38,700 Because her prey doesn't stray. 166 00:21:42,780 --> 00:21:46,220 Portia is a spider-eating spider. 167 00:21:49,700 --> 00:21:52,700 This raises a few problems - 168 00:21:52,700 --> 00:21:56,140 her lunch is three times her size... 169 00:21:57,660 --> 00:22:00,420 packed with venom 170 00:22:00,420 --> 00:22:03,180 and surrounded by a sticky trap. 171 00:22:07,220 --> 00:22:08,620 Mission impossible? 172 00:22:08,620 --> 00:22:14,380 Not at all, because of her third superpower. 173 00:22:14,380 --> 00:22:16,260 Portia is a genius. 174 00:22:20,340 --> 00:22:23,620 She can map her world in three dimensions 175 00:22:25,220 --> 00:22:27,420 and formulate a plan of attack. 176 00:22:30,060 --> 00:22:31,700 She can have an idea. 177 00:22:52,020 --> 00:22:54,860 The web-builder is blind. 178 00:22:56,500 --> 00:22:58,940 It won't have a clue that she's coming. 179 00:23:22,860 --> 00:23:24,700 Right on target 180 00:23:24,700 --> 00:23:27,980 and safely behind those fangs. 181 00:23:35,900 --> 00:23:42,060 But a mind as active as Portia's can always do with more brain food. 182 00:23:45,660 --> 00:23:48,500 Here, there's no anchor point for the abseil. 183 00:23:53,180 --> 00:23:55,420 But Portia has another idea. 184 00:23:58,860 --> 00:24:00,780 Instead of going to the spider... 185 00:24:06,580 --> 00:24:09,020 she will bring the spider to her. 186 00:24:14,300 --> 00:24:18,380 She plucks the strands to imitate struggling prey... 187 00:24:23,100 --> 00:24:24,860 drawing the spider in.. 188 00:24:29,340 --> 00:24:30,540 to its death. 189 00:24:37,060 --> 00:24:39,940 But Portia does have her equal - 190 00:24:44,580 --> 00:24:46,060 the spitting spider. 191 00:24:49,220 --> 00:24:52,740 A rival stalker with its own secret weapon. 192 00:24:53,900 --> 00:24:57,140 A bloated head armed with glue guns 193 00:24:59,980 --> 00:25:04,260 that trap with sticky threads. 194 00:25:06,980 --> 00:25:09,940 One spit in the eye would blind Portia. 195 00:25:13,180 --> 00:25:14,940 But she knows how to avoid that. 196 00:25:17,660 --> 00:25:20,300 Only hunt a female with an egg sac. 197 00:25:26,820 --> 00:25:29,860 Follow at a safe distance. 198 00:25:34,380 --> 00:25:37,580 Track it to its lair. 199 00:25:40,820 --> 00:25:43,220 A dangerous place for Portia. 200 00:25:50,340 --> 00:25:52,380 But the spitter is distracted. 201 00:25:53,940 --> 00:25:56,140 She's tending to her eggs. 202 00:25:58,980 --> 00:26:02,140 Portia waits for just the right moment. 203 00:26:05,580 --> 00:26:08,460 It can't spit if its mouth is full. 204 00:26:22,660 --> 00:26:24,580 Mission possible! 205 00:26:29,180 --> 00:26:31,820 For predators larger than Portia, 206 00:26:31,820 --> 00:26:37,380 there is one way to find lots of small prey in a short space of time. 207 00:26:40,740 --> 00:26:42,780 Wait until nightfall. 208 00:26:48,580 --> 00:26:51,300 Under cover of darkness, 209 00:26:51,300 --> 00:26:54,740 the forest comes alive with small animals 210 00:26:54,740 --> 00:26:57,100 trusting that night will hide them. 211 00:27:04,100 --> 00:27:05,460 It won't. 212 00:27:09,780 --> 00:27:13,020 Some hunters ambush by moonlight. 213 00:27:21,180 --> 00:27:22,900 The tarsier. 214 00:27:24,420 --> 00:27:26,420 No bigger than a human hand, 215 00:27:28,700 --> 00:27:33,340 with the largest eyes of any mammal relative to body size, 216 00:27:34,340 --> 00:27:37,420 and huge, bat-like ears to pick out 217 00:27:37,420 --> 00:27:40,060 a telltale scratch amongst the hubbub. 218 00:27:43,940 --> 00:27:46,300 FAINT RUSTLING 219 00:27:48,740 --> 00:27:52,900 The darkness can't hide an insect from a tarsier... 220 00:27:56,180 --> 00:27:59,340 but it can hide a tarsier from an insect. 221 00:28:12,340 --> 00:28:14,980 Because tarsiers compete for food, 222 00:28:17,500 --> 00:28:20,460 they keep their distance while hunting... 223 00:28:24,660 --> 00:28:27,380 each sweeping its own patch of jungle. 224 00:28:34,380 --> 00:28:36,100 But while they hunt... 225 00:28:38,540 --> 00:28:41,460 they too are hunted. 226 00:28:46,300 --> 00:28:49,100 They have their own night stalker. 227 00:28:50,220 --> 00:28:52,780 A reticulated python. 228 00:29:01,260 --> 00:29:06,860 It uses scent and heat-sensing organs to find its prey in the dark. 229 00:29:15,140 --> 00:29:18,780 If the tarsiers spot it, they know what to do. 230 00:29:20,860 --> 00:29:23,460 HIGH-PITCHED CALL Call in the troops! 231 00:29:26,300 --> 00:29:28,220 All the tarsiers in the neighbourhood 232 00:29:28,220 --> 00:29:31,460 abandon their hunts and rally together... 233 00:29:35,860 --> 00:29:39,500 ..screaming at the python with high-pitched calls. 234 00:29:41,220 --> 00:29:44,380 TARSIERS CALL SHRILLY 235 00:29:48,020 --> 00:29:53,020 The game is up, and the snake is driven away. 236 00:29:58,140 --> 00:30:00,940 There is safety in numbers, 237 00:30:00,940 --> 00:30:03,020 but when the commotion is over, 238 00:30:04,940 --> 00:30:07,540 it's back to every tarsier for itself. 239 00:30:31,100 --> 00:30:37,500 By day, a different game of hide and seek takes place high above, 240 00:30:37,500 --> 00:30:39,460 in the jungle canopy. 241 00:30:43,060 --> 00:30:44,820 A far more open arena, 242 00:30:44,820 --> 00:30:47,860 hanging 30 metres up in the air, 243 00:30:47,860 --> 00:30:50,380 and home to larger prey. 244 00:30:56,980 --> 00:30:59,100 Troops of monkeys 245 00:30:59,100 --> 00:31:02,780 feasting on the flowers and fruits of the giant trees. 246 00:31:06,100 --> 00:31:09,580 Because monkeys are always at risk of falling, they need 247 00:31:09,580 --> 00:31:14,060 forward-facing eyes to judge the distance to the next branch... 248 00:31:16,540 --> 00:31:19,780 ..which means they have a blind spot. 249 00:31:29,140 --> 00:31:34,500 The harpy eagle. With talons as long as a bear's claws, 250 00:31:34,500 --> 00:31:39,340 and a two-metre wingspan, it's the master of the aerial ambush. 251 00:31:43,420 --> 00:31:45,620 If a monkey is under the canopy, 252 00:31:45,620 --> 00:31:47,860 it's out of the harpy's reach. 253 00:31:56,060 --> 00:31:58,220 It's only when one breaks cover 254 00:32:00,060 --> 00:32:02,980 that it becomes available. 255 00:32:11,260 --> 00:32:13,220 MONKEY SCREAMS 256 00:32:22,220 --> 00:32:25,420 The harpy's way of hunting comes at a price. 257 00:32:27,900 --> 00:32:32,260 To fly with prey as heavy as a monkey, it must build enough muscle 258 00:32:32,260 --> 00:32:35,540 to become the most powerful eagle on Earth. 259 00:32:39,860 --> 00:32:44,500 Raising a harpy chick, therefore, takes an extraordinary commitment. 260 00:32:52,900 --> 00:32:58,140 Harpies have the longest period of parental care of any bird of prey. 261 00:33:05,020 --> 00:33:08,140 They feed their chick for up to two years. 262 00:33:14,500 --> 00:33:19,860 In that time, the parents will bring it over 200 monkeys and sloths. 263 00:33:27,860 --> 00:33:31,060 At the end of a year, it's fully grown 264 00:33:34,940 --> 00:33:37,060 but it's far from the finished article. 265 00:33:42,580 --> 00:33:44,260 It must spend many more months 266 00:33:44,260 --> 00:33:49,020 building up its flight muscles for the heavy lifting ahead 267 00:33:49,020 --> 00:33:52,140 by working out at the jungle gym. 268 00:33:57,260 --> 00:33:59,460 And, more demanding still, 269 00:33:59,460 --> 00:34:03,580 it must learn the art of the ambush in this aerial world. 270 00:34:17,420 --> 00:34:20,620 Trying to hide from monkeys is not easy. 271 00:34:36,460 --> 00:34:38,900 There are more straightforward options 272 00:34:38,900 --> 00:34:41,340 for the chick's first encounter. 273 00:34:47,740 --> 00:34:49,660 A three-toed sloth - 274 00:34:51,700 --> 00:34:54,140 the slowest prey in the jungle... 275 00:34:55,380 --> 00:34:58,140 with no way of escaping an eagle. 276 00:35:17,820 --> 00:35:20,340 It should be a formality 277 00:35:20,340 --> 00:35:23,340 but even sloths fight back. 278 00:35:36,900 --> 00:35:38,460 It's a valuable lesson. 279 00:35:41,700 --> 00:35:45,420 Hunting the jungle's larger animals is never simple. 280 00:35:47,980 --> 00:35:50,500 The chick must raise its game soon. 281 00:35:52,340 --> 00:35:55,260 After all, this is its parents' territory. 282 00:35:57,820 --> 00:36:00,340 If it doesn't start hunting for itself, 283 00:36:00,340 --> 00:36:04,940 even after all their efforts, they may kill it 284 00:36:04,940 --> 00:36:07,380 to make way for another that will. 285 00:36:17,100 --> 00:36:20,060 While most forest predators hunt alone, 286 00:36:23,700 --> 00:36:25,860 some work as a team. 287 00:36:31,460 --> 00:36:35,300 Chimpanzees hunt monkeys by using the most complex 288 00:36:35,300 --> 00:36:37,740 and intelligent ambush of all. 289 00:36:39,820 --> 00:36:42,100 When they decide to do so, 290 00:36:42,100 --> 00:36:46,740 the whole troop sets out on an extended trek in search of prey. 291 00:36:46,740 --> 00:36:49,740 LOW RUMBLING CALLS 292 00:36:49,740 --> 00:36:55,540 Once they hear monkey calls, all the chimps switch to silent mode. 293 00:37:01,500 --> 00:37:04,100 Carefully, they move in beneath. 294 00:37:08,020 --> 00:37:13,100 Colobus monkeys, 30 metres up in the dense canopy. 295 00:37:17,340 --> 00:37:18,780 It's almost impossible 296 00:37:18,780 --> 00:37:23,100 for a single chimp to catch a monkey in this forest. 297 00:37:23,100 --> 00:37:25,700 The colobus are less than half their weight, 298 00:37:25,700 --> 00:37:29,740 and can escape using small branches that cannot support a chimp. 299 00:37:33,060 --> 00:37:36,260 The chimps must work together to set a trap. 300 00:37:39,660 --> 00:37:41,740 The most accomplished hunter 301 00:37:41,740 --> 00:37:44,620 judges the possible escape route of the colobus, 302 00:37:44,620 --> 00:37:46,940 and moves silently ahead in the forest. 303 00:37:50,900 --> 00:37:54,260 He takes up an advanced, ambusher position, 304 00:37:54,260 --> 00:37:56,780 hidden in the branches just below the canopy. 305 00:38:04,780 --> 00:38:07,140 Other chimps, the blockers, 306 00:38:07,140 --> 00:38:10,220 take his lead, climbing up either side of the colobus, 307 00:38:10,220 --> 00:38:13,620 making themselves obvious to close off other escape routes. 308 00:38:22,100 --> 00:38:24,780 The last chimp is the driver. 309 00:38:26,620 --> 00:38:29,660 His job will be to chase the colobus into the trap. 310 00:38:39,020 --> 00:38:42,020 When all are in position, he launches the attack. 311 00:39:01,260 --> 00:39:03,380 While the driver keeps up the momentum, 312 00:39:03,380 --> 00:39:06,020 the blockers move to close any gaps. 313 00:39:11,900 --> 00:39:13,980 The monkeys flee towards the trap. 314 00:39:20,660 --> 00:39:26,340 When they reach the ambush tree, the trap is sprung. 315 00:39:26,340 --> 00:39:29,380 CHIMPS SCREAM 316 00:39:35,700 --> 00:39:38,420 A colobus is brought to the ground. 317 00:39:46,620 --> 00:39:48,540 Everyone is desperate for a share. 318 00:39:51,260 --> 00:39:54,380 But the meat is divided up in a specific way. 319 00:39:55,620 --> 00:39:58,340 The hunters take the choice cuts. 320 00:40:02,500 --> 00:40:06,340 High-ranking females and their offspring get their share. 321 00:40:10,500 --> 00:40:12,500 CHIMPS GRUNT AND WHOOP 322 00:40:12,500 --> 00:40:15,900 Males who played no part in the hunt feel hard done by, 323 00:40:15,900 --> 00:40:19,020 and become frustrated and sulky. 324 00:40:19,020 --> 00:40:21,780 CHIMPS SCREAM 325 00:40:28,140 --> 00:40:33,580 Meat is a precious treat in the troop's largely vegetarian diet. 326 00:40:35,940 --> 00:40:39,260 But it plays a vital role in chimp society. 327 00:40:42,380 --> 00:40:44,100 In sharing their catch, 328 00:40:44,100 --> 00:40:49,500 the chimps reinforce the bonds that enable them to succeed as a group. 329 00:40:53,860 --> 00:40:57,100 But for all the chimps' intelligence and teamwork, 330 00:40:57,100 --> 00:41:01,100 their hunts only succeed about half the time. 331 00:41:05,060 --> 00:41:07,500 In fact, there's only one animal 332 00:41:07,500 --> 00:41:10,700 that has mastered the forest hunt enough to win every time. 333 00:41:17,220 --> 00:41:18,980 There is nowhere to hide from it. 334 00:41:23,340 --> 00:41:27,420 It is the most successful player of hide and seek on Earth... 335 00:41:33,700 --> 00:41:35,020 the army ant. 336 00:41:38,620 --> 00:41:41,820 This may look like a ball of a million individuals, 337 00:41:41,820 --> 00:41:44,860 but make no mistake - 338 00:41:44,860 --> 00:41:46,700 the colony acts as one. 339 00:41:49,540 --> 00:41:54,340 A super-organism with a sensory system of two million antennae. 340 00:41:56,820 --> 00:42:00,900 A skeleton made from the living bodies of workers. 341 00:42:04,580 --> 00:42:07,420 A defence system of soldier ants 342 00:42:08,820 --> 00:42:11,460 ready to act at any sign of danger, 343 00:42:13,540 --> 00:42:18,900 a digestive system processing piles of food deep inside. 344 00:42:21,220 --> 00:42:25,540 Even a coordinated system for dealing with all the waste. 345 00:42:29,300 --> 00:42:34,820 These are insects that, by working together, transcend individual size. 346 00:42:38,140 --> 00:42:41,540 The colony can search the entire jungle 347 00:42:43,180 --> 00:42:45,380 and flush out its wildlife. 348 00:42:52,580 --> 00:42:56,380 Each day, it sends out a silent probe into the forest 349 00:42:56,380 --> 00:42:58,100 in quest of food. 350 00:43:06,140 --> 00:43:08,540 It doesn't use scouts like other ants. 351 00:43:12,660 --> 00:43:16,900 Instead, a vast search party pushes into virgin territory... 352 00:43:22,340 --> 00:43:25,620 seeking out the signs of anything alive. 353 00:43:38,180 --> 00:43:41,420 They spread out along a ten-metre front, 354 00:43:41,420 --> 00:43:43,500 sweeping across the forest floor. 355 00:43:46,700 --> 00:43:49,460 To find prey, the ants must first touch it. 356 00:43:51,420 --> 00:43:55,700 The irony is that this, the most successful hide and seek player 357 00:43:55,700 --> 00:43:58,940 in the forest, is almost completely blind. 358 00:44:01,700 --> 00:44:05,260 It distinguishes the living only by their movement. 359 00:44:08,900 --> 00:44:12,540 As long as an animal remains still, it is safe. 360 00:44:15,820 --> 00:44:18,660 But the slightest twitch will give it away. 361 00:44:23,900 --> 00:44:26,860 Within seconds, the prey is pinned down. 362 00:44:30,100 --> 00:44:33,260 Within minutes, it's torn apart at its joints. 363 00:44:37,820 --> 00:44:41,700 The more the prey struggles, the more the ants engage. 364 00:44:46,380 --> 00:44:48,580 Right across the raid front, 365 00:44:48,580 --> 00:44:52,380 prey of all sizes are driven from their hiding places. 366 00:44:56,260 --> 00:45:00,300 Even wasps must abandon their homes when the ants arrive. 367 00:45:06,220 --> 00:45:08,980 Everything alive in the path of the raiders 368 00:45:08,980 --> 00:45:13,300 overwhelmed by sheer numbers. 369 00:45:22,500 --> 00:45:25,180 All this prey is just an appetizer. 370 00:45:29,140 --> 00:45:31,540 The army has found one of its chief targets - 371 00:45:33,580 --> 00:45:36,460 a colony of a different kind of ant. 372 00:45:39,460 --> 00:45:41,340 The nest is at the top of this tree. 373 00:45:44,340 --> 00:45:48,420 The defending black ants swarm down the tree trunk, 374 00:45:48,420 --> 00:45:50,460 and take up positions on the branches. 375 00:45:54,700 --> 00:45:57,540 But the army ants send in a legion. 376 00:45:59,860 --> 00:46:03,660 They lock jaws with the black ants and leap from the tree 377 00:46:03,660 --> 00:46:05,380 to take them out of the battle. 378 00:46:17,140 --> 00:46:20,740 Casualties on both sides rain down from the canopy. 379 00:46:28,020 --> 00:46:31,140 But the army ants don't want the adults. 380 00:46:37,780 --> 00:46:41,220 They are seeking the soft-skinned juicy larvae. 381 00:46:44,020 --> 00:46:47,940 A whole generation of white grubs is plundered. 382 00:46:54,260 --> 00:46:57,660 The spoils of the ant war are carried along trails 383 00:46:57,660 --> 00:46:59,740 leading back to the main colony. 384 00:47:02,180 --> 00:47:05,380 Other lines are fresh from other victories. 385 00:47:19,900 --> 00:47:23,620 The army ant raid is an unequalled phenomenon. 386 00:47:29,100 --> 00:47:32,420 Over a million hunters 387 00:47:32,420 --> 00:47:35,460 chasing hundreds of species of prey animals. 388 00:47:40,740 --> 00:47:46,140 By the time the super-organism returns to its nest each day, 389 00:47:46,140 --> 00:47:49,060 30,000 animals will have been caught. 390 00:47:52,700 --> 00:47:56,260 It's the largest hunt on Earth, 391 00:47:56,260 --> 00:47:59,020 executed by one of its smallest hunters. 392 00:48:02,540 --> 00:48:04,100 Hide and seek? 393 00:48:05,100 --> 00:48:06,620 Game over. 394 00:48:17,980 --> 00:48:21,180 How do you film a tiger hunting in the forest? 395 00:48:22,420 --> 00:48:24,900 That's the challenge the crew faced in India. 396 00:48:27,660 --> 00:48:30,620 Only a handful of tiger hunts have ever been filmed. 397 00:48:31,700 --> 00:48:36,500 So to film the world expert at hide and seek within the forest, 398 00:48:36,500 --> 00:48:39,500 the crew needed a revolutionary new approach. 399 00:48:47,260 --> 00:48:51,980 They put a stabilised cineflex camera on a crane on a Jeep. 400 00:48:53,500 --> 00:48:55,900 So this lets us put the camera right down on the deck 401 00:48:55,900 --> 00:48:58,060 to get a really nice low angle thought the forest. 402 00:48:58,060 --> 00:49:01,660 If we have to look over the foliage, then we can lift it up, um, 403 00:49:01,660 --> 00:49:05,260 basically try and keep the tigers in view for as long as possible. 404 00:49:05,260 --> 00:49:07,100 They concentrated their efforts 405 00:49:07,100 --> 00:49:10,660 on the territory of a female with four grown-up cubs. 406 00:49:12,380 --> 00:49:15,540 Actually mother and four cubs coming this side, 407 00:49:15,540 --> 00:49:18,660 going through this trail you can see behind. 408 00:49:18,660 --> 00:49:20,660 Right, I'm just going to show you something 409 00:49:20,660 --> 00:49:22,500 because it shocked me a little bit. 410 00:49:22,500 --> 00:49:23,940 That's leopard footprints. 411 00:49:25,100 --> 00:49:29,220 And right behind them, that's a tiger footprint. 412 00:49:29,220 --> 00:49:31,220 Biggest forest predator on Earth. 413 00:49:36,300 --> 00:49:39,780 With the last location of the mother and her cubs identified, 414 00:49:39,780 --> 00:49:41,780 the next step is to wait. 415 00:49:45,860 --> 00:49:49,500 In time, the forest will give away the tigers' location. 416 00:49:51,540 --> 00:49:54,180 VARIOUS ANIMALS CALL 417 00:49:54,180 --> 00:49:59,060 This side - a spotted deer giving an alarm call. 418 00:49:59,060 --> 00:50:01,100 We go to check, check there. 419 00:50:03,340 --> 00:50:08,220 These animal alarms signal where the tigers are and where they are going. 420 00:50:10,580 --> 00:50:12,060 DEER CALLS 421 00:50:12,060 --> 00:50:14,500 Alarm calls, getting nearer and nearer. 422 00:50:14,500 --> 00:50:17,180 It's like listening to approaching thunder. 423 00:50:22,060 --> 00:50:23,660 Finally! 424 00:50:38,260 --> 00:50:41,660 After a few precious moments, the tiger disappears again. 425 00:50:43,780 --> 00:50:47,900 It's very thick forest here. We can't see in, let alone film in. 426 00:50:47,900 --> 00:50:51,580 So we've got to have some way of getting in there safely 427 00:50:51,580 --> 00:50:53,940 so we can be near the tigers. 428 00:50:53,940 --> 00:50:56,060 Luckily, we've got just the thing. 429 00:50:57,580 --> 00:51:01,300 Months before the shoot, in England, work was under way to come up with 430 00:51:01,300 --> 00:51:05,260 a new answer to the problem of filming tigers in the forest. 431 00:51:06,500 --> 00:51:09,580 The best way of filming tigers is actually to be on an elephant, 432 00:51:09,580 --> 00:51:11,860 because tigers don't care about elephants. 433 00:51:11,860 --> 00:51:14,780 They're habituated to them. They don't mind. 434 00:51:14,780 --> 00:51:17,060 The idea was to move the cineflex camera 435 00:51:17,060 --> 00:51:19,020 from the Jeep to an elephant... 436 00:51:23,780 --> 00:51:28,220 using a bespoke device nicknamed the eleflex. 437 00:51:31,380 --> 00:51:33,540 That's brilliant! 438 00:51:33,540 --> 00:51:37,820 Built from lightweight aluminium, the eleflex weighs less than a man - 439 00:51:37,820 --> 00:51:41,060 no burden to an animal as large and strong as an elephant. 440 00:51:42,780 --> 00:51:44,900 I'll be sat on top of the elephant. 441 00:51:44,900 --> 00:51:46,020 Why? 442 00:51:46,020 --> 00:51:48,540 So I don't get eaten by a tiger. 443 00:51:51,100 --> 00:51:53,020 So what's our chief problems? 444 00:51:53,020 --> 00:51:54,540 We haven't got an elephant. 445 00:51:56,460 --> 00:51:58,100 After a series of tests, 446 00:51:58,100 --> 00:52:01,540 the eleflex is ready for its field trials in India. 447 00:52:03,060 --> 00:52:04,740 Like your new tripod, Jamie. 448 00:52:08,300 --> 00:52:12,540 Indian tiger parks routinely use domesticated elephants 449 00:52:12,540 --> 00:52:14,580 to patrol the forest for poachers. 450 00:52:16,180 --> 00:52:18,620 Gotham, a 65-year-old male, 451 00:52:18,620 --> 00:52:21,260 has worked with the park rangers all his life. 452 00:52:22,500 --> 00:52:25,620 Now, he's an integral member of a wildlife film crew. 453 00:52:36,020 --> 00:52:38,980 The device was designed to fit to the howdah, 454 00:52:38,980 --> 00:52:41,380 the huge saddle that elephants carry. 455 00:52:44,180 --> 00:52:47,660 Yeah, we definitely need a howdah that starts at a much higher angle. 456 00:52:47,660 --> 00:52:49,300 The field trials reveal 457 00:52:49,300 --> 00:52:52,380 that the eleflex needs a few structural adjustments. 458 00:52:56,820 --> 00:53:01,260 We're going to the next town here, um, just to find a metal worker 459 00:53:01,260 --> 00:53:03,500 who can help us strengthen it 460 00:53:03,500 --> 00:53:06,460 and a tailor to help us build some counterweight bags. 461 00:53:17,900 --> 00:53:19,580 So some new improvements, 462 00:53:19,580 --> 00:53:25,020 we've got the metalwork brace that we got made yesterday. 463 00:53:25,020 --> 00:53:28,380 On the other side, we've got some new weights made by the tailor. 464 00:53:28,380 --> 00:53:31,540 So all in all, I think we've got 465 00:53:31,540 --> 00:53:35,380 the howdah to balance perfectly straight now. 466 00:53:37,260 --> 00:53:38,620 Yeah, power up. 467 00:53:39,900 --> 00:53:43,460 It's time for Jamie to take the eleflex for a test drive. 468 00:54:03,060 --> 00:54:04,820 So I'm up on Gotham - 469 00:54:04,820 --> 00:54:08,100 it works a treat with the eleflex, as we're calling it. 470 00:54:08,100 --> 00:54:11,340 That means we can actually get off road and get into the forest 471 00:54:11,340 --> 00:54:13,540 and um, stick with the tigers. 472 00:54:13,540 --> 00:54:16,020 It's tricky, but it works. 473 00:54:16,020 --> 00:54:18,860 It really does. I think we're going to get some great stuff. 474 00:54:18,860 --> 00:54:20,780 Ready for all eventualities, 475 00:54:20,780 --> 00:54:24,540 the only thing left to do each day is find the tigers. 476 00:54:31,780 --> 00:54:35,700 Most days, however, the crew lose the game of hide and seek. 477 00:54:38,820 --> 00:54:41,220 I've never known a shoot quite like this. 478 00:54:41,220 --> 00:54:45,500 Never spent so little time with the animals we're trying to film. 479 00:54:45,500 --> 00:54:48,820 But every now and again, their luck changes. 480 00:54:48,820 --> 00:54:50,540 Found you! 481 00:54:52,180 --> 00:54:53,820 Just as slow as you can, Diggy. 482 00:55:00,740 --> 00:55:03,700 The game goes on for eight weeks. 483 00:55:08,460 --> 00:55:10,780 The crew throw everything at it. 484 00:55:12,780 --> 00:55:14,380 Actually, I'm being followed right now. 485 00:55:17,900 --> 00:55:20,220 Gradually, bit by bit, 486 00:55:20,220 --> 00:55:22,460 the sequence comes together 487 00:55:22,460 --> 00:55:26,180 until the only thing that evades them is a successful hunt. 488 00:55:34,420 --> 00:55:37,500 We were tracking her, 489 00:55:37,500 --> 00:55:41,340 and then we picked up two stags walking together, 490 00:55:41,340 --> 00:55:42,940 we couldn't see her at all 491 00:55:42,940 --> 00:55:44,940 and we followed the two stags then back towards her. 492 00:55:50,740 --> 00:55:52,220 We got a tiger kill. 493 00:55:53,740 --> 00:55:56,180 Yeah, amazing. Very exciting. 494 00:55:57,380 --> 00:56:01,180 The tiger hurriedly drags her kill out of the sight of rivals. 495 00:56:05,260 --> 00:56:08,140 But tigers don't regard elephants as rivals. 496 00:56:15,380 --> 00:56:17,700 The eleflex meant that we could get on to the elephant 497 00:56:17,700 --> 00:56:20,940 and we could go in with her and finish the sequence off. 498 00:56:23,020 --> 00:56:27,060 Grabbing a filming first is prize enough for the crew 499 00:56:27,060 --> 00:56:29,460 but Gotham deserves his reward. 500 00:56:32,060 --> 00:56:34,940 So that's what you need to play hide and seek with tigers! 501 00:56:34,940 --> 00:56:38,220 A lot of patience, Jeep, a fancy stabilised camera, 502 00:56:39,860 --> 00:56:43,300 an elephant and the luck of the gods. 503 00:56:43,300 --> 00:56:45,740 But um, came together. We managed to do it. 504 00:56:45,740 --> 00:56:47,260 Bye, Gotham. 505 00:56:51,620 --> 00:56:54,780 Next time, the hunt is on out in the open ocean, 506 00:56:54,780 --> 00:56:56,740 where prey is so scarce 507 00:56:56,740 --> 00:57:00,940 that predators are locked in a constant search for food. 508 00:57:08,260 --> 00:57:12,220 Yet this is home to the most remarkable hunters, 509 00:57:12,220 --> 00:57:14,980 including the mighty blue whale. 510 00:57:16,420 --> 00:57:19,860 For a free interactive Open University poster, call: 511 00:57:24,220 --> 00:57:26,380 Or go to: 512 00:57:28,380 --> 00:57:31,220 and follow the links to the Open University.