Battle Ready (Full Episode) | Animal Fight Night Compilation | Nat Geo Animals

All over the world, species clash in nature's savage battle of survival. (roaring) In tropical jungles, under blue seas, and on the open plains, all are locked in deadly conflict. Animals fight tooth and claw to win food, territory and rights to the bloodline. From the forests of Asia, to the wilds of Africa, there are no rules. (growling) This is Animal Fight Night. In the forests of India, the real king of the jungle attacks a sloth bear mom. (roar) But she is no easy meal. The sloth bear has an identity crisis. First thought to be a sloth, it acts more like an anteater. Its 3-inch claws crack rock-hard earth to find termites. A gap in its front teeth helps suck them up. And its sloth-like shaggy coat shields against insect bites. Cubs live with mom for almost 3 years. And she's fiercely protective. But the forest hides deadlier foes than other bears. A Bengal tiger, 500 pounds of ambush assassin, can strike at 35 miles an hour and break a neck with a sudden bite. And he has spotted this 3-year-old sloth bear cub. (purring) To the tiger, he's cat food. But it won't come cheap. (shrieking) Mom throws herself in harm's way. The tiger searches for her neck. But mom squirms free. At less than half his weight, she has to go big. When threatened, sloth bears charge and stand tall to intimidate. It's a bluff. And it works, for now. Mom must make sure he doesn't sneak back. (barking) She risks her own life to protect her cub, but pushes the cat too far. His lightning reactions are hardwired. If his teeth find their target, she's dead. Her cub can only watch. But the tiger tires. And mom seizes her moment. She's injured, but drives the predator back. The tiger, again, calls her bluff. She charges with her last ounce of strength. ♪ ♪ A tiger can swipe with 10 times the force of a heavyweight boxer. But he's unbalanced, and just tags skin. This bear ain't worth the fight. Nature's battles aren't always won by size. It's the risks you're prepared to take... on land or in the ocean. The warm waters of Hawaii are an inviting aquatic paradise. But don't be fooled. Everywhere you turn, it's eat or get eaten; kill or be killed. Living in a tough neighborhood, the day octopus has amazing survival superpowers. Sophisticated skin cells, called chromatophores, allow the eight-armed wonder to change color, instantly camouflaging itself. It has no internal or external skeleton, allowing it to squeeze through the smallest gaps. The octopus is one of Mother Nature's most versatile creations. But to a yellow-edged moray eel, he's a ready-filleted pack of protein. Color-changing camouflage is wasted on this assassin. With poor eyesight, moray eels rely on their excellent sense of smell to hunt in the dark. This one is working the day shift. He must be hungry! First attack and the octopus loses a tentacle. But it'll take more than a bite to take down the master of defense! The octopus fights back. His tentacles boast powerful suckers that hold the eel tight. A moray eel's bite packs a terrifying secret. Backwards-pointing teeth grip the octopus firm, while a second set of jaws shoots forward, and drags flesh deeper into his throat to eat. But the octopus has his own eerie trick. Two thirds of his neurons are in his arms, which means they can taste, touch and control basic motions independently from his brain. So his severed arm can squeeze the moray's face, despite being completely detached from his body. Unable to swim free, the moray executes plan B. He uses his powerful muscles to unseat the stubborn octopus. The defender unleashes another superpower. The cloud of black ink confuses the moray, and the octopus flees. Accelerating rapidly by forcing water through his muscular funnel. He won't worry about his absent arm. Already a color-changing, shape-shifting, ink-squirting, jet-propelled superhero, octopuses can also re-grow missing limbs! This assassin will need to look elsewhere for his next meal. But some battles are not about food. In the mountains of northern Pakistan, one animal plays out a deadly drama of sex and survival. The markhor is a menacing member of the goat family. They combine goat-like aggression with antelope agility. They're expert mountaineers, equipped to climb sheer cliffs. Males have some of the longest horns of all goats, rising up to 5 feet. They use them for dislodging foliage and nuts. But in the mating season they're deadly weapons in a battle royale. This combat veteran thinks he's got what it takes to be the last goat standing. Winner takes all of the local females. But a mistimed blow could be deadly. The brutal veteran powers through the field. The bachelors back off one by one. But one challenger won't be intimidated. The veteran looks down on him. It's the final showdown. The veteran markhor tries to batter his challenger off the face of the mountain. Horns smash with a force of around a ton. And on higher ground, the veteran is gravity-assisted. There's nearly 25% more force in his blow. But this challenger has a do-or-die plan. His nimble feet track their way up a tree trunk. It's a solid backstop. The battering markhor veteran hits a brick wall. And his challenger grabs the high ground... to give his opponent the drop... big time. Victory ensures access to the females, but the veteran pays a heavy price for pride before his fall. Many fights are over the right to mate, but it's double trouble when it comes to protecting the babies you already have. On this savanna in eastern Africa, a herd of elegant Thomson's gazelles is grazing on the abundant grasses. One of the smallest gazelles in Africa, they are exceptionally fast runners. But that's not always enough. They are a favorite meal for hunters. Sharing the savanna with olive baboons gives the gazelles extra protection. Highly organized, the monkey guards sound the alarm at incoming predators. (lion growling) But it's not a foolproof neighborhood watch. These baboons are omnivores and opportunists; wolves in sheep's clothing. Today, this solitary baboon wants more than just shrubs for dinner. A highly intelligent and crafty primate, he plays a casual stealth game. He's not as fast as the gazelles, so he needs to get as close as possible. The fawn seems oblivious to the danger. As the baboon zeroes in, the fawn instinctively senses trouble. The fawn is fast, but the baboon is hungry. He gives chase. The mother sees the danger too late. Now she must fight for her young, and a desperate mother will do anything. Her pencil-thin, sharp horns make a powerful double weapon. (screech) The baboon's hands are like humans', so he has a strong grip on the young gazelle. (screeching) If mom can pierce his skin, he may drop the fawn. Success! (fawn cries) But the infant is too dazed to move. And mom can't keep the baboon away. make up over 30% of an olive baboon's diet. This mother has paid a heavy price... (fawn crying) ...for the baboon warning system. But not heeding a warning can also have a deadly outcome. In Japan lives the largest hornet in the world, the Japanese giant hornet. This adult female is aggressive and fearless, and a colossal two inches long. Her body is an artillery of deadly weapons. She's got a quarter-inch stinger that pumps out venom that can dissolve human tissue. Her scissor-like jaws are half the size of her head, the equivalent of a human having five-inch teeth. Supported by enormous cheek muscles, they can rip her enemies to shreds. And she works with a swarm of 30 fellow hornets. When these voracious predators strike, it usually results in a massacre. But even prolific killers meet their match, eventually. This nest is home to 100 giant Japanese hornets, the offspring of one queen. The entire future of the nest depends on the survival of these monsters, the hornet's royal babies. Just a few weeks old, these insatiable eating machines are already close to the size of an adult. Their favorite meal: honeybees. To keep up with their enormous demand, adult hornets launch daily raids on nearby hives. They can decapitate a bee with just one bite of their powerful jaws at a devastating rate of 40 honeybees a minute. The raiding party's scout hornet is on a mission to find more bees. This honeybee colony is right on her flight path. They're about to become royal baby food. The guard honeybees raise the alarm. Within a matter of seconds, it's red alert. There are 30,000 honeybees in this colony. Just 30 hornets could wipe them out in under 3 hours. Outside, the scout hornet leaves a scent mark, so that she can return with reinforcements, but she can't resist a sneaky look inside. The bees are ready for her. Five times lighter, a Japanese honeybee is no match for the giant Japanese hornet. But working together, Japanese honeybees create a unique weapon unequaled in the animal kingdom. And they're about to unleash it. They start to flap their wings. The hornet ignores the warning. She's too busy decapitating the bees to notice the ambush. (buzzing) 500 bees pile onto her, all relentlessly flapping their wings. This creates tremendous heat. They are unstoppable. The temperature is rising fast and there's no escape. These thermal images show the hornet trapped inside the ball of honeybees. It's 100 degrees and rising. The bees are so tightly packed that the heat has nowhere to go. The hornet is in a bee fireball. But this is a dangerous game. The bees could overheat, too. The hornet will die at 116 degrees; the bees at 122 degrees. That's a precious six-degree margin that gives them the advantage. Inside the bee ball, the temperature hits fatal. Thanks to their extraordinary teamwork, in just ten minutes, the Japanese honeybees roast the hornet alive. But this mob of honeybees leaves nothing to chance. They remove the hornet's scent so that none of her family can come after her. Every trace of the lone assassin is wiped from the face of the Earth. Even the deadliest of lone assassins needs an escape route. Especially when they're heading straight into danger. The rock python, the largest snake on the African continent, reaches 25 feet in length. Up to 15,000 muscles creep him forward. He slithers at just one mile per hour, but has a lightning strike. He ambushes prey off their guard or asleep. His coils constrict and kill. Six rows of needle-sharp teeth fasten down to consume a 120-pound antelope. His girth expands as he swallows it whole, like a runway model gaining a 6-foot waistline. He's even been known to eat a leopard. So python is not normally on that big cat's hit list. But nobody told this leopard. The snake's sneaked into her territory. And she'll risk her life to keep him out. (hiss) Two deadly predators are locked in an unlikely conflict. The leopard zeroes in on the rock python... and strikes. The python fires back. Snakes can strike in less than 70 milliseconds. But the leopard won't back down. The python retreats, but maxing out at one mile per hour, it's a slow getaway. The leopard strikes at his tail. It curls tightly. He's hurt. He heads for cover. But the cat drags him back. (growl) The python must stand and fight for his life. He targets the head, and hits home. The leopard needs to keep out of range. If the snake's bite holds, she's in trouble. His coils will come into play. Now it's clear why she's taking risks: She has a cub. (hissing) A python might balk at tackling a large adult leopard. But a sleeping cub could be a fur-lined snack. The mom slashes again, smacking down on the snake's skull. The injured python launches an all-out attack. (hiss, growl) Needle-sharp teeth latch on, but he's too weak to follow through. He's in death throes. The cub gets a rare chance to eat python. It's been a valuable lesson that could one day save his life. Some animals hunt. And some just steal. Even in the Caribbean Sea, there are thieves. Birds too lazy to do their own fishing. (shriek) Around Little Tobago, red-billed tropic birds soar above the water, searching for fish. It's breeding season, and parents split their duties. While one protects the chick, the other travels far offshore to gather food. With a fish safely stored in his crop, the tropic bird has to get back to the island. But he's being followed... ...by thieves. And they plan to steal his baby food. They are the magnificent frigate bird. With the largest wing area to body mass ratio of any bird, they silently glide the thermals, snatching their prey from the sea's surface and the seashore. They are the real pirates of the Caribbean. They force other birds to give up their catch. Their scissor-shaped tail and long, angular wings make frigate birds masters of aerial combat. This one goes after the red-billed tropic's baby food. (squawking) By holding the tropic's tail, he can force it to drop its fish. It's one-nothing to the frigate. With a new fish in his gullet, the tropic tries again. Outmaneuvering the bigger bird. But now there are two. Two-nothing to the frigates If the chick's ever gonna get fed, dad must become top gun. He's going for third time lucky. But this time the dad flies close to the water to force the frigate bird low. With very little oil in her feathers, the frigate bird isn't water-repellent. She can't afford to dip her wings in the sea. It works. Once the tropic reaches the cliffs, his catch is safe. (chirping) But this red-billed tropic chick is hungry. It's still two-one Top gun dad has many more missions to fly. Sometimes you get baby food, and sometimes you become baby food. (roaring, trumpeting) African elephants are the biggest mothers that walk the Earth. They're near indestructible titans. But calves start out around 40 times lighter than mom, and they need to watch out. A 10-year-old female searches for water with her herd. Adults need to drink almost 50 gallons every day. Highly protective females lead these tight family groups. Today the herd keeps a watchful eye while the youngster drinks. Elephant's trunks can suck up around 3 gallons of water at a time to squirt into their mouths to drink. But this essential multi-tool is also a nose, an alarm call, and a powerful arm. About the only thing it can't do... ...is see. (trumpeting) A Nile crocodile. Males defend their territory aggressively. A croc's bite pressure is 7 times greater than a lion's. The little one's trunk may have the thinnest skin on her body, but it, too, can be a weapon. The trunk has 8 major muscles on each side. Muscles running around the trunk control the volume of the nasal passages and suck up water, while those running lengthwise move the trunk in all directions. In an adult, they're strong enough to kill a lion with a single blow. The youngster thrashes a ton of angry croc. If she's pulled into the river, she'll be in the reptile's domain. In water, a croc's trademark kill strategy is the death roll. It drags victims underwater and spins them with such force that it can dismember their bodies. Without a trunk, the youngster is unlikely to survive. Panic spreads in the herd. But that super strong arm now has the croc out of its territory. Mom's protective instinct kicks in. The croc loosens its grip. And mom's tusks add some not-so-gentle persuasion. The youngster learns that her most vulnerable asset can be her best defense. A lone predator can strike in a flash. But when your gang is over a thousand strong, making decisions ain't easy. Cape buffalo, though, have it covered, through peace or war! When it's time to travel, females favor the democratic approach, and vote. There's no ballot box on the Serengeti, so they stand up, each facing the direction they want to move in. Majority rules. Problem amicably solved. Males on the other hand, can be less diplomatic. It's the breeding season. Testosterone levels rise by up to ten times. Hyped-up bulls turn on each other. (bellows) And these two Cape buffalo are about to put each other to the test. Around seven years old, the challenger is entering his prime. But the older, stockier bull isn't ready to retire just yet. The winner takes all and gets mating rights to the herd. The old bull takes almost a ton of speeding buffalo squarely on his boss. It's a thick layer of fibrous skin that protects bone and brain beneath it; a built-in shock absorber. The youngster changes tactics. But the old bull gets a hook under the challenger's horns, and tries to break his neck. The challenger has a trick of his own, sweeping the old bull into a leg lock. Throw the old timer off balance, and the fight is over. But the old bull fights back, more fiercely than ever. Too fiercely; his horn shears clean off. (crunch) Cape buffalo fights can turn bloody. Pumped on testosterone, the old bull breaks his horn. As the horn snaps... it exposes the network of blood vessels and nerves. Even in the heat of battle, the bull must be in serious pain. The youngster tries to push home his advantage. But the old boy battles on, showing no signs of defeat. After 15 minutes, the fight grinds to a halt. It seems like a stalemate. But the youngster is running on empty. Just a glance is enough to see him off. Against the odds, the wounded old bull has won and kept control of the herd. But in Africa, the fight is never over. Battles in nature often call for teeth, claws or horns. But some creatures come armed with pretty unusual weapons. On the coral reef, two worms fight a battle of the sexes with their penises... all four of them. Flatworms are hermaphrodites. Each have male and female sex organs. When they mate, they battle with their double-barreled penises to determine who becomes mom and who's the daddy. The loser must bear the young, while the winner floats off, fancy-free. Two flatworms square up, weapons drawn. One attempts a stab. It's a miss. The aim is to use their spiked penises to pierce the skin. This injects sperm into the body. The sperm works its way to the unfertilized eggs, distributed throughout the flatworm's body. It's known as traumatic insemination. The ejaculate contains components that dissolve skin tissue. It can cause flesh wounds. Battles can last an hour. Just one stab is enough to impregnate. Finally, one opponent delivers the winning injection. The penetrated flatworm is now mommy dearest and will have all the parental responsibilities. Daddy's work is done here. But daddy will stay armed for battle, with his weapons at the ready. When it to comes to nature's most unusual weapons, this is among the most lethal. And it belongs to this scorpion. A real driller killer. Like all scorpions, it has a venomous sting. And it uses this deadly weapon to paralyze prey. Because this scorpion likes its dinner so fresh, it's still breathing. But the driller killer isn't the only hunter on the prowl. A rampaging mammal is also looking for its next meal. The desert shrew. A real American psycho. He has a heart rate of 800 beats a minute driving his ultra-fast metabolism. 12 times faster than a human. Living on a calorific knife edge. The shrew burns so much energy, if it misses one meal, it drops dead. It must eat every three hours or die. So you really don't want to be around this guy when he's hungry. Two stone cold killers are on a collision course, but only one of them will get out alive. The shrew has an immediate disadvantage. His eyesight is so bad he can barely see his opponent. And the driller killer has some deadly equipment. An external skeleton made up of segmented plates like a gladiator's armor means that during a fight the scorpion can twist and turn like an acrobat. Around 40 muscles propel his venom-tipped stinger forward in a split second. But the shrew has lightning-fast reflexes, and amazingly, uses echolocation, like a bat, to transmit and receive soundwaves to pinpoint his opponent. The driller killer throws everything it has at the shrew. But the American psycho is just too quick. His ultra-fast heart rate and echolocation allow him to dodge the killer's stinger. He lands bite after bite on the scorpion with pincer-like front teeth. Designed for catching and chewing prey. He's the perfect serial killer. The scorpion is exhausted. Like his defeated enemy, the psycho shrew also likes to eat his opponents alive. This time, the driller killer gets the horror movie ending.