Lion Transformations (Full Episode) | Built for the Kill | Nat Geo Animals

Narrator: This is a lion, 400 pounds of muscle, teeth, and claw. This is a lion cub, 4 pounds of blind toothless fluff. It's no natural born killer. Lions have to learn how to hunt. To survive, lions combine super senses with incredible strength, to become the king of the jungle, Built for the Kill. The savannah of Africa home of the ultimate showdown. An elephant can be 30 times bigger than a lion. Once it was thought their massive size made them immune from attack. But nobody told the lions. No ordinary predator would take on an elephant. This epic battle is the culmination of years of intensive training. a grudge match that began the moment the cubs were born. A lion enters the world blind and helpless. It can't walk, let alone hunt. Lion cubs are built to be killed. Elephants hate lions. Given the chance, they'd stomp the cubs into a bloody pulp. At this age, the cub has only two skills: hiding and drinking milk. The mighty Lion is born toothless. The transformation of this helpless cub into an accomplished killer takes two years. Two years of being bitten, bashed, kicked, crushed and sprayed. More than half of all lions die before their first birthday. Cubs have to fight to survive, so from the moment they can crawl, they start practicing. Attacking dad is easy, hunting on the plains of Africa is hard. Prey must be fast, predators faster. So the lion must get close to kill. Keeping her body low, she locks onto her target with eyes that are built for scanning the savannah. In this flat land, her prey appears on the horizon. Our human eyes see best in the center circle of vision. But the lion sees differently. Her detailed view is elongated into a strip, perfect for following prey moving across the horizon. The zebra's eyes respond best to movement. So the lion freezes and uses all available cover. She appears obvious to us, but the zebra mostly sees in shades of yellow and blue. She turns her foot, as fur is quieter. Lions are sprinters, not stayers. In the Serengeti, a single lion's strike rate is less than 20%. So the lions have developed another strategy. Females use cooperation as a weapon. They're working moms, and they leave the cubs in daycare. Lessons on how to hunt as a pride can wait until they've stopped drinking milk. Working together almost doubles the lion's strike rate. They fan out, blocking the exits. There are no calls, no signals. Just an instinctive awareness of each other's position. Each lioness now watches for her own chance to attack. All it takes is one zebra to stray into the 50 yard kill zone. Catching prey is one thing. Killing is another. The prey has to be subdued fast and the lion has to avoid being injured in the process. But the big cats are built for the kill. Their huge paws are tipped with claws that would make Freddy Krueger proud. Their versatile teeth seize prey and slice flesh. The powerful jaws close around the throat, crushing the windpipe, constricting air and blood flow. If the prey's up close, they rely on their sensitive whiskers. When cats kill, the bristles turn inwards. They sense when the prey stops breathing, when it's safe to let go. Killing's hard work, and lions overheat easily. If their body temperature rises too high, they risk heat exhaustion and death. That's one reason why lions hunt when the sun goes down. Narrator: Lions love the night. Under cover of darkness, lions creep closer to the kill zone. In daylight, lions see as well as humans, but in low light, their vision is six times as sensitive. Both lions and wildebeest have a mirror-like membrane at back of their eyeball, reflecting light back into the sensitive cells. The night belongs to the lions. Only when the kill's stopped kicking will a female bring the cubs to feed. Dad lets them eat a little meat get a taste for blood and practice their hunting skills. This impala's in shock. It won't fight back. Other animals will, so the cub needs to learn fast. Female lions do their best to teach their cubs how to hunt. But usually they learn by trial and error mostly error. Cubs learn the hard way that some animals are too small, others are too tough and some are too dangerous. To a young lion, anything that runs away is toast. But a mongoose can call for back up. Banding together, they form a mega-mongoose. The king of the jungle just got its butt kicked by something that looks like an overgrown rat. But the cub learned from the experience. It'll spend the next year testing its skills, preparing for bigger challenges. Physically, these young lions look capable of killing. But like teenagers everywhere, they've way more enthusiasm than ability. It'll be another year before they'll make a solo kill. Until then, sometimes even the puniest animals are beyond them. Impala may be small, but they're not stupid. They stay close to their eyes in the sky. The secret to the lion's success is sneaking up on the prey without being seen. So when the young lions start their charge from a quarter of a mile away, the results are predictable. What a young lion lacks in smarts, it makes up for in sheer enthusiasm. If it can't catch an impala, there's always that meddling baboon. There's a reason why adult lions rarely chase baboons up trees, and this cub is going to learn the hard way. A persistent lion is pelted with sticks. And if that doesn't work, the baboon breaks out its secret weapon. Nothing like the contents of a baboon's bladder to spoil your appetite. Narrator: For young lions, killing is mostly a spectator sport. They learn what to attack, and from what distance, by watching the adults. Mom does her best to help with remedial hunting lessons. The baby warthog's barely a mouthful for mom, but it's a great teaching aide. Fortunately for the piglet, the cubs still have much to learn. But it won't be long before they take on one of the most dangerous animals in Africa. At 18 months old, the young lions are bigger and stronger, but they still have a lot to learn. They're now bold, bored, and looking for trouble. But even experienced hunters think twice about taking on what could be the greatest animal defense force on the planet. You think lions are king of the jungle? Well, they can get their butt kicked by a cow. Admittedly it's a big cow. The African buffalo1500 pounds of badass beef. Attack one buffalo and the herd rush to the rescue. If a herd stumbles upon a pride of sleeping lions, the best form of defense is attack. As the cubs scramble for shelter, the adults try distracting the bulls. But it's no use. The old bulls stamp out the next generation of lions. When the cubs stop moving, the buffalo lose interest. Mothers call for their cubs. But three young lions will never hunt again. Few animals can take on a pride of lions and win. Thanks to its leathery hide, the buffalo's basically a battleship on four legs, yet it's surprisingly fast and light on its feet. So when teenage lions start making moves on an old bull, the buffalo essentially laughs in their faces. He turns and bares his butt the ultimate insult. It's as if the buffalo's saying, 'bring it on!' Narrator: Teenage lions can't resist a challenge. Mom sits back and watches. The cubs will learn and the lesson will be painful. The cubs are doomed. They're attacking as individuals. Alone, they're no match for the wily old buffalo. And then reinforcements arrive. Outnumbered and out-muscled, the lions have to take to the trees. Besieged, the lions will have to wait until the buffaloes lose interest. The cubs pay a heavy price for their bravado. Humbled, hurt and hungry, they sit back to watch and learn. The adults step up to the plate. Lions need smarts to be successful. Getting close enough to kill means using all available cover. To have any chance of success, they must separate individuals from the herd. The cubs watch and learn. As the buffalo get nervous they spread out. Big mistake. They're losing the defensive advantage of being in a group. The pride circles the herd, taking up positions to attack. One lion makes her move, herding the buffalo into an ambush. They've found their target. And when the buffalo attempts to rejoin the rest of the herd, they cut it off. Now the lions attack as a group. They concentrate on the rear of the animal, biting down on the backbone, weakening the buffalo so they can pull it to the ground. At the same time, lions distract the buffalo, keeping the others out of reach of those lethal horns. It has enormous stamina. An hour later, the buffalo is dead. There's enough beef here to feed the pride for several days. The teenagers join the feast. It won't be long before they're physically and mentally built for the kill. Narrator: The lion cubs are now two years old. They're almost fully grown and have an ego to match. So this time when the elephants return, things are different. It's a lethal game of chicken, but there can only be one winner. In the light of day, the elephants are just too big and strong. So for now, the lion's attention switches from the biggest animal in Africa to the tallest. Giraffes present lions with a unique challenge how do you apply a choke hold to a throat that's 15 feet off the ground? The lion's plan is simple single out an individual, then try to knock it over. A single kick can shatter a lion's skull or break its spine. The other option is to herd the giraffe onto a slippery surface like a road or a river. In its panic this giraffe slipped and broke a leg. It just can't lift its one ton bulk and in just a few minutes, the giraffe drowns in ankle-deep water. The carcass will feed the pride for days. The time has come for the young lions to earn their keep. They need to make a kill of their own. After two years of intensive training, you'd think it would be easy. Narrator: This young male spent three weeks trying to make his first solo kill. And for three weeks, he was dramatically unsuccessful. The camera recorded some of his more spectacular failures. He lost his target in the dust, time for a drink. This time he left himself too much ground to cover, more water. Now he failed to pick his target early enough. There's nothing like a kick to the head to make a lion lose focus. After three weeks of embarrassing failure, finally the young lion puts it all together. It will be another two years before the lions have cubs of their own. And in that time, they'll become a vital part of the pride, hunting as a unit to bring down prey too big and too dangerous to hunt alone. And nothing is bigger and more dangerous than an elephant. Not all lions are equipped to take on the largest animal in Africa. Only one specialized, highly experienced population has learned how to kill elephants. And their every move as a predator stems from behavior learned and perfected as a cub. The attack begins with psychological warfare. The roaring in the dark intimidates and confuses the elephants. Compared to the lion's night vision, the elephants are virtually blind. In the confusion, an individual makes a dash for safety, bad move. With their excellent night vision, the lions attack as a group. Targeting the hind legs, they bite and claw at the elephant's hamstrings. It takes only 60 seconds to pull an elephant to the ground. Lions clamp shut its trunk, while others attack the throat and mouth. It takes 90 minutes for the elephant to die Bringing down an elephant is an extraordinary achievement. It's the result of the lions' amazing behavioral flexibility and unique social system. Their immense strength and sophisticated hunting skills, honed over two years of experimentation, combine to make lions truly, Built For the Kill.