Tropic Thunder (Full Episode) | World's Deadliest Compilation | Nat Geo Animals

As temperatures rise, so does the danger. In the jungles, rain forests and tropics all over the world predators turn up the heat. (music) (growl) The Amazon of South America, the greatest rain forest on Earth. A haven for creatures of the trees, and a paradise for terrestrial predators. But for half the year, this primeval jungle is invaded by water. Aquatic predators invade the canopy, and all the rules change. Each year around November, everything changes in the Amazon Rain Forest. (thunder) Torrential rains cause a thousand rivers to overflow their banks and flood vast areas. Over 100,000 square miles of jungle are submerged by up to 40 feet. The trees of the jungle become an eerie underwater forest. The balance of power between land and water changes. The creatures of the trees must retreat... or swim. And aquatic predators invade the flooded jungle. Giant otters, also known as river wolves. Up to six feet long, armed with sharp teeth and highly intelligent. During these wet months, they're among the top carnivores of the Amazon. They may look cute, but if you're a fish, they're your worst nightmare. Just like their namesake on the land, river wolves hunt as a pack. Giant otters eat 10% of their body weight in fresh fish every day, over two pounds' worth. Their powerful jaws chomp through scales and bone. The otter's leftovers soon attract an animal whose very name creates terror: the dreaded piranha. It's inspired Hollywood horror movies and a million campfire tales. But how much of their horrifying reputation is true? As a pack, piranha take on prey 10 times their size. As the rivers crest their banks and flood the land, piranha follow. The rain brings a bumper crop of prey. Great white egrets, nesting in the only dry place left. Awkward young egrets aren't ready to fly, so if they lose their balance, they're goners. Like sharks, piranha have sensors that detect other creatures' movements. Once blood is shed, piranha can detect a drop of blood from two miles away. Thrashing only draws more piranha. All that's left is pillow stuffing. Their name comes from two native words: pira, meaning fish; and anha, meaning teeth. And no wonder. Their teeth are triangular, interlocking and dense. And so sharp, they can cut a steel fishing line. But the fish with the monstrous reputation is actually small: on average, about as long as a pencil. So piranha school for the same reasons other fish do: safety in numbers. When rivers are high, food is plentiful. But beware the dry season. As the land dries out, rivers retreat into oxbows and ponds. Confined to a natural fishbowl, piranha will go after anything they can sink their teeth into. Injured piranha are quickly cannibalized. As for those legendary attacks on humans... rare. And no one has ever documented a human being killed by a piranha attack. Piranhas may be the most infamous, but there are many other kinds of strange and dangerous fish in these waters. When the floodwaters come again, land animals climb to safety. During the dry season, this insect had to evade monkeys and birds trying to eat it. But now, there's a whole new league of predators after it, attacking from unexpected directions. The arowana fish is also known as the water monkey. Usually, they eat smaller fish, but during the great Amazon flood, their menu options expand. A hungry, three-foot-long arowana patrols close to the surface, scanning for prey. Once locked onto its target, it launches itself like a missile... and makes a meal of an unsuspecting land dweller. But when it comes to being an elite predator, size is truly everything. The biggest predatory fish in the flooded Amazon is the legendary pirarucu. Fully grown, they can be 10 feet long and weigh 400 pounds, one of the largest freshwater fish in the world. Pirarucu lurk in the shadows, then snatch their prey with blinding speed. Victims on the surface are sucked into their mouths by a whirlpool. There is no escape. It's survived and stalked these waters since the time of the dinosaurs. Its success comes from primitive but lifesaving abilities. Pirarucu are one of the very few fish that can directly breathe air. They surface like marine mammals and gulp in a big mouthful. Even when waters dry up or become dangerously low in oxygen, the giant fish can still survive and hunt. In fact, they are so dependent on breathing air they will drown if they stay underwater too long. After six months of aquatic creatures dominating the flooded jungle, the tables slowly turn. The rain dries up, and so does the forest. Water levels drop by 40 feet in some places. Monkeys and other terrestrial animals return. Predatory fish must retreat to the permanent rivers before it's too late. Fearsome hunters flap helplessly and slowly die, leaving a feast for black vultures and other scavengers of the land. This piranha goes down fighting. Predators of the land regain their dominance until next year, when the floods return. In the southern jungles, there's a stealthy predator that turns up the heat in unusual ways. The jaguar. This tropical cat has one very un-catlike characteristic. He likes to swim. (purring) The jaguar lives throughout South and Central America. But no matter what the region, you'll always find this feline down by the waterfront. An excellent swimmer, he cruises through the water to hunt his surprising food of choice... fish. Today, however, the jaguar is going for a meal with more fat on it. With a keen sense of sight, he spots something moving across a small pond. The peccary takes notice of the jaguar, but goes back to his own business. After all, why would he worry? There's a whole body of water between them, and cats don't swim, right? Silently, he glides to the other side, within striking distance of his unsuspecting meal. (snorts) (squealing) His con successful, a hearty meal for the aqua cat. But even the best grifters can pick the wrong mark. (growling) In the world's largest swamp, the tables are often turned on a fearsome aquatic reptile. These waterways are the domain of the caiman. Caiman are powerful predators, but in this steamy blend of land and water, they're not the top of the food chain. A full-grown jaguar is also a formidable predator. (squawking) They've been known to eat over 85 different species of prey, on both land and in the water, including the caiman. The stealthy cat spots a caiman sunning itself. The reptile basks, unaware death is approaching on silent paws. The caiman is no match for the immensely powerful jaguar. The jaguar sinks its canines into the reptile's skull and crushes it with one bite-- a trademark move, and unique among the big cats. In this swampy battlefield, you never know if you're on the menu. There are 10 million caiman in Brazil's Pantanal. Mostly, they eat fish. But today, he's got his eye on something bigger... A capybara, the world's biggest rodent. The capybara's only defense is to flee. It has no chance against the agile and speedy reptile. With a full belly, the caiman rests and digests, unaware that it's being watched by another cold-blooded killer that lurks in this vast quagmire. The yellow anaconda. Huge and powerful, up to 15 feet long. He's a stealthy, solitary hunter that is fully at home in the water. He silently stalks and ambushes the caiman from below. The anaconda relentlessly tightens its grip, squeezing away the helpless caiman's last few breaths. The snake's reward is a belly that won't need filling for months. In this deadly swamp, the hunter can easily become the hunted. (birds calling) But there is an even bigger danger waiting to surface. Hot and steamy summers in South America bring out the big predators. But one of the biggest is the green anaconda. This is one of the most massive snakes on Earth. It weighs over 200 pounds and measures close to 20 feet long. (birds chirping) To support this bulk, it spends almost all of its time in and around water. Here, it can use stealth to its advantage. Camouflaged to blend into plant-choked water, the anaconda usually waits for prey to come to it. But when it's hungry, it searches for a meal. On the flooded plain, the anaconda is another predator with a taste for capybara. The capybaras' diet consists of mostly of aquatic plants, so they spend a lot of time near water. Prime hunting ground for the anaconda. Underwater, it can stalk without being seen, poking its head up just long enough to gauge the distance. Then it waits... lying in ambush. The capybara is within range. The anaconda strikes, latching on with six rows of teeth, coiling itself around the large rodent. Every time the capybara exhales, the anaconda tightens its grip. It constricts the blood flow to the capybara's heart causing cardiac arrest. The anaconda can't tear its prey apart, so it has to somehow fit the entire four-foot meal into its stomach at one time. Its lower jaw is not fused to its skull. The jaw separates in the middle and flexible ligaments permit the jaw to open extra wide. The remarkably elastic jaw and teeth that bend backward allow the anaconda to engulf its prey in one gigantic bite. It's a huge meal. The anaconda will rest, digesting its catch for more than two weeks. A capybara this size will satisfy it for months, but eventually it will need to feed again, and nothing will be safe from the ultimate death squeeze. The anaconda isn't the only big time solitary hunter in the tropics. An impressive symbol of grace, confidence, and power... ...this superior hunter rules his sweltering domain. The royal Bengal tiger, and no one is going to cramp his style. A real loner, he not only lives by himself, but aggressively marks wide swaths of territory to keep others away. (roar) But whether you want to call him antisocial or just self-reliant, there's at least one activity where this cat needs to be around other animals... ...when he's killing them. He heads out on the hunt, and since he only eats about every nine days, it better be something big. With 100 unique black stripes, he creeps undetected through the tall grass. His razor-sharp sense of hearing picks up movement nearby. A chital deer, who today, chose the wrong path. He creeps forward until he's about 20 to 30 feet away. Then he makes his move. This audience can only watch as the Bengal clutches the chital with his canine teeth. And he takes him off to eat, alone, just how he likes it. It's not just the big guns who can turn up the heat in these steamy settings. Chameleons use camouflage for both offense and defense in their environments. The newborn is vulnerable. It could make an easy meal for a snake. It seeks protection immediately. Strong natural instincts guide this master of disguise. With a relatively thin and flat body, and skin color that can adjust to its surroundings, predators often mistake it for either a leaf or an extension of a tree branch. The ruse continues when it travels. Jerky, back-and-forth movements once again mimic a fluttering leaf, concealing it not only from predators, but also prey. Its eyes move nearly 180 degrees independently to target its victims. Once in range, it strikes. Camouflage is only one part of its arsenal. A chameleon's tongue is a concealed weapon. Adult chameleons can reach 27 inches in length. And their tongues may grow one and a half times the length of their bodies. The knob-like tip is coated in mucus that sticks to prey. It strikes faster than you can see in real time. This hit took about 30-thousandths of a second. The chameleon isn't the only tropical hunter to come in a small, weird package. This tree-dweller, called a tarsier, may look like the illegitimate lovechild of an owl and an Ewok, but don't let his looks deceive you. His gravity-defying aerial skills make him one of the most successful hunters in the animal world. Tarsiers are primates and related to humans. The resemblance is best seen in the animals' hands, but they have an appetite their cousins can't match. They're the only entirely carnivorous primate in the world. Which means to survive, a tarsier better be a good hunter, and that's where his agility comes in handy. The tarsier's legs make up about a quarter of the weight of their entire body. And the tarsal heel bone on their feet is so long, it gives the animal its name. Add in the long, tapered hands for gripping, and you have a predator capable of soaring over 16 feet from branch to branch. Hunting mainly at night, the tarsier uses mobile ears and extra-large eyes to spot prey. Once targeted, he waits for the right moment to make his deadly leap. He's not quite a Crouching Tiger or Hidden Dragon... ...but he gets the job done. Deep in the tropical rain forests of Asia lives a majestic assortment of orchids. They seem to be nothing but harmless blossoms, but look closer. This beauty is hiding a deadly, stealthy killer. This is the orchid mantis. While this praying mantis can blend with green leaves to ambush prey, the orchid mantis has taken it up a notch. Known as aggressive mimicry, it's the only insect known to disguise itself as a flower, which actually lures prey. And the way it works is pure ninja stealth. The mantis imitates the texture and color of the orchid's petals... ...which attracts insects who think it's a harmless flower to pollinate. To keep up the charade and avoid detection, it remains as still as possible, rotating only its head to get a better look at prey. While the orchid mantis has a large appetite and eats an array of insects, it is a selective hunter. So patience is a key part of this mantis's stealthy strategy. It's not going to blow its cover for this sapsucker. Those sticky threads would be unpleasant to eat, but this moth is ripe for the picking. It's using its front legs, which are covered in dagger-like spines, to snare the moth and stake it down. The ninja disguise is so successful, scientists believe the orchid mantis is better at attracting pollinator insects than actual orchids. Who would have thought such a beauty could be so beastly? And it's not just the islands of Asia that have deadly insects. (Hawaiian music) In Hawaii, the dense foliage hides the surprising lethal exploits of a carnivorous caterpillar. This inchworm looks harmless. He's tiny, inches about slowly, and he's a caterpillar. What's to fear? After all, they only eat leaves, right? Wrong. Over the last few millennia, of the over 160,000 species of caterpillar in the world, less than one percent evolved into carnivores. And our guy is one of them. But his victims, usually bugs, haven't quite caught on. Not that we blame them. The Hawaiian caterpillar is running a pretty good con, with two tricks up his sleeve. First, he has an amazing ability to camouflage himself to look like a leaf or part of a tree branch. Prey has no idea they're in danger. Which is just what the caterpillar is betting on when he unleashes his second trick, a whip-fast motion, bending his body to snatch its meal in raptor claws. Holding it captive while the caterpillar feasts. The victim never saw what hit him. They're found worldwide, and ounce for ounce, are among the most destructive forces in nature. They are ants. An estimated ten thousand trillion thrive across the planet. Army ants in the jungle of the Amazon don't settle down in a nest. Instead, they create a living bivouac around a half million strong. And every day, that giant horde gets hungry. The ants march out in a massive raid. But they're not looking for food; they're sensing it. Each worker in this unstoppable eating machine is blind. But nothing in their path is safe. Massive mandibles and piercing stings allow the ants to overwhelm and dismember their targets. Even large animals. In one day, the horde can kill 30,000 prey. It's teamwork on a deadly scale. On the other side of the planet, in another ocean, the island of Madagascar is home to bizarre plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth, including the tomato frog. No prizes for guessing how it got its name! That bright color is a warning... one that this hognose snake would be wise to heed. The frog inflates itself to be as large as possible. But the hungry snake attacks anyway. When that fails, the frog secretes a sticky ooze and gives the hognose a mouthful it won't forget. It's not fatal, but this natural glue gums the snake's mouth up and makes it tough to eat anything for a while. That's one way to get out of a sticky situation. (ribbit) The tomato frog isn't the only animal chemist on Madagascar. Giant millipedes are harmless, unless you try to mess with them. When threatened, they squirt noxious, foul-smelling chemicals, like natural pepper spray. It's enough to deter most animals. But there's one case where this chemical counterstrike backfires. Black lemurs seem to have an addiction to giant millipedes. The lemurs nibble on them just enough to release the chemical defense... ...then rub the noxious fluid through their fur in a frenzy. They're not poisoning themselves; they're applying a natural insect repellant. For these lemurs, a millipede a day keeps the mosquitoes away. But the chemical compound does more than just act as a bug spray. It has a narcotic effect that seems to get them high! The millipedes are released mostly unharmed, leaving the lemurs to come down from their buzz. It's not just the jungles of Madagascar that have many-legged monsters. You might not think of centipedes as a big deal. But there are a few that are truly fearsome. A few that get ominously named giant centipedes! Of course, at just 6 to 12 inches long, 'giant' may be in the eye of the victim, and there's nothing small about their killing prowess. (squeaking) This intimidating beast is the Indian giant tiger centipede, and it's a lethal predator. Giant centipedes compensate for their small size by being highly venomous, and use front legs that have evolved into powerful fangs. This centipede moves with uncanny speed, and when prey is near, it's an aggressive killer. Its column of legs wraps around its meal like a straitjacket. But the most impressively terrifying of them all is the Amazonian giant centipede. At night, this leggy monster stalks into a cave and slowly climbs the walls. Its target? Bats! It creeps across the ceiling, finds a low-hanging perch, and then... ...it's Bye Bye Batty. This venomous predator doesn't just stalk the caves of the American tropics. And out of 3,000 species of centipedes, it's the leviathan. A truly giant centipede. More than 11 inches long. Through a pair of sharp pincers, it delivers a toxic brew of venom that attacks the nervous system. Painful to humans. Lethal to prey. It's armed for defense as well as offense, with sharp hooks on the rear legs. It breathes partly through holes in its body, making it prone to dehydration. So it prefers to hunt by night. And this centipede will eat just about anything-- spiders, birds, rodents, frogs, and lizards. Despite its name, it has 46 legs at most, not 100. But they grip like a mountain climber's pitons. Hmm. Maybe better prospects can be found on the ground. Rodents are a favorite. To keep nursing her young, this mother will sooner or later have to go find food herself. Her babies are blind, weak and defenseless. The centipede is nearly blind as well, but its antennae can detect the tiniest of movements. Sensing the mother's return, the centipede beats a hasty retreat. But it's too late. Her baby's been killed with one heart-stopping injection of venom. And the centipede is off again, in search of a meal. They may be giants among their kind, but this small predator's real size lies in its ability to kill. Whether you're on a tropical island, in the swamps of Brazil, or in the forests in Asia or Africa, these sweltering hot spots are downright deadly.