Which Deadly Florida Predator Reigns Supreme? (Full Episode) | SPECIAL | Nat Geo Animals

NARRATOR: FLORIDA'S SWAMP IS RULED BY MODERN-DAY MONSTERS. GIANT GATORS AND CROCS HUNT SIDE BY SIDE. DEALING OUT DEATH WITH A SINGLE BITE. BUT THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE SWAMP KING. WHEN THESE TWO REPTILE TITANS GO HEAD TO HEAD... WHO WILL PREVAIL? MORE THAN A THIRD OF FLORIDA IS UNDERWATER. VAST WETLANDS APPEAR UNCHANGED SINCE PREHISTORIC TIMES. THE SPRING-FED WATERS TEEM WITH DIVERSE WILDLIFE... FROM THE TIPS OF ANCIENT CYPRESS. TO THE RIVER'S MUDDY BOTTOM. FOR ALMOST ANY ANIMAL, THE SWAMP IS TREACHEROUS. SOUTH FLORIDA'S BACKWOODS ARE RULED BY DRAGONS. IT'S THE ONLY PLACE ON EARTH WHERE ALLIGATORS AND CROCODILES COEXIST. TWO TOP PREDATORS COMMANDING MORE THAN 4,000 SQUARE MILES. BUT WHICH REPTILLIAN BEAST REIGNS SUPREME? THEY MAY LOOK SIMILAR AT FIRST, BUT PHYSICAL DIFFERENCES SET THEM APART. ALLIGATORS ARE DARK IN COLOR AND HAVE WIDE, U-SHAPED SNOUTS. CROCS HAVE LIGHTER COLORING, AND THEIR SNOUTS ARE SLENDER AND POINTED. THE FANGS ARE A DEAD GIVEAWAY. A GATOR'S UPPER JAW IS WIDER THAN ITS LOWER JAW, SO MOST OF THEIR LOWER TEETH ARE HIDDEN WHEN THEIR MOUTH IS CLOSED. CROCODILE JAWS ARE ABOUT THE SAME WIDTH, SO MORE OF THEIR TEETH ARE EXPOSED. DON'T GET TOO CLOSE TO EITHER OF THEM OR THESE JAWS MAY BE THE LAST THING YOU EVER SEE. AMERICAN ALLIGATORS LURK IN FRESHWATER HABITATS IN THE SOUTHEASTERN U.S., FROM TEXAS TO NORTH CAROLINA. AMERICAN CROCODILES HANG OUT IN WARM COASTAL REGIONS DOWN SOUTH, FROM CARIBBEAN ISLANDS TO CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA. SOUTH FLORIDA IS WHERE THESE TWO PREDATORS MEET, AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF THEIR RANGES. DIFFERENCES ASIDE, THERE'S ONE TIME WHEN THESE TITANS... HAVE A WHOLE LOT IN COMMON... FEEDING TIME. BOTH ARE OPPORTUNISTIC EATERS... THEY'LL DEVOUR JUST ABOUT ANYTHING. AMERICAN ALLIGATORS CAN GROW TO 15 FEET LONG AND WEIGH HALF A TON. FULL GROWN GATORS MAY ONLY EAT ABOUT ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK. BUT THAT COULD MEAN GATORS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR AS MANY AS 2 MILLION AMBUSH KILLS WEEKLY. THE ALLIGATOR IS A FINELY TUNED KILLING MACHINE. THEY ARE POWERFUL SWIMMERS, USING THEIR TAILS FOR PROPULSION AND WEBBED-FEET FOR GUIDANCE. THEIR HIDE IS MILITARY-GRADE. WATER IS THEIR ELEMENT, STEALTH THEIR METHOD OF ATTACK. WHEN A GATOR CLAMPS DOWN ON IT'S VICTIM, IT'S ALL OVER. THE MOST FEARSOME PART OF THIS GIANT REPTILE IS IT'S MOUTH, DESIGNED TO RIP OFF LIMBS AND EDIBLE CHUNKS OF CARCASS, WITH UP TO 80 TEARING TEETH. OVER THE COURSE OF A LIFETIME, A GATOR CAN GO THROUGH 2,000 TO 3,000 TEETH. BIG GATORS LIKE BIG PREY. AND IT'S NOT ALWAYS WHAT YOU'D EXPECT. WHITE-TAILED DEER ARE ON THE MENU TODAY. DEER IN FLORIDA USED TO NUMBER AROUND 20,000. BUT WITH REHABILITATION EFFORTS AND ABUNDANT FOOD, THIS POPULATION HAS BOOMED TO OVER 700,000. NOBODY WILL MISS JUST ONE. A GATOR'S UPWARD-FACING NOSTRILS ALLOW THEM TO BREATHE WHILE THE REST OF THEIR BODY IS UNDERWATER. FOR OVER 150 MILION YEARS, ALLIGATORS HAVE ATTACKED BY AMBUSH. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. WELL ALMOST. THIS TIME, HE JUST MISSES. THE DEER'S QUICK INSTINCT TRIUMPHS. EVENTUALLY, THE DEER MUST RETURN FOR WATER. WHEN HE DOES, THE GATOR WILL HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE TO FINISH THE JOB. ALONG THE FLORIDA COAST, THE AMERICAN CROCODILE IS ALSO ON PATROL. SPECIAL SALT-SECRETING GLANDS ALLOW HIM TO TOLERATE SALTWATER BETTER THAN ALLIGATORS. HE'LL EAT ANYTHING HE CAN AMBUSH AND DROWN. BUT HE'S NOT THE ONLY HUNGRY PREDATOR HERE. AN EASTERN DIAMONDBACK RATTLESNAKE, THE MOST DANGEROUS SNAKE IN NORTH AMERICA, HUNTS ON THE SHORELINE. HER BITE INJECTS VENOM THAT KILLS RED BLOOD CELLS AND DAMAGES TISSUE. SHE HAS NO PROBLEM TAKING A DIP IN THE WATER. EASTERN DIAMONDBACKS HAVE BEEN FOUND MILES FROM SHORE. THESE TWO PREDATORS ARE ON A COLLISION COURSE. CROCS EAT SNAKES, BUT THIS COULD BE A RISKY ENDEAVOR; THE RATTLER'S VENOM IS DEADLY. NARRATOR: THE RATTLESNAKE IS SAVED BY A BLUE CRAB. IT'S ONLY AN APPETIZER. THIS CROC NEEDS ABOUT FIFTY FULL MEALS A YEAR TO REACH LENGTHS OF 15 FEET, LIKE HIS ALLIGATOR COMPETITORS. BUT THE AMERICAN CROCODILE'S APPETITE IS NOTHING COMPARED TO HIS MONSTROUS COUSIN-THE NILE CROCODILE IN AFRICA. THEY CAN GROW TO 20 FEET LONG AND MORE THAN 1,600 POUNDS. MORE AGGRESSIVE THAN AMERICAN CROCODILES, THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR AS MANY AS 200 HUMAN DEATHS EACH YEAR. THEIR BIGGEST MEAL TICKET IS AN ANNUAL WILDEBEEST BUFFET. SUMMERTIME IN KENYA, MORE THAN A MILLION WILDEBEEST HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO CROSS THE MARA RIVER TO REACH GRAZING LAND ON THE OTHER SIDE. NILE CROCS KNOW THIS. THEY GATHER FOR THE BLOODBATH. THESE GIANTS KNOW AN EASY TARGET... THE YOUNG. CALVES ARE WEAKER SWIMMERS, AND IN THE WATER THEY ARE ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE. THE CROCS TAKE A BEATING TOO. POWERFUL, SHARP HOOVES DESCEND ON THE REPTILES AGAIN AND AGAIN. THE NILE CROCODILE LIVES UP TO ITS VICIOUS REPUTATION. IN A SINGLE FEEDING, THEY CAN CONSUME HALF THEIR BODY WEIGHT. UNLIKE THEIR COUSINS OF THE NILE, AMERICAN CROCODILES ARE GENERALLY RECLUSIVE. IN FLORIDA, GATORS ARE THE ONES WITH A FEARSOME REPUTATION. AS TEMPERATURES RISE, MALE GATORS BATTLE FOR DOMINANCE AND THE RIGHT TO MATE. BIG GATORS PUSH OUT THE SMALLER CONTENDERS. [UNDERWATER BELLOW] THEIR BELLOWS CREATE INTENSE SOUND VIBRATIONS. THE RESULT IS THE WATER DANCE. IT'S A SHOW PUT ON BY THE MALES TO ATTRACT A FEMALE. AFTER ALL THE BLUSTER AND VIOLENCE, MATING IS A SUBTLE AND GENTLE AFFAIR. THE END RESULT WILL BE A NEW GENERATION OF HUNTERS. THIS FEMALE GATOR RETURNS TO AN ENORMOUS MOUND OF DECOMPOSING BRUSH AND MUD. HER CREATION AND HER OBSESSION. SHE'S READY TO TEAR INTO ANYTHING THAT THREATENS THE THREE-DOZEN EGGS WITHIN. SHE HAS DUG OUT A SMALL WALLOW NEXT TO HER NEST SO SHE CAN GET HER FRESHWATER FIX WHILE KEEPING AN EYE ON HER INCUBATOR. HERE SHE CAN RELAX, LETTING HER HEARTBEAT DROP TO TWO BEATS A MINUTE. BUT HER SPA SOON EVAPORATES UNDER THE INTENSE SUMMER SUN. SHE HEADS OFF IN SEARCH OF MORE FRESHWATER. BUT THIS COULD BE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE. NARRATOR: ONE MOTHER'S PRECIOUS OFFSPRING ARE ANOTHER'S MIDNIGHT SNACK. THE MOTHER GATOR RETURNS TO HER NEST... AND DISCOVERS WHAT THE RACCOON HAS LEFT BEHIND. UNLIKE MOST REPTILES, BOTH GATORS AND CROCS FIERCELY PROTECT THEIR YOUNG. MILLIONS OF YEARS OF INSTINCT HAVE PROGRAMMED HER TO STAY... JUST IN CASE THE RACCOON DIDN'T GET EVERY ONE OF HER YOUNG. [SCRATCHING] SHE'S REWARDED BY THE SOUND OF HOPE. SHE CHECKS THE HATCHING EGGS ONE BY ONE. AND PUTS HER POWERFUL JAWS TO USE. NOT AS FEROCIOUS KILLING MACHINES, BUT AS A FERRY TO THE RIVER. SHE'LL LOOK AFTER HER FIVE SURVIVORS FOR UP TO A YEAR OR MORE... DEFENDING THEM FROM ALL THREATS, INCLUDING RACCOONS AND OTHER GATORS. CROCS ARE ALSO DOTING PARENTS. BUT INSTEAD OF A NEST MOUND, FEMALE CROCS LAY THEIR EGGS IN SAND OR MUD ALONG THE BANK. FROM UNDERGROUND, THE CROC HATCHLINGS CALL TO THEIR MOTHER. SHE HAS GUARDED THEM ROUND THE CLOCK FOR OVER TWO MONTHS. NOW, IT'S TIME TO DIG THEM UP. ABOUT 40 EGGS MAKE UP HER CLUTCH. BOTH CROCS AND GATORS ARE BORN WITH A TINY EGG TOOTH THAT HELPS BREAK THROUGH THE SHELL. SOME STILL NEED A LITTLE HELP: SHE GENTLY ROLLS UNBROKEN EGGS BETWEEN HER TONGUE AND THE ROOF OF HER MOUTH TO CRACK THEM, AND RELEASE THE HATCHLINGS. A SPECIAL POUCH IN THE BOTTOM OF HER MOUTH ALLOWS HER TO HOLD HALF A DOZEN YOUNGSTERS AT A TIME. SHE BRINGS EACH NEW BATCH TO THE WATER. YOUNG CROCS AND GATORS HAVE SIMILAR UPBRINGINGS... BOTH FRAUGHT WITH DANGER. THEY MUST EVADE COUNTLESS DEADLY FOES UNTIL THEY GROW TO FULL SIZE. THESE NEW GATOR HATCHLINGS COULD LIVE UP TO 50 YEARS IN THE WILD, IF THEY SURVIVE THEIR FIRST YEAR. THE HARD TRUTH IS... ONLY ONE IN TEN GATOR HATCHLINGS WILL ESCAPE DEATH. BABY GATORS AS WELL AS CROCS ARE A DELICACY FOR A HOST OF FLORIDA'S WILDLIFE, BOTH ABOVE AND BELOW THE WATERLINE. FULL-GROWN GATORS ARE NOTORIOUS FOR CANNIBALIZING THEIR OWN KIND. FOR NOW THESE TINY KILLERS ARE IN PROTECTIVE CUSTODY. FEW IN THE SWAMP ARE BOLD ENOUGH TO TAKE ON THIS MONSTER MOM. HER YOUNG MAKE BRIEF FORAYS TO EXPLORE THEIR DANGEROUS PLAYGROUND. THIS COULD BE THEIR KINGDOM ONE DAY. SOME THREATS TO THESE YOUNG GATORS DON'T LOOK LIKE VICIOUS PREDATORS. THE LARGEMOUTH BASS STALKS THE SUNKEN SNAGS OF THE CLEAR WATERS. THIS FISH'S LEGENDARY MOUTH MAKES IT AN UNLIKELY ASSASSIN. THE BASS POSSESS EXCELLENT VISION, READY TO ATTACK, THEY SENSE THE SLIGHTEST DISTURBANCES IN THEIR DOMAIN. A FROG TRIES TO ESCAPE... BUT EVEN A SPRITELY SWIMMER LIKE THIS HAS NO CHANCE AGAINST A SPEEDY LARGEMOUTH. THE BASS EATS HIS FROG LEGS COLD. IN FACT, IT'LL DEVOUR JUST ABOUT ANYTHING THAT DOESN'T EAT IT FIRST. INCLUDING BABY GATORS. NARRATOR: A GATOR HATCHLING, NOT MUCH LARGER THAN A FROG, WANDERS BEYOND HIS MOTHER'S GAZE AND HEADS OUT FOR AN OPEN RIVER SPRINT. MAYBE HE'LL RULE, ONE DAY... BUT ONLY IF HE CAN MAKE IT PAST THE LARGEMOUTH BASS. IT'S AN AMBUSH FROM BELOW. ONE NOVICE PREDATOR HAS FALLEN. A FUTURE APEX GATOR, ELIMINATED. CALL IT A PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE OR JUST CALL IT LUNCH. WHERE THE FLORIDA MAINLAND ENDS AND STRINGS OF CORAL ISLANDS STRETCH INTO THE SEA... A RAVENOUS CROC CRUISES THE BRACKISH WATERS. GLANDS ON HIS TONGUE ALLOW HIM TO EXCRETE THE EXTRA SALT FROM THE OCEAN. FROM RACCOONS TO HUMANS, ANYTHING LOOMING NEAR THE WATER IS POTENTIAL PREY. CROCS MAY HAVE OUTLASTED THE DINOSAURS, BUT NOW THEY FACE A DIFFERENT KIND OF PRESSURE. COASTAL DEVELOPMENT HAS MOVED IN ON THEM, DRAMATICALLY ALTERING HABITATS. THE CROC SEARCHES THE COASTLINE FOR A MEAL. BUT HIS USUAL HAUNTS ARE EMPTY. HIS BID FOR THE SWAMP KINGDOM IS IN JEOPARDY. CROCS ON THE FRINGES OF THEIR RANGE TEND TO GROW MORE SLOWLY, DUE TO COOLER TEMPERATURES AND LESS ABUNDANT PREY. THIS PUTS THEM AT A DISADVANTAGE TO THE LOCAL GATORS. CROCS CAN GO WITHOUT FEEDING FOR UP TO A YEAR, EVEN SHUTTING DOWN AND LIVING OFF THEIR OWN TISSUE IN EXTREME CASES OF FOOD DEPRIVATION; BUT THEY NEED TO EAT REGULARLY TO REACH GIANT PROPORTIONS. POSSUMS ARE SCAVENGERS. ONCE FOOD AND WATER ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE, THEY'LL MOVE ON IN SEARCH OF THE NEXT EASY MEAL. THIS ONE PICKED THE WRONG TIME TO SEARCH FOR NEW FEEDING GROUNDS. NARRATOR: IN SOUTH FLORIDA, IT'S BEST NOT TO RUMMAGE TOO CLOSE TO THE WATER'S EDGE. THIS CROC IS SATISFIED, BUT A BIGGER, STRONGER GATOR HAS A LARGER CATCH IN MIND. TODAY'S SPECIAL: PULLED PORK. EUROPEAN SETTLERS INTRODUCED HOGS TO THE SWAMP. NOW THEY'VE GONE FERAL AND THEY'RE FAST BREEDERS, REACHING SEXUAL MATURITY AT JUST 6 MONTHS, AND MULTIPLYING LIKE RABBITS. THEY HAVE FEW PREDATORS IN FLORIDA; BUT HERE COMES ONE... AND HE IS HUNGRY. [PIG SQUEAL] LIKE A CROC GRABBING A WILDEBEAST IN AFRICA, THE GATOR TEARS THE HOG APART IN A DEATH ROLL. WHERE CROCS STRAIN AT THE LIMIT OF THEIR RANGE, GATORS DOMINATE. FLORIDA GATORS OUTNUMBER CROCS 500 TO 1. IN THIS SWAMP, THE ALLIGATOR IS KING. THEY DON'T CALL THIS GATOR COUNTRY FOR NOTHING. BUT CHANGE IS COMING. SEVERAL MONTHS INTO FLORIDA'S WINTER, WATERY HAVENS VANISH. CHANNELS DRY UP AND PONDS DISAPPEAR. WHAT WAS ONCE A POOL OF LIFE, IS NOW A DRIED UP FIELD OF KNOTTY CYPRESS KNEES. HERONS, EGRETS, SPOONBILLS, AND OTHER WATER BIRDS CONCENTRATE IN SHALLOW POOLS AS THEY WAIT FOR THE RAINS TO RETURN. SHRINKING HABITATS FORCE PREDATOR AND PREY TOGETHER. AS THE DRY SEASON SETTLES IN, THE GATOR KING MUST MAKE HIS WAY TO A NEW WATERING HOLE AND NEW SOURCES OF PREY. GATORS CAN MOVE QUICKLY ON LAND, BUT ONLY FOR SHORT BURSTS. WHEN THEY COVER LONG DISTANCES... IT'S SLOWGOING. THE GATOR "GAPES" IT'S MOUTH OPEN TO COOL OFF. HIS AMBUSH ABILITY IS MOST EFFECTIVE AT THE WATER'S EDGE. IT'S UNLIKELY HE'LL EAT AGAIN UNTIL HE GETS THERE. RELIEF AT LAST. HIS NEW QUARTERS ARE FILLED WITH RIVALS. THEY'D RATHER RULE THEIR OWN DOMAIN, BUT AT THIS TIME OF YEAR, WATER IS HARD TO FIND. OF COURSE, THERE ARE OTHER NEIGHBORS THE KING IS ANXIOUS TO MEET. NARRATOR: JUST A SHORT WAY FROM THE EXOTIC SANDS OF SOUTH BEACH, FLORIDA'S SWAMPS HOST A DIVERSE ECOSYSTEM BOASTING COLORFUL, AND DEADLY CHARACTERS. EVERY CREATURE IN THE SWAMP SHARES A MISSION: FIND YOURSELF A BITE TO EAT, BUT DON'T END UP ON ANYONE ELSE'S MENU. ONE CREATURE HAS UNFINISHED BUSINESS WITH AN UNLUCKY PREY. THE GATOR HAS RETURNED FOR HIS FEAST. A YOUNG DEER GRAZES BY THE WATER. HE DOESN'T KNOW THAT HE HAS VENTURED INTO THE KILL ZONE... OF THE SWAMP KING. THE GATOR MOVES IN MORE SLOWLY THIS TIME. BUT THE STRIKE IS LIGHTING-QUICK, ON TARGET, AND WITHOUT MERCY. A MEAL OF THIS SIZE WILL SUSTAIN HIM FOR DAYS. FOR NOW THIS FLORIDIAN SITS COMFORTABLY AT THE TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN. BUT NO KING CAN KEEP HIS THRONE FOREVER. THE FLORIDA ALLIGATOR MAY ONE DAY BE DETHRONED... BY A TERRIFYING CONTENDER. IN RECENT YEARS, A NON-NATIVE SPECIES OF CROCODILE HAS POPPED UP IN FLORIDA'S WETLANDS. THE AMERICAN CROCODILE'S COUSIN FROM AFRICA... THE NILE CROCODILE. FOUR NILE CROCS HAVE BEEN FOUND IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA SINCE 2000. IN AFRICA, THE NILE CROCODILE IS A KNOWN MANEATER, AND FAR MORE AGGRESSIVE THAN EITHER OF FLORIDA'S NATIVE CROCODILLIANS. SO WILL FLORIDA BE COLONIZED BY 20-FOOT-LONG MONSTER CROCS? SCIENTISTS SAY THAT THE CASES ARE ISOLATED INCIDENTS NILE CROCS THAT ESCAPED FROM CAPTIVITY. BUT NO ONE CAN DENY THAT THESE ANCIENT REPTILES ARE SURVIVORS. AND LIFE... FINDS A WAY. WHETHER GATORS HOLD ONTO THEIR KINGDOM OR THE FEARSOME NILE CROCS SEIZE THE THRONE... A WORD TO THE WISE: STAY OUT OF THE WATER.