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26 Episodes 2010 - 2011
Episode 1
Steve visits Mexico's Baja California region. At sea, it harbors the giant Humbold squid, known as red devil, with a scalpel-sharp mouth and many razor-sharp teeth on its sucking tentacles, which often hunts in packs of up to 1,200 monsters. On land, Baja is rich in poisonous creatures, but most famous for its numerous rattlers, of various species of which one is unique to the region. In Panama, Steve successfully searches the jungle for the harpy, the largest and perhaps rarest eagle, which nests high in giant trees.
Episode 2
Steve starts in a natural museum comparing skeletons, notably dental, of predators from British Columbia. In coastal waters, he meets the huge Steller sea-lion with a scarier mouth then bears. On the sea bottom lurks the basilisk-like fish wolf-eel, who crushes even sea-urchins, devoured with spine. Next the giant Pacific octopus, a crab cracking specialist. As finale orcas, the only killer whale species, actually the largest dolphins, who even demonstrate they hunt the giant sea-lion, but it escapes.
Episode 3
In Vancouver Steve takes to icy waters in search of the world's biggest sea lion, and there's a surprise in store when Steve meets the infamous black bear.
Episode 4
Steve is excited about the variety of landscape types and exceptional bio-diversity in small Costa Rica. On the Pacific coast, predators vary from monkeys and frogs to snakes and crocodiles. The star killer however is the jaguar, an elusive jungle cat, a stealth master whose mighty bite smashes large skulls.
Episode 5
28 mins
Steve 'auditions' the Costa Rican jungle snakes as candidates. From, the giant boa constrictor's strangulation method makes the list, and various poisonous species, including the bushmaster, with superior camouflage, and adder with exquisite heath detection and supersonic bite, he chooses the second. The world's most toxic creatures are Latin American jungle frogs, which produce curare. Vampire bats also make the list.
Episode 6
28 mins
In Panama's muddy rain forest, Steve searches with horses and local carriers for the rare harpy, the largest and strongest, yet elusive eagle species, guided by a friendly Indian tribe. On the way he meets speedy 'racing snakes', a mud-camouflaged bug, a tarantula, and the natives' nemesis, bullet ants with the most painful insect bite.
Episode 7
28 mins
In the Indian Ocean, Steve marvels at giant species living (mainly) on tiny plankton, such as manta, whale shark and whales. Self-invited aboard their yacht is a scarily fast spider-relative, contrary to legend not poisonous. On the ocean-shore, he marvels at the ultimate starfish.
Episode 8
Steve starts his Southern African mission in the Indian Ocean, starring shark species such as the socially hunting black-fin. In the Drakenberg mountains, the fatally poisonous African honey 'killer' bee, exceptionally aggressive in huge packs and nesting on steep cliffs. In the air, Steve selects the black eagle.
Episode 9
In Namibia, Steve demonstrates how desert species, including predators like spiders, scorpions and ants, like preys such as lizards, cope with merciless sun by hiding, burying themselves in the sand, hunting at night, limiting limb-scorched soil contact and anatomic adaptations. Master killers include rattlers, but also scavengers, such as vultures, whose unique digestion tops their hunter skills, and the marabou.
Episode 10
In the Namibian hot savanna, Steve concentrates on admiring the big cats' superior hunting techniques. The leopard is an absolute master in stealth and chase, even into cave dens, but constantly faces mortal danger when prey such as porcupines use their defenses. Lions are social animals, usually hunting in tactical team formations.
Episode 11
On Madagascar island, Steve admires the world's most unique fauna. In the dry, western baobab forest, a unique feline, the ferret cat, is the most feared predator, but most iconic are its favorite prey, even more masterly climbers, the eldest simians, notably lemurs. In the rain-forest, Steve admires chameleons, color-shifting insectivore, highly territorial reptiles with deadly flashing sticky tongues, other lemurs and a mimicry-expert gecko. Most bizarre and elusive is another nocturnal lemur with squirrel-tail and long, bony claws.
Episode 12
Steve visits Uganada, in Equatorial Africa's Great Lakes region, in search of primates, mainly the apes. First in the mountains gorillas, giant and deadly but only when threatened, rather cozy vegetarians. Next baboons, aggressive bands of enterprising omnivores on grasslands. Finally chimpanzees, cleverest and most human-like, also dangerous, preferring social hunt, even on monkeys and antelopes, to their diets' fruit components.
Episode 13
In Thailand, herpetologist Steve is drawn to a village which breeds, not kills, poisonous snakes, especially cobras. The giant royal cobra, which eats the others, makes the list. From two remarkable felines, he chooses a panther which out-climbs even monkeys and birds to a cat which fishes in dark pools. Finally he demonstrates our inability to rival the insectivore tekoh gecko as wall climber.
Episode 14
In the tropical Philippines archipelago, Steve starts on Palawang for the water monitor, an amphibious giant lizard, versatile scavenger-hunters, whose bite is vicious because of sharp teeth and saliva-bacteria guaranteeing instant infection. In bug-infested caves, Steve picks over tarantulas the whip-spider, which is a cross with a scorpion. The he goes rock-climbing for the venomous snake sea-krait, a fish-eater. Surprisingly deadly too is the tarsier, a primitive nocturnal primate. The solitary thresher shark uses its huge whip-like tail to stun its prey so it can easily catch and eat those fish. An armadillo's claw are amazing termite mound-breakers.
Episode 15
In Philippine waters, Steve is excited to swim with the fox shark. Next the yellow lip, a highly toxic coastal sea-snake which hides in cliff caves. In the mangrove swamp, a kingfisher. In the jungle, a nocturnal primitive primate named tarsier.
Episode 16
Some 150 dog species all ultimately descend from wolves. In Norway, Steve starts with the half-tame dog-sled breed husky, which looks must like wolves and is bred from stamina. The primary canine sense, smell, is the crucial asset for police- and mountain rescue dogs, expertly trained in Britain. Steve visits their ancestors in Transylvania (Romania).
Episode 17
In Norway, Steve strips to his boxers to demonstrate our skin is inept for the Artic cold as Nordic wildlife's fur enables it to stand up to minus 50 Celsius comfortably. That fits Arctic predators like the lynx, Europe's greatest feline, a snow stealth expert which climbs as masterly as it slays deer, and the polar fox, a canine who prefers digging for lemmings, but also the giant musk-ox, a herbivore but as scary as a stampede.
Episode 18
In his British home, Steve starts diving for the pike, top of the English sweet-water food cycle, a blitz-stealth hunter. In Scotland, the European sea-eagle rules the coastal skies. Back in the English countryside, spiders are everywhere, killing far more tons of prey (mainly insects) than any other predators, in diverse ways, such as the crab-spider's mimicry and the wheelbarrow's giant web.
Episode 19
Steve's team searches on horseback for yellow anacondas in the vast marshes of Argentina. One unsuspecting step and Steve's bleeding leg needs medical assistance after a bite from mud-hidden cayman, which also eats prey as large as the capybara. So do groups of piranhas, yet Steve risks feeding them in the water. Finally he lets a wild-caught 'baby' anaconda wind around his hand until it nearly breaks.
Episode 20
Steve's team ends another season in the Amazonion forest wetland. By day, its top-dogs are packs of giant otters, who out-swim even piranhas and work together well enough to kill and devour even cayman and anaconda. The black cayman, more lethal to humans, rules at night. After fishing a monitor-like lizard from a wet pit, Steve lets chance present the 60st species on the list, the indigo serpent, not poisonous but huge, slippery and with a terrible bite.
Episode 21
Before Steve's team can leave, extensive preparations are made at BBC Bristol research and in logistics. The production, technicians and actual team face many logistic and other practical problems concerning transport, lodging, clothing, climate, dust etcetera. Frequent discomfort is topped by danger coming trough, as Steve's many wounds testify.
Episode 22
Steve and his team show how they find predators. Apart from footprints and equivalents made by other bodies (like snakes), the clues include bones and other food remains, housing and droppings.
Episode 23
Steve shows in a natural museum how crucial the predators' bones are for their general anatomy and physical performances. Basic models are often around since the dinosaur age, such as sharks and crocodiles. Skeletons can be extremely different, from the heavy crocodile - to the featherweight bird skull.
Episode 24
Steve, who physically exposed himself to repeated sting risks throughout the series, compares some killer species with redoubted poisons, notably from four important families. With scorpions, big pincers mean mild venom, unlike comparatively big darts. Serpents are his favorites, with various modes of toxin use. Spiders are by far the most abundant poisonous killers. Finally insects, starring ants and a sinister wasp.
Episode 25
Thu, Dec 23, 2010
Steve shows some footage of predator species that didn't make the theme episodes. In Namibia's desert dunes, African wild dogs, an erratic crab spider, which builds sands traps, a tiny scorpion, a thorn-bush grasshopper producing a nasty secretion, a giant millipede doing the same and. In Central American jungle, vegetarian ants whose guards' bite a strong enough to close wounds, a fishing bat and the giant earthworm. In Uganda, a rascal monkey. In Baja California, another millipede. In the Philippines, a kingfisher, a ray and a hermit crab.
Episode 26
Many killer species are endangered, even threatened with extinction by humanity. Some are hunted because people fear them, often rather as sources of valuable commodities, such as shark fin soup or tiger parts considered aphrodisiacs. Conservationists try to study and save them all. Others are captured for entertainment, such as dancing bears. wildlife .