Survive the Wild | Episode 1: Rules of the Realm | Free Documentary Nature

it's a big world yet finding a place in it isn't easy [Music] [Applause] every day everywhere animals stake their claim to an arbitrary piece of the planet and once they won their ground they've got to fight to defend it or to expand it [Music] some go it alone for others it takes an army however a turf war is fought winning it provides another chance to survive the wild out on the wide serengeti this leopard would be perfectly happy to never see another of his kind [Music] ah [Applause] [Music] ever secretive africa's most widely distributed cat can be found in at least 80 countries if you can find him at all [Music] [Music] he claims his territory and stays out of sight and doesn't take kindly to strangers unless she's a lady [Music] his realm can overlap her females and when she's in the mood to mate she perfumes the fringes of his turf to let him know he'll step out of his territory to accept her invitation the happy couple spends up to a five-day honeymoon together mating as often as every 15 minutes and then they're done back to their respective ranges hmm as the male prowls for prey he reinforces his borders leaving fresh scent markings to make would-be trespassers think twice he needs a certain amount of space for self-defense and the better the hunting the less land he needs once he stakes it out he'll fight like crazy to defend it [Music] the borderlines are invisible but unmistakable to other leopards marked with urine feces and discharged from the scent plans on his cheeks [Music] and for good measure he tags trees like a graffiti artist [Music] [Music] with the borders secure and the sun going down he sets out to grab dinner [Music] in his own neighborhood he knows the best places to eat um [Music] but he's not the only carnivore out tonight to keep larger predators from stealing his kill he drags it to the safety of a tree almost everything a leopard does he does alone as one of the smallest of the big cats mastering his territory is as important to his survival as his teeth and claws while the leopard is the cat that walks by himself his distant cousins lions run their realm like a family business [Music] by teaming up and sharing the spoils a pride of lions can take down prey that outrun a single lion [Music] in kenya's sambuda national reserve a pride of lions reigns over its territory hunting and defending it [Music] several females and their cubs make up the heart of the pride which is led by one or sometimes two males [Music] this male line doesn't exert much effort as a parent or even really as a hunter but he's no slacker he acts as border guard and protector of the pride [Music] spraying urine around the fringes of his kingdom to ward off pretenders to the throne but females leave their marks too which may complicate things the male lion is trying to ward off any roaming males that may wander into his realm and catch a scent on a female ready to mate pride territory can vary from a few square miles to over a hundred boundaries shift slightly with the seasons and the movement of prey larger prides get the lion's share of the prime tip here comes trouble this young nomadic male charmed by the female scent heads towards them where they're resting with the pride's leader that doesn't stop the frisky intruder he ignores the warning signs and strides confidently into enemy territory risking being maimed or killed cool [Music] [Applause] today youth beats experience the challenger becomes the champion the exiled old man will live the rest of his days in solitude [Music] the pride's new leader eager to get started knows the females won't mate while they're still nursing their cubs [Music] so why not just kill the cubs here's three good reasons with his advances soundly rejected by the lion mothers this young male must wait for now the cubs are safe at the moment [Music] but this fight is not over yet male lions will often kill the cubs of their predecessors so that the females will be ready to mate again [Music] with the females fending off his advances for now he waits for a good opportunity to present itself [Music] there's a lot at stake and his time as a leader may be limited until the next challenger finds a way into his domain to claim the throne while big cats skirmish over borders some of the smallest creatures wage some of the bitterest turf wars ants are so plentiful it's been said they outweigh humans [Music] desert ants by the hundreds of thousands prosper in arizona's sun-baked sand [Music] [Music] everyone has a job to do and for some that job is capture and control raiding other colonies like a well-trained army [Music] beneath the desert surface out of the glare of the sun ants faithfully serve one queen her only job is to lay all the colonies eggs and she can lay up to 1500 eggs a day the larvae need protection and that's the job of the carer ants [Music] worker ants stay busy scouting for food and supplies [Music] while soldier ants defend the colonies territories unremarkable on the surface each nest entrance leads to a series of passages which lead to a network of chambers for storing food or larvae deep down the ant queen retires to our own royal chamber in arizona the holly ants have a sweet solution to the challenge of desert living some members of the colony called repletes store nectar in their bellies which swell to the size of grapes colony members feed the nectar to them during the good times and retrieve it during the lean times [Music] the replete ants get so bloated they can't move but now the colony is in crisis [Music] it's not a food shortage but a raid by a rival colony apparently the desert's not big enough for both of them [Music] the rival hordes overwhelm the colony [Music] the chambers of the nest fall like dominoes until the invaders reach the queen she comes to a sticky end they'll eat the conquered enemy and take the larvae to their own nest to become their servants and the bloated replete ants well tasty plunder [Music] war is never pretty no matter what the scale and victory is always sweet at any size especially for this queen whose loyal army is willing to die to expand her realm turf wars can happen anywhere even where there's no turf competition for forest canopy real estate can be fierce so the malagasy paradise flycatcher has to be fiercer [Music] he battles bullies way bigger than himself to keep his home in an exotic forest full of birds and tree dwelling primates the conflict unfolds on madagascar which split from the indian peninsula around 88 million years ago thanks to the separation the island has many species found nowhere else on earth [Music] this determined looking character is a drongo bird he's already laid claim to this neck of the woods and doesn't want to share it with the fly catchers so he's destroying their nest like the flycatchers the drongo eats insects while there's no shortage of these in the forest the drongo doesn't like competition from other consumers the homeless fly catcher couple must find a friendlier neighborhood [Music] they've found it the nest building begins anew [Music] they need to complete it before they can begin the serious business of raising chicks [Music] now that they've settled in they've got to defend their territory but just when they thought they were safe more trouble this time a fellow fly catcher here to challenge the nesting male the feathers fly as the male flycatcher tries to keep the intruder from mating with the female in these skirmishes no one usually gets hurt [Music] after his earlier humiliation with the drongo the fly catcher hardens his resolve the intruder gives up the male returns to the nest after holding his ground in the air territory may be the ultimate animal status symbol it can convey physical strength give access to the best food and for guys make the ladies smooth the allure of territory is so strong that even vildebeast which carry out one of the world's most spectacular land migrations want a piece of the action [Music] on kenya's 580 square mile masai mara national reserve the mara river snakes its way across the plains [Music] each year herds of wildebeest millions strong will fit across the grassland in search of the fresher fields to satisfy their enormous appetite eventually they reach one of the most treacherous points in their journey the mara river it stops them dead in their tracks almost literally considering the crocodile-infested waters before them as the wildebeest numbers swell one brave beast takes the plunge the rest follow a great many animals of the masai mara depend on the river right now for the vildebeast it's kind of in the way but there's strength in numbers and by bunching up and relying on swarm intelligence they move ahead as one body despite the casualties [Applause] back on the relative safety of dry land the wildebeest take a break to eat [Music] and while they're at it males establish short-term territories [Applause] these private domains repel rival bulls while luring receptive cars during the migration there's plenty of both [Music] at the border of his realm this bull locks horns with his rival as they try to throw each other off balance but bringing his opponent to his knees is beside the point because he's already there glands under the battling bull's eyes secrete a scent they rub on the ground to mark territorial gains head butting looks brutal but the beasts are built to take it they strike at the sturdy base of their horns and avoid serious injury this wrestling safeguards the overall health of the herd and might also increase the battling bull's hormone levels [Applause] [Music] [Music] now that he's won his territory only females may cross it [Music] but love is a battlefield and this car won't surrender sorry stud not interested the herd moves on so the bull will have to abandon his passionate posture he'll soon find new territories to fight over and the ritual will begin again while the wildebeest can't seem to get across the river fast enough during their annual migration brown bears can hardly wait for the day to dive in [Music] within these lush north american forests the rivers provide a lifeline all year long and every summer they become especially exciting for the bears [Music] it's fishing season [Music] the wild untamed forests of alaska are paradise to the wild untamed brown bear on his way to the river this young male catches the centre of a female her mind's on the two cubs she has to feed the male will soon find out she'll have no interest in him while the cubs are in the picture some bears find that reason enough to kill a female's cubs but this bear cuts right to the chase pursuing mom young mother stands her ground he finally gets it no means no mama grizzly and the cubs are safe at least for now it's the salmon run the easiest fishing all year as hundreds of thousands of salmon race upstream to spawn if the mother and cubs hope to make it through the winter they'd better gorge themselves this summer one sockeye salmon has around four 4500 calories an adult bear will eat about 30 of them a day narrows and rapids are the best place to catch them any bruin with a brain knows that there's no such thing as a secret fishing hall every bear stakes out his or her own spot on the river and the competition for these mini territories is ferocious the young mother will try to keep her cubs clear of the brawling male bears can wear more than a half a ton and stand over six feet tall their claws can exceed three inches [Music] these territorial contests can turn vicious [Applause] [Music] first the bears claw at each other's chest and shoulders then if neither backs down they switch it up to biting head and neck that's if it gets really serious with these two like most of these clashes it doesn't come down to mortal kombat but the stronger of the two bears triumphs and claims the prime location atop the rapids there's still plenty for everyone by eating the fattiest portions the bear can pack on 400 pounds before hunkering down for his five to six month winter hibernation [Music] the run only lasts from may to september when it's done the bears go their separate ways avoiding each other as best they can returning to their dens at least till next year [Music] on the other side of the world where the terrain and environment couldn't be further from [Music] alaska guerrillas face a different kind of territorial conflict [Music] their story begins in the borderland forests between rwanda uganda and the congo gorilla country this troop of male female and infant guerrillas follows the leader through the mountainous forest range he's the single dominant male known as the silverback like a strict camp counsellor he alone decides where the troop goes and when they eat [Music] he also keeps them safe the silverback didn't get where he is today by being a pusher it starts early young gorillas may play fight with each other but they aren't aggressive maybe one day one will become the new silverback [Music] as the silverback moves through his territory which could stretch as far as 16 square miles his troop rarely strays from his sight his mission isn't about protecting his borders but providing the best food and quality of life for his troop foods abundant so they seldom have to worry about going hungry or competing for plants to eat in fact gorillas are pretty casual about their territories borders overlap with their neighbors and females easily slip between troops to mate which prevents inbreeding as a male reaches sexual maturity he may leave the troop and join a new one elsewhere or he might stay in his troop and mate with a new female as the silverback moves his troop to a new patch he's in no particular hurry sometimes relocating only a few hundred feet a day eventually it's time to stop and make camp gorillas build simple nests in the trees for the young ones to sleep in older gorillas build nests on the ground despite their size they need to be watchful for the few predators that threatened them but these critically endangered primates face an even bigger challenge the rainforest is a lush all-you-can-eat paradise of leaves fruit bark roots and seeds some species also enjoy ants and termites and raid termite nests to eat the larvae [Music] [Music] but through development and human demand for resources the boundaries of the rainforest are closing in their territory is shrinking [Music] for now the forest provides these highly social and intelligent animals with just about everything they need [Music] [Applause] [Music] with their fearless leader watching over them the troop settles back into their timeless routine at least for now [Music] while the gorilla looks fierce but is relatively placid the hippopotamus is a sort of the opposite a whimsical looking creature with a nasty temper hippo spent 16 hours a day in the water which is easy during the rainy season when there's plenty of water for everyone but during the dry season these social beasts can get more than a little feisty [Applause] in kruger national park in south africa a pleasant day in a puddle is almost ruined when a mysterious stranger comes to call a hippo herd can number up to 40 individuals and though they spend most of their time in the water hippos can't swim or even float [Music] on land grazing areas are considered neutral territory [Music] but the water can be a very different story hippos live segregated lives females and youngsters in one area bachelor males in and out bachelor males meanwhile must respect the soul breeding rites have one dominant bull beyond being chief stud the alpha bull keeps close watch over his heard stretch of river when a young male dares to trespass on the herd's territory the chief hippo in charge is not amused [Applause] he makes his objection perfectly clear [Applause] but the challenger is undeterred and even stakes his claim by showering his dung around the place this means war hippos sharpened their tusk like teeth by grinding them together their canines can grow over a foot long and their jaws can crush a crocodile [Applause] the old bull who has everything to lose isn't backing down the challenger does his best but the battle-tested old bull lands the most damaging blows the whole herd watches as the young pretender turns tail his chance of greatness ends in crushing defeat [Applause] [Music] badly injured and in exile he collapses under the baking sun so [Applause] the dominant bull lives to fight another day and now it's time to collect his prize mating with any car he wants his next challenger could be his last but he's already secured his legacy [Applause] while the alpha hippo throws his weight around in africa's rivers male northern elephant seals storm pacific beaches these almost nine thousand pound bulls look pretty laid back now but only because they're saving strength for the territorial battles to come they've spent most the year at sea fattening up to prepare for the breeding season when they'll lose one-third of their body weight [Applause] now with the onset of winter the bulls return to the coast the remote beaches and isolated islands of california's annual nuevo state park are home to some of the northern elephant seals largest breeding colonies a male halls onto the beach where he was born with a singular objective to sire offspring of his own it's a goal he shares with other competing bulls the question is where are the females they're on their way but before they arrive the males must compete over the best territories which attract the most females once a bull wins his territory he won't even leave it to eat hoping to claim a quiet place of his own this young male tests his luck against an imposing senior bull when the older bulls had enough he lets loose a terrifying roar which subdues his opponent [Applause] but the competition has only just begun the females finally arrive about to give birth and not yet in mating mood the males guard the mums to be knowing they'll be receptive after the pups come the bull's patience is about to pay off after about a month the pups are weaned and his harem is ready to breed but a male on the fringes of his territory tries to mate with one of his females not on this guy's watch the dominant bull issues a warning and sends him packing the triumphant bull returns to his harem and a busy period of mating up to 50 cows might join his harem [Music] the mating period lasts only five weeks and once it's done the territories and the fights are forgotten as winter turns to spring bulls cows and their pups leave the beach for the open ocean but not before enjoying a well-earned rest [Music] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Free Documentary - Nature

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Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), nature documentary, Free Documentary Nature, Survive the Wild, Wildlife, Wildlife Documentary, Wildlife Documentary 2022, National Geographic, Animals, Animal Documentary, Wild Animals, Leopard, Big Cats, Leopard Documentary, African Wildlife, Nature, Wild Animals Documentary, Bears, Lions, Lion Documentary

Id: m0zinQJaHNg

Length: 50min 5sec (3005 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 06 2022