Wildlife Instincts | Cheetah - The Fastest Animal on Earth | Free Documentary Nature

the fastest animal on the planet the cheetah uses its lightning speed that can reach 100 kilometers an hour as a deadly weapon [Music] with most of them living alone they're known as solitary Hunters but recently some overturn this long-held belief these five cheaters of about the same age are a case in point [Music] their way of hunting is upending the rule books as they use their Collective power to bring down their prey discovering why they'd formed this group unveiled some fascinating surprises join us as we uncover some of their remarkable survival strategies [Music] foreign [Music] this is footage we shot of cheaters on a hunt the likes of which had never been filmed before all five cheetahs are together trying to bring down their prey just as lions might this is what it looks like when five cheaters are hunting in a group examples like this are a vanishingly thin Rarity [Music] the generally accepted Norm is it is a usual usual self-sufficient individuals so while these cheaters hunting in a group [Music] we've come to the Serengeti plain in East Africa which extends from Kenya to Tanzania foreign it's a grassy plane that stretches as far as the eye can see it's teeming with animals and offers food for all tastes [Music] and there's one of our Target creatures the cheetah [Music] eyeing its prey it makes its stealthy approach notice how focused it seems its Target is a herd of gazelles without warning the attack begins Pace keep when it needs to it can reach a top speed of around a hundred kilometers an hour almost instantaneously the cheetah closes the distance on the gazelle [Music] the cheetah's sculpted body is purpose Built For Speed slim torso for example carries no excess flesh it's small head greatly reduces air resistance [Music] its four and hind legs extend fully to give the cheetah its leaping stride foreign it's a long jumper too and it can do so gracefully as well so highly tuned it's ultimate running machine [Music] but the cheetah has one weakness that is difficult to overcome these two male siblings have successfully caught their prey they're feasting on its meat but watch out boys a lion has its sights on your plunder the Takeover is not far off and the cheaters know when a cause is lost [Music] this was an easy for the lion the cheaters didn't even try to put up a fight this then is the cheetah's weakness quite literally so in a confrontation with many another sharp tooth Predator they are simply outclassed and their Rivals are not only lions here comes a hyena it's a fearsome carnivore with powerful jaws reluctant to give up their spoil the cheaters initially tried to intimidate the hyena undaunted the hyena continues to approach [Music] it was really no contest but why did the cheaters give up so easily [Music] the reason lies in the cheetah's slim torso its muscles for fighting haven't developed in the way other large meat-eating animals muscles have [Music] that's the flip side to their unique body form that's so perfect for sprinting cheetahs just don't possess the means for protecting the prey they've caught [Music] this pack of hyenas has successfully taken over the cheetah's food and the cheaters themselves they have retreated and are cowering in the trees [Music] these foes had from the start intended to steal whatever the cheaters had managed to catch [Music] foreign the cheaters have been cleverly outmaneuvered finally the hyenas leave [Music] the only thing that cheetahs can do now is to once again hunt down some prey and hope they get to keep it fate is a cynical provider in return for bodies perfect for catching prey they are seldom allowed to keep it but there's more [Music] overall cheetahs have a reputation for being excellent Hunters but compared to female cheaters the hunting success rate for young males is low [Music] the reason for the poor success rate becomes clear in a comparison of males and females when they're Cubs at this point they all seem to be the same [Music] as one might expect the mother cheetah is tasked with raising the Cubs three months after they're born however differences in the behavior of the males and females start to appear perhaps surprisingly the ones that accompany the mother when she goes hunting other female Cubs the mother cheetah has located her prey but look the mother and her child are lined up and moved the same way the female Cub is imitating her mother stealthily the mother approaches a gazelle the Cub mimics her mother although still in infancy she is picking up vital hunting skills but what about the male Cubs no surprise here too perhaps they're just fooling around and playing when the mother has caught her prey the children all come together but even here the female Cub imitates her mother she bites into the prey's neck practicing the final stages of the kill thank you female Cubs seem to know what's vital for the raising of future Generations [Music] when they're a year and a half old they all leave the mother's territory and head off on their own [Music] but the males are backward in the ways of the hunt they struggle to survive on their own this is an 18 month old male it's still been less than a few days since he started fending for himself is he looking for prey he seems to be wandering around rather aimlessly he spots a group of herbivores with his head down he makes his approach it's certainly the hunting pose but he's in full view of the herd as could be expected the zebras are on full alert right sensing danger they take to their heels [Music] the young male cheetah appears to give Chase but in fact seems he was really after these gazelles yet it was a pitiful attempt at a catch [Music] he was bobbing up and down like a yo-yo so he couldn't possibly develop a pace good enough to run one down [Music] make matters worse gazelles are no slots and can run at a top speed of 90 kilometers an hour with a running style that is decidedly subpar the young cheetah is going to remain hungry for a while yet [Music] foreign [Music] this is a common warthog embarrassingly the young male cheetah finds that he is the hundred the common warthog has big fearsome tusks if the cheetah doesn't approach it carefully it may well find itself being counter-attacked [Music] clearly life on the Serengeti plane for a young male cheetah is far from straightforward [Music] however how are you today Elena is a zoologist good morning good studying young male cheaters in her recent research she's been focusing on male cheaters that have found an unexpected way to survive we set out to look for some of these males together with jelly Shiva after some searching we spot our targets there's one three four five cheetahs [Music] according to gelishiva the young males are about two and a half years old this collection is really unique first of all what is unique about it the number of animals the second thing is that they all may be not related to each other examples have been seen before of male siblings sticking together after setting out on their own however in those cases the largest groupings were of three cheaters this is the first time a group of five has been discovered in this area so what kind of Life have these cheetahs made for themselves we decide to follow them together with Charlie Shiva to find out [Music] a tracking collar has been fitted to one of the cheaters it's the individual that chelshiba believes is the alpha male it has a distinctive scar above its nose [Music] jelly Shiva began pursuing the five cheaters in 2016. since then she's been carefully observing them and can recognize each one by the differences in their body patterns [Music] the alpha male takes the lead the others obediently follow him they suddenly come to a stop they've spotted a common warthog with her offspring the cheaters launch into action one of them chases off the formidable adult [Music] at the same time Vegeta chases and catches a piglet [Music] when the mother returns this time two of the Cheetahs are after it [Music] when it's two against one the Cheetahs stand a chance the lead cheetah definitely Dodges a counter-attack the target is still right up to the end the piglet [Music] now it's time to share the spoils this was a division of labor that allowed them to successfully hunt down the otherwise dauntingly powerful common warthogs intriguingly these five young males are not siblings so how do they manage to maintain their cohesion as a group perhaps a clue to their Unity lies in the telek river for example cuts through the grassland as the five cheaters go down to the riverbed at their head is the alpha male they want to cross this muddy flow of water but if they're caught in the current it could be life-threatening [Music] decisively one of the group jumps in as befits his status the first one to cross is the leader he Dives in before any of the others to see if it's safe and perhaps to prove a point one after another his companions follow him into the water foreign all of them make it safely across it's becoming clear that they all depend on the alpha male they stopped by the side of a tree raising his tail High the leader points his rear to the trunk by urinating on it he's marking the spot and thereby claiming this area as part of his Pax territory the remaining four cheaters sir on the tree to Market together it's further proof that these five cheetahs are going to share one territory with their leader at the head the group goes off to patrol their land foreign [Music] not long afterwards the leader spot something it's a herd of elon's in front of a cluster of trees the largest elands can weigh up to 900 kilograms the Cheetahs are eyeing a prey that quite simply dwarfs them [Music] the challenge the opportunity is there how will they respond [Music] it is I headed for some Bush [Music] from time to time they peek out from the undergrowth to see what the elands are doing there's still about 200 meters away from their Quarry it just quietly approached the elands concealing themselves as best they can as they get nearer the Cheetahs emerge into the open [Music] since the land is lower here the elands can't see them [Music] thank you the cheaters are now about 50 meters away from the elands it's a short enough distance that should allow them to pounce at will [Music] and the attack begins it's not head on though instead the lead cheetah runs alongside his Quarry taking their cues from this tactic the other cheaters do the same [Music] one of the cheetahs are plenty [Music] the others run parallel to the elands to pin them in against the trees [Music] it's a successful operation and they are rewarded with their meal foreign as a group the five young male cheaters are able to make up for their individually poor hunting skills the Eland makes a welcome Feast for the famished yet out of the blue the alpha male hits the male next to him and not just once but several times in fact says gelishiva the alpha male has employed such disciplinary actions since not long after the group was formed it seems the others need to never forget the pecking order also believes that besides the advantage they gain for hunting there's another reason the five cheaters live together in a group a lion appears it's the greatest enemy The Cheetahs face a lion has a very strong sense of territory even just being close to its terrain is reason enough to become the target of a lion's Wrath sure enough the lion approaches the group scratching the ground with its hind legs the lion urinates the lion is marking his territory it's a warning to the Cheetahs don't come any closer thank you suddenly though grown-like sounds can be heard and they're coming from the cheaters the growls are an attempt to intimidate the lion this area is an important hunting ground for the five cheaters too they have no intention of quietly seeding it to the Intruder the lion for his part can't hide his irritation he slowly but fearlessly approaches them far from fleeing the young male cheaters appear willing to defy the larger cat finally having had enough of this the lion Springs into action he's after the leader but then he suddenly stops [Music] he appears to be concerned about the male cheaters behind him the lion turns back towards them he starts running again but yet again the lion stops [Music] foe faced with five opponents the lion can't decide on which one to attack [Music] foreign [Music] starts running the cheetah cheated follow suit finally the lion gives up he knows when continuing is pointless [Applause] the five cheaters have definitely repelled a fearsome enemy [Music] jellyshiva says that the number of animals hostile to cheetahs is increasing the young male cheaters are living in the northern part of the Serengeti plain as a result of efforts to protect lions and hyenas in this region their numbers have significantly recovered in recent years says that this change in their environment may be one reason the five cheaters have chosen to live in a group number of lines is growing in hyenas so to survive cheetahs benefit from joint Collision work because first of all they can protect better themselves they can go for bigger prey together and share it male cheaters who certainly aren't expert Hunters yet protecting their access to their prey is vital for their survival never seen before the grouping of these five cheaters is their way to survive in an increasingly hostile environment it's the end of the dry season which has lasted for half the year [Music] it's the period before the onset of the rainy season when herbivorous animals begin to get especially active this is an infant gazelle that was born only the previous evening it's already fully Mobile nearby is an infant topi New Life on these grasslands is emerging everywhere [Music] okay the five young male cheaters are once again on the move they're searching for their next meal they find a herd of zebras [Music] spreading out the Cheetahs are trying to identify their target [Music] The Hunt is on their Mark is one of the youngsters [Music] the lead cheater speeds up but stops Midway in front and back The Young zebra is guarded by some of the larger adults it's not a wise move for any cheetah to try to take on the strongest members of The Herd [Music] and so this hunt ends in failure [Music] it's downtime for the cheaters after a hunt the cheetah's body temperature and heart rate go up so they have to rest a while it takes them an hour to recover just because their last hunt was a fiasco doesn't mean they can immediately start looking for their next prey as we monitored them we could also see the demerits of living as a pack yet singularly altogether they still need to feed their Paramount need now is to reduce their hunting failure rate It's that or starve the five cheaters now survey a herd of gazelles the gazelles however are on alert and turn to watch the cheaters the chances of a successful hunt are not outstanding as the gazelles take off one cheetah rashly gives Chase but quite quickly he has to stop to recover his strength and his failure does not go unpunished [Music] the alpha male lashes out at all the members of the group he would seem to be extremely upset about the outcome [Music] the one the leader particularly targets is the member that failed to catch the gazelle yet the other cheaters are not immune to his annoyance either close monitoring of this individual was quite revealing [Music] almost everywhere they go he receives the brunt of the leader's disaffection like this even when he's just walking he's under constant surveillance by the alpha male chalisiva calls this member m73 we decided to call him Charlie [Music] observations have revealed that the group has a clear pecking order [Music] and at the bottom is poor Charlie as the weakest member of the group Charlie is an easy target for the leader's dissatisfaction add to that Charles is poor hunting skills and he becomes a classic Target for abuse on a number of occasions he has Disturbed the harmony of the group and he pays the price they next come upon a herd of zebras on the grassland the other members of the group are concealing themselves in the bushes to scope things out they appear to be waiting for the zebras to come a little closer Uninvited Charlie begins to move forward he takes off after a zebra he's trying to tackle the zebra from behind but doesn't have the energy to complete the attack the other cheaters take up the challenge [Music] Charlie meanwhile is on the receiving end of the zebra's vicious kicks with its hind legs the plan to Ambush the zebras was ruined by Charlie jumping the gun it forced the other members of the group to charge out after him [Music] for his indiscipline Charlie gets a real scolding from the leader [Music] chelseaver says there may be a reason Charlie is so impatient when hunting it could be the reason he want to show that he deserved the higher position in the group however he becomes the victim of his own actions because the more impatient Charlie gets the more he stands in the group's way matters will not get any easier for Charlie for some time [Music] thick clouds Now cover the grasslands right between the dry and rainy Seasons heavy rains Begin to Fall about once every two days foreign for the five cheaters the pounding rain is a grim ordeal in addition to not being able to go hunting when they get wet their body temperatures drop the rain increases in intensity unable to stand it they try to seek shelter under a small bush the five cheaters huddled together all they can do is endure their hunger pranks and the cold and wait stoically for the weather to improve [Music] finally there is a break in the rain soaking wet the five are chilled to the Bone [Music] they begin to lick each other's bodies by removing the droplets of water they're trying to get dry as quickly as possible [Music] since a cheetah's tongue is rough it's good for taking away the moisture [Music] despite the unpleasantness they have experienced they can still work as a team [Music] now completely dry the five members set out yet again to look for prey perhaps they'll have better luck from now on indeed Good Fortune does seem to be shining on them one cheetah Crouch is low they have found some zebras stealthily one of the Cheetahs approaches The Herd [Music] as they plan to surround their prey and then use their close teamwork to catch it [Music] becoming aware of the danger though the zebras begin to flee however another cheetah is lying in weight finding the one he wants he closes in [Music] chases his prey with every ounce of strength he has and he is Victorious the other cheaters gather round for the feast oh but the celebration is about to be ruined and the Party Poopers are a pack of hyenas [Music] one of the Cheetahs makes a stand but his efforts are to no avail [Music] their catch is going to be forfeited looking back we can see that one of the Cheetahs surrendered the zebra without putting up a fight it was the alpha male the leader was the first one to pull out the other members then had no choice but to withdraw as well they'd finally got some food after all that trouble but their enemies were a pack of hyenas it might have been different if there had been only one hyena but the cheaters couldn't do anything against so many the young male cheaters leave it was wiser than getting injured by putting up a weak resistance [Music] hyenas eat the zebra right to the Bone the hunt by the five cheaters again comes to nothing [Music] around this time an unsettling mood hangs over the group the leader lashes out at the other members apparently for no reason but one of the group puts up some resistance it was Charlie supposedly at the bottom of the hierarchy he showed a spirit he'd never shown before [Music] on another occasion this happened [Music] the leader tried to attack Charlie but another member intervened he was protecting Charlie it was as if he were reproaching the leader [Music] it seems the position of the alpha male is wavering it's clearly no easy matter for these unrelated male cheaters to be bound together indefinitely [Music] another day another hunt the group of five is again on the prowl for prey Charlie is at the head of the group on this occasion they find a herd of gazelles once again Charlie Sprints out ahead of the others will his bravado succeed this time Charlie ratchets up the speed gazelle changes Direction just when it seems the gazelle has opened up some distance from Charlie another member joins the pursuit [Music] but this time it's Charlie that brings the gazelle down it was a skillful piece of teamwork [Music] with a show of nonchalance the leader approaches it was undeniably a great achievement for Charlie finally the members of the group are able to eat to their hearts content [Music] from this time forward we begin to notice how well Charlie was maturing [Music] it's now been over one month since we began following the group the five cheaters are again on the lookout for something to eat [Music] alpha male his tracking collar for the survey has come off [Music] they have come across a male topi it's as big as a zebra Charlie crouches down assuming a hunting posture he's waiting for the right moment he begins stealthily moving forward and now he runs [Music] he quickly picks up speed look at Charlie's positioning different from the time he was back kicked by the zebra this time he runs diagonally to his Target foreign stride for stride with the topi he's looking for the right time to strike the topi loses its balance this is Charlie's chance Charlie's front claws connect with his prey soon the others are following behind foreign seems to come to a stop in the bushes working together all five of the cheaters try to topple the topi sinking his into the Toby's neck is none other than Charlie the topi desperately tries to stand up in response the other cheetahs bite into the topi's legs [Music] [Applause] [Music] finally it's game over as the cheaters succeed in bringing it down foreign yet again it's a great victory for Charlie [Music] this will have undoubtedly raised his standing within the group [Music] within six months the members of the group will become fully fledged adults and should start to leave behind their own progeny the zoologist intends to continue monitoring them to see if they'll maintain their ties brothers are staying for the rest of their life together and if Collision consists of unrelated males they can split or they can stay together also depends on the level of a creative or friendly Behavior between them and what we can see are afflative behaviors now are improving which means that they're coming together more close thank you [Music] Serengeti plain Africa in a kingdom filled with such fearsome threats as lions and hyenas five young cheetahs have survived by banding together yet as they seek ever larger prey they will have to contend with an increasing number of enemies they're forging a new way to survive and thrive such as never been seen before [Music] their strength forwards through collaboration is as remarkable as it is surprising it may be the key to their future on this great African plane [Applause] [Music] [Applause] thank you [Music]

Channel: Free Documentary - Nature

Views: 1,027,664

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), nature documentary, Free Documentary Nature, Nature, Wildlife Documentary, Wildlife, Animal Documentary, Animals, Cheetah, Cheetah Documentary, Serengeti, Serengeti Documentary, Serengeti Plain, Fastest Animal On Land, Fastest Animal on Earth, Africa, African Wildlife, BBC Documentary, National Geographic, Nat Geo, Cheetah Hunting, Cheetah Documentary 2022

Id: l2q8Gmo-gWw

Length: 52min 1sec (3121 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 30 2022