Hunters and Hunted
The nature documentary explores mammals' ability to learn new tricks to survive, and features unique footage of a killer whale hunting elephant seal pups.
Mammals' ability to learn new tricks is the key to survival in the knife-edge world of hunters and hunted. In a TV first, a killer whale off the Falklands does something unique: it sneaks into a pool where elephant seal pups learn to swim and snatches them, saving itself the trouble of hunting in the open sea.
Slow-motion cameras reveal the star-nosed mole's newly-discovered technique for smelling prey underwater: it exhales then inhales a bubble of air ten times per second. Young ibex soon learn the only way to escape a fox - run up an almost vertical cliff face - and young stoats fight mock battles, learning the skills that make them one of the world's most efficient predators.
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Clips
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Rabbit hunt
Duration: 01:57
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Fantastic fishing
Duration: 02:23
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Playing for keeps
Duration: 01:32
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Piling on pounds
Duration: 02:12
Chapters
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Hunters and Hunted
Opening titles
Duration: 00:21
Targets
Cheetahs hunt together to take down a larger victim, and a newborn Ibex must think quickly on its feet if it’s to survive. Also, the Greater Bulldog bat catches his prey by surprise.
Duration: 15:22
Learning Young
Skills learnt during infancy helps the stoat overcome the much larger rabbit, and the bottlenose dolphins employ a food catching technique passed down from generation to generation.
Duration: 06:50
Hunting Conditions
Brown bears look to fatten up ahead of winter by catching salmon, and an Ethiopian wolf mother needs the pack's help to feed her pups. Elsewhere, the star-nosed mole senses food with great speed.
Duration: 11:42
Defence
Chital deer avoid a tiger with a little help from the langur monkeys, and the Californian Ground squirrel takes on the smell of a rattle snake to intimidate predators.
Duration: 05:49
Refining Strategies
An Orca whale comes up with a unique way of hunting seals.
Duration: 07:26
Life on Location – Rock Pooling
Two members of the Life crew get up close and personal with elephant seals; although getting too close could jeopardise the integrity of the film.
Duration: 10:44
Credits
Role Contributor Narrator David Attenborough Producer Adam Chapman Series Producer Martha Holmes Executive Producer Michael Gunton Broadcasts
- Mon 23 Nov 2009 21:00
- Mon 23 Nov 2009 22:40³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ One Northern Ireland
- Tue 24 Nov 2009 20:00
- Sun 29 Nov 2009 18:00
- Fri 4 Dec 2009 01:00
- Sat 20 Mar 2010 19:00
- Thu 27 May 2010 00:00³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ HD
- Sat 20 Nov 2010 19:00
- Sat 15 Oct 2011 19:00³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Four & ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ HD
- Sun 16 Oct 2011 00:15³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ HD
- Mon 5 Aug 2019 22:00
- Tue 23 Feb 2021 15:30³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Two except Scotland & Wales
- Tue 23 Feb 2021 16:25³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Two Wales HD & Wales only
- Wed 4 Oct 2023 19:00
- Thu 10 Oct 2024 19:00
- Fri 11 Oct 2024 01:40
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