Africa 2 Deadly 60 on a Mission

My name is Steve Backshall.

Whoa!

'And this is Deadly 60 On A Mission.'

'My crew and I are travelling the planet,

'in search of its deadliest creatures.'

It is not just animals that are deadly to me.

Whoa!

But animals that are deadly in their own world.

'Only the most lethal will make my list.'

And you're coming with me.

Every step of the way.

We are back in Africa.

It is a continent that always delivers with Deadly 60

cos it is packed with dazzling wildlife.

'But I figured you already know about obvious stuff like big cats

'so we are going for a more offbeat idea of deadly in Africa.'

'Cities, mountains, skies.

'It is an unconventional picture

'of the dark continent's lethal side.'

Just here.

'We have a midnight meeting with a nightmare beast

'that is full of surprises.'

One of the most despised animals in Africa.

'We track a herd of punk-haired primates

'with canines to match any carnivore...'

That is so impressive.

'..and have breakfast with a snake-scoffing bird.'

Ow! That was my toe!

'We begin in Ethiopia, East Africa -

'in many people's minds, a place of deserts but actually blessed

'with lush mountains and one of the rarest deadlies we will ever see.'

'Our first target is thought of as a tawdry, grotesque scavenger.

'Both harsh and untrue.

'Bizarrely, our best chance to meet one is here.'

This hustling, bustling morass of people is Harar town

and this is the market.

And you have to say that somewhere like this where

there are so many people living shoulder to shoulder would have to

be one of the worst places on Earth to come into contact with

a cunning, elusive, intelligent predator.

'The spotted hyena.

'Fearless, ferocious, frightening.

'They're pack hunters that gang up on their prey

'and with that peculiar rocking gait,

'can wear animals down before tearing them apart.

'They will even drive lions off their kills.

'Much of their diet is scavenged or stolen.

'Their stout skulls allow them to crunch through bone

'and caustic stomach acids digest even hide and hooves.'

'So, why have I come to a city to see them?'

People obviously use these holes now as entrance ways into the city

but originally they were built so that hyenas could come inside.

'Traditionally, people in Harar

'believed that feeding hyenas would rid the town of evil spirits.'

'They are still coaxed into the town even now

'and have overcome their natural wariness around humans.

'So I am about to go nose to nose

'with an animal that sends lions packing.'

This is Yusuf.

He has been feeding hyenas here for about 17 years

and his family for many generations before that.

We are sat just outside his house

and the walls of the city are maybe 15, 20 metres behind me

and when he wants to call the hyenas in, all he does is whistle.

HE WHISTLES AND CALLS IN OWN LANGUAGE

OK, we have got our first shape lumbering out of the darkness now.

Graham, over there. Just here.

Oh, my life.

OK, I wasn't expecting that. That was rather quicker than I expected.

This is totally freakish.

This goes against everything I have ever learnt about spotted hyenas.

This is a totally wild animal and this is one of the most feared,

in some cases despised, animals in Africa.

OK, I can just see off in the darkness now there's a couple

more shapes loping towards us.

Oh, my goodness.

Look at the size of this one.

Now, that is a much more threatening-looking animal.

Look how broad the head is. Really frightening-looking.

It is not surprising that these animals have inspired so much fear.

Being as the hyenas are being so cooperative in our presence,

there is something I would love to try. This is a bite test gauge.

It is essentially a pressure gauge and if you bite on it here...

..then the pressure registers there.

So I came up at just under 200 pounds per square inch.

'Let's see what the hyenas can do.'

Go on. Go on.

Oh, lordy!

OK. That was just a little snap.

And that registered four times my bite force pressure.

One little grab.

'This female hyena gave the bite gauge no more than a nibble.

'Just a mere suggestion of what they're capable of.'

'The broad muzzle and stout cheek teeth exert an almost

'unfathomable force.'

'That snout probably delivers the strongest bite of any mammal.'

That yawn really showed off those teeth.

I just can't get used to this at all.

Imagine any other situation where you could come

nose to nose with a predator this powerful...

..and not get savaged.

This is a bit much for me, I have to say.

'Spotted hyenas,

'with one of the strongest jaws in the whole animal kingdom.'

CRUNCHING

Listen to that crunching.

And that sound is why spotted hyenas have to go on the Deadly 60.

'With cooperation and teamwork, they're a potent pack predator.

'With a dynamite bite, pound for pound, they are one

'of the most powerful mammals and can digest bone, hide and horn.'

'Somewhat relieved to still have all my fingers,

'I am bound for the Guassa Mountains -

'the domain of some highly endangered deadlies.'

This is stunning. We have come up to about

3,500 metres above sea level

and it is starting to get a little chilly.

The views are worth it though.

'Somewhere on the slopes and cliff faces of this high altitude

'haven are vast herds of an unusual, spectacular primate.'

To find it, we are going to need quite a lot of leg work.

Well, this is just wonderful.

That is the droppings of the animal we are looking for.

This is quite fresh too. It is still quite sticky.

Oh, very strong-smelling. We are getting closer.

'The dung belongs to the gelada baboon.

'They graze on these high mountain pastures of Ethiopia.'

'But what is a grass-munching monkey doing on Deadly?'

'Well...'

'..look at these teeth.'

'Geladas are the owners of the most ferocious-looking set of canines

'on the primate planet.

'Flipping back their upper lip to display their oversized utensils,

'they are surprisingly intimidating.

'Geladas band together in the largest troops of any primate.

'Sometimes well over 100 individuals.

'Their last dominion on earth is the highlands of Ethiopia.'

Now, this should be a good outlook.

Got them. Yes.

Just down below us.

Steve, quick, look at this.

Whoa! Look at that.

It's incredible how fast they run over this terrain.

It's rocky, it's uneven, very steep.

But they just sprint over it.

It must be going, I would think, between 25 and 30mph.

Look how close we are getting.

This is extraordinary.

Look at them all.

They're just standing there and they are not at all fussed.

I guess they kind of know that, on these hillsides, they rule.

Almost all of the animals that we feature on Deadly 60 are carnivores,

they are predators, they eat meat.

But very occasionally you will find a herbivore,

an animal that feeds on vegetable matter,

that is worthy of consideration

and I think the gelada is just such an animal.

I mean, it has got canine teeth that would equal those of a lion

so obviously they are not being used to munch down grass,

they're used for a totally different purpose.

'And that purpose is defence.

'Geladas have many potential predators.'

'Hyena, jackals, even leopard.'

'If attacked, male geladas respond with heroic aggression

'and those teeth.'

'But males don't just have to defend themselves from predators,

'but challenges from each other.'

'Fur and blood flies as fights erupt between top males in disputes

'over females and the right to breed.'

'The heavy mane of hair deflects many bites

'but those teeth can easily deliver a lethal injury.'

Oh, that is so impressive.

When a male gelada yarns like that, it's not

because they are tired or bored, it is because they're

showing off those teeth and, right now, he is showing them off to me.

He is letting me know that he is not to be trifled with.

Oh, wow.

I have never seen anything quite like that in my life.

He just did the most extraordinary jump for joy gesture, teeth bared.

He has certainly got attitude, this one.

Gelada baboons may be herbivores but they have the swagger,

that attitude, the arrogance...

..and those teeth -

they have got to put them on the Deadly 60.

'The gelada baboon - a fast, fearless, agile primate.

'Armed with a formidable set of canine teeth.

'And brave enough to defend itself against leopard and hyena.'

'The Guassa Mountains are a hotbed of wild rarities and there is

'one animal here that I didn't even dare to hope we would find.

'But deadly luck is on our side.'

That's it. That's it. That's it. That's it.

OK, come on, guys. Get out very, very quietly.

This is unbelievable.

The hillside here is covered in gelada baboons and heading off,

right through the middle of them, up through that valley,

is an Ethiopian wolf.

I don't know what to say about this, really.

I mean, wolves are my favourite animal in the whole world

and this is the rarest member of the dog family

found on the whole planet.

There's anywhere from 200 to 500 individuals left in the wild.

This really is one of the most privileged sights you can

have in wildlife in the whole world.

'To see two such rarities only one hillside

'is something I will never forget.'

When he sees something, he stops dead

and then just goes into stealth mode, moving really, really slowly.

There is definitely something in front of him.

'We watch in wonder as the wolf stiffens,

'priming his muscles to pounce

'and then leaps forward.'

'He has obviously caught something but what is it?'

-He has caught a mole rat, I think.

-No. No.

'Not only are we watching one of just 500 Ethiopian wolves

'left in the world but it is hunting right in front of our eyes.'

'Unlike pack hunting grey wolves, the Ethiopian wolf hunts alone.'

'Ultra-sensitive hearing helps them hone in on the tiniest sounds.'

'And lightning-quick reactions

'enable then to snatch up unwary rodents.'

Such a distinctive, striking-looking animal.

Really bright red colour with a white rump and a dark tail.

The Abyssinian wolf.

Probably the rarest animal we will ever encounter on Deadly 60

and I think one of the most special

and definitely, definitely going on my list.

'The hearing and eyesight are highly developed.

'Creeping up on prey then

'killing with a decisive pounce.

'Their narrow muzzle is superb

'for despatching rodents.'

'Two of the most endangered beasts we have ever featured,

'strolling openly on one hillside. Remarkable.

'But time for a change of tack.

'We are tracking down an animal that is somewhat macabrely known

'as the black death, here in South Africa.

'It is undoubtedly one of Africa's most dangerous animals.

'Grumpy, surly and unpredictable, it is the Cape buffalo.'

'Their defensive strategy

'is developed to repel their great enemy - the lion.

'Often, prides of lion will trail buffalo herds for weeks

'so they always need to be on their guard.

'Being alert to danger and reacting quickly keeps them alive.

'Usually their reaction to a perceived threat is to charge.'

THUD!

THUD!

'Almost a tonne of beef on the hoof

'and much, much faster than they look.

'This animal needs to be treated with genuine respect.

'Buffalo are here in pretty large numbers but it's a big reserve

'so the best way to find them is to get an eagle's eye view.'

If we are going to stand a chance of getting close to them in the air,

we need an aircraft that is small, manoeuvrable, perhaps even discreet.

Something like this.

Here we go!

Whoo!

OK, so now we are airborne.

This wonderful little plane offers us so many opportunities.

We can obviously cover a much broader range and also,

because we are so much higher,

if there is a large herd of buffalo down there, we will see it.

'And there is plenty of other wildlife here too.'

Elephants. Elephants.

Oh, wow.

'And a herd of rhino.'

This is a great way to see Africa's giants.

'And then our target was just below us.'

What do you see?

I see them.

I see the buffalo.

Wow. It is a massive herd.

Oh, I cannot believe how many there are.

I reckon this herd of buffalo must be 200 animals strong.

Oh, look at that.

Well done. Good job. Good job.

Well, this plane is the perfect spotting platform

but it is not much of a filming platform.

So we know where the animals are.

Now we need to take the car and get in as close as we can on the ground.

Whoa! Without the turbulence!

'Now that we have located the herd,

'we want to approach them on foot but that has its own challenges.'

Now, buffalo are animals that are always alert

to the possible presence of a predator.

They have got several hundred pairs of eyes, all looking out for danger

and they also have a very, very keen sense of smell

and of hearing as well

so it is very important that we approach them from downwind of the

animals so our scents and our sounds are being carried away from them.

From here on in, it's stealth mode.

We do need to be very careful here and always be on the lookout.

After all, it's not just Cape buffalo that are in this area.

There are elephant, rhino and lion.

'The rifles are an absolute last resort.

'Our aim is to approach without giving the animals

'a reason to charge.'

These are buffalo tracks.

There's a distinctive, quite rounded profile to the print

and a cloven hoof.

They are heading in that direction.

And they are very fresh.

The closer we get to the herd, the more and more important it is

to move slowly and quietly

but that is really hard when the ground is so dry.

It's a bit like walking on dry cornflakes.

'We are in their world now and have to monitor our scent, our breathing

'and every footfall.'

'This is what deadly cameraman Johnny filmed the last time

'he worked with Buffalo.

'He considers it has closest call.'

'Spooking them could be genuinely dangerous.'

There's five or six bulls who've all come to stand up very proud,

looking towards us.

Slight shakes of the head and advancing in our direction.

These are all quite menacing movements.

And there's actually some that are starting to get closer

in those bushes over there.

You can see this large bull standing with his head up high,

sniffing the air.

Sniffing to try and get a scent of us and what we are.

Got a very, very close eye on us.

This is really close as I want to get to a Cape buffalo.

But for their role as a deadly defender,

you have got to say they have to be on the Deadly 60.

'Their head adorned with giant, heavy horns,

'A grumpy, unpredictable nature

'and the instinct to group together into huge defensive herds.'

'After that, my nerves are shot to bits.'

'But next up, we are going to meet two avian assassins

'with very different hunting strategies.'

'One is a bird of prey that plucks monkeys from the treetops.'

'The other is a strutting slayer of Africa's most lethal serpents.'

This is the first of our subjects.

It's the ground hornbill.

It is an incredibly impressive-looking bird

with a rather wonderful call

and its favourite food in the whole world...

is a snake.

'They are an odd-looking bird with gaudy wattles and face colours

'and some of the most extravagant eyelashes you will never see

'but they will happily wade in on scorpions

'and Africa's most venomous snakes.

'Loss of habitat has led to a decline in their numbers

'here in South Africa.

'This conservation project allows us to get up close to them

'and witness their hunting style with the help of this rubber snake.'

Straight for the head. Real precision there.

Now, that has very real purpose.

Let's imagine if this was something like a puff adder.

If it was to snap towards the tail,

that would give the puff adder the perfect chance to snap around

and land a venomous bite

but if you take out the head instantly

then you have got rid of every single bit of threat.

That beak is strong enough

and sharp enough that this snake would already be dead.

This is the male bird. He is slightly larger.

And the beak, well, that is a superb precision tool.

But the other thing you can't miss with this bird is the eyelashes.

Those eyelashes are perfect for keeping dust

and seeds out of the eyes.

I think it has realised though that my plastic snake is not edible.

'So now it is trying to figure out what else round here

'might be worth a munch.'

HORNBILL CHIRPS AND BRAYS

So, ground hornbills don't just hunt snakes.

They will also take furry things like mammals.

And, right now, Nick's boom pole is taking just that part.

But I think this really shows the intelligence of the ground hornbill.

It is kind of sussing out everything that is in its world

and figuring out if it's going to be good to eat.

Ow! That was my toe!

'Bright in every sense of the word.

'I hereby declare ground hornbills deadly.'

'It chooses to feast on Africa's most lethal snakes.

'With a stabbing, plucking bill

'and the precision to deliver a killer blow to its prey.'

'There's around 10,000 species of bird in the world

'and they have evolved a multitude of feeding styles

'but this next one could be the most awe-inspiring.

'For this bird of prey can snatch monkeys from the treetops.

'It is the regal crowned eagle.

'The wings are relatively stubby to make them

'more manoeuvrable in the tangles of the treetops.

'They're reputed to be the most powerful raptor in Africa.'

So, now we have seen what this massively powerful eagle is

capable of eating, we have a wonderful opportunity to

actually see this bird in the wild

because just down below me here is a nest and, if we hang out at

the cliff edge, we might, just might see these birds coming in.

We creep down the hillside then, after hours sitting

silently in the brain-melting African sun,

result.

Both birds have just come in and landed near the nest. Quite often...

Oh, they're mating. They're mating.

'A crowned eagle pair often use the same nest for many years

'so this might not be the first time they have bred here.'

Up close to crowned eagles in the wild

and the first thing you see is mating. That is just extraordinary.

Such a dramatic bird, silhouetted there on that

branch against the mountains in the background.

One has just flown.

Well, we have had a glimpse of the crowned eagle in this

environment where they truly are king but the next stage is to

get really close to one and I know just the place.

'This crowned eagle was rescued

'and rehabilitated after a near-fatal injury.'

So, this is a crowned eagle up close.

This is Karma and the first thing I can tell you about her

is that she has one of the most extraordinary grip strengths

I have ever felt on a bird or actually on any animal at all.

If I didn't have this thick leather gauntlet on, I think

she would probably be crushing every bone in my hand.

And those talons really are totally remarkable.

It is all about the fact that this animal really specialises

in feeding on mammals.

So you have got an incredibly powerful grip strength.

Very, very broad, thick talons. It also has this.

Oh! Ow.

You can really sense the incredible strength and power of this animal.

That talon there can be used in an attack.

Thrown forward like this

and then used to stab into the body of the animals it is feeding on.

So being as we have this unique opportunity of having a bird

like this up close, what I would really like to see is it in action.

'Using a lure, we will hopefully get her to swoop in for the kill.

'And I will be ready with a camera to try and get a prey's eye view.'

There she goes.

Oh!

Superb.

'As she comes in, she drops down,

'allowing gravity to bring her towards the ground.

'Then lift is generated under her wings

'so she doesn't need to flap when coming in on the lure.'

And look at that. This is called mantling.

What it's doing is just making sure that nothing else can see its food.

And there it is going to go in and get stuck in.

You can see the crown of feathers is fully extended,

making her look bigger and more threatening.

This is the most powerful eagle in Africa

and it is a crested wonder.

You have got to say,

the crowned eagle has definitely got to go on the Deadly 60.

'With enormous, dagger-like talons

'that stab through their prey,

'agile aerial expertise allowing them to dodge

'in and out of trees and

'extraordinary strength and power.'

'It has been a subtle twist on Africa's most deadly.

'A scavenger that can be an efficient pack hunter...

'..a herbivore with a lion's teeth..

'..and one of the rarest deadlies we will ever see.

'Join me next time for another deadly mission.'

This is unbelievable.

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