Inside the Perfect Predator Page #2

it is now used in jet engines.

Nictating membranes wipe her eyes

to clear them of debris

and stop them drying out.

She prepares for impact, a manoeuvre

requiring split-second timing.

But the pigeon spotted her...

and she can't compete on the flat.

Despite their speed, peregrine

falcons have a poor strike rate,

with only 20% of attacks

ending in a kill.

But her chicks must feed

before the day is out.

Back in Africa,

hunger is also preying on the mind

of the freshwater predator.

So far, this Nile crocodile

has survived on meagre pickings.

Now is his chance for a proper meal.

The crocodile is an ambush predator.

But to succeed, he must get close.

No more than three metres away.

The wildebeest

are wary of any movement.

For his final approach,

he must vanish completely.

Although he can barely see, he uses

his claws to feel his way forward.

Pressure receptors studded along his

jaws pick up vibrations in the water

guiding him to his prey.

A large crocodile can hide itself

in 30 centimetres of water.

Now, he must wait for them

to come to him.

By lowering his heart rate...

...and slowing down his metabolism...

...he can stay submerged

for up to two hours.

Finally, the temptation to drink

is too much for the wildebeest.

He swipes his muscular tail,

half his body length.

It launches him

three metres out of the water.

He shuts his eyes to protect them...

...and snaps blindly, his jaws

studded with five-centimetre fangs.

He's missed.

The Nile crocodile's hit rate of 30%

may beat that

of the peregrine falcon...

...but the wildebeest are only

fleeting visitors to his river.

He must make a kill soon if he

is to survive the lean times ahead.

Drained after an epic voyage,

the ultimate ocean predator

is also ravenous.

She's come all this way to feast on

the thousands of young seals

braving open water

for the first time.

25 metres down,

she launches her lightning strike.

Three-quarters of her bodyweight

is muscle that powers

her enormous tail.

Thanks to her fortified scales,

her streamlined body

glides through the water

with minimal friction.

At 31 miles an hour,

she's like a living torpedo.

Moments before the strike, she

rolls her eyes back to protect them.

Steering blind,

she now depends on her sixth sense.

The electro-sensors on her snout

detect the seal's electric field.

Her jaws open almost a metre wide...

...revealing row upon row

of serrated daggers.

With a 50% hit rate, she is

the most efficient hunter so far.

But she must consume more blubber

if she's to make it

back to peak condition.

Back on the African plains,

the fastest land animal

is moving in for the kill.

The survival of her cubs

is at stake.

From 0 to 60 in under three seconds,

she outperforms a Porsche.

Extra-wide airways

and outsized lungs

allow her to take in more oxygen.

Loose hip and shoulder joints

give her extended reach.

Combined with an elastic spine...

...that both arches up

and curves down.

This gives her a seven-metre stride.

For more than half the time,

she is airborne.

Thrusting her forward

are her huge leg muscles...

Composed mainly

of fast-twitch fibres

that contract far quicker

than normal muscles...

...and that run on glycogen,

nature's own rocket fuel.

But there's a catch.

Glycogen breaks down

into lactic acid,

the poison that causes muscle cramp.

She has just 20 seconds to make her

kill before her muscles burn out.

Hurtling at 70 miles an hour,

she risks everything on a trip.

With a 50% strike rate,

the cheetah matches

the efficiency of the great white,

but holding onto her kill

will be another matter.

By strike rate alone, the cheetah...

...and great white

are the top predators.

Snapping at their heels

is the Nile crocodile...

with the peregrine falcon

swooping into fourth.

But there is more to survival

than just hunting.

THE FUTURE:

The great white

has made her first kill

but she must make up for lost time.

Kill number two.

Her liver starts

to store its fatty oils,

but she still needs more.

Over the short winter season,

an experienced shark

may catch up to three seals a day.

Months later, however,

the tide has turned.

The seals are both

stronger and cannier.

While some are still being eaten...

...most can now run rings

around their enemy.

The shark's incredible metabolism

is both a strength and a weakness.

Like the cheetah,

her fast-twitch muscles

are perfect for short bursts

of speed but quickly burn out.

The exhausted shark gives up.

But she's done well.

Her fatty liver

has now doubled in size.

With energy in reserve, she moves on

to her next feeding ground...

...one that may be

hundreds of miles away.

But avoiding the fishing fleets

is becoming more difficult.

Her luck has run out.

This ruthlessly efficient predator

has ruled the waves

for millions of years,

but now these waves

are ruled by humans.

So what does the future hold

for the other top predators?

On the African plains,

the cheetah has made her kill.

But the chase

has attracted attention...

...and taken its toll on her body.

Struggling to recover, her lungs

heave at 200 breaths per minute.

Oxygen races

to her aching muscles...

...breaking down

the cramping lactic acid.

But time is running out.

This time, the hyenas went

for the easy meat.

But it was meat

that the cubs desperately needed.

In the past, cheetahs could

avoid their enemies.

But now,

their grasslands are shrinking

and being replaced by farmland...

Where the cheetahs are considered

a threat to livestock...

...and shot.

She may have had the run of

the plains for millennia,

but in the next 30 years the cheetah

may become extinct in the wild.

Rapid change is sweeping

across the African landscape.

The crocodile's first ambush

was a spectacular failure.

To survive the dry season,

he must catch a wildebeest

in the few weeks

they are passing through.

This time, his jaws find their mark

Bringing two tons of pressure to

bear on each square inch of flesh.

At last, he has his prize.

Rather than fend off

the other crocodiles,

he welcomes them to the feast,

unable to dine alone.

His teeth may be formidable

but they are grippers, not carvers.

Together they perform

twisting death rolls

to rip the flesh

into bite-size chunks.

A croc's stomach

can hold over 25 kilos of meat.

To help him digest the cache

before it begins to rot,

the crocodile

has a unique adaptation.

His heart.

No other animal has two aortas.

By closing his right aorta,

the main blood supply to his body,

and opening up his left aorta,

he can divert the carbon

dioxide-rich blood

that he accumulated during

his underwater stake-out

straight to his stomach.

The acidic blood produces

ten times more stomach acid...

...to help dissolve

the huge chunks of meat.

The potent solution

is then converted to fat

and stored for the lean times ahead.

He's made his big kill just in time.

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