Hostile Planet: The Cost of Survival
Unforgiving environments are just the beginning of these animals' struggle to survive. Watch their stories on National Geographic's stunning new show, Hostile Planet.
Published 25 Apr 2019, 16:55 BST
A great white shark catches a decoy seal, set out by researchers. The predators are often hunted by humans for their fins and meat, and they're also caught accidentally, as bycatch in fishing nets.
Photograph by Chris and Monique Fallows, Nat Geo Image CollectionA young female Polar Bear on the island of Svalbard wanders the meltwater channels on the Sea Ice. It's a tie of year when hunting becomes difficult as the pack ice begins to melt.
Photograph by National Geographic/Tom Hugh JonesBarnacle Goose, Greenland. Barnacle geese nest on 400 foot-high cliffs as protection from predators. However, these birds and their young eat grass, which does not grow on these rocks and the parents are unable to bring back food to the nest. The chicks must jump within 48 hours of hatching and then walk the mile to river where they are safe from predators. Barnacle geese parents are monogamous and will return to the same nest site year after year. The female will incubate the eggs for around 25 days while the male guards nearby.
Photograph by National Geographic/Miguel WillisA pod of orcas hunts off the Norwegian coast. Orcas are specialist predators: They have finely-tuned strategies for hunting specific prey, like herring, which means they don't cope well with environmental change.
Photograph by Paul Nicklen, Nat Geo Image CollectionEthiopia - Geladas. Male geladas often come into conflict with other males. The disputes are often displays, impressive enough to scare off competitors for grazing or females of the family unit. Occasionally these fights will develop into more serious affairs, where injury and even expulsion from the group is possible. The team witnessed many fights during the shoot but the vast majority lasted only seconds. Fighting is risky and, at 10,000 feet, energy-expensive.
Photograph by National Geographic/Miguel WillisA Cape cobra (Naja nivea) sunbathes in the Kalahari Desert. Meerkats enthusiastically harass cobras which stray near their burrows. The cobras, which can be over 3.3 feet long, defend themselves by striking repeatedly - which the meerkats dodge while biting at the snake’s body. Part of the meerkats’ bravado can be attributed to their impressive ability to withstand snakebites.
Photograph by Holly Harrison, National GeographicResearchers attempt to satellite tag blue whales off the coast of California. Blue whales, the largest animals on Earth, were hunted to the brink of extinction in the early 20th century. They've made only a partial recovery.
Photograph by Flip Nicklin, Minden Pictures/Nat Geo Image CollectionOver a million Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) emerging from a cave in New Mexico. The bats would be safer emerging after dark, but food is so scarce in the desert, they are forced to leave before sunset - putting them at risk of attack from predatory hawks. Every night, the bats can eat up to their own bodyweight in insects.
Photograph by National Geographic/Brett SchreckengosteA caracal (Caracal caracal) in the Namib Desert, waiting for temperatures to drop so it can start hunting. The caracal is quick over short distances, propelled by its powerful hindquarters, which also give it remarkable powers - one was recorded leaping 11 feet vertically. They are known to jump into flocks of startled birds and grab them out the air - some are so fast they can catch two birds in a single leap.
Photograph by National Geographic/Stephanie ThompsonThe team followed a pack of Arctic wolves in the Canadian Arctic. They were able to capture for the first time, wolves predating Musk oxen. The team followed the pack for weeks before they came across a herd. By slowly gaining the pack’s trust, they were able to film them hunting and killing a mother and calf.
Photograph by National Geographic/Anthony PyperTanzania: two bull hippos fight for space in Katavi National Park. During the dry season, their pool of water shrinks and fights break out as the hippos are forced closer and closer together.
Kenya: an African Elephant herd in Amboseli National Park.
Photograph by National Geographic/Tom GreenhalghBrazil - Jaguar predating an Anaconda on the river banks in the Pantanal, Brazil.
Photograph by National Geographic/Adrian SeymourA large colony of Cape fur seals covers a beach near Cape Fria, Namibia. The seals are hunted en masse in Namibia for their oil and fur.
Photograph by George Steinmetz, Nat Geo Image CollectionHostile Planet spend over a month documenting the life of the Emperor Penguin colony at Cape Washington, Terra Nova Bay in Antarctica. Just like the penguins, they had to battle the freezing conditions and biting wind to bring back beautiful footage of parents as they journeyed to and from the ice to feed their chicks.
Rio Claro Reserve, Colombia - Cordyceps, a parasitic fungi, grow from out of a tarantula.
Orangutan climbing the trees in the Sabah Rainforest, Malaysia.