Rivers of Death (Full Episode) | World’s Deadliest
“Rivers of Death” takes viewers on a gripping journey through some of the world’s deadliest rivers, where the battle for survival is fierce and relentless. From the African savannah to the Amazon rainforest, these waterways are teeming with predators lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike. The episode showcases the incredible adaptations and hunting strategies of the animals that call these rivers home.
The show highlights the deadly encounters between predators and prey, such as the ferocious battles between hippos and crocodiles, the epic salmon run in Alaska, and the explosive attacks of snapping turtles in the Mississippi. Each river presents its unique challenges and dangers, from the massive saltwater crocs of Australia to the ancient adversaries in the Congo wetlands.
With stunning footage and expert narration, “Rivers of Death” captures the raw power and drama of nature at its most primal. It’s a thrilling and eye-opening look at the harsh realities of life on the world’s deadliest rivers.
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Rivers bring water the element essential to all life on Earth but wherever rivers flow they also bring death surprise attacks Savage kills and brutal fights every day is a battle for survival on these rivers of [Applause] death I’m under the African Sun Staying Alive is hot thirsty
Work and among the ranks of animals jostling to get a drink lurk Killers waiting to strike But while Lions may be fearsome and the huge Nile crocodiles ruthless Predators one of the continent’s deadliest River Killers is mostly Vegetarian renowned wallowers spending up to 16 hours a day lounging in the water hippos could be mistaken for relaxed [Applause] creatures and yet the river horse as their name translates from ancient Greek can be a very angry pony indeed with tusks up to a foot and a
Half long hippos are literally armed to the teeth and a charging bull Hipp can impact with the weight force of a pickup truck what’s more hippos May brutally defend their territory an Impala has been chased into a muddy Watering Hole by a lion it’s stuck but for fortunately for the
Stricken analou the lion is reluctant to follow it into the Meer unfortunately it finds itself in the domain of a hippo ill disposed to uninvited guests the hippo’s not stealing the watching Lion’s meal she’s most likely just aggressively defending her calf and the Impala pays the ultimate price for crossing a doting mother
Hippos are thought to kill more people each year than the rest of Africa’s most dangerous animals combined and during mating season their ruthless aggression is directed at other hippos two bulls square up the pod’s dominant male and a Challenger at stake the Riverbanks Prime mating territory and a Herm of
Females the dominant male puts on an aggressive display posturing to show he will not yield but the interloper Demands a fight finally the dominant male is Victorious the Conqueror celebrates with a dung shower marking the border of the territory he has successfully defended while the vanquished suffers more than just the agony of
Defeat his back is carved open and by Sunset the crocodiles are watching closely they’d be unlikely to take on a bull in rude Health but now they Circle an expectation the hippo breathes his last the price of insurrection is Life his Hulk will not go to waste The crocodiles move in swiftly to Feast on the corpse for these voracious Predators it’s a considerable meal but one dead hippo is a mere snack compared with the annual Feast provided by a particular African river Each year the serengetti vast grass Plains filled to the Horizon with grazing animals taking part in one of Nature’s greatest spectacles around 1 and2 million wilder beast join 700,000 other herbivores on the Great Migration around 1 in six of these migrants will die before completing the 500 M circuit many are
Outrun and taken down down by Africa’s formidable array of Savannah Carnivores their Journey coming to a Grizzly [Applause] end but one of the deadliest single obstacles the vast herds must Traverse is the mara River After 3 months on the move the wilderbeast are exhausted and Emaciated all that separates them from the Fresh pastures of the msai mara is the width of the River and a whole bunch of huge ravit Nile crocodiles despite the chilling threat posed by these powerful Predators some of the herd are either oblivious to the danger or so thirsty they dare to take a drink anyway for an unlucky few it will be their [Applause] last and these witless victims merely
Wet the Croc’s appetite the true Feast begins when the first of the herd Braves the River in the crush and Chaos of the crossing the 16t Crocs grabs scores of victims when 1,600 lb of muscle teeth and ancient Killer Instinct latches on resistance is [Applause] futile the marus Crocs survive on meager rations for most of the year so take full advantage of the great migrations time of
Plenty they Gorge themselves eating up to half their body weight in one sitting and with so many different species crossing the river the banquet is as varied as it is Bountiful but not all Africa’s Crocs have such an easy meal [Applause] ticket on the banks of this Kenyon River a Croc has got too close to a pack of feeding Lions a move it’s about to [Applause] regret it’s a fierce attack but the Crocs skin is covered in bony armor
Plating eventually the Lion’s Uninvited Guest Retreats having taught the Crocs and dinner manners the big cats return to the carcass the Amazon is a giant of a river and and conceal some monstrous Predators which kill with a crush and in a bloody frenzy draining a lowland Basin of close
To 3 million square miles around 1/5 of the water that runs off the earth’s surface is carried by the Amazon this giant of a river is renowned for its oversized residence both prey and Predator around 4 ft long and and weighing as much as an adult human capibara are the world’s largest rodent they’re highly social animals and extended families can be found living along the banks of much of the Amazon semi aquatic capibara never stray too far from the water grazing on flooded grasslands or
Vegetation at the river’s fringes and this group has been joined among the Water hent by another giant Amazonian with carnivorous intentions the green anaconda is the world’s largest snake growing up to 40 ft long and weighing as much as 500 lb despite the copy Bar’s size they’re on the menu of this enormous
Reptile the family frics heedless of the stocking Predator it sents the air with its forked tongue to locate its prey [Applause] the strike is Swift once the capibara is entrapped in the leviathan’s thick coils the more it struggles the tighter the snake grips it crushes its victim preventing it from breathing and its blood from circulating in a fatal Embrace finally the Anaconda stretches its elastic jaw to swallow the capibara
Hole but it’s paid a price the copy Bar’s sharp teeth have left their mark this kill will feed the Anaconda for weeks and it will remain dormant for several days while digesting the meal so the remaining capy baras are SA safe at least from this river monster with the world’s most aggressive
Crocs concealed in the water Rivers down under can be a deadly place to hang [Applause] out great whites venomous snakes spiders and even deadly jellyfish Australia is notorious for lethal Wildlife its rivers are infested by the largest Crocs on the planet so taking a dip here can be [Applause] life-threatening during the monsoon in Australia’s tropical Northeast when it rains it pours Rivers burst their Banks swamping
The surrounding Plains and after the storms pass and the flood water subsides the pools left over are known as bongs these isolated ponds support a multitude of Life both above and below the Surface they are a place of congregation a drinking hall for many locals and many more just passing Through little red flying foxes are a nomadic species and now it’s dusk tens of thousands re-embark on the continual search for flowering eucalyptus Trees parched from a day roosting in the Sun the bats swoop down for a drink and it’s an aerobatic feat they must get just right Predators Await freshwater crocodiles are patient Hunters remaining concealed until a bat skims the water within range and every so often the bats make a fatal [Applause] error it’s not just on their nightly excursions flying foxes must be wary even while roosting they’re in danger from Australia’s many killer Critters so flying fox colonies take security seriously roosting in numbers reduces the risk from predators and the camp also posts centuries old males guard the boundaries a carpet python will swallow a bat hole but flying foxes have great Eyesight he escapes to a safer Branch or at least safer from the Python a saltwater croc slips through the water Below growing up to 23 ft long these armor-plated predators are the largest living reptile and the most aggressive crocodilians on the planet but while they may be more fearsome than their freshwater relatives it turns out they share a taste for flying [Applause] fox salties as the AIS call them are the stuff of nightmares they can lunge explosively launching their whole body length out of the water and with the strongest bite force of any known Predator they kill most prey with a single snap of their jaws but for some females at least the
Urge to kill gives way to a gentler Instinct at a certain time of year during the months they incubate their eggs moms to be usually fast her clutch is buried in a nest which she will fiercely defend just Downstream a lace monitor enjoys lunch a kangaroo carcass its fly bitten meal is scavenged
Carion but these huge lizards also hunt down small mammals reptiles and Birds and it’s one of very few animals that will dare to raid a crocodile Nest the brooding mother abandons her watch to cool off allowing the monitor lizard its chance to Stage an audacious Raid Driven by hunger the 6ot long lizard is merciless but its appetite may prove to be Deadly this time the plunder escapes with its life and a full belly while the Croc returns to brood what’s left of her eggs rivers are highways of life but they can also be a death trap sometimes Staying Alive means running through the traffic for some species of migratory fish
Rivers of the route back to their place of birth to spawn the Next Generation while Riverbanks provide a nursery where young mammals graze idly and both the influx of greeters and heedless Offspring lay on an easy Feast for predators to survive they must run most species of salmon undertake a mighty migratory
Run and in Alaska salmon have more than just waterfalls to contend with grizzly bears are expert Fishermen having made it up the waterfalls these weary scky salmon rest in the shallows they are close to Journey’s End and have turned Scarlet ahead of spawning but first they must summon the energy to beat yet another obstacle driven by the need to breathe the salmon power their way through the shallows
The commotion attracts the attention of another notorious Alaskan killer wolves hunt deer for most of the year but actually prefer salmon when they’re in plentiful Supply although that doesn’t mean they’re easy to catch During the summer months the wolf will plunder the salmon run time and again but this one’s going to need to find a new fishing spot standing on his hind legs the grizzli is a full 8T of scary the Lone Wolf has little choice but to run with the river to itself the bear
Can focus on fishing it’s a more skillful Dash and grab Hunter than its K9 competitor the bear uses its huge claws to skewer the fish against the bottom before clamping it with massive Teeth Grizzlies pursue salmon so relentlessly that they can eat up to 100 lbs of this flapping delicacy in one day and these intimidating Bears prowess in the water equips them to take out larger prey Than Just Fish around 1500 Mi South the Yellowstone River cuts through the national park which took its
Name its spring in meltwater has swollen the flow over lower Falls to impressive Proportions a little way Downstream a group of elk grazes at the water’s edge and a Grizzly mom spies an opportunity to feed her hungry Cubs there are calves among the elk and with the river running high they are all but trapped the youngster’s mother spots the Bears and abandons her offspring The grizzly can outcharge a galloping horse and unfortunately for the Cales it can also outswim an Olympian incredibly Both calves make it to the far bank but not out of danger as mother elk watches on the grizzly drags its victim from the river but just as she’s about to make the kill she’s distracted her Cubs are following her tracks a move that may prove deadly for these young
Swimmers she must decide between a meal and her Offspring The reprieve is brief injured and dazed the calf is easy to haul Down when the Congo River dries up the truly evolved can still survive but what proves a lifesaver in the dry season May yet spell Doom in the West A Primitive killer is lurking mankind has been fishing rivers for at least 4,000 Years but there’s an African freshwater Predator which has been honing its angling skills since prehistoric times the Congo has been flowing since a time when Africa and South America still formed a single super continent over 140 million years ago and it is a battlefield for ancient adversaries
In the vast bangu ULU Wetlands at the head of the River Basin a lofty bird stalks the undergrowth standing 4T tall the shoe Bill stor is an imposing Predator its beak is 9 in Long four wide with a vicious hook at the tip to grip and Pierce its prey but perhaps its greatest
Weapon is Stealth the shoe Bill dispatches the Weaver chick with a snap of its beak before swallowing it hole and there’s one last mouth for Mom to feed for some survival in the bangu ULU involves evading the same foe every year when the wet season shifts to dry the giant swamp’s waterways shrink and turn
To mud a fatal seasonal transformation for fish or so you think there is a prehistoric creature that has performed the same death defying trick for nearly 400 million years thanks to primitive lungs the West African lungfish can breathe air and survive outside of water once buried in a chamber beneath
The mud it spews out a mucus cocoon which seals moisture around its body the Hardy fish then Waits out the dry season Underground at last rain and the bangu ULU is once again submersed now now the ground is soft the swamp erupts the lungfish rise like the dead from shallow Graves they’ve been buried for only months but could have survived out of water for years it’s an incredible Escape
Tactic but once back in the water the adaptation which helped them survive the dry season is exploited by an old Enemy every 30 minutes the lungfish must breathe and the shoe Bill Waits Its strike is Swift and uniring it’s hooked beak tenacious sharp enough to decapitate its victim the lungfish loses this round of an ageold battle the am Amazon has its stranglers the Nile heavyweight Killers but Us Rivers also have their share American assassins America’s waterways land of the Frog home of the
Bass which is of course bad news for the Frog and there are a whole lot more hidden killers and explosive attackers which means taking a drink from these Us Rivers could prove fatal some 2,300 Mi after flowing out of Lake itasa the Mississippi reaches the Gulf of Mexico here’s sediment carried by this
Most soulful of rivers has over the course of thousands of years created the Mississippi Delta and a wetland Paradise for hundreds of animal species white tailed deer have flourished in the Delta and wherever this gentle species thrives so do the hardened Hunters which prey on Them fully grown American alligators are the Undisputed apex predator of the Mississippi River with 150 million years to perfect its hunting technique the alligator has a brutally efficient method for killing land-based prey It will wait for its victim to take a drink and then this time the deer is lucky and the hungry Gator melts back into the river’s depths it can remain submerged for up to 2 hours plenty of time to let an unsuspecting meal stroll within striking range [Applause] The gator dispatches the pig swiftly crushing its victim to death with a bite force of over 2,000 lb but to tear off a mouthful of Flesh the gator must death roll it’s a maneuver which can be performed solo but a second gator has got in on the pig ripping
Action and the ravenous pair dismembers the carcass with [Applause] ease now the kill is in bites sized pieces bite-sized that is for a 14t reptile the gator can swallow down its meal meanwhile the Killer’s spinning assistant makes off with a share of the meat Fair reward for giving a neighbor a leg
Up while Gators top the Mississippi’s Predator pile these gut-wrenching Killers aren’t old Muddy’s only explosive Ambush Hunter common snapping turtles are highly aggressive and will eat almost anything they can get their trap jawed mouths around they will stock prey slowly before unleashing a lightning attack or lie in wait for an
Unsuspecting victim to swim within range then snatch it with a bite capable of tearing flesh but when it comes to snap happy Predators the Mississippi has just one true king and even heavily armored snapping turtles must fear its [Applause] wrath trapped in the vice likee grip of the Gator’s Jaws the turtle’s tough
Shell is all that’s keeping it alive though not for Long it’s a crunchy mouthful with a soft Center like a hard candy for Gators but it’s a Bitter End for the turtle on this River of Death
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Video “Rivers of Death (Full Episode) | World’s Deadliest” was uploaded on 01/17/2024 to Youtube Channel Nat Geo WILD