Speed Kills

The open plains of the Serengeti are the perfect playing ground for speed, and they're home to the fastest animals on the planet. Some are built for explosive sprints, others for marathon runs. But all of them, predators and prey, need to move fast in order to survive in this unforgiving environment. Enter the African grassland, and discover how cheetahs, hyenas, hawks, crocodiles, and other assassins of the savannah use their evolution-perfected design mechanisms to kill with lightening-fast speed.

Life happens at alarming speeds in the churning, seemingly slow-moving ocean. Here, marlins chase their prey at 75 MPH, stonefish strike at jaw-dropping speeds, and mantis shrimp throw the fastest punch in the animal kingdom. Even caped gannets take dangerous dives, hitting the water at bone-crunching velocity, just to grab a quick bite. Join us as we reveal the science behind the speed and take you on a breathtaking journey under the sea.

Enter the lush and shadowy wild, where baboons rule the day, leopards own the trees, and African Goshawks reign over the skies. The world's jungles host some of the fastest animals on the planet. Vipers literally strike at lightning speed, spiders leap toward their prey at distances 70 times their body length and, with the flick of their tongue, chameleons snatch their targets at speeds of 900 MPH. This is one high-speed trek you don't want to miss.

In the ancient Namib Desert, temperatures soar to 160 degrees, and the average annual rainfall is just an inch. But surviving the searing heat and thirst is just the beginning. The dunes are teeming with predators and the only way to stay alive is to be fast and deadly. Follow desert hunters, such as shovel-snouted lizards, sidewinders, tiger beetles, even a stray cheetah, and witness their rapid attacks, frame by frame and in high definition. Then discover the mechanics that allow these creatures to move, and kill, at such incredible speeds.

There's more than just one creature lurking in this black lagoon. Here, in this bizarre netherworld between river and ocean, evolution has created a variety of freakish assassins, many of whom can strike in the blink of an eye. Witness the fast-paced, deadly action up close and in slow motion as our high-speed cameras capture sharp-shooting archerfish, African fish eagles, mantis shrimp, and other killers at work. Cutting-edge CGI details show just how they use their alien jaws, spear-like arms, and color-changing skin as weapons of underwater war.

Seen from above, the rainforest appears serene and quiet. But below is a world at war, where creatures hide behind trees, sail through the air, and lie and wait until the time is right to strike..and when they do, they attack with blinding bursts of speed. Enter the forest's dark underworld, where cobras, orange baboon tarantulas, chicken hawks, and other predators lurk in the shadows and mist. High-speed cameras capture the battles in gruesome detail and state-of-the-art CGI reveals how these soldiers of evolution are geared to fight.