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[Tom Hiddleston] The night.

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A shadowy world that hides more than half the animals on our planet.

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Until now, cameras only offered a glimpse into their lives.

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But with next-generation technology,

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we can see the night as clear as day.

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With cameras a hundred times more sensitive than the human eye...

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we can now capture the beauty of night...

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in color.

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Alien landscapes.

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Strange creatures brought to life by the darkness.

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Unseen behaviors.

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Now we can follow the lives of animals

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in Earth's last true wilderness.

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The night.

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Sunset over the plains of Kenya's Maasai Mara.

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One of Africa's most protected wild spaces.

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And home to the fastest land animal on Earth...

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the cheetah.

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These agile cats have always been thought of as daylight hunters.

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They target prey from more than a kilometer away.

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And chase it down at over 100 kilometers an hour.

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Fewer than half of all hunts end in a kill.

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And this evening, this young male has blown it.

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[purrs]

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Fortunately, he's not alone.

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[purrs]

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Cheetahs are usually solitary.

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But he has a brother.

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Since the day they were born, these 4-year-olds have been inseparable.

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Working together, they defend a prime 60-square-kilometer hunting ground.

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[braying]

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But tonight, a failed hunt means the brothers have wasted precious energy

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and must feed soon.

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[brays]

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[wind whistling]

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As dusk draws in...

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it seems their chances of making a kill are fading.

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But following these brothers through the night...

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tells a different story.

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With low-light cameras...

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we can now see the cheetah's nighttime world...

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in a whole new way.

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Under moonlight...

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cheetahs lead a secret nocturnal life.

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[purring]

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The brothers are playful and surprisingly vocal after dark.

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[screeches]

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[purrs]

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Cheetahs can't roar like most big cats.

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But they can purr.

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[purring]

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In house cats, it's a sign of contentment.

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But it's thought cheetahs also purr to strengthen their bonds.

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-[growls] -[purrs]

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And tonight, the brothers will need each other more than ever.

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[purrs]

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They must hunt.

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Most cats are nocturnal.

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But cheetahs have eyes adapted for daylight.

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So the brothers struggle to see in the darkness.

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But our cameras now allow us to see more than them.

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[grunting]

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[grunting]

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Prey animals usually keep as far from predators as possible.

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But at night, wildebeest reveal a surprising way to stay safe.

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[grunting]

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Wherever the brothers go...

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[hoofbeats]

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...the herd follows.

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[grunting]

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The trick is to keep the cheetahs in sight at all times...

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[grunting]

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...while staying just far enough away...

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[snorts]

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...to make their escape.

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[grunting]

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But the brothers have played this game before.

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-[grunts] -[snorts]

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It seems impossible that a cheetah with poor night vision...

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would attempt a high-speed chase in the dark.

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But it's recently been discovered...

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that one-third of cheetah kills take place at night.

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[bird squawking]

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A skillful hunter, he swiftly overpowers his prey.

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But what happens next shows how tough life can be for the brothers after dark.

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The herd closes rank.

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Together, they can drive a cheetah off a kill.

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His brother is there to protect him.

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But that's just the start of their problems.

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[squeals]

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Within seconds, the kill attracts a hyena, a nocturnal scavenger.

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[hisses]

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[growls]

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Far stronger than a cheetah...

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one hyena can match both brothers.

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They must now fight to keep their kill.

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But this thief is not alone.

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[laughing sound]

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[hisses]

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[growls]

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[hisses]

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In the Maasai Mara, hyenas live in gangs 60 strong.

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And 1 in 10 cheetah kills are stolen.

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[squeals]

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Hunting at night...

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is a whole new world.

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[squeals]

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-[growls] -[laughing sound]

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They will have to try again.

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But cheetahs aren't the only animals out here searching for food after dark.

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On the banks of Africa's rivers...

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over 100,000 hippos leave the safety of their watery homes...

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to set out on an extraordinary nocturnal mission.

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[snorts]

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By day, hippos are notoriously lazy river dwellers.

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Preferring to wallow in the water and hide from the hot sun.

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But at night, they are remarkably active.

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Well-trodden trails lead them ten kilometers out across the open savanna.

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They come here in the cool of night to graze.

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Chomping through up to 50 kilos of grass and plants per night.

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By eating on such a scale,

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these secret night gardeners are playing a vital role...

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shaping the grasslands

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and fertilizing this rich and diverse ecosystem.

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[snorting]

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[growls]

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So far from the safety of the river...

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it can be a little risky.

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[snorts]

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But when you're a three-ton lawn mower...

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even Africa's most imposing predator...

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has to get out of your way.

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With their surprising free rein over the grasslands at night,

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we are beginning to see hippos in a whole new light.

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Under clear skies and a full moon...

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the cheetah brothers continue to hunt, having lost their hard-won kill.

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But they're not the only cheetahs out here tonight.

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On the fringes of their territory...

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[purrs]

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...their sister is getting some rest.

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And she needs it.

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She has four one-year-old cubs.

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They're already fed.

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All she wants to do now is keep them safe.

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[purring]

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[growling in distance]

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But she can sense trouble in the darkness.

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[growling]

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Hyenas.

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They can kill young cheetahs.

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Her one-year-olds might look fully grown.

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But they are lighter and weaker than adults.

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It's safer to move them on.

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[laughing sound]

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A whole gang has got wind of the young family.

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[laughing sound]

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Hyenas are territorial and will bully weaker rivals off their patch.

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[laughing sound]

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The hyenas close in...

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surrounding the family.

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[hisses]

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-[hisses] -[laughing sound]

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-[squeals] -[hisses]

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Young cheetahs have the lowest survival rate of any of the large African cats.

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[laughing sound]

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[laughing sound]

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Their only defense is to make themselves look bigger than they are.

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[hisses]

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[hisses]

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[hisses]

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[hisses]

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[hisses]

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[hisses]

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The mother's last resort is a bluff charge.

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-[growls] -[squeals]

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She's running out of options.

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[hisses]

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But the most unexpected things can happen at night.

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[trumpeting]

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A young bull elephant in must.

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[growls]

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He's a four-ton giant, raging with 50 times more testosterone than usual.

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And he's had enough of all the commotion.

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[growls]

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The fastest land mammal saved by the biggest.

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[growls]

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We're only beginning to understand

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the strange things that take place on the African plains at night.

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Back in the brothers' territory...

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their persistence has paid off.

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They've made another kill.

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[thunder rumbling]

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Once again, a familiar character is quick on the scene.

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[hisses]

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But this time, something unusual happens.

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The hyena doesn't call in the rest of its gang.

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And rather than fight for their kill...

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-[growls] -[hisses]

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...the brothers decide to share.

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[growls]

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[hisses]

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The two rivals accept an uneasy truce.

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Finally, the brothers get their fill.

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Cheetahs have long been considered daytime cats.

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But only now are we discovering...

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they live complex nocturnal lives.

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[thunder rumbling]

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Following these two brothers night after night...

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shows a powerful but surprisingly fragile side...

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to the world's fastest land animal.

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Filming cheetahs hunting in the dark...

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was one of the Earth at Night team's hardest challenges.

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I've filmed cheetah hunts during the daytime before

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but this is the first time I've ever tried to get one at nighttime.

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[chattering]

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[Tom Hiddleston] Cheetahs are more likely to make a kill around full moon.

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But the brothers seemed to have other things on their minds.

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[Pilcher] Yeah, they're coming.

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[Tom Hiddleston] They spent most nights scent marking their territory...

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just like house cats.

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[Pilcher] A cheetah's biggest habit is going from one tree to the next tree...

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to the next tree.

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And I've got a lot of them doing that.

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[laughs]

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[whirring]

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[Tom Hiddleston] Following the brothers in the darkness...

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the team saw just how much space these cats need to survive.

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But all too often, they were confronted by a glaring issue.

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So what we're seeing with our cameras we're picking up towns,

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maybe 10 kilometers away.

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It just reminds you

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how close these extraordinary predators are to living with people.

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[man] These areas are really good

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for the conservation and protection of these predators.

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But at the same time,

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with the increasing human population growth and, uh, demand for land,

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you know, they are still vulnerable.

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[Tom Hiddleston] There are around 7,000 cheetahs left in the wild.

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And their range is decreasing year-on-year.

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Even in one of the most protected wild places on Earth,

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our night cameras show humans are never far away.

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Following the brothers in the darkness...

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the team finally got their chance.

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Just another meter or so. Okay, just go slowly.

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Okay, no problem.

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[engine stops]

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[Pilcher] Okay, looks like one of them is starting to run in. Hold still, everyone.

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It was actually quite amazing to finally get it.

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I was starting to think we-- we wouldn't.

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You gotta be so quick and hope

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that you're kind of in the right place at the right time.

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The hyena are coming in already.

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Incredibly fast.

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An amazing hunter, but yet so fragile.

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[Tom Hiddleston] After months following the cheetahs...

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the team captured behaviors new to science.

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And in doing so...

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revealed a secret nocturnal side...

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to these iconic African cats.