(Documentary : Episode 5)
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[Name : Dr. T. Soma Tonson
Role : Lead researcher]
"In the African savannah, there are apex predators. On land, the lions are the most remarkable and dominant predators that roam the land. But in the murky waters of the savannah, it is the crocodiles that rule. Both are apex predators that ruled different terrains and ensured survival was a privilege to the rest of the animals that lived there," Dr. Tonson began the new episode immediately.
Unlike the previous episode, this one was not delayed and came out only a week after the previous episode drop. There was no need for reintroduction as the hype and anticipation were still unbroken.
"But a question that has plagued many generations is this: Who is the better one among these two apex predators? What happens when these two species face off against each other?"
The documentary showed brief footage of both predators in their most violent and raw state. It blurred now and then when Dr. Tonson said their name, giving a palpable tension to the episode immediately.
"This question of ours was answered shortly as Leo and his pride came into conflict with a group of Nile Crocodiles in the biggest watering hole of the Serengeti," he said.
"And it all began with innocence," he said, and then the screen changed.
The documentary showed the lives of cubs. They were not infants anymore, they had grown. But they still had juvenility in their nature and were perhaps at their cutest stage. The viewers saw hints of an apex predator in them, but the cubs had not passed the threshold just yet.
They were dangerous but only dangerously cute at that stage.
"During the dry season, water becomes currency," Dr. Tonson's voice came over the footage, "But it was also during this time that water becomes a graveyard."
"The water has eyes and teeth," he said.
The footage showed crocodiles hiding underwater with only their snouts showing. They looked like logs floating above murky water, but if you looked closely, you would see the blinking eyes that saw everything and the rows of sharp teeth held by one of the strongest jaws in the animal kingdom.
"The cubs were clueless, they had not even lived a year in the Serengeti, so they were ignorant," he said, "The sad thing about innocence is that it often comes with ignorance."
"The cubs were alone. Lions are not known to be early risers, so while the rest of the pride were sleeping, the cubs headed together towards the lake. They didn't even know it was dangerous to do so. After all, they had witnessed countless times how the pride would stay together near the riverbeds and cool down from the heat," he said.
"Crocodiles know the apex predators of the land. They would never attack them when a pride is in groups. But when small cubs decided to come close by themselves? That's a different story, sadly," he said.
"Crocodile instinct especially comes alive during the dry season. All animals are desperate, and the watering holes have shrunk massively. There were no small ponds that the animals could drink from, they had to come to the bigger waters, where the crocodiles live. So the cubs were quickly seen as prey," he said.
The footage showed the cubs reaching the watering hole. They drank the water and played around the riverbed for a while. They were extremely active, chasing each other and play fighting now and then.
Afterward, they did something that sealed their fate. They dived into the water and began swimming. They were playing, splashing each other with water and finding the cool under the rising heat.
"The cubs are affected by the adults. In this case, Leo, who we see bathing in the water almost every day or doing some strength training there. They copied this behaviour, it seemed, because normally, cubs wouldn't swim in water bodies. It is not just in their nature," he said.
The footage cut to crocodiles that quickly sank below the surface and began swimming towards the cubs.
"There was a snap, an explosion," he said over the footage.
The water exploded, the cubs cried. They never saw it coming. They did not know the water had jaws.
"Then blood."
Blood began pooling. One crocodile could be seen swimming away with a corpse in its jaw. Another crocodile came to steal the kill, and with a violent tug, they tore apart the dead cub into more parts they could share.
It was not just one crocodile that attacked but multiple.
"Fortunately, the cubs were swimming in the shallow parts. But still, among the nine cubs, only seven came back on land."
"They ran, scared and panicking."
The documentary played those horrific scenes with no censoring. The audience could not help but curse at the researchers for not stopping those horrible things. If they could capture the whole thing on camera, why didn't they stop it?
"And when the king heard about this, a war began," he said. "A short war that began due to the loss of innocence. It ended with a pool of red."
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[Name : Dr. Adrian Voss
Role : Herpetologist, Crocodile Specialist]
A new doctor was introduced for this specific part of the documentary. Dr. Adrian Voss was a world-renowned herpetologist. He was of European descent, with blond hair and brown eyes.
"The cubs are the future of the pride. So when these crocodiles killed the cubs, it was like they were killing a very important member of the pride. Although their bodies were small, perhaps the crocs had bitten off more than they could chew," he said.
The footage cut to Leo as he was running towards the watering hole. The rest of the pride followed behind him, but they were lagging due to Leo's sheer acceleration.
"The whole pride was angry, the king even more so," he said.
When Leo reached the watering hole, there was absolutely no fear or caution in his form. He did not loiter around or waste time dwelling on the shore. He jumped right into the water. A huge splash greeted him as liquid screamed at the force.
After that explosion came a splitting roar.
"Perhaps this is the first time I've seen an animal jump into the water to challenge the crocodiles. The reptiles are the kings of the water, so Leo jumping into the water was him akin to jumping into their territory and their history that spanned till the prehistoric era," he said.
"It was, in every sense of the word, a complete disrespect to the fellow apex predators. You could tell the sheer rage that Leo was feeling in that moment. Usually, he would be too smart to do such a reckless thing. It also highlights the big heart that he has; to mourn that much for cubs not even his own. The scene was a reminder of what it means to be king," he said.
The documentary showed the full video of this and then some. At this point, the researchers had reached the area and offered real camera footage, not just a view from the drone.
"The Nile Crocodiles are one of the most perfect ambush predators in the world. As adults, they can grow up to 17 feet and weigh over 900 kilograms," he said.
"But what do you know, the first thing the group of crocodiles did after Leo jumped into the water was run away as fast as possible. Animals can differentiate between prey and danger, and in that moment, Leo was ringing the alarm of nothing but danger," he said.
Leo could be seen in the water, splashing it violently as if trying to hit the reptiles that lived below the murky surface. He roared and looked around, searching madly for the ones responsible for the cubs' death.
"But after a while, when it had calmed and was time for an ambush, the crocodiles moved."
Amid the murky water, a large crocodile rocketed out. Leo had no time to react at the sheer speed, and one of the strongest jaws in history found its mark on his arm.
"They can bite at 3500 psi. That's triple the force a lion can deliver with their jaw. The sheer force is enough to crush buffalo bones like wood," he said over the footage.
"But..."
After the chaos calmed and the water rested, you could see Leo looking at the crocodile that was biting his arm with an unnervingly calm face.
He did not panic or try to escape like prey would. It seemed his lack of reaction even surprised the crocodile, it did not know what to do afterward.
"Was it an attack? Or was it the crocodile foolishly making himself vulnerable?"
After a long moment of silence, the water exploded again.
"After the 1.5 ton of pressure, the crocodile entered a death roll. At this phase, the croc could deliver over 8000 newtons of sheer torque."
But soon after the explosion, it stopped. The crocodile was completely frozen and instead awkwardly floated up to the surface of the water with its belly raised, like it was stopped mid-roll.
"The crocs were dealing with another enemy entirely. Leo might not be as big as a buffalo, but he too understood leverage, and he stopped the death roll before it could gain any momentum."
Leo took advantage of the raised belly and raked lines across it. What happened next was the crocodile's insides being pulled out. The part which was not protected by tough scales was easy for Leo to absolutely violate.
"When the crocodiles smelled blood, they went into a frenzy. That is when it fully turned into a war," he said.
The documentary continued. The raw footage of Leo battling against a swarm of these reptiles was played in full.
The researchers provided insight into what was happening, sometimes stopping the video or slowing it down for the audience to comprehend what the hell was going on. The truth was that everything was so violent and happened so fast that it was hard to understand anything in the chaos.
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Author : Three chapters today, covering the whole documentary in one scoop. But in return, I may take a break tomorrow.
Drop stones if ya have some.