Killer Instinct

What do saltwater crocodiles, reticulated pythons, and kangaroos have in common? That killer instinct. In the rough and tumble world of nature, an animals' instincts, as Rob reveals, can be used for either defensive or offensive measures.

Fear and ignorance are one thing, respect and understanding another. Like an onion that has many layers, Rob Bredl hopes that through proper education humanity may peel back the timeless layers of misconceptions surrounding snakes.

The Bredl family has 200 years of wildlife experience. Personally, Rob has dedicated his life to animals, and after 40 years of contact with crocodiles, he hopes other people may learn to live with and respect these prehistoric creatures.

Venture into the compelling and thrilling world of the shark. Shark ancestry predates the dinosaurs, and their survival is a direct consequence of their instinct to kill. Sharks have, in fact, evolved into the complete hunting machine.

Few countries in the 21st century can claim to have big cats roaming free in their natural habitat. True animal lovers may once have frowned upon zoos, but the roll of zoos has changed considerably, in some cases preserving key species.

There are more than 3,000 species of lizards. For most of these unique creatures that live among us, but we rarely see, it is a daily battle between their instinct to hunt and feed, and their competing instinct to avoid becoming prey.

Like thieves in the night, they lie in wait. Camouflaged, patient, and often deadly, spiders are not insects, but arachnids, and they play a positive role in ecosystems. Prepare to be fascinated, repulsed, and amazed by the elegant spider.

With all the advantages of a large mammalian predator in Australia, the dingo has successfully carved itself a bloody place in history. Is the dingo misunderstood, or is it a carnivore predator with no place in the Australian wilderness?

More than 2,000 species of marsupials flourish on the isolated continent of Australia, one-quarter of which are carnivorous, representing Australia's dominant species. Their sizes bely their natural aggression and sharp survival instincts.

Sometimes, it is not the size of the animal in the fight, but the size of the fight in the animal that matters. As you will soon see, the killer instinct is alive and well among the urban birds of prey that live in our cities and suburbs.

The oceans are a fascinating three-dimensional world. Four-fifths of the Earth's surface is water, providing plenty of room for myriad marine life, including a unique variety of venomous creatures that are among the Earth's most deadly.

Even though pythons lack toxic venom, large pythons can be very dangerous. In fact, they can kill their prey faster than poisonous snakes can by using a strangulation method that leads to the suffocation of their prey in very little time.

Thirty years ago, crocodiles in Australia were facing extinction. Since then, the hard work that has been put in on behalf of the Bredl family, beginning with their father Josef, has led to a healthy resurgence in the crocodile population.