The Hunt

The contests between predators and prey are the most-dramatic events in nature. Predators use an extraordinary range of techniques to catch their prey, such as stealth, patience or teamwork, but the outcome is never certain.

The Arctic, the most seasonal place on Earth, offers special hunting challenges. To a predator, seasonal change also changes all the parameters of the hunt. The only option for the Arctic's top predators is to continually adapt.

Tigers, harpy eagles, chimpanzees, army ants and other predators rise to the challenge of hunting within the forest -- a dense, confusing and three-dimensional world that makes finding prey a maddening task.

The open ocean covers more than half the surface of our planet, yet for the most part it's largely devoid of life. Predators face an endless search to find and catch food, and the ocean is home to some remarkable hunters.

In the open arenas of grassland and desert, predators like cheetahs, bald eagles and lions can usually see their prey, but their prey can see them too. With nothing but open vistas, the element of surprise is hard-won.

The sea coast is a world of continuous change and the only place on the planet where predators from air, land and sea come together. Hunting opportunities to never last long, so hunters are always in a race against time.

With three-quarters of the planet's carnivores now in decline, scientists are searching for ways that people can live with predators like lions, tigers, polar bears and blue whales before they disappear forever.