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Arts & Culture

NOVA: Extreme Animal Weapons

Battling Elk
Courtesy of Keith Crowley/Alamy Stock Photo
Battling Elk

Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV + Sunday, Sept. 12 at 9 p.m. KPBS 2/ On Demand

Watch now with KPBS Passport!

From lobster claws and dog teeth to bee stings and snake fangs, every creature depends on a weapon. But some are armed to extremes that make no practical sense - whether it's bull elks with giant 40-pound antler racks or tiny rhinoceros beetles with horns bigger than their body.

What explains giant tusks, horns and claws that can slow an animal down and even impair health and nutrition?

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Showcasing astonishing wildlife cinematography, "Extreme Animal Weapons" investigates the riddle of outsize weaponry and uncovers a bold new theory about what triggers an animal arms race.

In creatures as varied as dung beetles and saber-toothed tigers, shrimp and elephants, the same hidden factors trigger the race and, once started, these arms races unfold in exactly the same pattern.

In this enthralling special, NOVA cracks the secret biological code that underlies nature's battleground.

Fiddler crab.
Courtesy of Joel Walley/Alamy Stock Photo
Fiddler crab.

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This episode is on demand with KPBS Passport, a benefit for members supporting KPBS at $60 or more yearly, using your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire or Chromecast. Learn how to activate your benefit now.

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The DVD is available for purchase at ShopPBS.org

Battling elephants.
Courtesy of Anup Shah/naturepl.com
Battling elephants.

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