Animal Face-Off is an American television program that aired on the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet in 2004.[1][2]

Synopsis

This program, produced by NHNZ, centers on hypothetical battles between two animals that could meet in the wild, or, in some cases, have been compared to each other by scientists. CGI replicas and models were used to collect data (such as strength, bite force, etc.) about the animals. Then, in a virtual arena, a brief computer-animated fight scene reveals the results. Since the fights are created artificially, results in real life may vary. Each episode of Animal Face-Off is one hour long, with the exception of the 12th episode, "Sperm Whale vs. Colossal Squid", which is two hours long.

Episodes

No. in
series
TitleLocationWinner
1"Saltwater Crocodile vs. Great White Shark"AustraliaGreat white shark
Off the coast of Australia, a female great white shark roams close to shore, looking for food; a male saltwater crocodile swims nearby, looking for a new territory. The shark hits the crocodile with an exploratory bump. Accustomed to defending himself against rivals, the crocodile bites the shark's tail, but cannot get a good grip. The shark makes a wide turn for a full-on assault; all of a sudden, the crocodile gets the first bite on her right pectoral fin and tears it off with a death roll. Despite her injury, the shark is still strong. Then, shark and crocodile collide head on; the crocodile grabs hold of the shark′s snout with his crushing bite. This time, the shark cannot fight back and they both sink. Running out of air, the crocodile breaks the death lock and heads straight to the surface. The shark takes advantage of it; with the crocodile's soft underbelly exposed, she comes back with an ambush, killing the crocodile with a powerful bite.
2"African Elephant vs. White Rhinoceros"BotswanaElephant
On the plains of Botswana, a bull elephant in musth searches for food. Nearby, a male rhinoceros has left his mud hole, also seeking good grazing. The rhino begins grazing but suddenly senses the elephant. Due to his poor eyesight, the ill-tempered rhinoceros sees him as a potential threat and prepares to charge. The elephant responds to the challenge with a loud trumpet. The rhino calls his bluff and charges, but the much smarter elephant anticipates the attack. The rhinoceros returns and tries to stab the elephant's throat with his horn, but he is too tall. The rhinoceros then tries an agile head-butt, but the elephant proves better with his longer tusks. The elephant turns his rival around and stabs him twice with his tusks, breaking one in the process. The elephant then headbutts the rhinoceros and crushes him under his weight before stepping off and trumpeting in victory.
3"Asiatic Lion vs. Bengal Tiger"IndiaAsiatic Lion
A male lion wanders in an abandoned Indian temple when he suddenly spots a male tiger feeding close by. The lion roars at his larger, striped relative to back off, but the tiger ignores the warning. The lion then charges at the tiger, but trips on him upon impact, catching the tiger off-guard. The agile tiger quickly recovers and repeatedly attempts to bite the lion's throat, but the lion shakes off the attack and the combatants are back to square one. Both cats roar, claw, and wrestle with each other, but neither lands a fatal blow. The tiger tries to end the fight with a fatal neck bite, but the lion's mane deflects his aim. The tiger then charges at the lion, but the lion deflects the attack and delivers the killing blow to the tiger's neck before roaring in victory. [1]
4"Hippopotamus vs. Bull Shark"ZambeziHippopotamus
An injured male hippopotamus rests in the Zambezi River, unaware that a male bull shark roams around, looking for food. The shark catches the smell of blood, but does not know where it is coming from. After confirming the hippo is indeed food, the shark bites the side, but the massive girth combined with the enormous weight of the hippo is too much of a mouthful for the smaller shark. Even the thin skin in the back leg proves too tough, though the shark does manage to rip off the hippo's tail. The hippo doesn't know what him, but his bad temper immediately flares. Soon, the hippopotamus submerges and spots the deadly shark. The shark comes towards the hippo, who then opens his mouth, revealing his sharp canine teeth, but the bull shark keeps coming and is finally crushed and killed when the larger hippo closes his mouth on him.
5"Wolf vs. Cougar"Rocky MountainsCougar
In the Rocky Mountains, an alpha male wolf eats the carcass of a large deer; from a great distance, a male cougar catches the smell of meat, and comes to investigate. The cougar comes across the wolf eating. The wolf soon responds by charging forward and ferociously biting the cougar's hind leg, but backs off when the cougar pounces on him with his front legs and lethal claws. Low on stamina, the cougar tries to retreat, but the wolf pins him down. Furious, the cougar rakes the wolf with his claws and throws him off to the ground. The cougar prepares to finish him off, but retreats when he hears the wolf pack approaching.
6"Walrus vs. Polar Bear"Arctic CircleWalrus
A male walrus relaxes by the water's edge. Suddenly, a hungry male polar bear comes by to attack the walrus, who heads straight for the sea. The bear holds down the walrus long enough to latch on with his sharp teeth, but cannot inflict serious damage. The walrus then tries to stab the bear with his tusks, but the agile predator anticipates this. The bear then tries several paw swipes to the head, but the walrus's skull is too thick to land a killing blow. As the walrus flees, the bear holds on and gets dragged into the ocean. The walrus turns around and gores the bear with his tusks. The bear, wounded and running out of air, heads straight back to the surface. The walrus follows and stabs the carnivore's back, killing him. The dead bear sinks into the ocean.
7"Brown Bear vs. Siberian Tiger"SiberiaBrown bear
On a Siberian mountainside, a male Siberian tiger makes a much needed winter kill. Nearby, a large male brown bear forages desperately for food before going into hibernation. The tiger suddenly spots the bear and roars at him to back off, but the bear continues to advance. The tiger tries a body blow, but the bear absorbs the impact without losing balance. The tiger then tries to land a killing blow on the bear's neck, but the bear pushes him down. The bear then approaches the kill, but the tiger recovers and pounces on the bear from behind, cutting him with his claws, but fails to disable him. The much stronger bear turns around and overpowers the tiger by pawing his face. The bear then breaks the tiger's spine and finishes him off with a neck bite.
8"Lion vs. Nile Crocodile"Maasai MaraNile crocodile
A male lion eats by the edge of a waterhole when a male crocodile emerges from the water, intent on stealing the meal. Confident he can defend his kill, the lion attacks, but cannot land a deadly blow because of the crocodile's thick body armor. The lion tries to flip the crocodile to reach his unarmored belly, but a roll and tail swipe stops him from doing so. Determined to get rid of the lion, the crocodile disappears into the water. The lion stays close to the water's edge, looking for where the crocodile went. All of a sudden, the crocodile launches a surprise attack on the lion, grabbing his neck and dragging him to the water. The crocodile soon performs a death roll, which kills the lion at once.
9"Jaguar vs. Green Anaconda"Amazon rainforestGreen anaconda
A male anaconda hunts in the Amazon River; however, a male jaguar is stalking nearby. The big cat then enters the water, right in front of the giant snake. The jaguar then stops briefly, apparently sensing the reptile before being distracted by a bird calling in the distance. This lapse in attention gives the anaconda the perfect opportunity to strike, during which he coils around his victim. The force is enough to knock the big cat off his feet. The big cat furiously claws at the anaconda and bites his tail. Injured, the snake attempts to retreat, but begins to get dragged ashore by the jaguar. However, most of the giant snake's tail is free and coils around the jaguar, and the anaconda is able to turn back around and counterattack. This time, he completely restrains the jaguar, who is too tired to struggle any further.
10"Leopard vs. Mountain Gorilla"Central AfricaMountain gorilla
A silverback mountain gorilla has left his family in the trees, looking for a place to spend the night. Around the same time, a female leopard leaves her cubs to go hunting. The two animals cross paths, each interpreting the other as a threat. The gorilla tries to avoid the fight through intimidation, but the leopard does not flinch. The gorilla swings at the leopard, who leaps onto a cliff side. Afterwards, the leopard jumps onto the gorilla's back, biting his shoulder. However, the gorilla throws the leopard off. She leaps onto his back again but is once again thrown off. The leopard runs for her life, but the gorilla knocks her off balance and chomps down on the leopard's shoulder, though she gets free immediately afterwards. Desperate, the leopard makes a final lunge towards the gorilla, but he throws his powerful arm onto her spine, breaking it and killing the leopard.
11"Black Bear vs. American Alligator"EvergladesBlack bear
On a hot day in the Everglades, a male black bear has gone into a lake to drink, not knowing that a male alligator is resting underneath. The alligator wakes up and sees the bear, but the bear has also spotted the alligator and tries to retreat. The alligator then ambushes the bear and bites his leg, but all he grabs is a mouthful of fur, fat and muscle. Hurt, but not fatally wounded, the bear fights back. The alligator then attempts a tail smack, but the much smarter bear anticipates this. Running out of steam, the alligator tries to retreat, but the enraged bear lunges at him. The alligator tries to roll free of the bear's grab, but he exposes his soft underbelly which the bear slashes fatally into. The bear leaves the alligator's dead body to rot in the riverbank.
12"Sperm Whale vs. Colossal Squid"Antarctic OceanSperm Whale
A bull sperm whale is diving into the deep abyss, while a female colossal squid rockets through the depths. Both combatants sense each other – the squid sees the whale, while the whale's echolocation reveals the squid's location. Upon seeing the whale as a potential predator, the squid releases a burst of ink as a warning, but she is ignored by the whale, which launches a slow attack on the huge squid. Just before she reaches the mouth, the squid latches onto the whale and rakes him with her hooked suction cups, wounding him in the process. By rising close to the surface, the squid is shaken off, but not before she scratches the whale further. Although wounded, the whale amplifies his sonar and stuns the squid. The paralyzed cephalopod is helpless – and thus eaten alive.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 John F. Bonfatti (March 27, 2004), "Survival of the Fittest", The Buffalo News, archived from the original on 23 October 2012
  2. Wallenstein, Andrew (2004-03-19). "TV Review: Discovery Channel's 'Animal Face-Off'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-06-03.