Tonight,
it's team feline taking on
team canine in a brutal battle
for dominion.
Get your claws out.
In the vast forests of North America,
this young male cougar is here
to claim the ring as his own.
Little does he know
that another predator
has already taken this spot.
This is going to be intense.
But first,
let's get up close and personal
with our fighters.
Entering the ring
with a dagger-clawed swagger
As the second largest cat
in North America,
you don’t want to pet this kitty.
He has two sets of high-damage
weapons in his arsenal.
He's got
long, flesh-ripping claws.
And don't discount his teeth.
They're tough enough to pierce
and crush his prey’s skull and throat.
Ready to defend his turf,
we have the howling hound from hell.
Wolves are relentless.
They will bite and dodge
to exhaust their prey
before going in for the final blow.
Their jaws are so strong
that they can break a moose’s femur.
With his gifted senses,
the wolf can smell 100 times
better than you can.
So are you a cat person
or a dog person?
Let's see which favored animal wins.
The wolf has detected a new traveler
in his neck of the woods.
Using his excellent senses of smell,
Hearing
and vision,
He tracks the intruder
who has traveled
more than 1,000 km (621 mi)
searching for a new home.
The wolf marks his territory
using his feces.
But unlike this commentator,
the cougar hasn’t smelled
the warning signs.
while the cougar can see
and hear incredibly well.
His sense of smell
just doesn't stack up to the wolf's.
The wolf can smell, hear
and see incredibly well,
So the wolf has the upper hand here.
Normally,
wolves avoid other large predators
choosing flight over fight.
But this cougar seems to have
run into this wolf on a bad day.
Uh oh!
They've spotted each other!
Both opponents let out low,
threatening growls
as they size each other up.
Circling one another,
the cougar stands 2.4 m (8’) long,
almost a meter (3’) tall,
and weighs 72 kg (158 lb).
The wolf must be
feeling extra defensive
against this larger predator,
as he stands only 2 m (6.5’) long,
0.8 m (2.6 ft) tall
and weighs 50 kg (110 lb).
Knowing that the cougar
could overpower him
if he isn't careful,
the wolf opts for
his tried and true tactic.
He begins barking,
growling and snapping at the cougar,
circling the wild cat
and trying to exhaust him.
He’s looking for
an opportune moment
when he can pounce
and bite the cougar.
But he's gotta be careful.
One wrong move
and he'll get up close and personal
with the cougar's
6.4 cm (2.5”) razor-sharp claws.
It looks like
he's taking a leap of faith.
And – oh!
The cougar counters,
slashing the wolf.
He's regretting his decision now.
These two are circling
each other again,
but it won’t last much longer.
It's now or never.
And the wolf is going for
another attack!
The cougar uses his claws to sweep
to sweep the wolf’s legs,
throwing him off balance.
It looks like
our defending canine is
on the ground now.
The cougar is pinning him down.
If the wolf can manage to
kick the cougar off
and land a bite on
the cougar's jugular vein,
he might have a chance.
But it looks like it’s a little too late.
And the winner is our scratchy,
scrappy cat of the mountains,
the cougar!
Want more
animal kingdom match-ups?
Let's see
if the wolf can win back the crowd
the crowd when he takes on
the big, bad grizzly bear.
We'll see who wins
on another round of VS.