Tonight on VS,
two of the ocean's
most impressive inhabitants
go head-to-head
as a great white shark
takes on an octopus.
Will its brawn and brutal bite
send the shark sailing to victory?
Or will the octopus outsmart
its opponent and gain
the upper tentacle?
Don't miss tonight's marine mayhem.
Our first fighter
hardly needs an introduction.
Terrorizing the open water
and our peace of mind,
Weighing up to 1,088 kg (2,400 lb)
and measuring an average length
of 3.6 m (12 ft)
these torpedo-shaped fish
are some of the oldest animals on Earth.
Their first ancestors,
mako sharks, made their ocean debut
more than 400 million years ago.
these monster-sized fish
use their keen senses
and ferocious physiques
to detect, hunt and feed on their prey,
such as sea lions, turtles
and even whales.
As the largest predatory shark
in the world,
great whites rule their ocean habitat.
Horror films and folklore alike
paint the great white shark
as the ultimate underwater villain
with a taste for human blood.
Luckily for us,
most recorded
great white shark attacks on humans
seem to be accidental.
The sharks have mistaken
swimmers, surfers
and divers for prey
rather than viciously seeking them out.
You may be safer than you thought,
but this shark’s rival
shouldn’t relax just yet.
In this corner,
it's the otherworldly
With its signature eight arms,
extreme brain power and odd appearance,
it’s safe to describe this creature
as an alien of the ocean.
Octopuses hunt crabs, seabirds
and even other octopuses.
Using their camouflage and venom,
octopuses cleverly outsmart
and take down their prey.
The octopus also uses its mantle to move,
sucking in water
and forcing it out in a jet propulsion
to move forward.
Some octopuses have venom
that's even more powerful than cyanide.
Yeah, seriously.
The venom in one blue-ringed octopus
contains enough tetrodotoxin
to kill twenty people.
So it's probably best to use caution
if you encounter cephalopods in general.
But will smarts and sting be enough
to take down the ultimate
hunter of the deep?
Let the battle begin!
We can't see the shark yet,
and neither can the octopus.
With its supersonic senses,
the shark has already detected
its opponent from a distance.
But nine brains
is better than one, folks.
The octopus knows that
heroic fin-to-tentacle
combat isn't the best plan.
It digs into the sandy ocean floor,
camouflaging into its surroundings
with pigment-bearing cells.
But wait, it's not enough!
The shark detects its foe
using electroreception,
a biological ability
to detect electrical stimuli,
and its keen sense of smell.
The shark wins this round folks,
and this fight is about to get ugly.
Oh!
The shark dashes in at 56 km/h (35 mph),
but it misses!
Able to move in quick bursts
up to 40 km/h (25 mph),
the octopus got lucky
and escaped this time.
But the octopus is no marathon runner.
It quickly loses steam
as the shark gets ready
for its next lunge.
If the octopus can pierce
the shark's tough skin
with its beak or grip the great white shark
with its suction-padded limbs,
it could still have a chance to win.
The shark torpedoes forward again,
flashing all 300 of its 15 cm (6 in) teeth.
It grabs hold of the octopus!
Oh, that's gotta hurt!
What's this?
The octopus is fighting back!
It's attempting to inject venom
into the shark
before the great white
can increase the pressure in its jaws.
If the octopus can just -
No, it's too late.
The shark chomps down with a bite force
of 27,579 kpa (4,000 psi).
No doubt about it, folks.
With its sharp senses,
incredible size and brutal bite,
Curious to see how the octopus
would do against a giant squid?
We'll see who wins
on another round of VS.