It's a David VS Goliath fight
when we pit the king of the jungle
against the scrappiest
animal in the ring,
Tonight's fight to the finish
consists of two unlikely foes.
Though both hail from similar
parts of sub-Saharan Africa,
the honey badger isn't commonly
hunted by lions due to its small size.
But we want to see
if this scrappy lightweight
has what it takes
to bring down
one of the biggest
and baddest cats around.
Weighing in at under 18 kg (40 lb)
This small,
skunk-like creature's anal glands
can produce a scent so potent
that you can smell it
up to 40 m (130 ft) away.
Trust me folks,
you don't want to smell this guy
when he's angry.
They may be small,
but honey badgers
are quick and aggressive,
giving them an edge in battle.
His opponent,
weighing in at over 225 kg (500 lb)
A lion can eat up
to 15% of its body weight
if it's hungry enough.
The largest honey badger
is still just a snack for the lion.
Let's get this fight started!
Honey badgers have a great
sense of smell
and smell predators
from their tracks alone.
But If this contender smells the lion,
he’ll get away as fast as he can.
So the lion will have
to make the first move.
His best bet is to wait
until the honey badger
is digging for food
with his nose deep in dirt
and unable to smell
the approaching threat.
That's the perfect opportunity
for the lion
to get the jump on the honey badger.
This is it!
The lion pounces
and makes a brutal first strike.
With the element of surprise
on his side,
this round goes to the lion.
Since the lion likes
to play with his food
before eating it,
he won’t kill the honey badger
right away.
But here's the thing.
The lion's surprise
attack made the honey badger
defensive and super aggressive.
Look at him, he's fuming!
Luckily for the honey badger
his dense fur softened
the blow from the lion.
Look at that dodge roll!
His loose skin helped him
slip away from the lion's jaws.
Now's the chance
the honey badger needs to getaway.
While lions sprint
at up to 80 km/h (50 mph),
they're not so great
at running long distances.
Though they can only run
at a max of 30 km/h (19 mph),
honey badgers are much faster
over long distances.
During a fight,
the honey badger
could run circles around his opponent.
That could tire the lion,
and eventually it might get bored too.
Lions may like to play,
but they don’t like getting bored.
Holy s$%^!
Look at him go!
This endurance test
goes to the honey badger.
Honey badgers have long,
almost 4 cm (1.5 in) claws
and a mouth full of
34 amazingly sharp teeth.
Can you believe this?
The American grizzly bear
has a BFQ of 64.
But the honey badger's BFQ
is around 108.
If he lands a bite on the lion,
it's going to hurt.
The honey badger dips
and dives
around the lion,
slashing with its claws
and trying to bite the lion.
But what's this?
The lion's paw swipe
packs 180 kg (400 lb) of force,
strong enough to kill a human
with one hit.
The honey badger could
put up a good fight
and then run away,
but he's letting the fight
go to his head.
This is a cage match to the death.
The honey badger is on the ropes.
He'd better watch out
and avoid the lion's paws at all costs
at least if he's going to
get out of this match alive.
The honey badger battled
with all his spunk and fury,
but he's no match
for the lion's brute strength.
Taking round 3
with his massive paws of power
Are you ready for another
animal kingdom grudge match?
How would our winner fare against
another big, bad cat in the ring,
the tiger.
Well, we'll see who wins
on another round of VS.