Jaguar vs. Crocodile, Cougar vs. Bear, Shark vs. Octopus And 9 Other Epic Animal Showdowns (VIDEOS)

Whether at the top of the food chain or not, there comes a time when most predators have to meet their match, and the hunter becomes the hunted. Mother Nature has a wide array of fascinating creatures, and when two species come face-to-face in a fight for their survival, the ensuing battle can often be breathtaking, and the outcome is sometimes a shocking surprise.

Whether a mother cougar protecting her cubs from a grizzly bear, an octopus unwilling to submit to being easy prey for a shark, or even a giant centipede dueling with a tarantula, we've compiled 12 of the most epic animal showdowns captured on video.

WATCH:

1 of 12

Shark Vs. Octopus

1 of 13

First Slide

Previous Slide

@

An octopus might seem like easy prey for the seasoned hunting talents of a shark, but things aren't always as they seem... Jump to 1:35 to get straight to the action.

Readers' Oklahoma Tornado Photos

Sharks!

May 2013 Central U.S. Tornadoes (GRAPHIC IMAGES)

gadgets/slideshows/298353/slide_298353_2481215_small.jpg

May Tornadoes 2013

An octopus might seem like easy prey for the seasoned hunting talents of a shark, but things aren't always as they seem... Jump to 1:35 to get straight to the action.

comments(81)

Total comments: 81 | Post a Comment

1 of 13

This Animal Fight

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

Lackluster Insane

• 
  1
• 
  2
• 
  3
• 
  4
• 
  5
• 
  6
• 
  7
• 
  8
• 
  9
• 
  10

Top 5 Epic Animal Fights

loading...

Top 5 Epic Animal Fights

UserName

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Top User Slides

← Prev|Next →

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Users who voted on this slide

← Prev|Next →

loading...

Comments

[Mehida-Loco]

12:07 PM on 11/06/2010

marked

[DrCalif]

09:22 AM on 10/22/2010

It would be nice to see a story on, say, inter-species communication, instead of portraying animals as objects for our entertainment like this.

[Carbon Forteetoo]

01:11 AM on 10/22/2010

Christine O'Donnell v. Hermoine Granger.

[Paddy Murphy]

03:13 PM on 10/20/2010

Doesn't matter. A Liger would beat them all. They're bred for their skills in magic, after all.

[tttony]

10:46 PM on 10/19/2010

Awesome. But what about the water buffalo that escaped the big crocodile? Classic.

[life-of-riley]

07:46 PM on 10/19/2010

Cougar vs. Arquette?

[RButler]

07:34 PM on 10/19/2010

I thought for sure there would be a clip of Joan Collins vs. Linda Evans from an old Dynasty episode or at least Rosanne at a buffet.

[Harvee Wallbanger]

07:23 PM on 10/19/2010

Wow, that whale set the sea lion free after playing with it! Truly amazing. Kind of like taking care of its food source.

[JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ]

06:33 PM on 10/19/2010

Vick shoulda claimed he was making a documentary for National Geo.

[Hoping4daBest]

06:36 PM on 10/19/2010

and what about hunters?

[JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ]

06:48 PM on 10/19/2010

that they were hungry

[mheister]

06:17 PM on 10/19/2010

Where's the Krakken vs the Pirate Ship?

[LonosCurse]

06:10 PM on 10/19/2010

You forgot Tea Party candidates versus Liberal bloggers.

[Hoping4daBest]

06:14 PM on 10/19/2010

Covered....Refer to slide video #12 for coverage and commentary! ROFL, still!!!

[Hoping4daBest]

05:58 PM on 10/19/2010

Hillarious!!!

My favorite part is Video #12, 1:54...LOL!!!!!!!!! ROFL!!!!!!!!!!

Whes (wiping laugh tears away from eyes)...Still ROFL! Whale soccer anyone?

[ghee99]

05:49 PM on 10/19/2010

is it just me, or does anyone else have a problem with national geographic putting a shark and an octopus in the same aquarium tank, and then just having them fight to the death for our entertainment?

[Hoping4daBest]

06:07 PM on 10/19/2010

actually, I wasn't until you brought up a very valid point, if they are in the same tank and put there by NatGeo. Hmmm.....

So what do you think about boxing, football, etc. same concept for entertainment it seems, or am I verging on offending "the league"? Just saying...

[LonosCurse]

06:11 PM on 10/19/2010

No chance that the octupus wll get suspended.

[ghee99]

11:21 PM on 10/19/2010

well, i find sports incredibly boring

how ANYONE can just sit there mindlessly watching such a tedious activity is beyond me

all that aside,

at least the sports players have free will to decide if they want to participate

the octopus and the shark don't sem to have had that option

[StansDad]

06:12 PM on 10/19/2010

I prefer watching kids being put in the military and killing for our entertainment on the nightly news

[ghee99]

11:22 PM on 10/19/2010

wow

you are really sick

thats what you ENJOY?

you appear to be a most despicable human being

[pepimartinez]

05:47 PM on 10/19/2010

Palin (with helicopter and machine gun attachments) vs. wolves... yeah, she would like to make that legal.

BTW, I never saw the mongoose vs. cobra video... wow the mongoose is fast.

[Will Hart]

05:55 PM on 10/19/2010

She is actually requesting minigun attachments....see what I mean : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7ELhy4_0hM&feature=related

[CraigR]

05:46 PM on 10/19/2010

The narrator in the shark vs octopus clip said "octopi", which is incorrect. I'ts octopuses, or just octopus, for the plural.

[Sockme]

05:57 PM on 10/19/2010

The plural can be either octopuses or octopi, but not octopus. From an editor of the Merriam Webster dictionary:

http://boingboing.net/2010/07/27/octopuses-octopi-oct.html

[CraigR]

06:15 PM on 10/19/2010

"Although it is often supposed that octopi is the 'correct' plural of octopus, and it has been in use for longer than the usual Anglicized plural octopuses, it in fact originates as an error. Octopus is not a simple Latin word of the second declension, but a Latinized form of the Greek word oktopous, and its 'correct' plural would logically be octopodes."

[CraigR]

06:17 PM on 10/19/2010

Fowler's Modern English Usage states that "the only acceptable plural in English is octopuses," and that octopi is misconceived and octopodes pedantic.