History Series / AnimalFaceOff

** "Black Bear VS. Alligator" suffers from this quite a bit. Even as strong as the bear is, it's unlikely it'd be able to bowl over the much heavier alligator without the alligator biting back and pulling the bear with it, and the latter is not as vulnerable on land as the episode would suggest, since it can run at 12-14 km/h for short periods. But even with that in mind, the alligator would have little reason to pursue the bear onto land, even if it was heavier than said bear, as crocodilians are ambush predators who use surprise attacks to capture their prey. If the bear managed to evade the first lunge, for which it would have to be incredibly lucky given the explosive power of a crocodilian's attack, the gator would have simply retreated into the water.

** In the "Wolf vs. Cougar" episode, it's the wolf who initiates the fight and continues attacking the cougar, even though wolves in real life are very cautious animals and if a lone wolf was confronted by a cougar (who is physically stronger and better armed for fighting), said wolf would undoubtedly turn tail and run.

** The white rhino is described as ill-tempered and the most dangerous of rhinos. In actuality, the white rhino is one of the more passive rhino species, bordering on GentleGiant (as long as you don't provoke it). The smaller and sympatric black rhino, on the other hand, is far more prone to aggression and charging without provocation.

* ActualPacifist: Averted in the Polar Bear vs. Walrus episode.
* AlwaysABiggerFish: Colossal Squid vs. Sperm Whale.

* AngryAngryHippos: One is pitted against a bull shark [[spoiler:and wins]].

* CatsHateWater: Lion vs. Croc, although [[spoiler:it's justified, as it loses]].

* GiantEqualsInvincible: [[spoiler:The elephant easily wins its fight with the rhino.]] In the accompanying game, when pit against all possible opponents from the show, [[note]] which didn't allow for pitting it against every animal in the series so it couldn't be pit against aquatic animals[[/note]], the elephant was considered the clear winner against '''all''' of them.

* HerbivoresAreFriendly: Subverted by the gorilla, elephant, rhinoceros & hippopotamus.

* TheHunterBecomesTheHunted: Polar Bear vs. Walrus & Bear vs. Alligator.

* KingOfBeasts: Played straight in Lion vs. Tiger, but averted in Lion vs. Crocodile.

* {{Narrator}}: Gabe Doran.
* NeverSmileAtACrocodile: Mostly averted; see under ButtMonkey. Of the three crocodilians that appear, only the Nile crocodile wins.

* PantheraAwesome: Mostly averted. See ButtMonkey. Played straight by the cougar and the Asiatic lion.

* TempleOfDoom: Lion vs. Tiger takes place in one.
* ThreateningShark: Saltwater Croc vs. Great White Shark and Bull Shark vs. Hippo. Though [[spoiler:the great white shark is the only one who won]], and rather cheaply, so it's actually subverted.

* WilyWalrus: One is pitted against a polar bear [[spoiler:and wins]].

* ActualPacifist: Averted in the Polar Bear Vs. Walrus episode.
* AlwaysABiggerFish: Colossal Squid Vs. Sperm Whale.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter:

** Cases in which an herbivore or other possible prey battles a predator, such as in Polar Bear Vs. Walrus, Leopard Vs. Gorilla and Colossal Squid Vs. Sperm Whale.

* AnimalMotifs: One can note some resemblances in look and attitude between some experts and [[AnimalStereotypes their animals]]....is it a casual thing or not? Big cat expert Dave Salmoni acts like a young and rather perky showman; bear trainer Jeff Watson is a big guy with a shaggy beard and a calm yet touchy temper; herpetologist Adam Britton is a lean, unflappable man with a bit of DeadpanSnarker when arguing with his rivals; finally, primatologist Tara Stoinski is a pretty woman (remember that apes and ladies are ''historically'' associated with each other in media).
* AnimalReactionShot: Many close ups are shown of the animals during the fights. And before the fights, samples are put from which shows how the animal's muscles react.
* ArtisticLicenseBiology:

** The “Lion Vs. Tiger” episode ends with the lion winning and it’s deemed the superior fighter. However, given how lions and tigers are (morphology and size wise) near-identical species, it’s unsurprising that during the numerous captive fights between them throughout history (be it intentionally staged or accidental encounters), both the lion and tiger had a 50/50 chances of winning the fight, and which one won each individual battle depended largely on the size and strength of the specific lion and tiger involved. Also, since this fight takes place in India, Asiatic lions are smaller in size than their African cousins, meaning they are far more likely to lose a fight with a Bengal tiger, especially a mature male (which commonly outweigh Asiatic lions by up to 50 kg).

** In the "Wolf Vs. Cougar" episode, it's the wolf who initiates the fight and continues attacking the cougar, even though wolves in real life are very cautious animals and if a lone wolf was confronted by a cougar (who are physically stronger and better armed for fighting), said wolf would undoubtedly turn tail and run.

* BarrierWarrior: The beginning of Polar Bear Vs. Walrus and Lion Vs. Croc. Though later subverted by the end of the fight.

* BeautyEqualsGoodness: At the end of Leopard Vs. Gorilla, the narrator says "Beauty killed by the Beast", [[WhatMeasureIsANonCute even though the gorilla was only defending itself from the attacking leopard.]] Inversely, the Gorilla expert was rather pretty (a curious example from RealLife of Film/KingKong).
* BehemothBattle: Almost the matchups feature at least one combatant larger than a human. Only Cougar vs Wolf has both human-sized rivals.
* BoomHeadshot: Bull Shark Vs. Hippo. The narration often points out that RealLife crocodilians often use this, and both the Nile & saltwater crocodile use it against their adversaries. [[spoiler: It doesn't work in the latter's favor.]]

* CatsAreMean: All the big cats in this are very tough.
* CatsHateWater: Lion Vs. Croc, although [[spoiler:it's justified, as it loses]].
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: The walrus. It's very slow on land, but is a LightningBruiser in the water.

** Also Elephant vs Rhino, [[spoiler: the only time the rhino touched the elephant is when it tried a headbutt, which didn't work]].
* CruelElephant: Elephant vs Rhino [[spoiler: ends with the elephant flipping over the rhino and crushing it. TruthInTelivision as there have been documented cases of African elephants killing rhinos.]]
* DeliciousDistraction: [[spoiler: The jaguar loses]] because it was distracted by a bird call.

* FragileSpeedster: The colossal squid is very maneuverable but eventually ends swallowed whole by the whale.
* GiantEqualsInvincible: [[spoiler: The elephant easily wins its fight with the rhino.]] In the accompanying game, when pit against all possible opponents from the show, [[note]] which didn't allow for pitting it against every animal in the series so it couldn't be pit against aquatic animals[[/note]], the elephant was considered the clear winner against '''all''' of them.
** [[spoiler: The sperm whale, the largest animal in the series, defeats the smaller squid.]]
* GlassCannon: The big cats move and strike fast and pack good power, but they have low stamina and are relatively fragile. The wolf, quick-moving and powerful-jawed, really can't take it. The bull shark is similar as well.

* KillerGorilla: Faced off against the leopard [[spoiler: and killed it with a single blow of its arm]].

* LightningBruiser: On land, bears, the rhino and the elephant, the last one being more of a MightyGlacier compared to the rhino. In water, the saltwater crocodile, great white shark, and the [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass walrus]].

* NoAnimalsWereHarmed: Downplayed. Only ''CGI'' animals are hurt. For the most part none of the real animals are not put in the show except for stock footage from Creator/DiscoveryChannel's back lot.

* PoisonIsEvil: Probably why, despite constant emphasis on the deadly arsenals of the combatants, no venomous species was ever included in a face-off (because it wouldn't seem "fair" enough). It didn't stop them from putting a clip of a tiger vs spitting cobra altercation, with a slow-motion closeup of the cobra projecting its venom, into the opening, though.

* RhinoRampage: The rhino's anger to the elephant, although [[spoiler:it doesn't save it]].

** The Alligator/Bear duel in general is this; the alligator is flipped over easily by the bear and clawed once by the bear, and that kills it. Anyone who knows much about crocodilians can say that the bear would, as insanely strong as it is, not be able to effortlessly bowl the much heftier alligator over; the snapping, thrashing alligator would be a bit harder to get a grip around to even lift than an inanimate boulder. That, and the alligator's bite would be disastrous for the bear's bones, but apparently the crocodilians in this show suffer Turtle Syndrome, in that they are absolutely useless on their backs.

* StrictlyFormula: When two land-based predators fight, it will almost always be over a kill. [[spoiler: Its original owner will always lose.]]
* TailSlap: The crocodile uses this against the lion.

* ThreateningShark: Saltwater Croc Vs. Great White Shark and Bull Shark Vs. Hippo. Though [[spoiler:the great white shark is the only one who won]], and rather cheaply, so it's actually subverted.

%%* VideogameCharacters: The fighting animals may be classified in one of the following:

** The “Lion Vs. Tiger” episode ends with the lion winning and it’s deemed the superior fighter. However, given how lions and tigers are (morphology and size wise) near-identical species, it’s unsurprising that during the numerous captive fights between them throughout history (be it intentionally staged or accidental encounters), both the lion and tiger had a 50/50 chances of winning the fight, and which one won each individual battle depended largely on the size and strength of the specific lion and tiger involved. Also, since this fight takes place in India, Asiatic lions are smaller in size than their African cousins, meaning they are far more likely to lose a fight with s Bengal tiger, especially a mature male (which commonly outweigh Asiatic lions by up to 50 kg).

** The “Lion vs Tiger” episode ends with the lion winning and it’s deemed the superior fighter. However, given how lions and tigers are (morphology and size wise) near-identical species, it’s unsurprising that during the numerous captive fights between them throughout history (be it intentionally staged or accidental encounters), both the lion and tiger had a 50/50 chances of winning the fight, and which one won each individual battle depended largely on the size and strength of the specific lion and tiger involved. Also, since this fight takes place in India, Asiatic lions are smaller in size than their African cousins, meaning they are far likely to lose a fight with a fully grown Bengal tiger, especially a big male.

** In the "Wolf vs Cougar" episode, it's the wolf who initiates the fight and continues attacking the cougar, even though wolves in real life are very cautious animals and if a lone wolf was confronted by a cougar (who are physically stronger and better armed for fighting), said wolf would undoubtedly turn tail and run.

** In the "Wolf vs Cougar" episode, it's the wolf who initiates the fight and continues attacking the cougar, even though wolves in real life are very cautious animals and if a lone wolf was confronted by a cougar (who are physically stronger and better armed for fighting), said wolf would undoubtedly turn tail and run.