[Misc] World's Hardest Creature XI: Nominations

[perseus]

SPERM WHALE

″I turned around and saw him about one hundred rods [500 m or 550 yards] directly ahead of us, coming down with twice his ordinary speed of around 24 knots (44 km/h), and it appeared with tenfold fury and vengeance in his aspect. The surf flew in all directions about him with the continual violent thrashing of his tail. His head about half out of the water, and in that way he came upon us, and again struck the ship." —Owen Chase.[10]

The whale crushed the bow, driving the vessel backwards. The whale finally disengaged its head from the shattered timbers and swam off, never to be seen again, leaving Essex quickly going down by the bow. Chase and the remaining sailors frantically tried to add rigging to the only remaining whaleboat, while the steward ran below to gather up whatever navigational aids he could find.

The captain's boat was the first that reached us. He stopped about a boat's length off, but had no power to utter a single syllable; he was so completely overpowered with the spectacle before him. He was in a short time, however, enabled to address the inquiry to me, "My God, Mr. Chase, what is the matter?" I answered, "We have been stove by a whale." —Owen Chase.

More at https://www.smithsonianmag.com/hist...inspired-moby-dick-17576/#0AYCq28ySTr5uKb7.99

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

can we have the definitive list of past champs?

Depends on how definitive you want it. I can tell you which beasts have won:

Polar Bear (3 times)
Crocodile (twice)
Orca
Hippo,
Black Mamba,
Mantis Shrimp,
Honey Badger

In terms of the order, I think it's something like:

WHC I - Polar Bear
WHC II - Polar Bear
WHC III - Hippo
WHC IV - Orca
WHC V Black Mamba
WHC VI - Polar Bear
WHC VII - Mantis Shrimp
WHC VIII - Crocodile
WHC IX - Crocodile
WHC X - Honey Badger

The Polar Bear sat out the years between it's second and third wins and the years after win number three. It returned last year where it tasted defeat for the first time.

@MattBackHome will be able to confirm if the above is correct. It is as far as I can remember but I'm not 100% sure on the years. Also, MBH can probably provide the beaten finalists (I know the croc has lost three finals and the honey badger has lost three or four but I can't remember the years or who the other beaten finalists were).

 

[Saladpack Seagull]

HUMAN! Lets do it!

Humans are willfully violent, reckless and irresponsible creatures who should know better. Human v. Honey Badger? Human win but only if armed with a thermo-nuclear device. Otherwise its Honey Badger all the way.

 

[Is it PotG?]

A planarian, for the looks if nothing else.

If you cut a planarian into several pieces, over time each piece will regenerate into a complete worm. And if you decapitate a planarian, it will not die. The head will keep on living and moving, and will eventually regenerate a new body. The headless body eventually will regenerate a new head, including its brain and nervous system.

Speaking of nervous systems, in contrast to most bilateral animals (those that display unambiguously right and left sides), planarians have not one, but two nerve cords that run along their bodies. It's unclear why they need two of them.

 

[Saladpack Seagull]

Any creature listed as endangered is clearly disqualified.

No endangered creature is gonna drink ten pints then beat the tripes out of a lion in the carpark afterward and go home with the lioness!

My vote goes to the crocodile. Grows to 8 metres, over a tonne of sharp toothed nastiness, calmly walks the streets of Toxteth day or night.

My wife is five foot five, the nicest and gentlest lady you'll ever meet, and is Toxteth born and bred, so I'm not sure about your last bit. However, I do see your point about the Crocodile even though I'm an unreconstructed Honey Badgerista! May the hardest creature win!!

 

[Saladpack Seagull]

Which is why the West Sussex Slug is in there with a fighting chance...

Will the West Sussex Slug have to have a Pan-Sussex decider against the East Sussex Slug before being able to enter the WHC fray? I've experienced both, as well as the Slug of Kent and the Kentish Slug but my current losing battle with the WSS has engendered a real respect for this never-say-die hardnut......

 

[Bigtomfu]

I would like to put forward Nautiloids.

A species that has existed for over 500 Ma from the Cambrian to the present and represented today on earth by Nautiloid pompilius.

This predatory mollusc can be found today in the Indian Ocean and around Australasia between depths of 100 - 700m.

It uses a sophisticated chamber system to control buoyancy and can squirt a jet of water from a cavity known as a hyponome in any direction allowing it to prey on unsuspecting benthic fauna.

It not only has a cool name but looks double hard with its steely looking eyes, grappling tentacle like appendages and it’s powerful beak.

Any creature that can survive 500 million years, remaining relatively unchanged by evolution and sit proudly near the apex of its food chain is surely worthy for consideration of this great title?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jakarta]

Will the West Sussex Slug have to have a Pan-Sussex decider against the East Sussex Slug before being able to enter the WHC fray? I've experienced both, as well as the Slug of Kent and the Kentish Slug but my current losing battle with the WSS has engendered a real respect for this never-say-die hardnut......

The Sussex Slug issue is clearly up to the referees, I have to admit I have never thought of the Slug of Kent and Kentish Slug but why not if they are also blue pellet immune?

 

[jimhigham]

The Sussex Slug issue is clearly up to the referees, I have to admit I have never thought of the Slug of Kent and Kentish Slug but why not if they are also blue pellet immune?

Should we not reach 40 seconded nominations by close of play Tuesday night then I will be happy to enter "slug" into the group stages. Then it will be up to all you slug enthusiasts to rustle up the necessary support.

 

[Triggaaar]

I would like to nominate the Basset Hound.

 

[perseus]

 

[Commander]

Haven’t bothered to read the thread, so this has probably already been mentioned, but the Honey Badger would be retired from this competition now. It finally overcame the odds against all the cheating and smear-campaigning, and should be allowed to see out its days in peace, beating the shit out of black mambas and scrapping it out with lions.

The correlation between the Honey Badger and the Albion finally achieving promotion was clear. Those people who held it back all those years, they are responsible for the Albion’s failure to reach the promised land until now. I just hope they’re satisfied.

 

[jimhigham]

So now that it's been proven that our promotion last season was the direct result of the honey badger's victory, what happens to our campaign if the little bugger doesn't have a good tournament this year?

Yes, this is basically a bounce.

 

[Commander]

So now that it's been proven that our promotion last season was the direct result of the honey badger's victory, what happens to our campaign if the little bugger doesn't have a good tournament this year?

I think the answer to that is pretty clear. This is why it should be retired.

 

[A1X]

Meerkat

They don't kill scorpions for food, like many other creatures kill other animals for. They essentially kill them for fun. And that's just as kids.

 

[MattBackHome]

beaten finalists

WHC I - Polar Bear - beat crocodile 35-18
WHC II - Polar Bear - beat croc a second time. Score is sadly lost to history.
WHC III - Hippo - beat Honey Badger 95-56
WHC IV - Orca - beat Honey Badger 62-45
WHC V Black Mamba - beat Orca 61-43
WHC VI - Polar Bear beat Crocodile a third time 75-67
WHC VII - Mantis Shrimp - Biggest scandal in the history of the universe
WHC VIII - Crocodile - Beat hippo 101-65 (Saltwater Croc)
WHC IX - Crocodile - beat Wolverine 110-107
WHC X - Honey Badger - beat Grasshopper Mouse 138-92.

 

[Audax]

Antechinus. The males die after just a year of life, but that's the result of how fecking hard they compete for females. They're known for completely shutting down their immune systems, overloading on testosterone, and going for it for 12 hours without break while fighting off other males. Any other creature that goes up against one of these little Aussies is so screwed. In more ways than one...

Can't edit this anymore ... can't believe I missed the obvious winning point for this creature: Given the males essentially screw themselves to death during the mating season, there's absolutely no doubt there's nothing HARDER out there. No viagra required for this blokes: they're perma-hard.

 

[BBassic]

Time to dust off my #TeamCroc lapel pin

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Seconded. And may I nominate the mighty MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)?

At this point we possibly need a ruling on this. Does the 'World's Hardest Creature' entry criteria span the entirety of Life, or just the Eukaryota, or just the Animal Kingdom? I think this is important to define the boundaries of our nominations

 

[TSB]

I'll second Bull Shark, Cassowary and The Immortal Jellyfish.

It's page 10 but I'm pretty sure mine is the first nomination for:

Tasmanian Devil
Mongoose
Polar Bear (!!)
Poison Dart Frog
Grizzly Bear
Sun Bear
Great White Shark (!!)