Good evening. I'm Chris Packham and I'm bringing you NSC's continuing coverage of WHC XII. We've reached the semi final stage and the first match provides a guaranteed route to the final for an initially unfancied competitor. Both the Jaguar and Seagull came through dramatic quarter finals to be here and have gained many new admirers along the way. The Seagull has the most votes received at this stage but the Jaguar seems to be gaining new admirers as the tournament progresses. Let's take a look at the tale of the tape...
Jaguar
2nd Round - 33 votes - beat the Tasmanian Devil
Quarter Final - 32 votes - drew against the Polar Bear
Total knockout votes received - 65
The Jaguar has reached the last five of WHC for the first time in three years of trying. Since making its debut in 2017 it has been something of an unheralded competitor but things are now starting to click for the forest ninja. It scored a dramatic last minute equaliser to draw with the Polar Bear and earn its place in the semis. The Jag will fancy its chances of going all the way despite coming up against the surprise package of this year's tournament.
The Jaguar is an apex predator but seems to have gone under the radar all these years, perhaps due to its having more glamorous members of the big cat clan taking all the plaudits. It possesses a fearsome ambush and is the proud owner of its own signature strike. It kills with a single bite to the head, crushing the skull of its prey. It does this with a bite force that rivals the very best on the planet. At 1,500 pounds per square inch, it is only beaten by members of the crocodile clan and the Hippo. Just think about that for a moment. Stronger than the far larger tiger: stronger than the Polar Bear that pushed it so hard in the last round. Pound for pound it has the strongest bite force of them all and uses it to devastating effect.
If you're far away it can stalk you. If you're nearby it can pounce on you. If you're in a tree it can climb to you. If you're in water it can swim out to you. Basically, you don't want to be getting too close to this badass.
Here's another video showing the prowess of the Jaguar. Here we see it taking out a Caiman. It leaves the safety of dry land to fight in the Caiman's terrain. It also breaks from the big cat tradition of only having strength enough for short attacks. Here it not only has the strength to win a lengthy encounter but to drag its prey out of a running river. This is hardness of the type required at this stage of the competition.
Seagull
2nd Round - 33 votes - beat the Great White Shark
Quarter Final - 49 votes - beat the Honey Badger
Total knockout votes received - 82
It's the definitive Angry Bird. Here comes the Seagull and what a tournament it is having. It has taken down two of the big beasts of the tournament in the Great White Shark and Honey Badger and has even outscored the Hippo at this point. The Seagull may now even consider itself the favourite.
Feisty, tenacious, inventive, versatile and capable of delivering precision targeted shit; the Seagull is more than just a scavenger after your chips. The Seagull has colonised all corners of Planet Earth and you don't get to do that simply by nicking cup cakes and jelly babies. It's a superlative hunter, taking food on the wing, at sea and on land.
But while the Seagull is a magnificently involved eating machine, its hard credentials are undoubtedly derived from its ballsy attitude. Is there one of us here that hasn't been on the end of a Seagull mic drop? Attacks on humans have skyrocketed in recent years, as Seagulls have seemingly reached the stage where they think they have our number and are plotting total world domination.
Here we see Seagulls basically screwing things up as only they can.
