YouGov, a British market research and data analytics company, recently polled Americans for their opinions on a crucial topic: Which animal would be the top competitor in fights against other animals? And depending on which animal you think is the Hulk-iest, the top contenders may surprise you; along with the bravado some people have in regards to their own brawling skills.
YouGov recently put up a blog post describing the poll, which included votes from 1,224 respondents. To select the apex fighter from the kingdom, Animalia, YouGov showed participants seven random pairings of animals from a list of 34. The company then asked respondents to select which of the two would win in a head-to-head fight in each instance, and, depending on their answers, gave a “win percentage” to each animal.
— YouGov America (@YouGovAmerica) May 13, 2021The survey you never knew you wanted: which animal would win in a fight?
🐘 74% win rate
🦏 74%
🐻 73%
🐯 70%
🦛 69%
🦁 68%
🐊 67%
🦍 64%
🐻❄️ 64%
🐆 60%
🐍 55%
🦬 55%
🐮 54%
🐺 46%
🐗 43%
🦅 39%
🦘 37%
🦧 36%
🐴 33%
👨 17%
🦢 14%https://t.co/lFhqKpyCpK pic.twitter.com/VLq3mTGIex
As for the top contenders? Respondents gave grizzly bears a 73% win rate against other animals. For tigers: a 70% chance of ripping their opponents apart. Overall, however, people felt that neither of these natural born killers belonged in the top spot. The absolute unbeatable beast who took home the title for best fighter: the elephant. With a 74% win rate, it just eked out a win over the rhinoceros, who also received a 74% win rate. (Just a few extra tenths of a percent gave the elephant the top spot.)
Other notable contenders included the hippopotamus at a 69% win rate, and the lion at 68%. Crocodiles seem to have taken over a lot of the second tier, and then in the third, it’s a lot of big cats. Some fun wild cards in the mix are King Cobras at 54%, and, yes, the goose, at 14%. Which is a low-percentage win rate, but the fact people think it would beat other contenders at all is impressive. And perhaps a sign some people were not taking the match-ups seriously.
Regardless of the goose, the most unbelievable responses came from people who thought they themselves would fare best. Six percent of respondents said they’d win against any other animal, which, of course, is ridiculous. Especially considering humans’ overall win rate of just 17%. Then again, the idea that nearly a third of people said they couldn’t beat a rat is equally ridiculous in its own way. Unless, of course, you’re talking about cyborg rats.
