Horned animals of the world have made a fine art of fencing.

Using their horns as foils, they joust to assert dominance over other males of their specie

The Archer Fish uses its mouth as a bow and a stream of s a complex problem of physics inwater as an arrow to shoot prey lurking above the surface.

Not only must it hit a moving target but it also solve the process.

As it sets its aim, the fish calculates and Corrects for the refractive bending of light through the water.

Its gill covers shut, thrusting water along a groove, releasing a stream aqua arrows.

One the most energy efficient means of cruising the oceans…is sailing and …Natures most accomplished sailor is the blue bottle.

This simple jelly like creature tackles the wildest winds and turbulent seas It manages to stay afloat.

Unlike most spiders, which construct webs for passing prey, the Bolas spider takes a more pro-active approach.

Nature’s supreme synchronised swimmers are the dolphins.

The middleweight boxing champ is the Brown Hare.

Males challenge each other but are also challenged by females.

In defence of his chosen mate, A dominant male drives away a subordinate in a high speed chase.

The female, however, is far from defenceless.

When an unwanted suitor approaches, she rebuffs him with a range of hooks and uppercuts.

Even desirable males are met with a challenge, she tests the endurance of her potential mating partners with a pummelling.

Kangaroos are nature’s representatives in the heavy weight boxing division.

Their bouts combine headlocks, forepaw jabs and their own form of kickboxing.

Balancing on their tails, they deliver powerful blows to the belly, which is protected by an extra thick layer of skin.

Weighing up to 80 kilograms and standing 2 metres tall, they are formidable opponents.

Balancing on their tails, they deliver powerful blows to the belly, which is protected by an extra thick layer of skin.

Weighing up to 80 kilograms and standing 2 metres tall, they are formidable opponents.

Smaller than a match head, the cat flea can leap a staggering 33-cm in a single jump, equivalent to a high jumper soaring some 400 metres into the air.

With an acceleration of over 20 times that required launching a space rocket, a trigger mechanism releases the resilin, extending the legs in less than a millisecond.

The cheetah is the world’s fastest sprinter. Able to maintain 100 kilometers over 500 metres, it is 3 times quicker than the fastest man.

Deep in America’s Sonoran desert we find a world class free-style wrestler, the Gila monster. The mating season is the signal for the competition bouts to begin.

Like wrestling, the aim is to pin down the opponent through a series of specialised moves.

Without powerful gripping arms, these monsters use their jaws to wrestle opponents into submission.

There are no referees, yet gila monsters abstain from any life threatening manoeuvres.

The desert sands of Namibia are home to a remarkable miniature acrobat.

The Golden wheel spider turns on a performance that rivals the tumbling floor routine of any gymnast.

The Giant Barred frog is the breastroke champion of the animal kingdom.

Australia’s red kangaroo can leap in 5 metre bounds for kilometres without signs of fatigue.

Locusts make overnight marathons of over 500 kms, often leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.

Able to clock over 70 KM per hour in a 20 second burst Tuna, marlin and sailfish are the sprint champions of the marine world.

The Monarch butterfly completes a 8,000km round trip marathon.

The peregrine falcon at 150 KM per hour wins the gold medal for speed.

Today, there is no predator on the American plains that can even come close to a pronghorn.

At top speed it reaches 90 kilometres per hour and sustains this pace for huge distances.

It’s their weight lifting skills, which earn them the title of forest heavy weights.

Weighing in at only 2 Grams, they may only be featherweights, but rhinoceros beetles are thought to be the strongest animals in the world.

The rocket frog has an escape plan of record breaking proportions. With a long jump of over 4 metres.

No longer than a matchbox this is a leap of almost 100 times its own body length, from a standing start.

The sooty tern is another of nature’s great athletes of the air. Its forte is not speed but the long distance marathon.

Although the ‘plunge for distance’ event is no longer on the Olympic program, it is contested daily in the animal kingdom.

Able to hold its breath for nearly two hours, the sperm whale is the ocean’s deepest diver- making plunging descents of more than 3 kilometres.

Second placed deep diver is the elephant seal.

Reaching depths of 1500 metres it can stay submerged for 2 hours.

Third ranking deep diver is the Weddel seal, reaching depths of 700 metres.

It dives continually for about eleven hours but must spend up to thirteen hours recuperating on the ice.

The stomatopod can pack a punch close to that delivered by a .22 calibre bullet.

To increase their chances of survival, marine turtle hatchlings undertake a marathon swim.

On the plains of east Africa, withering grasslands compel massive herds of wildebeest to embark on an annual migration as gruelling as any triathalon.