According to a recent YouGov poll that asked which animals British people thought they could beat in unarmed combat, 38 per cent thought they could ‘ruff’ up a mediumsized dog, 18 per cent thought they could vanquish an eagle, and 7 per cent fancied their chances against the world’s longest venomous snake, the king cobra. Rats and house cats were the easiest presumed pushovers, with two-thirds of participants claiming they could see one off, while grizzly bears, elephants and lions were rightfully respected – only 2 per cent of pollsters claimed they would be able to take one down.