WHO WILL WIN?
Alligator
BELLOW-CHOMP
Cheetah
CHIRRUP-ZOOM
THE SETUP

Alligator vs Cheetah

Alligator
Alligator
Cheetah
Cheetah

Pretend a alligator and a cheetah meet in river country. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

Almost never. Their homes sit next to each other.

This is pretend and based on facts. Real animals usually hide or leave.

Read the facts. Make your card. The page waits to pick.

Corner A

Alligator

Alligator mississippiensis · A living log with a U-shaped grin.

Alligator
Home
American swamps · Lives in North America
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Alligator is big.

Ambush from the float.

Night river hunter.

Looks like a log with a secret.

  • Alligator is big and not very fast.
  • Fish, turtles, birds, mammals — swamp buffet, all you can chomp.
  • Freshwater marshes and slow rivers.

Family: Crocodiles and caimans.

Corner B

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus · The land-speed record in spots.

Cheetah
Home
African savanna · Lives in Africa
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Cheetah is medium.

Sprint specialist.

Huge eyes, huge field of view.

A sprinter, not a wrestler.

  • Cheetah is medium and very fast.
  • They prefer gazelles and other speedy snacks they can outrun.
  • Open plains are a racetrack.

Family: Other cats, but cheetahs are the odd cousins who joined track team.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

Stand them next to a grown-up. Who is bigger and heavier?

1.70 m

Grown-up

0.50 m

Alligator to scale

Alligator

0.90 m

Cheetah to scale

Cheetah

Height to scale. A grown-up is 1.7 m.

Alligator360 kg

Can stretch as long as a small car.

Cheetah50 kg

About as heavy as a fifth-grader — and faster than the school bus.

Alligator

0.50 m · 360 kg

Alligator is big. 360 kg.

Cheetah

0.90 m · 50 kg

Cheetah is medium. 50 kg.

Kilograms are honest. A small animal can still have a strong tool.

Who would you pick for size?

TOOLKIT!

TOOLS

Teeth, claws, horns, venom, kick — what tools do they have?

  • Weapon: Trapdoor jaws
  • Armor: Osteoderm jacket
  • Senses: Night river hunter.

Alligator · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: High-speed trip claws
  • Armor: Tearaway lightness
  • Senses: Huge eyes, huge field of view.

Cheetah · labeled field diagram

Alligator3000 psi bite
Cheetah400 psi bite

Alligator

Trapdoor jaws

Tool: trapdoor jaws. Bite: 3,000 psi.

Cheetah

High-speed trip claws

Tool: high-speed trip claws. Bite: 400 psi.

A bite number is only one tool. Coils and kicks count too.

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Alligator
24 km/h
Cheetah
110 km/h
Alligator24 km/h
Cheetah110 km/h

Alligator

24 km/h

Alligator can go 24 km/h. That is not very fast.

Cheetah

110 km/h

Cheetah can go 110 km/h. That is very fast.

A fast animal can miss. A slow one only has to connect.

Who takes the speed card?

HOME MAP!

HOME

They meet in river country. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
AlligatorCheetahBoth

Meeting biome: river country. Colored land is where each animal actually lives.

Alligator

This is home · Lives in North America

Alligator lives in places like river country.

Cheetah

Can handle it · Lives in Africa

Cheetah's home is the african savanna, not river country.

Almost never. Their homes sit next to each other.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Alligator
Meat · Ambush from the float.
Cheetah
Meat · Sprint specialist.

Alligator

Meat · Ambush from the float.

Fish, turtles, birds, mammals — swamp buffet, all you can chomp.

Cheetah

Meat · Sprint specialist.

They prefer gazelles and other speedy snacks they can outrun.

A plant eater is not 'safe.' Hippos and elephants still end arguments.

Whose hunting or defending helps more?

MOOD!

MOOD

Alone vs team. This rumble is one vs one.

Alligator
Lives alone
Cheetah
Lives alone
Alligator7 grit /10
Cheetah6 grit /10

Alligator

Lives alone

Looks like a log with a secret. Grit: 7/10.

Cheetah

Lives alone

A sprinter, not a wrestler. Grit: 6/10.

Pack and pride animals lose their backup in a 1-v-1.

Who is better for a solo meeting?

PING!

BRAINS

Who notices first and thinks next?

Alligator
4/10
Cheetah
6/10
Alligator4 brains /10
Cheetah6 brains /10

Alligator

4/10

Night river hunter.

Cheetah

6/10

Huge eyes, huge field of view.

In the wild, brains often mean leave before it starts.

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Alligator
Alligator mississippiensis
Cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus

Alligator

Alligator mississippiensis

Crocodiles and caimans.

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus

Other cats, but cheetahs are the odd cousins who joined track team.

Cousins are clues, not a score.

Not a fight point. Who has the wilder family story?

WILD CARD!

SPECIAL

What special move did they evolve?

Alligator
Gator-Gap Lunge
Cheetah
Hundred-Kilo Zoom

Alligator

Gator-Gap Lunge

They wait like a stick.

Cheetah

Hundred-Kilo Zoom

0 to 100 km/h in about 3 seconds.

A secret move here is a real wild tool, not a video-game combo.

Whose special move would change the meeting?

YOUR SCORECARD

Your scorecard

Tap who has each fact. Then tap who you think wins.

  • SIZE & WEIGHT

  • TOOLS

  • SPEED

  • HOME

  • FOOD

  • MOOD

  • BRAINS

  • SPECIAL

Your card: Alligator 0 · Cheetah 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

Keep going for the pretend meeting, then the science pick.

FWOOSH!

THEY MEET

Cheetah runs first. Alligator does not race. They wait in river country.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

KICK!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Alligator is heavier. Cheetah uses high-speed trip claws. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

STOOMP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Alligator tries the Gator-Gap Lunge. Cheetah tries the Hundred-Kilo Zoom. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Alligator!

A STOMP

You skipped a final pick. The facts still stamp a champ.

On river country, Alligator wins. Alligator likes river country more. Cheetah would still win some meetings at home.

In the wild, most animals skip a fight. We still judge who the bodies and the place would favor.

Science card: Alligator 4 · Cheetah 3 · ties 1.

Your card: Alligator 0 · Cheetah 0.

The last page follows the whole animal — body plus home — not one bar chart.

Send this fight

A friend can read the same facts.

Victory lap · Alligator

Log? Nope. Champ.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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