WHO WILL WIN?
Alligator
BELLOW-CHOMP
King Cobra
HISS-HOOD
THE SETUP

Alligator vs King Cobra

Alligator
Alligator
King Cobra
King Cobra

Pretend a alligator and a king cobra meet in forest. 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

King Cobra

Ophiophagus hannah · The tallest snake, with a hood like a warning sign.

King Cobra
Home
Asian forests · Lives in Asia
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
King Cobra is small.

Snake-eater with a stand-up hood.

Heat and chemical trail.

Alert, not cartoon-mean.

  • King Cobra is small and not very fast.
  • Mostly other snakes.
  • Dense forest and bamboo, where a long warning hiss carries.

Family: Other cobras and mambas — the elapid family of front-fanged specialists.

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

0.50 m

King Cobra to scale

King Cobra

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

Alligator360 kg

Can stretch as long as a small car.

King Cobra7 kg

Can stretch longer than a pickup truck, but no thicker than a grown-up's arm.

Alligator

0.50 m · 360 kg

Alligator is big. 360 kg.

King Cobra

0.50 m · 7 kg

King Cobra is small. 7 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: Hood-high venom fangs
  • Armor: Scale slicker
  • Senses: Heat and chemical trail.

King Cobra · labeled field diagram

Alligator3000 psi bite
King Cobra100 psi bite

Alligator

Trapdoor jaws

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

King Cobra

Hood-high venom fangs

Tool: hood-high venom fangs. Bite: 100 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
King Cobra
18 km/h
Alligator24 km/h
King Cobra18 km/h

Alligator

24 km/h

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

King Cobra

18 km/h

King Cobra can go 18 km/h. That is not 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 forest. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
AlligatorKing CobraBoth

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

Alligator

Not their home · Lives in North America

Alligator's home is the american swamps, not forest.

King Cobra

This is home · Lives in Asia

King Cobra lives in places like forest.

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.
King Cobra
Meat · Snake-eater with a stand-up hood.

Alligator

Meat · Ambush from the float.

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

King Cobra

Meat · Snake-eater with a stand-up hood.

Mostly other snakes.

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
King Cobra
Lives alone
Alligator7 grit /10
King Cobra8 grit /10

Alligator

Lives alone

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

King Cobra

Lives alone

Alert, not cartoon-mean. Grit: 8/10.

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
King Cobra
5/10
Alligator4 brains /10
King Cobra5 brains /10

Alligator

4/10

Night river hunter.

King Cobra

5/10

Heat and chemical trail.

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
King Cobra
Ophiophagus hannah

Alligator

Alligator mississippiensis

Crocodiles and caimans.

King Cobra

Ophiophagus hannah

Other cobras and mambas — the elapid family of front-fanged specialists.

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
King Cobra
Wobble Venom Warning

Alligator

Gator-Gap Lunge

They wait like a stick.

King Cobra

Wobble Venom Warning

One bite can make a huge animal feel wobbly and want a very long nap.

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 · King Cobra 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

THWACK!

THEY MEET

Alligator runs first. King Cobra does not race. They wait in forest.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SLAM!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Alligator is heavier. King Cobra uses hood-high venom fangs. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

POW!

SPECIAL MOVES

Alligator tries the Gator-Gap Lunge. King Cobra tries the Wobble Venom Warning. 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 forest, Alligator wins. Alligator is a lot heavier. King Cobra 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 · King Cobra 4.

Your card: Alligator 0 · King Cobra 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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