WHO WILL WIN?
Alligator
BELLOW-CHOMP
Polar Bear
CHOMP-RUMBLE
THE SETUP

Alligator vs Polar Bear

Alligator
Alligator
Polar Bear
Polar Bear

Pretend a alligator and a polar bear meet in the ice. 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

Polar Bear

Ursus maritimus · The Arctic's heavyweight champ.

Polar Bear
Home
Arctic sea ice · Lives in North America / Asia / Europe
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Polar Bear is big.

Still-hunter on ice.

Smell can catch a seal from kilometers away.

Patient predator.

  • Polar Bear is big and fast.
  • Mostly seals.
  • Sea ice is their hunting floor.

Family: Brown bears.

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

1.60 m

Polar Bear to scale

Polar Bear

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

Alligator360 kg

Can stretch as long as a small car.

Polar Bear450 kg

Can stand taller than a basketball hoop on its hind legs.

Alligator

0.50 m · 360 kg

Alligator is big. 360 kg.

Polar Bear

1.60 m · 450 kg

Polar Bear is big. 450 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: Ice-hook paws
  • Armor: Blubber parka
  • Senses: Smell can catch a seal from kilometers away.

Polar Bear · labeled field diagram

Alligator3000 psi bite
Polar Bear1200 psi bite

Alligator

Trapdoor jaws

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

Polar Bear

Ice-hook paws

Tool: ice-hook paws. Bite: 1,200 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
Polar Bear
40 km/h
Alligator24 km/h
Polar Bear40 km/h

Alligator

24 km/h

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

Polar Bear

40 km/h

Polar Bear can go 40 km/h. That is fast.

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

Who takes the speed card?

HOME MAP!

HOME

They meet in the ice. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
AlligatorPolar BearBoth

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

Alligator

Wrong place · Lives in North America

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

Polar Bear

This is home · Lives in North America / Asia / Europe

Polar Bear lives in places like the ice.

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.
Polar Bear
Meat · Still-hunter on ice.

Alligator

Meat · Ambush from the float.

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

Polar Bear

Meat · Still-hunter on ice.

Mostly seals.

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
Polar Bear
Lives alone
Alligator7 grit /10
Polar Bear9 grit /10

Alligator

Lives alone

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

Polar Bear

Lives alone

Patient predator. Grit: 9/10.

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
Polar Bear
7/10
Alligator4 brains /10
Polar Bear7 brains /10

Alligator

4/10

Night river hunter.

Polar Bear

7/10

Smell can catch a seal from kilometers away.

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
Polar Bear
Ursus maritimus

Alligator

Alligator mississippiensis

Crocodiles and caimans.

Polar Bear

Ursus maritimus

Brown bears.

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
Polar Bear
Seal-Snatch Slam

Alligator

Gator-Gap Lunge

They wait like a stick.

Polar Bear

Seal-Snatch Slam

Polar bears can smell a seal from more than a kilometer away.

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 · Polar Bear 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

SKREEE!

THEY MEET

Polar Bear runs first. Alligator does not race. They wait in the ice.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

CHOMP!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Polar Bear is heavier. Alligator uses trapdoor jaws. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SNAP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Alligator tries the Gator-Gap Lunge. Polar Bear tries the Seal-Snatch Slam. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Polar Bear!

A CLEAR PICK

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

On the ice, Polar Bear wins. Polar Bear likes the ice more. Alligator 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 1 · Polar Bear 5 · ties 2.

Your card: Alligator 0 · Polar Bear 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 · Polar Bear

The champ does laps. Underwater. Showing off.

Wikimedia Commons · Zoo Bremerhaven · CC. Source

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