WHO WILL WIN?
Anaconda
SLITHER-WHOMP
Meerkat
CHK-CHK-ALARM
THE SETUP

Anaconda vs Meerkat

Anaconda
Anaconda
Meerkat
Meerkat

Pretend a anaconda and a meerkat meet in grassland. 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

Anaconda

Eunectes murinus · A river rope that forgot it is allowed to be this heavy.

Anaconda
Home
Amazon rivers · Lives in South America
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Anaconda is big.

Wait in the water, coil, squeeze.

Heat pits plus a swimmer's patience.

Heavy and unhurried.

  • Anaconda is big and slow.
  • Capybara, fish, birds, caimans — if it comes to the water's edge, it is on the maybe list.
  • Slow rivers and swamps.

Family: Boas.

Corner B

Meerkat

Suricata suricatta · The smallest fighter with the biggest sentry energy.

Meerkat
Home
African desert and scrub · Lives in Africa
Food
Plants and meat
Group
Lives in a big group
Size
Meerkat is tiny.

Bug and scorpion specialist.

Dark-eye rings cut glare.

Brave in a mob, tiny in a 1-v-1.

  • Meerkat is tiny and not very fast.
  • Insects, scorpions, eggs, and the occasional lizard.
  • They live in underground burrow cities with many exits.

Family: Mongooses.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

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

1.70 m

Grown-up

0.40 m

Anaconda to scale

Anaconda

0.30 m

Meerkat to scale

Meerkat

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

Anaconda200 kg

As heavy as a couple of grown-ups, longer than a classroom rug.

Meerkat0.8 kg

About as heavy as a loaf of bread that learned karate.

Anaconda

0.40 m · 200 kg

Anaconda is big. 200 kg.

Meerkat

0.30 m · 0.8 kg

Meerkat is tiny. 0.8 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: Coil squeeze
  • Armor: Water-slick muscle
  • Senses: Heat pits plus a swimmer's patience.

Anaconda · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Needle claws
  • Armor: Absolutely none
  • Senses: Dark-eye rings cut glare.

Meerkat · labeled field diagram

Anaconda200 psi bite
Meerkat50 psi bite

Anaconda

Coil squeeze

Tool: coil squeeze. Bite: 200 psi.

Meerkat

Needle claws

Tool: needle claws. Bite: 50 psi.

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

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Anaconda
8 km/h
Meerkat
32 km/h
Anaconda8 km/h
Meerkat32 km/h

Anaconda

8 km/h

Anaconda can go 8 km/h. That is slow.

Meerkat

32 km/h

Meerkat can go 32 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 grassland. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
AnacondaMeerkatBoth

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

Anaconda

Not their home · Lives in South America

Anaconda's home is the amazon rivers, not grassland.

Meerkat

This is home · Lives in Africa

Meerkat lives in places like grassland.

Almost never. Their homes sit next to each other.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Anaconda
Meat · Wait in the water, coil, squeeze.
Meerkat
Plants and meat · Bug and scorpion specialist.

Anaconda

Meat · Wait in the water, coil, squeeze.

Capybara, fish, birds, caimans — if it comes to the water's edge, it is on the maybe list.

Meerkat

Plants and meat · Bug and scorpion specialist.

Insects, scorpions, eggs, and the occasional lizard.

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.

Anaconda
Lives alone
Meerkat
Lives in a big group
Anaconda8 grit /10
Meerkat10 grit /10

Anaconda

Lives alone

Heavy and unhurried. Grit: 8/10.

Meerkat

Lives in a big group

Brave in a mob, tiny in a 1-v-1. Grit: 10/10.

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?

Anaconda
4/10
Meerkat
7/10
Anaconda4 brains /10
Meerkat7 brains /10

Anaconda

4/10

Heat pits plus a swimmer's patience.

Meerkat

7/10

Dark-eye rings cut glare.

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

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Anaconda
Eunectes murinus
Meerkat
Suricata suricatta

Anaconda

Eunectes murinus

Boas.

Meerkat

Suricata suricatta

Mongooses.

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?

Anaconda
Swamp Wrap
Meerkat
Sentry Siren

Anaconda

Swamp Wrap

They wait like a log.

Meerkat

Sentry Siren

One meerkat stands watch while the rest forage.

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: Anaconda 0 · Meerkat 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

THWACK!

THEY MEET

Meerkat runs first. Anaconda does not race. They wait in grassland.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SLAM!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Anaconda is heavier. Meerkat uses needle claws. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

POW!

SPECIAL MOVES

Anaconda tries the Swamp Wrap. Meerkat tries the Sentry Siren. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Anaconda!

A STOMP

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

On grassland, Anaconda wins. Anaconda is a lot heavier. Meerkat 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: Anaconda 4 · Meerkat 4.

Your card: Anaconda 0 · Meerkat 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.

Also starring · Meerkat

Family meeting. Someone is always on lookout.

Boksi · Wilhelma Zoo · Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

1/17 · scroll