WHO WILL WIN?
Baboon
WAHOO-BARK
Cougar
SCREAM-PURR
THE SETUP

Baboon vs Cougar

Baboon
Baboon
Cougar
Cougar

Pretend a baboon and a cougar meet in the desert. 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

Baboon

Papio anubis · A troop-tough primate with serious canine teeth.

Baboon
Home
African savanna · Lives in Africa
Food
Plants and meat
Group
Hunts with a pack
Size
Baboon is small.

Omnivore troop.

Sharp eyes on the ground.

Bold, loud, and political.

  • Baboon is small and fast.
  • Fruit, grass, insects, and the occasional small animal.
  • Open country with cliffs for sleeping.

Family: Mandrills and geladas — the big-monkey cousin group.

Corner B

Cougar

Puma concolor · The quiet jumper with a hundred nicknames.

Cougar
Home
Americas from mountains to swamp · Lives in North America / South America
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Cougar is medium.

Stalk and pounce.

Dawn-and-dusk eyes.

A loner with a plan.

  • Cougar is medium and very fast.
  • Deer are favorite.
  • The widest range of any New World mammal, from Canada to the Andes.

Family: Cheetahs and jaguarundis more than roaring lions.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

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

1.70 m

Grown-up

0.70 m

Baboon to scale

Baboon

0.75 m

Cougar to scale

Cougar

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

Baboon30 kg

About as heavy as a first-grader who lifts.

Cougar65 kg

About as heavy as a grown-up's suitcase that can jump a creek.

Baboon

0.70 m · 30 kg

Baboon is small. 30 kg.

Cougar

0.75 m · 65 kg

Cougar is medium. 65 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: Dagger canines
  • Armor: Troop backup
  • Senses: Sharp eyes on the ground.

Baboon · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Pounce and hold
  • Armor: Tawny vanish
  • Senses: Dawn-and-dusk eyes.

Cougar · labeled field diagram

Baboon800 psi bite
Cougar400 psi bite

Baboon

Dagger canines

Tool: dagger canines. Bite: 800 psi.

Cougar

Pounce and hold

Tool: pounce and hold. 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?

Baboon
45 km/h
Cougar
70 km/h
Baboon45 km/h
Cougar70 km/h

Baboon

45 km/h

Baboon can go 45 km/h. That is fast.

Cougar

70 km/h

Cougar can go 70 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 the desert. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
BaboonCougarBoth

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

Baboon

Can handle it · Lives in Africa

Baboon's home is the african savanna, not the desert.

Cougar

This is home · Lives in North America / South America

Cougar lives in places like the desert.

Almost never. Their homes sit next to each other.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Baboon
Plants and meat · Omnivore troop.
Cougar
Meat · Stalk and pounce.

Baboon

Plants and meat · Omnivore troop.

Fruit, grass, insects, and the occasional small animal.

Cougar

Meat · Stalk and pounce.

Deer are favorite.

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.

Baboon
Hunts with a pack
Cougar
Lives alone
Baboon8 grit /10
Cougar7 grit /10

Baboon

Hunts with a pack

Bold, loud, and political. Grit: 8/10.

Cougar

Lives alone

A loner with a plan. Grit: 7/10.

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?

Baboon
8/10
Cougar
7/10
Baboon8 brains /10
Cougar7 brains /10

Baboon

8/10

Sharp eyes on the ground.

Cougar

7/10

Dawn-and-dusk eyes.

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

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Baboon
Papio anubis
Cougar
Puma concolor

Baboon

Papio anubis

Mandrills and geladas — the big-monkey cousin group.

Cougar

Puma concolor

Cheetahs and jaguarundis more than roaring lions.

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?

Baboon
Alarm-Bark Charge
Cougar
Canyon Long Jump

Baboon

Alarm-Bark Charge

They spot leopards from a long way off, shout the news, and sometimes mob the threat.

Cougar

Canyon Long Jump

They can bound 12 meters in a single leap.

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: Baboon 0 · Cougar 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

THWACK!

THEY MEET

Cougar runs first. Baboon does not race. They wait in the desert.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SLAM!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Cougar is heavier. Baboon uses dagger canines. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

POW!

SPECIAL MOVES

Baboon tries the Alarm-Bark Charge. Cougar tries the Canyon Long Jump. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Cougar!

A CLEAR PICK

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

On the desert, Cougar wins. Cougar likes the desert more. Baboon 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: Baboon 1 · Cougar 6 · ties 1.

Your card: Baboon 0 · Cougar 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 · Baboon

Yawn so big it counts as a roar.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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