WHO WILL WIN?
Bison
SNORT-GRUNT
Cougar
SCREAM-PURR
THE SETUP

Bison vs Cougar

Bison
Bison
Cougar
Cougar

Pretend a bison and a cougar meet in the mountains. 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

Bison

Bison bison · A shaggy locomotive with horns.

Bison
Home
North American grassland · Lives in North America
Food
Plants
Group
Lives in a herd
Size
Bison is big.

Grazer.

Smell and hearing across open grass.

Looks like furniture until it runs.

  • Bison is big and fast.
  • Grass.
  • Wide plains where a herd can rumble the ground like weather.

Family: Yaks and cattle.

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

1.70 m

Bison to scale

Bison

0.75 m

Cougar to scale

Cougar

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

Bison700 kg

As heavy as a small car, with a haircut that never clocks out.

Cougar65 kg

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

Bison

1.70 m · 700 kg

Bison is big. 700 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: Headbutt horns
  • Armor: Woolly snowplow
  • Senses: Smell and hearing across open grass.

Bison · labeled field diagram

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

Cougar · labeled field diagram

Bison200 psi bite
Cougar400 psi bite

Bison

Headbutt horns

Tool: headbutt horns. Bite: 200 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?

Bison
55 km/h
Cougar
70 km/h
Bison55 km/h
Cougar70 km/h

Bison

55 km/h

Bison can go 55 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 mountains. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
BisonCougarBoth

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

Bison

Not their home · Lives in North America

Bison's home is the north american grassland, not the mountains.

Cougar

This is home · Lives in North America / South America

Cougar lives in places like the mountains.

Almost never. Their homes sit next to each other.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Bison
Plants · Grazer.
Cougar
Meat · Stalk and pounce.

Bison

Plants · Grazer.

Grass.

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.

Bison
Lives in a herd
Cougar
Lives alone
Bison8 grit /10
Cougar7 grit /10

Bison

Lives in a herd

Looks like furniture until it runs. 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?

Bison
4/10
Cougar
7/10
Bison4 brains /10
Cougar7 brains /10

Bison

4/10

Smell and hearing across open grass.

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?

Bison
Bison bison
Cougar
Puma concolor

Bison

Bison bison

Yaks and cattle.

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?

Bison
Prairie Freight Charge
Cougar
Canyon Long Jump

Bison

Prairie Freight Charge

They look like furniture.

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: Bison 0 · Cougar 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

SKREEE!

THEY MEET

Cougar runs first. Bison does not race. They wait in the mountains.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

CHOMP!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Bison is heavier. Cougar uses pounce and hold. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SNAP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Bison tries the Prairie Freight 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

Bison!

A STOMP · UNDERDOG

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

On the mountains, Bison wins. Bison is a lot heavier. Cougar 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: Bison 2 · Cougar 5 · ties 1.

Your card: Bison 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.

Victory lap · Bison

A good scratch after a hard rumble.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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