WHO WILL WIN?
Cassowary
BOOM-RUMBLE
Otter
CHIRP-CHUCKLE
THE SETUP

Cassowary vs Otter

Cassowary
Cassowary
Otter
Otter

Pretend a cassowary and a otter meet in river country. 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

Cassowary

Casuarius casuarius · The rainforest's dinosaur that never left.

Cassowary
Home
Australian and New Guinean rainforest · Lives in Australia / Asia
Food
Plants and meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Cassowary is medium.

Fruit eater with dinosaur feet.

Casque and low rumble carry through forest.

Shy until cornered.

  • Cassowary is medium and fast.
  • Mostly fruit.
  • Dense rainforest where a tall dark bird can appear like a jump scare.

Family: Emus and ostriches — the ratite squad of giant flightless birds.

Corner B

Otter

Lontra canadensis · A slippery wrestler who treats rivers like gyms.

Otter
Home
Rivers and lakes · Lives in North America
Food
Meat
Group
Lives with family
Size
Otter is small.

Fish wrestler.

Whiskers in murky water.

Playful hustle.

  • Otter is small and not very fast.
  • Fish, crayfish, frogs — they eat lunch in the pool.
  • Riverbanks with dens called holts.

Family: Weasels, badgers, and wolverines.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

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

1.70 m

Grown-up

1.70 m

Cassowary to scale

Cassowary

0.40 m

Otter to scale

Otter

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

Cassowary55 kg

As tall as a grown-up, with the attitude of a dinosaur that kept the costume.

Otter10 kg

About as heavy as a bag of flour that learned backstroke.

Cassowary

1.70 m · 55 kg

Cassowary is medium. 55 kg.

Otter

0.40 m · 10 kg

Otter is small. 10 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 inner toe
  • Armor: Casque helmet
  • Senses: Casque and low rumble carry through forest.

Cassowary · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Needle teeth plus twist
  • Armor: Oilskin fur
  • Senses: Whiskers in murky water.

Otter · labeled field diagram

Cassowary20 psi bite
Otter150 psi bite

Cassowary

Dagger inner toe

Tool: dagger inner toe. Bite: 20 psi.

Otter

Needle teeth plus twist

Tool: needle teeth plus twist. Bite: 150 psi.

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

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Cassowary
50 km/h
Otter
30 km/h
Cassowary50 km/h
Otter30 km/h

Cassowary

50 km/h

Cassowary can go 50 km/h. That is fast.

Otter

30 km/h

Otter can go 30 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 river country. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
CassowaryOtterBoth

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

Cassowary

Can handle it · Lives in Australia / Asia

Cassowary's home is the australian and new guinean rainforest, not river country.

Otter

This is home · Lives in North America

Otter lives in places like river country.

Almost never. Their homes sit next to each other.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Cassowary
Plants and meat · Fruit eater with dinosaur feet.
Otter
Meat · Fish wrestler.

Cassowary

Plants and meat · Fruit eater with dinosaur feet.

Mostly fruit.

Otter

Meat · Fish wrestler.

Fish, crayfish, frogs — they eat lunch in the pool.

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.

Cassowary
Lives alone
Otter
Lives with family
Cassowary7 grit /10
Otter7 grit /10

Cassowary

Lives alone

Shy until cornered. Grit: 7/10.

Otter

Lives with family

Playful hustle. 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?

Cassowary
4/10
Otter
7/10
Cassowary4 brains /10
Otter7 brains /10

Cassowary

4/10

Casque and low rumble carry through forest.

Otter

7/10

Whiskers in murky water.

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

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Cassowary
Casuarius casuarius
Otter
Lontra canadensis

Cassowary

Casuarius casuarius

Emus and ostriches — the ratite squad of giant flightless birds.

Otter

Lontra canadensis

Weasels, badgers, and wolverines.

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?

Cassowary
Kick of the Lost World
Otter
Slide Tackle

Cassowary

Kick of the Lost World

They jump and slash with both feet.

Otter

Slide Tackle

Mud slides are transport.

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: Cassowary 0 · Otter 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

THWACK!

THEY MEET

Cassowary runs first. Otter does not race. They wait in river country.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SLAM!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Cassowary is heavier. Otter uses needle teeth plus twist. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

POW!

SPECIAL MOVES

Cassowary tries the Kick of the Lost World. Otter tries the Slide Tackle. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Cassowary!

A STOMP

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

On river country, Cassowary wins. Cassowary is a lot heavier. Otter 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: Cassowary 5 · Otter 3.

Your card: Cassowary 0 · Otter 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 · Otter

Playtime. The official otter sport.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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