WHO WILL WIN?
Cheetah
CHIRRUP-ZOOM
Flamingo
HONK-HONK-PINK
THE SETUP

Cheetah vs Flamingo

Cheetah
Cheetah
Flamingo
Flamingo

Pretend a cheetah and a flamingo 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

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus · The land-speed record in spots.

Cheetah
Home
African savanna · Lives in Africa
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Cheetah is medium.

Sprint specialist.

Huge eyes, huge field of view.

A sprinter, not a wrestler.

  • Cheetah is medium and very fast.
  • They prefer gazelles and other speedy snacks they can outrun.
  • Open plains are a racetrack.

Family: Other cats, but cheetahs are the odd cousins who joined track team.

Corner B

Flamingo

Phoenicopterus roseus · A pink question mark with a secret temper.

Flamingo
Home
Lakes and lagoons · Lives in Africa / Europe / South America / North America
Food
Plants and meat
Group
Lives in a flock
Size
Flamingo is tiny.

Filter feeder.

They spot shallows and flock motion.

Social and noisy.

  • Flamingo is tiny and fast.
  • Shrimp and algae.
  • Salty, soda-like lakes where most animals would go 'no thanks.

Family: Other flashy wading birds, with a family tree scientists still argue about.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

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

1.70 m

Grown-up

0.90 m

Cheetah to scale

Cheetah

1.20 m

Flamingo to scale

Flamingo

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

Cheetah50 kg

About as heavy as a fifth-grader — and faster than the school bus.

Flamingo3 kg

Light enough to mail (please do not) but taller than a kitchen counter.

Cheetah

0.90 m · 50 kg

Cheetah is medium. 50 kg.

Flamingo

1.20 m · 3 kg

Flamingo is tiny. 3 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: High-speed trip claws
  • Armor: Tearaway lightness
  • Senses: Huge eyes, huge field of view.

Cheetah · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Hooked filter beak
  • Armor: One-leg balance aura
  • Senses: They spot shallows and flock motion.

Flamingo · labeled field diagram

Cheetah400 psi bite
Flamingo20 psi bite

Cheetah

High-speed trip claws

Tool: high-speed trip claws. Bite: 400 psi.

Flamingo

Hooked filter beak

Tool: hooked filter beak. Bite: 20 psi.

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

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Cheetah
110 km/h
Flamingo
50 km/h
Cheetah110 km/h
Flamingo50 km/h

Cheetah

110 km/h

Cheetah can go 110 km/h. That is very fast.

Flamingo

50 km/h

Flamingo can go 50 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 grassland. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
CheetahFlamingoBoth

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

Cheetah

This is home · Lives in Africa

Cheetah lives in places like grassland.

Flamingo

Can handle it · Lives in Africa / Europe / South America / North America

Flamingo's home is the lakes and lagoons, not grassland.

Almost never. Their homes sit next to each other.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Cheetah
Meat · Sprint specialist.
Flamingo
Plants and meat · Filter feeder.

Cheetah

Meat · Sprint specialist.

They prefer gazelles and other speedy snacks they can outrun.

Flamingo

Plants and meat · Filter feeder.

Shrimp and algae.

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.

Cheetah
Lives alone
Flamingo
Lives in a flock
Cheetah6 grit /10
Flamingo4 grit /10

Cheetah

Lives alone

A sprinter, not a wrestler. Grit: 6/10.

Flamingo

Lives in a flock

Social and noisy. Grit: 4/10.

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?

Cheetah
6/10
Flamingo
4/10
Cheetah6 brains /10
Flamingo4 brains /10

Cheetah

6/10

Huge eyes, huge field of view.

Flamingo

4/10

They spot shallows and flock motion.

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

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus
Flamingo
Phoenicopterus roseus

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus

Other cats, but cheetahs are the odd cousins who joined track team.

Flamingo

Phoenicopterus roseus

Other flashy wading birds, with a family tree scientists still argue about.

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?

Cheetah
Hundred-Kilo Zoom
Flamingo
Wing-Whoosh Retreat

Cheetah

Hundred-Kilo Zoom

0 to 100 km/h in about 3 seconds.

Flamingo

Wing-Whoosh Retreat

When trouble shows up, flamingos take the sky.

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: Cheetah 0 · Flamingo 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

FWOOSH!

THEY MEET

Cheetah runs first. Flamingo does not race. They wait in grassland.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

KICK!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Cheetah is heavier. Flamingo uses hooked filter beak. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

STOOMP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Cheetah tries the Hundred-Kilo Zoom. Flamingo tries the Wing-Whoosh Retreat. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Cheetah!

A STOMP

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

On grassland, Cheetah wins. Cheetah likes grassland more. Flamingo 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: Cheetah 8 · Flamingo 0.

Your card: Cheetah 0 · Flamingo 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 · Cheetah

Rozi the cheetah. Zoom is not a metaphor.

Cincinnati Zoo · Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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