WHO WILL WIN?
Cheetah
CHIRRUP-ZOOM
Jaguar
UH-UH-GRUNT
THE SETUP

Cheetah vs Jaguar

Cheetah
Cheetah
Jaguar
Jaguar

Pretend a cheetah and a jaguar 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

Jaguar

Panthera onca · The skull-cracker of the rainforest.

Jaguar
Home
Amazon rainforest · Lives in South America / North America
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Jaguar is medium.

Skull-bite hunter.

Water-and-forest eyes.

Power in a compact cat.

  • Jaguar is medium and fast.
  • Capybara, deer, fish, caimans — the menu is the whole forest.
  • Rivers and dense jungle.

Family: Leopards look similar.

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

0.75 m

Jaguar to scale

Jaguar

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.

Jaguar95 kg

Heavier than a leopard, shorter than a tiger, meaner at the dentist.

Cheetah

0.90 m · 50 kg

Cheetah is medium. 50 kg.

Jaguar

0.75 m · 95 kg

Jaguar is medium. 95 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: Bone-piercing bite
  • Armor: Stocky muscle coat
  • Senses: Water-and-forest eyes.

Jaguar · labeled field diagram

Cheetah400 psi bite
Jaguar1500 psi bite

Cheetah

High-speed trip claws

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

Jaguar

Bone-piercing bite

Tool: bone-piercing bite. Bite: 1,500 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
Jaguar
50 km/h
Cheetah110 km/h
Jaguar50 km/h

Cheetah

110 km/h

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

Jaguar

50 km/h

Jaguar 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
CheetahJaguarBoth

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

Cheetah

This is home · Lives in Africa

Cheetah lives in places like grassland.

Jaguar

Can handle it · Lives in South America / North America

Jaguar's home is the amazon rainforest, 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.
Jaguar
Meat · Skull-bite hunter.

Cheetah

Meat · Sprint specialist.

They prefer gazelles and other speedy snacks they can outrun.

Jaguar

Meat · Skull-bite hunter.

Capybara, deer, fish, caimans — the menu is the whole forest.

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
Jaguar
Lives alone
Cheetah6 grit /10
Jaguar8 grit /10

Cheetah

Lives alone

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

Jaguar

Lives alone

Power in a compact cat. Grit: 8/10.

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
Jaguar
7/10
Cheetah6 brains /10
Jaguar7 brains /10

Cheetah

6/10

Huge eyes, huge field of view.

Jaguar

7/10

Water-and-forest eyes.

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
Jaguar
Panthera onca

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus

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

Jaguar

Panthera onca

Leopards look similar.

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
Jaguar
River Skull Clamp

Cheetah

Hundred-Kilo Zoom

0 to 100 km/h in about 3 seconds.

Jaguar

River Skull Clamp

They love water.

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 · Jaguar 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

SKREEE!

THEY MEET

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

CHOMP!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Jaguar is heavier. Cheetah uses high-speed trip claws. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SNAP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Cheetah tries the Hundred-Kilo Zoom. Jaguar tries the River Skull Clamp. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Jaguar!

A CLEAR PICK

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

On grassland, Jaguar wins. Jaguar's bone-piercing bite helps more. Cheetah 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 3 · Jaguar 5.

Your card: Cheetah 0 · Jaguar 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 · Cheetah

Rozi the cheetah. Zoom is not a metaphor.

Cincinnati Zoo · Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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