WHO WILL WIN?
Cheetah
CHIRRUP-ZOOM
King Cobra
HISS-HOOD
THE SETUP

Cheetah vs King Cobra

Cheetah
Cheetah
King Cobra
King Cobra

Pretend a cheetah and a king cobra 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

King Cobra

Ophiophagus hannah · The tallest snake, with a hood like a warning sign.

King Cobra
Home
Asian forests · Lives in Asia
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
King Cobra is small.

Snake-eater with a stand-up hood.

Heat and chemical trail.

Alert, not cartoon-mean.

  • King Cobra is small and not very fast.
  • Mostly other snakes.
  • Dense forest and bamboo, where a long warning hiss carries.

Family: Other cobras and mambas — the elapid family of front-fanged specialists.

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

0.50 m

King Cobra to scale

King Cobra

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.

King Cobra7 kg

Can stretch longer than a pickup truck, but no thicker than a grown-up's arm.

Cheetah

0.90 m · 50 kg

Cheetah is medium. 50 kg.

King Cobra

0.50 m · 7 kg

King Cobra is small. 7 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: Hood-high venom fangs
  • Armor: Scale slicker
  • Senses: Heat and chemical trail.

King Cobra · labeled field diagram

Cheetah400 psi bite
King Cobra100 psi bite

Cheetah

High-speed trip claws

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

King Cobra

Hood-high venom fangs

Tool: hood-high venom fangs. Bite: 100 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
King Cobra
18 km/h
Cheetah110 km/h
King Cobra18 km/h

Cheetah

110 km/h

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

King Cobra

18 km/h

King Cobra can go 18 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 grassland. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
CheetahKing CobraBoth

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

Cheetah

This is home · Lives in Africa

Cheetah lives in places like grassland.

King Cobra

Can handle it · Lives in Asia

King Cobra's home is the asian forests, 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.
King Cobra
Meat · Snake-eater with a stand-up hood.

Cheetah

Meat · Sprint specialist.

They prefer gazelles and other speedy snacks they can outrun.

King Cobra

Meat · Snake-eater with a stand-up hood.

Mostly other snakes.

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
King Cobra
Lives alone
Cheetah6 grit /10
King Cobra8 grit /10

Cheetah

Lives alone

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

King Cobra

Lives alone

Alert, not cartoon-mean. 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
King Cobra
5/10
Cheetah6 brains /10
King Cobra5 brains /10

Cheetah

6/10

Huge eyes, huge field of view.

King Cobra

5/10

Heat and chemical trail.

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
King Cobra
Ophiophagus hannah

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus

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

King Cobra

Ophiophagus hannah

Other cobras and mambas — the elapid family of front-fanged specialists.

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
King Cobra
Wobble Venom Warning

Cheetah

Hundred-Kilo Zoom

0 to 100 km/h in about 3 seconds.

King Cobra

Wobble Venom Warning

One bite can make a huge animal feel wobbly and want a very long nap.

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 · King Cobra 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

WHAM!

THEY MEET

Cheetah runs first. King Cobra does not race. They wait in grassland.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

WHOOSH!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Cheetah is heavier. King Cobra uses hood-high venom fangs. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

ZING!

SPECIAL MOVES

Cheetah tries the Hundred-Kilo Zoom. King Cobra tries the Wobble Venom Warning. 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. King Cobra 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 4 · King Cobra 3 · ties 1.

Your card: Cheetah 0 · King Cobra 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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