WHO WILL WIN?
Cheetah
CHIRRUP-ZOOM
Polar Bear
CHOMP-RUMBLE
THE SETUP

Cheetah vs Polar Bear

Cheetah
Cheetah
Polar Bear
Polar Bear

Pretend a cheetah and a polar bear meet in the coast. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

No. Wild cheetahs and polar bears would not meet. We still look at the facts.

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

Polar Bear

Ursus maritimus · The Arctic's heavyweight champ.

Polar Bear
Home
Arctic sea ice · Lives in North America / Asia / Europe
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Polar Bear is big.

Still-hunter on ice.

Smell can catch a seal from kilometers away.

Patient predator.

  • Polar Bear is big and fast.
  • Mostly seals.
  • Sea ice is their hunting floor.

Family: Brown bears.

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

1.60 m

Polar Bear to scale

Polar Bear

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.

Polar Bear450 kg

Can stand taller than a basketball hoop on its hind legs.

Cheetah

0.90 m · 50 kg

Cheetah is medium. 50 kg.

Polar Bear

1.60 m · 450 kg

Polar Bear is big. 450 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: Ice-hook paws
  • Armor: Blubber parka
  • Senses: Smell can catch a seal from kilometers away.

Polar Bear · labeled field diagram

Cheetah400 psi bite
Polar Bear1200 psi bite

Cheetah

High-speed trip claws

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

Polar Bear

Ice-hook paws

Tool: ice-hook paws. Bite: 1,200 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
Polar Bear
40 km/h
Cheetah110 km/h
Polar Bear40 km/h

Cheetah

110 km/h

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

Polar Bear

40 km/h

Polar Bear can go 40 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 the coast. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
CheetahPolar BearBoth

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

Cheetah

Not their home · Lives in Africa

Cheetah's home is the african savanna, not the coast.

Polar Bear

This is home · Lives in North America / Asia / Europe

Polar Bear lives in places like the coast.

No. Wild cheetahs and polar bears would not meet. We still look at the facts.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Cheetah
Meat · Sprint specialist.
Polar Bear
Meat · Still-hunter on ice.

Cheetah

Meat · Sprint specialist.

They prefer gazelles and other speedy snacks they can outrun.

Polar Bear

Meat · Still-hunter on ice.

Mostly seals.

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
Polar Bear
Lives alone
Cheetah6 grit /10
Polar Bear9 grit /10

Cheetah

Lives alone

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

Polar Bear

Lives alone

Patient predator. Grit: 9/10.

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
Polar Bear
7/10
Cheetah6 brains /10
Polar Bear7 brains /10

Cheetah

6/10

Huge eyes, huge field of view.

Polar Bear

7/10

Smell can catch a seal from kilometers away.

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
Polar Bear
Ursus maritimus

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus

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

Polar Bear

Ursus maritimus

Brown bears.

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
Polar Bear
Seal-Snatch Slam

Cheetah

Hundred-Kilo Zoom

0 to 100 km/h in about 3 seconds.

Polar Bear

Seal-Snatch Slam

Polar bears can smell a seal from more than a kilometer away.

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 · Polar Bear 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

FWOOSH!

THEY MEET

Cheetah runs first. Polar Bear does not race. They wait in the coast.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

KICK!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

STOOMP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Cheetah tries the Hundred-Kilo Zoom. Polar Bear tries the Seal-Snatch Slam. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Polar Bear!

A STOMP

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

On the coast, Polar Bear wins. Polar Bear likes the coast 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 2 · Polar Bear 6.

Your card: Cheetah 0 · Polar Bear 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 · Polar Bear

The champ does laps. Underwater. Showing off.

Wikimedia Commons · Zoo Bremerhaven · CC. Source

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