WHO WILL WIN?
Cougar
SCREAM-PURR
Komodo Dragon
HISS-CHOMP
THE SETUP

Cougar vs Komodo Dragon

Cougar
Cougar
Komodo Dragon
Komodo Dragon

Pretend a cougar and a komodo dragon 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

Cougar

Puma concolor · The quiet jumper with a hundred nicknames.

Cougar
Home
Americas from mountains to swamp · Lives in North America / South America
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Cougar is medium.

Stalk and pounce.

Dawn-and-dusk eyes.

A loner with a plan.

  • Cougar is medium and very fast.
  • Deer are favorite.
  • The widest range of any New World mammal, from Canada to the Andes.

Family: Cheetahs and jaguarundis more than roaring lions.

Corner B

Komodo Dragon

Varanus komodoensis · A walking dinosaur with a chemistry set.

Komodo Dragon
Home
Indonesian islands · Lives in Asia
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Komodo Dragon is medium.

Ambush lizard.

Tongue tastes the air.

Slow-looking predator.

  • Komodo Dragon is medium and not very fast.
  • Deer, pigs, water buffalo, even other dragons.
  • Hot, dry islands where a giant lizard can own the trail.

Family: Other monitor lizards.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

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

1.70 m

Grown-up

0.75 m

Cougar to scale

Cougar

0.50 m

Komodo Dragon to scale

Komodo Dragon

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

Cougar65 kg

About as heavy as a grown-up's suitcase that can jump a creek.

Komodo Dragon80 kg

Longer than a bike, lower than a coffee table, heavier than a grown-up's suitcase.

Cougar

0.75 m · 65 kg

Cougar is medium. 65 kg.

Komodo Dragon

0.50 m · 80 kg

Komodo Dragon is medium. 80 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: Pounce and hold
  • Armor: Tawny vanish
  • Senses: Dawn-and-dusk eyes.

Cougar · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Venom-slick bite
  • Armor: Osteoderm chainmail
  • Senses: Tongue tastes the air.

Komodo Dragon · labeled field diagram

Cougar400 psi bite
Komodo Dragon600 psi bite

Cougar

Pounce and hold

Tool: pounce and hold. Bite: 400 psi.

Komodo Dragon

Venom-slick bite

Tool: venom-slick bite. Bite: 600 psi.

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

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Cougar
70 km/h
Komodo Dragon
20 km/h
Cougar70 km/h
Komodo Dragon20 km/h

Cougar

70 km/h

Cougar can go 70 km/h. That is very fast.

Komodo Dragon

20 km/h

Komodo Dragon can go 20 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
CougarKomodo DragonBoth

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

Cougar

Can handle it · Lives in North America / South America

Cougar's home is the americas from mountains to swamp, not grassland.

Komodo Dragon

This is home · Lives in Asia

Komodo Dragon lives in places like grassland.

Almost never. Their homes sit next to each other.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Cougar
Meat · Stalk and pounce.
Komodo Dragon
Meat · Ambush lizard.

Cougar

Meat · Stalk and pounce.

Deer are favorite.

Komodo Dragon

Meat · Ambush lizard.

Deer, pigs, water buffalo, even other dragons.

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.

Cougar
Lives alone
Komodo Dragon
Lives alone
Cougar7 grit /10
Komodo Dragon8 grit /10

Cougar

Lives alone

A loner with a plan. Grit: 7/10.

Komodo Dragon

Lives alone

Slow-looking predator. 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?

Cougar
7/10
Komodo Dragon
4/10
Cougar7 brains /10
Komodo Dragon4 brains /10

Cougar

7/10

Dawn-and-dusk eyes.

Komodo Dragon

4/10

Tongue tastes the air.

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

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Cougar
Puma concolor
Komodo Dragon
Varanus komodoensis

Cougar

Puma concolor

Cheetahs and jaguarundis more than roaring lions.

Komodo Dragon

Varanus komodoensis

Other monitor lizards.

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?

Cougar
Canyon Long Jump
Komodo Dragon
Patient Island Ambush

Cougar

Canyon Long Jump

They can bound 12 meters in a single leap.

Komodo Dragon

Patient Island Ambush

They wait.

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: Cougar 0 · Komodo Dragon 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

SKREEE!

THEY MEET

Cougar runs first. Komodo Dragon does not race. They wait in grassland.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

CHOMP!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Komodo Dragon is heavier. Cougar uses pounce and hold. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SNAP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Cougar tries the Canyon Long Jump. Komodo Dragon tries the Patient Island Ambush. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Komodo Dragon!

A CLEAR PICK

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

On grassland, Komodo Dragon wins. Komodo Dragon likes grassland more. Cougar 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: Cougar 2 · Komodo Dragon 5 · ties 1.

Your card: Cougar 0 · Komodo Dragon 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 · Komodo Dragon

Dragon walk. Tongue out. Homework done.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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