WHO WILL WIN?
Elephant
BRAAAAAMP
Cheetah
CHIRRUP-ZOOM
THE SETUP

Elephant vs Cheetah

Elephant
Elephant
Cheetah
Cheetah

Pretend a elephant and a cheetah meet in grassland. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

Yes. They could meet in the real wild. This page is still a what-if.

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

Elephant

Loxodonta africana · The walking earthquake.

Elephant
Home
African savanna and woodland · Lives in Africa
Food
Plants
Group
Lives with family
Size
Elephant is giant.

Does not hunt.

Hears thunder through its feet.

Usually calm.

  • Elephant is giant and fast.
  • Elephants munch 150 kg of plants a day.
  • They roam huge distances and remember watering holes for decades.

Family: Mammoths (extinct) and, surprisingly, manatees way back in the family tree.

Corner B

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.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

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

1.70 m

Grown-up

3.2 m

Elephant to scale

Elephant

0.90 m

Cheetah to scale

Cheetah

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

Elephant6,000 kg

As heavy as a school bus. Yes, really.

Cheetah50 kg

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

Elephant

3.2 m · 6,000 kg

Elephant is giant. 6,000 kg.

Cheetah

0.90 m · 50 kg

Cheetah is medium. 50 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: Ivory battering rams
  • Armor: Tank-thick hide
  • Senses: Hears thunder through its feet.

Elephant · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: High-speed trip claws
  • Armor: Tearaway lightness
  • Senses: Huge eyes, huge field of view.

Cheetah · labeled field diagram

Elephant800 psi bite
Cheetah400 psi bite

Elephant

Ivory battering rams

Tool: ivory battering rams. Bite: 800 psi.

Cheetah

High-speed trip claws

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

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

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Elephant
40 km/h
Cheetah
110 km/h
Elephant40 km/h
Cheetah110 km/h

Elephant

40 km/h

Elephant can go 40 km/h. That is fast.

Cheetah

110 km/h

Cheetah can go 110 km/h. That is 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
ElephantCheetahBoth

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

Elephant

This is home · Lives in Africa

Elephant lives in places like grassland.

Cheetah

This is home · Lives in Africa

Cheetah lives in places like grassland.

Yes. They could meet in the real wild. This page is still a what-if.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Elephant
Plants · Does not hunt.
Cheetah
Meat · Sprint specialist.

Elephant

Plants · Does not hunt.

Elephants munch 150 kg of plants a day.

Cheetah

Meat · Sprint specialist.

They prefer gazelles and other speedy snacks they can outrun.

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.

Elephant
Lives with family
Cheetah
Lives alone
Elephant7 grit /10
Cheetah6 grit /10

Elephant

Lives with family

Usually calm. Grit: 7/10.

Cheetah

Lives alone

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

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?

Elephant
8/10
Cheetah
6/10
Elephant8 brains /10
Cheetah6 brains /10

Elephant

8/10

Hears thunder through its feet.

Cheetah

6/10

Huge eyes, huge field of view.

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

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Elephant
Loxodonta africana
Cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus

Elephant

Loxodonta africana

Mammoths (extinct) and, surprisingly, manatees way back in the family tree.

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus

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

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?

Elephant
Trunk Sling + Trumpet Blast
Cheetah
Hundred-Kilo Zoom

Elephant

Trunk Sling + Trumpet Blast

The trunk has about 40,000 muscles.

Cheetah

Hundred-Kilo Zoom

0 to 100 km/h in about 3 seconds.

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: Elephant 0 · Cheetah 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

FWOOSH!

THEY MEET

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

KICK!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

STOOMP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Elephant tries the Trunk Sling + Trumpet Blast. Cheetah tries the Hundred-Kilo Zoom. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Elephant!

A STOMP

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

On grassland, Elephant wins. Elephant is a lot heavier. 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: Elephant 5 · Cheetah 2 · ties 1.

Your card: Elephant 0 · Cheetah 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

1/17 · scroll