WHO WILL WIN?
Elephant
BRAAAAAMP
Meerkat
CHK-CHK-ALARM
THE SETUP

Elephant vs Meerkat

Elephant
Elephant
Meerkat
Meerkat

Pretend a elephant and a meerkat 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

Meerkat

Suricata suricatta · The smallest fighter with the biggest sentry energy.

Meerkat
Home
African desert and scrub · Lives in Africa
Food
Plants and meat
Group
Lives in a big group
Size
Meerkat is tiny.

Bug and scorpion specialist.

Dark-eye rings cut glare.

Brave in a mob, tiny in a 1-v-1.

  • Meerkat is tiny and not very fast.
  • Insects, scorpions, eggs, and the occasional lizard.
  • They live in underground burrow cities with many exits.

Family: Mongooses.

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

0.30 m

Meerkat to scale

Meerkat

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

Elephant6,000 kg

As heavy as a school bus. Yes, really.

Meerkat0.8 kg

About as heavy as a loaf of bread that learned karate.

Elephant

3.2 m · 6,000 kg

Elephant is giant. 6,000 kg.

Meerkat

0.30 m · 0.8 kg

Meerkat is tiny. 0.8 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: Needle claws
  • Armor: Absolutely none
  • Senses: Dark-eye rings cut glare.

Meerkat · labeled field diagram

Elephant800 psi bite
Meerkat50 psi bite

Elephant

Ivory battering rams

Tool: ivory battering rams. Bite: 800 psi.

Meerkat

Needle claws

Tool: needle claws. Bite: 50 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
Meerkat
32 km/h
Elephant40 km/h
Meerkat32 km/h

Elephant

40 km/h

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

Meerkat

32 km/h

Meerkat can go 32 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
ElephantMeerkatBoth

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

Elephant

This is home · Lives in Africa

Elephant lives in places like grassland.

Meerkat

This is home · Lives in Africa

Meerkat 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.
Meerkat
Plants and meat · Bug and scorpion specialist.

Elephant

Plants · Does not hunt.

Elephants munch 150 kg of plants a day.

Meerkat

Plants and meat · Bug and scorpion specialist.

Insects, scorpions, eggs, and the occasional lizard.

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
Meerkat
Lives in a big group
Elephant7 grit /10
Meerkat10 grit /10

Elephant

Lives with family

Usually calm. Grit: 7/10.

Meerkat

Lives in a big group

Brave in a mob, tiny in a 1-v-1. Grit: 10/10.

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
Meerkat
7/10
Elephant8 brains /10
Meerkat7 brains /10

Elephant

8/10

Hears thunder through its feet.

Meerkat

7/10

Dark-eye rings cut glare.

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
Meerkat
Suricata suricatta

Elephant

Loxodonta africana

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

Meerkat

Suricata suricatta

Mongooses.

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
Meerkat
Sentry Siren

Elephant

Trunk Sling + Trumpet Blast

The trunk has about 40,000 muscles.

Meerkat

Sentry Siren

One meerkat stands watch while the rest forage.

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 · Meerkat 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

THWACK!

THEY MEET

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SLAM!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Elephant is heavier. Meerkat uses needle claws. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

POW!

SPECIAL MOVES

Elephant tries the Trunk Sling + Trumpet Blast. Meerkat tries the Sentry Siren. 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. Meerkat 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 6 · Meerkat 1 · ties 1.

Your card: Elephant 0 · Meerkat 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 · Meerkat

Family meeting. Someone is always on lookout.

Boksi · Wilhelma Zoo · Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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