WHO WILL WIN?
Hyena
WHOOP-HAHA
Sea Lion
ARK-ARK-ARK
THE SETUP

Hyena vs Sea Lion

Hyena
Hyena
Sea Lion
Sea Lion

Pretend a hyena and a sea lion meet in grassland. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

No. Wild hyenas and sea lions 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

Hyena

Crocuta crocuta · The bone-crunching comedian of the savanna.

Hyena
Home
African savanna · Lives in Africa
Food
Meat
Group
Hunts with a pack
Size
Hyena is medium.

Clan chasers and bone-crushers.

Night hunters with a nose for leftovers and a bite that opens bones.

Bold in a clan.

  • Hyena is medium and fast.
  • They hunt more than they scavenge.
  • Open grassland where clans can hear each other across the night.

Family: Not dogs.

Corner B

Sea Lion

Zalophus californianus · A barking torpedo in a wet tuxedo.

Sea Lion
Home
Pacific coasts · Lives in North America
Food
Meat
Group
Lives in a big group
Size
Sea Lion is big.

Fish chaser in the surf.

Whiskers read fish in murk.

Playful and noisy.

  • Sea Lion is big and not very fast.
  • Fish, squid, and the occasional unfortunate leftover from the ocean buffet.
  • Rocky coasts and piers, where barking is a civic duty.

Family: Fur seals and walruses.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

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

1.70 m

Grown-up

0.85 m

Hyena to scale

Hyena

1.20 m

Sea Lion to scale

Sea Lion

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

Hyena70 kg

About as heavy as a big dog that skipped every 'drop it' lesson.

Sea Lion300 kg

As heavy as a couple of grown-ups, shaped like a barking sofa.

Hyena

0.85 m · 70 kg

Hyena is medium. 70 kg.

Sea Lion

1.20 m · 300 kg

Sea Lion is big. 300 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: Bone-blender jaws
  • Armor: Scrappy stamina
  • Senses: Night hunters with a nose for leftovers and a bite that opens bones.

Hyena · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Speed-bite plus flipper slap
  • Armor: Blubber wetsuit
  • Senses: Whiskers read fish in murk.

Sea Lion · labeled field diagram

Hyena1100 psi bite
Sea Lion400 psi bite

Hyena

Bone-blender jaws

Tool: bone-blender jaws. Bite: 1,100 psi.

Sea Lion

Speed-bite plus flipper slap

Tool: speed-bite plus flipper slap. 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?

Hyena
60 km/h
Sea Lion
30 km/h
Hyena60 km/h
Sea Lion30 km/h

Hyena

60 km/h

Hyena can go 60 km/h. That is fast.

Sea Lion

30 km/h

Sea Lion can go 30 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
HyenaSea LionBoth

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

Hyena

This is home · Lives in Africa

Hyena lives in places like grassland.

Sea Lion

Wrong place · Lives in North America

Sea Lion's home is the pacific coasts, not grassland.

No. Wild hyenas and sea lions would not meet. We still look at the facts.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Hyena
Meat · Clan chasers and bone-crushers.
Sea Lion
Meat · Fish chaser in the surf.

Hyena

Meat · Clan chasers and bone-crushers.

They hunt more than they scavenge.

Sea Lion

Meat · Fish chaser in the surf.

Fish, squid, and the occasional unfortunate leftover from the ocean buffet.

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.

Hyena
Hunts with a pack
Sea Lion
Lives in a big group
Hyena9 grit /10
Sea Lion6 grit /10

Hyena

Hunts with a pack

Bold in a clan. Grit: 9/10.

Sea Lion

Lives in a big group

Playful and noisy. 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?

Hyena
7/10
Sea Lion
6/10
Hyena7 brains /10
Sea Lion6 brains /10

Hyena

7/10

Night hunters with a nose for leftovers and a bite that opens bones.

Sea Lion

6/10

Whiskers read fish in murk.

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

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Hyena
Crocuta crocuta
Sea Lion
Zalophus californianus

Hyena

Crocuta crocuta

Not dogs.

Sea Lion

Zalophus californianus

Fur seals and walruses.

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?

Hyena
Whoop-and-Swarm
Sea Lion
Porpoise Missile

Hyena

Whoop-and-Swarm

The laugh is a call, not a joke.

Sea Lion

Porpoise Missile

They leap, twist, and snatch fish mid-zoom.

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: Hyena 0 · Sea Lion 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

WHAM!

THEY MEET

Hyena runs first. Sea Lion does not race. They wait in grassland.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

WHOOSH!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Sea Lion is heavier. Hyena uses bone-blender jaws. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

ZING!

SPECIAL MOVES

Hyena tries the Whoop-and-Swarm. Sea Lion tries the Porpoise Missile. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Hyena!

A SQUEAKER

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

On grassland, Hyena wins. Hyena likes grassland more. Sea Lion 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: Hyena 7 · Sea Lion 1.

Your card: Hyena 0 · Sea Lion 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 · Sea Lion

Harbor barking. The champ has notes.

Sarah Stierch · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY. Source

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