WHO WILL WIN?
King Cobra
HISS-HOOD
Penguin
HONK-HONK
THE SETUP

King Cobra vs Penguin

King Cobra
King Cobra
Penguin
Penguin

Pretend a king cobra and a penguin meet in forest. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

No. Wild king cobras and penguins 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

King Cobra

Ophiophagus hannah · The tallest snake, with a hood like a warning sign.

King Cobra
Home
Asian forests · Lives in Asia
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
King Cobra is small.

Snake-eater with a stand-up hood.

Heat and chemical trail.

Alert, not cartoon-mean.

  • King Cobra is small and not very fast.
  • Mostly other snakes.
  • Dense forest and bamboo, where a long warning hiss carries.

Family: Other cobras and mambas — the elapid family of front-fanged specialists.

Corner B

Penguin

Aptenodytes forsteri · A tuxedo torpedo with zero quit.

Penguin
Home
Antarctic ice · Lives in Antarctica
Food
Meat
Group
Lives in a big group
Size
Penguin is medium.

Torpedo fisher.

Underwater vision is the talent.

Tough about cold.

  • Penguin is medium and slow.
  • Fish, krill, and squid, caught in icy dives.
  • They huddle in storms so tight that the inside of the huddle is toasty.

Family: Other flightless seabirds.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

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

1.70 m

Grown-up

0.50 m

King Cobra to scale

King Cobra

1.20 m

Penguin to scale

Penguin

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

King Cobra7 kg

Can stretch longer than a pickup truck, but no thicker than a grown-up's arm.

Penguin40 kg

About as heavy as a big bag of dog food, but much more dignified.

King Cobra

0.50 m · 7 kg

King Cobra is small. 7 kg.

Penguin

1.20 m · 40 kg

Penguin is medium. 40 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: Hood-high venom fangs
  • Armor: Scale slicker
  • Senses: Heat and chemical trail.

King Cobra · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Flipper slap + beak poke
  • Armor: Tuxedo blubber
  • Senses: Underwater vision is the talent.

Penguin · labeled field diagram

King Cobra100 psi bite
Penguin80 psi bite

King Cobra

Hood-high venom fangs

Tool: hood-high venom fangs. Bite: 100 psi.

Penguin

Flipper slap + beak poke

Tool: flipper slap + beak poke. Bite: 80 psi.

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

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

King Cobra
18 km/h
Penguin
8 km/h
King Cobra18 km/h
Penguin8 km/h

King Cobra

18 km/h

King Cobra can go 18 km/h. That is not very fast.

Penguin

8 km/h

Penguin can go 8 km/h. That is slow.

A fast animal can miss. A slow one only has to connect.

Who takes the speed card?

HOME MAP!

HOME

They meet in forest. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
King CobraPenguinBoth

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

King Cobra

This is home · Lives in Asia

King Cobra lives in places like forest.

Penguin

Wrong place · Lives in Antarctica

Penguin's home is the antarctic ice, not forest.

No. Wild king cobras and penguins would not meet. We still look at the facts.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

King Cobra
Meat · Snake-eater with a stand-up hood.
Penguin
Meat · Torpedo fisher.

King Cobra

Meat · Snake-eater with a stand-up hood.

Mostly other snakes.

Penguin

Meat · Torpedo fisher.

Fish, krill, and squid, caught in icy dives.

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.

King Cobra
Lives alone
Penguin
Lives in a big group
King Cobra8 grit /10
Penguin7 grit /10

King Cobra

Lives alone

Alert, not cartoon-mean. Grit: 8/10.

Penguin

Lives in a big group

Tough about cold. Grit: 7/10.

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?

King Cobra
5/10
Penguin
6/10
King Cobra5 brains /10
Penguin6 brains /10

King Cobra

5/10

Heat and chemical trail.

Penguin

6/10

Underwater vision is the talent.

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

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

King Cobra
Ophiophagus hannah
Penguin
Aptenodytes forsteri

King Cobra

Ophiophagus hannah

Other cobras and mambas — the elapid family of front-fanged specialists.

Penguin

Aptenodytes forsteri

Other flightless seabirds.

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?

King Cobra
Wobble Venom Warning
Penguin
Belly-Toboggan Escape

King Cobra

Wobble Venom Warning

One bite can make a huge animal feel wobbly and want a very long nap.

Penguin

Belly-Toboggan Escape

When walking is too slow, an emperor penguin drops and slides.

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: King Cobra 0 · Penguin 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

FWOOSH!

THEY MEET

King Cobra runs first. Penguin does not race. They wait in forest.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

KICK!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Penguin is heavier. King Cobra uses hood-high venom fangs. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

STOOMP!

SPECIAL MOVES

King Cobra tries the Wobble Venom Warning. Penguin tries the Belly-Toboggan Escape. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

King Cobra!

A CLEAR PICK

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

On forest, King Cobra wins. King Cobra likes forest more. Penguin 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: King Cobra 6 · Penguin 2.

Your card: King Cobra 0 · Penguin 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 · Penguin

Penguins in the Ross Sea. Formal wear, chaotic energy.

Francisco Ardini / PNRA · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source

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