WHO WILL WIN?
King Cobra
HISS-HOOD
Sea Lion
ARK-ARK-ARK
THE SETUP

King Cobra vs Sea Lion

King Cobra
King Cobra
Sea Lion
Sea Lion

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

Would they meet?

No. Wild king cobras 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

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

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

0.50 m

King Cobra to scale

King Cobra

1.20 m

Sea Lion to scale

Sea Lion

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.

Sea Lion300 kg

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

King Cobra

0.50 m · 7 kg

King Cobra is small. 7 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: Hood-high venom fangs
  • Armor: Scale slicker
  • Senses: Heat and chemical trail.

King Cobra · labeled field diagram

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

Sea Lion · labeled field diagram

King Cobra100 psi bite
Sea Lion400 psi bite

King Cobra

Hood-high venom fangs

Tool: hood-high venom fangs. Bite: 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?

King Cobra
18 km/h
Sea Lion
30 km/h
King Cobra18 km/h
Sea Lion30 km/h

King Cobra

18 km/h

King Cobra can go 18 km/h. That is not very 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 forest. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
King CobraSea LionBoth

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.

Sea Lion

Wrong place · Lives in North America

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

No. Wild king cobras and sea lions 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.
Sea Lion
Meat · Fish chaser in the surf.

King Cobra

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

Mostly other snakes.

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.

King Cobra
Lives alone
Sea Lion
Lives in a big group
King Cobra8 grit /10
Sea Lion6 grit /10

King Cobra

Lives alone

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

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?

King Cobra
5/10
Sea Lion
6/10
King Cobra5 brains /10
Sea Lion6 brains /10

King Cobra

5/10

Heat and chemical trail.

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?

King Cobra
Ophiophagus hannah
Sea Lion
Zalophus californianus

King Cobra

Ophiophagus hannah

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

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?

King Cobra
Wobble Venom Warning
Sea Lion
Porpoise Missile

King Cobra

Wobble Venom Warning

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

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: King Cobra 0 · Sea Lion 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

FWOOSH!

THEY MEET

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

KICK!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Sea Lion 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. Sea Lion tries the Porpoise Missile. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Sea Lion!

A STOMP · UNDERDOG

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

On forest, Sea Lion wins. Sea Lion is a lot heavier. King Cobra 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 5 · Sea Lion 3.

Your card: King Cobra 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.

Victory lap · Sea Lion

Harbor barking. The champ has notes.

Sarah Stierch · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY. Source

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