WHO WILL WIN?
Komodo Dragon
HISS-CHOMP
Flamingo
HONK-HONK-PINK
THE SETUP

Komodo Dragon vs Flamingo

Komodo Dragon
Komodo Dragon
Flamingo
Flamingo

Pretend a komodo dragon and a flamingo meet in grassland. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

Almost never. Their homes sit next to each other.

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

Komodo Dragon

Varanus komodoensis · A walking dinosaur with a chemistry set.

Komodo Dragon
Home
Indonesian islands · Lives in Asia
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Komodo Dragon is medium.

Ambush lizard.

Tongue tastes the air.

Slow-looking predator.

  • Komodo Dragon is medium and not very fast.
  • Deer, pigs, water buffalo, even other dragons.
  • Hot, dry islands where a giant lizard can own the trail.

Family: Other monitor lizards.

Corner B

Flamingo

Phoenicopterus roseus · A pink question mark with a secret temper.

Flamingo
Home
Lakes and lagoons · Lives in Africa / Europe / South America / North America
Food
Plants and meat
Group
Lives in a flock
Size
Flamingo is tiny.

Filter feeder.

They spot shallows and flock motion.

Social and noisy.

  • Flamingo is tiny and fast.
  • Shrimp and algae.
  • Salty, soda-like lakes where most animals would go 'no thanks.

Family: Other flashy wading birds, with a family tree scientists still argue about.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

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

1.70 m

Grown-up

0.50 m

Komodo Dragon to scale

Komodo Dragon

1.20 m

Flamingo to scale

Flamingo

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

Komodo Dragon80 kg

Longer than a bike, lower than a coffee table, heavier than a grown-up's suitcase.

Flamingo3 kg

Light enough to mail (please do not) but taller than a kitchen counter.

Komodo Dragon

0.50 m · 80 kg

Komodo Dragon is medium. 80 kg.

Flamingo

1.20 m · 3 kg

Flamingo is tiny. 3 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: Venom-slick bite
  • Armor: Osteoderm chainmail
  • Senses: Tongue tastes the air.

Komodo Dragon · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Hooked filter beak
  • Armor: One-leg balance aura
  • Senses: They spot shallows and flock motion.

Flamingo · labeled field diagram

Komodo Dragon600 psi bite
Flamingo20 psi bite

Komodo Dragon

Venom-slick bite

Tool: venom-slick bite. Bite: 600 psi.

Flamingo

Hooked filter beak

Tool: hooked filter beak. Bite: 20 psi.

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

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Komodo Dragon
20 km/h
Flamingo
50 km/h
Komodo Dragon20 km/h
Flamingo50 km/h

Komodo Dragon

20 km/h

Komodo Dragon can go 20 km/h. That is not very fast.

Flamingo

50 km/h

Flamingo can go 50 km/h. That is 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
Komodo DragonFlamingoBoth

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

Komodo Dragon

This is home · Lives in Asia

Komodo Dragon lives in places like grassland.

Flamingo

Can handle it · Lives in Africa / Europe / South America / North America

Flamingo's home is the lakes and lagoons, not grassland.

Almost never. Their homes sit next to each other.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Komodo Dragon
Meat · Ambush lizard.
Flamingo
Plants and meat · Filter feeder.

Komodo Dragon

Meat · Ambush lizard.

Deer, pigs, water buffalo, even other dragons.

Flamingo

Plants and meat · Filter feeder.

Shrimp and algae.

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.

Komodo Dragon
Lives alone
Flamingo
Lives in a flock
Komodo Dragon8 grit /10
Flamingo4 grit /10

Komodo Dragon

Lives alone

Slow-looking predator. Grit: 8/10.

Flamingo

Lives in a flock

Social and noisy. Grit: 4/10.

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?

Komodo Dragon
4/10
Flamingo
4/10
Komodo Dragon4 brains /10
Flamingo4 brains /10

Komodo Dragon

4/10

Tongue tastes the air.

Flamingo

4/10

They spot shallows and flock motion.

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

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Komodo Dragon
Varanus komodoensis
Flamingo
Phoenicopterus roseus

Komodo Dragon

Varanus komodoensis

Other monitor lizards.

Flamingo

Phoenicopterus roseus

Other flashy wading birds, with a family tree scientists still argue about.

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?

Komodo Dragon
Patient Island Ambush
Flamingo
Wing-Whoosh Retreat

Komodo Dragon

Patient Island Ambush

They wait.

Flamingo

Wing-Whoosh Retreat

When trouble shows up, flamingos take the sky.

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: Komodo Dragon 0 · Flamingo 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

THWACK!

THEY MEET

Flamingo runs first. Komodo Dragon does not race. They wait in grassland.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SLAM!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Komodo Dragon is heavier. Flamingo uses hooked filter beak. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

POW!

SPECIAL MOVES

Komodo Dragon tries the Patient Island Ambush. Flamingo tries the Wing-Whoosh Retreat. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Komodo Dragon!

A STOMP

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

On grassland, Komodo Dragon wins. Komodo Dragon likes grassland more. Flamingo 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: Komodo Dragon 6 · Flamingo 1 · ties 1.

Your card: Komodo Dragon 0 · Flamingo 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 · Komodo Dragon

Dragon walk. Tongue out. Homework done.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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