WHO WILL WIN?
Komodo Dragon
HISS-CHOMP
Polar Bear
CHOMP-RUMBLE
THE SETUP

Komodo Dragon vs Polar Bear

Komodo Dragon
Komodo Dragon
Polar Bear
Polar Bear

Pretend a komodo dragon and a polar bear meet in the coast. 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

Polar Bear

Ursus maritimus · The Arctic's heavyweight champ.

Polar Bear
Home
Arctic sea ice · Lives in North America / Asia / Europe
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Polar Bear is big.

Still-hunter on ice.

Smell can catch a seal from kilometers away.

Patient predator.

  • Polar Bear is big and fast.
  • Mostly seals.
  • Sea ice is their hunting floor.

Family: Brown bears.

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

1.60 m

Polar Bear to scale

Polar Bear

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.

Polar Bear450 kg

Can stand taller than a basketball hoop on its hind legs.

Komodo Dragon

0.50 m · 80 kg

Komodo Dragon is medium. 80 kg.

Polar Bear

1.60 m · 450 kg

Polar Bear is big. 450 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: Ice-hook paws
  • Armor: Blubber parka
  • Senses: Smell can catch a seal from kilometers away.

Polar Bear · labeled field diagram

Komodo Dragon600 psi bite
Polar Bear1200 psi bite

Komodo Dragon

Venom-slick bite

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

Polar Bear

Ice-hook paws

Tool: ice-hook paws. Bite: 1,200 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
Polar Bear
40 km/h
Komodo Dragon20 km/h
Polar Bear40 km/h

Komodo Dragon

20 km/h

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

Polar Bear

40 km/h

Polar Bear can go 40 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 the coast. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
Komodo DragonPolar BearBoth

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

Komodo Dragon

Can handle it · Lives in Asia

Komodo Dragon's home is the indonesian islands, not the coast.

Polar Bear

This is home · Lives in North America / Asia / Europe

Polar Bear lives in places like the coast.

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.
Polar Bear
Meat · Still-hunter on ice.

Komodo Dragon

Meat · Ambush lizard.

Deer, pigs, water buffalo, even other dragons.

Polar Bear

Meat · Still-hunter on ice.

Mostly seals.

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
Polar Bear
Lives alone
Komodo Dragon8 grit /10
Polar Bear9 grit /10

Komodo Dragon

Lives alone

Slow-looking predator. Grit: 8/10.

Polar Bear

Lives alone

Patient predator. Grit: 9/10.

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
Polar Bear
7/10
Komodo Dragon4 brains /10
Polar Bear7 brains /10

Komodo Dragon

4/10

Tongue tastes the air.

Polar Bear

7/10

Smell can catch a seal from kilometers away.

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
Polar Bear
Ursus maritimus

Komodo Dragon

Varanus komodoensis

Other monitor lizards.

Polar Bear

Ursus maritimus

Brown bears.

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
Polar Bear
Seal-Snatch Slam

Komodo Dragon

Patient Island Ambush

They wait.

Polar Bear

Seal-Snatch Slam

Polar bears can smell a seal from more than a kilometer away.

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 · Polar Bear 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

THWACK!

THEY MEET

Polar Bear runs first. Komodo Dragon does not race. They wait in the coast.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SLAM!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Polar Bear is heavier. Komodo Dragon uses venom-slick bite. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

POW!

SPECIAL MOVES

Komodo Dragon tries the Patient Island Ambush. Polar Bear tries the Seal-Snatch Slam. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Polar Bear!

A STOMP

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

On the coast, Polar Bear wins. Polar Bear likes the coast more. Komodo Dragon 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 1 · Polar Bear 5 · ties 2.

Your card: Komodo Dragon 0 · Polar Bear 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 · Polar Bear

The champ does laps. Underwater. Showing off.

Wikimedia Commons · Zoo Bremerhaven · CC. Source

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