WHO WILL WIN?
Komodo Dragon
HISS-CHOMP
Red Panda
SQUEAK-TWITTER
THE SETUP

Komodo Dragon vs Red Panda

Komodo Dragon
Komodo Dragon
Red Panda
Red Panda

Pretend a komodo dragon and a red panda meet in the island. 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

Red Panda

Ailurus fulgens · A rusty acrobat who would rather nap than rumble.

Red Panda
Home
Himalayan forests · Lives in Asia
Food
Plants and meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Red Panda is small.

Bamboo and snacks.

Whiskers and a good nose in the misty forest.

Shy climber.

  • Red Panda is small and not very fast.
  • Mostly bamboo, plus fruit, eggs, and insects when the salad bar is closed.
  • Cool mountain forests with plenty of branches and very few appointments.

Family: Not giant pandas.

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

0.60 m

Red Panda to scale

Red Panda

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.

Red Panda5 kg

About as heavy as a bag of flour that learned parkour.

Komodo Dragon

0.50 m · 80 kg

Komodo Dragon is medium. 80 kg.

Red Panda

0.60 m · 5 kg

Red Panda is small. 5 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: Needle claws + fake thumb
  • Armor: Fluff camouflage
  • Senses: Whiskers and a good nose in the misty forest.

Red Panda · labeled field diagram

Komodo Dragon600 psi bite
Red Panda80 psi bite

Komodo Dragon

Venom-slick bite

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

Red Panda

Needle claws + fake thumb

Tool: needle claws + fake thumb. 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?

Komodo Dragon
20 km/h
Red Panda
24 km/h
Komodo Dragon20 km/h
Red Panda24 km/h

Komodo Dragon

20 km/h

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

Red Panda

24 km/h

Red Panda can go 24 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 the island. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
Komodo DragonRed PandaBoth

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

Komodo Dragon

This is home · Lives in Asia

Komodo Dragon lives in places like the island.

Red Panda

Can handle it · Lives in Asia

Red Panda's home is the himalayan forests, not the island.

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.
Red Panda
Plants and meat · Bamboo and snacks.

Komodo Dragon

Meat · Ambush lizard.

Deer, pigs, water buffalo, even other dragons.

Red Panda

Plants and meat · Bamboo and snacks.

Mostly bamboo, plus fruit, eggs, and insects when the salad bar is closed.

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
Red Panda
Lives alone
Komodo Dragon8 grit /10
Red Panda4 grit /10

Komodo Dragon

Lives alone

Slow-looking predator. Grit: 8/10.

Red Panda

Lives alone

Shy climber. 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
Red Panda
6/10
Komodo Dragon4 brains /10
Red Panda6 brains /10

Komodo Dragon

4/10

Tongue tastes the air.

Red Panda

6/10

Whiskers and a good nose in the misty forest.

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
Red Panda
Ailurus fulgens

Komodo Dragon

Varanus komodoensis

Other monitor lizards.

Red Panda

Ailurus fulgens

Not giant pandas.

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
Red Panda
Tree-Drop Vanish

Komodo Dragon

Patient Island Ambush

They wait.

Red Panda

Tree-Drop Vanish

When scared they climb.

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 · Red Panda 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

WHAM!

THEY MEET

Red Panda runs first. Komodo Dragon does not race. They wait in the island.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

WHOOSH!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Komodo Dragon is heavier. Red Panda uses needle claws + fake thumb. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

ZING!

SPECIAL MOVES

Komodo Dragon tries the Patient Island Ambush. Red Panda tries the Tree-Drop Vanish. 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 the island, Komodo Dragon wins. Komodo Dragon likes the island more. Red Panda 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 · Red Panda 2.

Your card: Komodo Dragon 0 · Red Panda 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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