WHO WILL WIN?
Meerkat
CHK-CHK-ALARM
Crocodile
SNAP-HISSS
THE SETUP

Meerkat vs Crocodile

Meerkat
Meerkat
Crocodile
Crocodile

Pretend a meerkat and a crocodile meet in the desert. 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

Meerkat

Suricata suricatta · The smallest fighter with the biggest sentry energy.

Meerkat
Home
African desert and scrub · Lives in Africa
Food
Plants and meat
Group
Lives in a big group
Size
Meerkat is tiny.

Bug and scorpion specialist.

Dark-eye rings cut glare.

Brave in a mob, tiny in a 1-v-1.

  • Meerkat is tiny and not very fast.
  • Insects, scorpions, eggs, and the occasional lizard.
  • They live in underground burrow cities with many exits.

Family: Mongooses.

Corner B

Crocodile

Crocodylus niloticus · A living fossil with a trapdoor mouth.

Crocodile
Home
African rivers · Lives in Africa
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Crocodile is big.

Wait like a log.

Pressure sensors in the skin feel a ripple.

Explosive from zero.

  • Crocodile is big and not very fast.
  • Fish, mammals, birds — if it comes to the water's edge, it is on the menu.
  • They wait like logs.

Family: Alligators, caimans, and dinosaurs' old roommates, the archosaurs.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

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

1.70 m

Grown-up

0.30 m

Meerkat to scale

Meerkat

0.70 m

Crocodile to scale

Crocodile

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

Meerkat0.8 kg

About as heavy as a loaf of bread that learned karate.

Crocodile500 kg

Can stretch longer than a pickup truck.

Meerkat

0.30 m · 0.8 kg

Meerkat is tiny. 0.8 kg.

Crocodile

0.70 m · 500 kg

Crocodile is big. 500 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: Needle claws
  • Armor: Absolutely none
  • Senses: Dark-eye rings cut glare.

Meerkat · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: The planet's hardest chomp
  • Armor: Bony osteoderm shield
  • Senses: Pressure sensors in the skin feel a ripple.

Crocodile · labeled field diagram

Meerkat50 psi bite
Crocodile3700 psi bite

Meerkat

Needle claws

Tool: needle claws. Bite: 50 psi.

Crocodile

The planet's hardest chomp

Tool: the planet's hardest chomp. Bite: 3,700 psi.

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

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Meerkat
32 km/h
Crocodile
32 km/h
Meerkat32 km/h
Crocodile32 km/h

Meerkat

32 km/h

Meerkat can go 32 km/h. That is not very fast.

Crocodile

32 km/h

Crocodile can go 32 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 desert. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
MeerkatCrocodileBoth

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

Meerkat

This is home · Lives in Africa

Meerkat lives in places like the desert.

Crocodile

Wrong place · Lives in Africa

Crocodile's home is the african rivers, not the desert.

Almost never. Their homes sit next to each other.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Meerkat
Plants and meat · Bug and scorpion specialist.
Crocodile
Meat · Wait like a log.

Meerkat

Plants and meat · Bug and scorpion specialist.

Insects, scorpions, eggs, and the occasional lizard.

Crocodile

Meat · Wait like a log.

Fish, mammals, birds — if it comes to the water's edge, it is on the menu.

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.

Meerkat
Lives in a big group
Crocodile
Lives alone
Meerkat10 grit /10
Crocodile8 grit /10

Meerkat

Lives in a big group

Brave in a mob, tiny in a 1-v-1. Grit: 10/10.

Crocodile

Lives alone

Explosive from zero. Grit: 8/10.

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?

Meerkat
7/10
Crocodile
4/10
Meerkat7 brains /10
Crocodile4 brains /10

Meerkat

7/10

Dark-eye rings cut glare.

Crocodile

4/10

Pressure sensors in the skin feel a ripple.

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

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Meerkat
Suricata suricatta
Crocodile
Crocodylus niloticus

Meerkat

Suricata suricatta

Mongooses.

Crocodile

Crocodylus niloticus

Alligators, caimans, and dinosaurs' old roommates, the archosaurs.

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?

Meerkat
Sentry Siren
Crocodile
Death-Roll Remix

Meerkat

Sentry Siren

One meerkat stands watch while the rest forage.

Crocodile

Death-Roll Remix

If it grabs you, it spins.

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: Meerkat 0 · Crocodile 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

WHAM!

THEY MEET

Meerkat runs first. Crocodile does not race. They wait in the desert.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

WHOOSH!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Crocodile is heavier. Meerkat uses needle claws. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

ZING!

SPECIAL MOVES

Meerkat tries the Sentry Siren. Crocodile tries the Death-Roll Remix. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Crocodile!

A STOMP

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

On the desert, Crocodile wins. Crocodile is a lot heavier. Meerkat 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: Meerkat 3 · Crocodile 4 · ties 1.

Your card: Meerkat 0 · Crocodile 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 · Meerkat

Family meeting. Someone is always on lookout.

Boksi · Wilhelma Zoo · Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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