WHO WILL WIN?
Meerkat
CHK-CHK-ALARM
Flamingo
HONK-HONK-PINK
THE SETUP

Meerkat vs Flamingo

Meerkat
Meerkat
Flamingo
Flamingo

Pretend a meerkat 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

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

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

0.30 m

Meerkat to scale

Meerkat

1.20 m

Flamingo to scale

Flamingo

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

Meerkat0.8 kg

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

Flamingo3 kg

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

Meerkat

0.30 m · 0.8 kg

Meerkat is tiny. 0.8 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: Needle claws
  • Armor: Absolutely none
  • Senses: Dark-eye rings cut glare.

Meerkat · labeled field diagram

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

Flamingo · labeled field diagram

Meerkat50 psi bite
Flamingo20 psi bite

Meerkat

Needle claws

Tool: needle claws. Bite: 50 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?

Meerkat
32 km/h
Flamingo
50 km/h
Meerkat32 km/h
Flamingo50 km/h

Meerkat

32 km/h

Meerkat can go 32 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
MeerkatFlamingoBoth

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

Meerkat

This is home · Lives in Africa

Meerkat 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?

Meerkat
Plants and meat · Bug and scorpion specialist.
Flamingo
Plants and meat · Filter feeder.

Meerkat

Plants and meat · Bug and scorpion specialist.

Insects, scorpions, eggs, and the occasional lizard.

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.

Meerkat
Lives in a big group
Flamingo
Lives in a flock
Meerkat10 grit /10
Flamingo4 grit /10

Meerkat

Lives in a big group

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

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?

Meerkat
7/10
Flamingo
4/10
Meerkat7 brains /10
Flamingo4 brains /10

Meerkat

7/10

Dark-eye rings cut glare.

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?

Meerkat
Suricata suricatta
Flamingo
Phoenicopterus roseus

Meerkat

Suricata suricatta

Mongooses.

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?

Meerkat
Sentry Siren
Flamingo
Wing-Whoosh Retreat

Meerkat

Sentry Siren

One meerkat stands watch while the rest forage.

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: Meerkat 0 · Flamingo 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

SKREEE!

THEY MEET

Flamingo runs first. Meerkat does not race. They wait in grassland.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

CHOMP!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SNAP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Meerkat tries the Sentry Siren. Flamingo tries the Wing-Whoosh Retreat. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Flamingo!

A CLEAR PICK · UNDERDOG

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

On grassland, Flamingo wins. Flamingo 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 5 · Flamingo 2 · ties 1.

Your card: Meerkat 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 · Flamingo

One-leg lunch. Pink is a power color.

James Leon Young · Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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