WHO WILL WIN?
Meerkat
CHK-CHK-ALARM
Gorilla
HOOT-HOOT-BAM
THE SETUP

Meerkat vs Gorilla

Meerkat
Meerkat
Gorilla
Gorilla

Pretend a meerkat and a gorilla meet in forest. 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

Gorilla

Gorilla gorilla · A quiet giant until the chest-thump starts.

Gorilla
Home
African rainforest · Lives in Africa
Food
Plants
Group
Lives with family
Size
Gorilla is medium.

Forager.

Sharp eyes in the green.

Gentle until a family is threatened.

  • Gorilla is medium and fast.
  • Mostly leaves, stems, and fruit.
  • Dense forest is home.

Family: Chimpanzees, orangutans, and humans.

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

1.70 m

Gorilla to scale

Gorilla

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

Meerkat0.8 kg

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

Gorilla160 kg

As heavy as two kids in a backpack... if the backpack could bench-press a motorcycle.

Meerkat

0.30 m · 0.8 kg

Meerkat is tiny. 0.8 kg.

Gorilla

1.70 m · 160 kg

Gorilla is medium. 160 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: Anvil fists + ape bite
  • Armor: Barrel chest
  • Senses: Sharp eyes in the green.

Gorilla · labeled field diagram

Meerkat50 psi bite
Gorilla1300 psi bite

Meerkat

Needle claws

Tool: needle claws. Bite: 50 psi.

Gorilla

Anvil fists + ape bite

Tool: anvil fists + ape bite. Bite: 1,300 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
Gorilla
40 km/h
Meerkat32 km/h
Gorilla40 km/h

Meerkat

32 km/h

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

Gorilla

40 km/h

Gorilla 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 forest. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
MeerkatGorillaBoth

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

Meerkat

Can handle it · Lives in Africa

Meerkat's home is the african desert and scrub, not forest.

Gorilla

This is home · Lives in Africa

Gorilla lives in places like forest.

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.
Gorilla
Plants · Forager.

Meerkat

Plants and meat · Bug and scorpion specialist.

Insects, scorpions, eggs, and the occasional lizard.

Gorilla

Plants · Forager.

Mostly leaves, stems, and fruit.

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
Gorilla
Lives with family
Meerkat10 grit /10
Gorilla8 grit /10

Meerkat

Lives in a big group

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

Gorilla

Lives with family

Gentle until a family is threatened. 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
Gorilla
9/10
Meerkat7 brains /10
Gorilla9 brains /10

Meerkat

7/10

Dark-eye rings cut glare.

Gorilla

9/10

Sharp eyes in the green.

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
Gorilla
Gorilla gorilla

Meerkat

Suricata suricatta

Mongooses.

Gorilla

Gorilla gorilla

Chimpanzees, orangutans, and humans.

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
Gorilla
Chest-Drum Charge

Meerkat

Sentry Siren

One meerkat stands watch while the rest forage.

Gorilla

Chest-Drum Charge

The chest beat is a warning.

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 · Gorilla 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

FWOOSH!

THEY MEET

Gorilla runs first. Meerkat does not race. They wait in forest.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

KICK!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

STOOMP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Meerkat tries the Sentry Siren. Gorilla tries the Chest-Drum Charge. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Gorilla!

A STOMP

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

On forest, Gorilla wins. Gorilla likes forest more. 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 0 · Gorilla 7 · ties 1.

Your card: Meerkat 0 · Gorilla 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 · Gorilla

Five seconds of gorilla. Blink and you miss the champ.

Raul654 · Wikimedia Commons · GFDL. Source

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