WHO WILL WIN?
Meerkat
CHK-CHK-ALARM
Grizzly Bear
WOOF-ROAR
THE SETUP

Meerkat vs Grizzly Bear

Meerkat
Meerkat
Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Bear

Pretend a meerkat and a grizzly bear meet in river country. 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

Grizzly Bear

Ursus arctos horribilis · A mountain with claws and a short temper.

Grizzly Bear
Home
North American mountains and rivers · Lives in North America
Food
Plants and meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Grizzly Bear is big.

Opportunist: fish, berries, and whatever did not get away.

Nose of the year.

Wants space.

  • Grizzly Bear is big and fast.
  • Berries, roots, moths, moose, and a whole river of fish.
  • They need space: forests, meadows, and streams with a buffet.

Family: Polar bears.

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

1.50 m

Grizzly Bear to scale

Grizzly Bear

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

Meerkat0.8 kg

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

Grizzly Bear270 kg

Can stand taller than a classroom door on its hind legs.

Meerkat

0.30 m · 0.8 kg

Meerkat is tiny. 0.8 kg.

Grizzly Bear

1.50 m · 270 kg

Grizzly Bear is big. 270 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: Five-knife paws
  • Armor: Shoulder hump
  • Senses: Nose of the year.

Grizzly Bear · labeled field diagram

Meerkat50 psi bite
Grizzly Bear1200 psi bite

Meerkat

Needle claws

Tool: needle claws. Bite: 50 psi.

Grizzly Bear

Five-knife paws

Tool: five-knife 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?

Meerkat
32 km/h
Grizzly Bear
56 km/h
Meerkat32 km/h
Grizzly Bear56 km/h

Meerkat

32 km/h

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

Grizzly Bear

56 km/h

Grizzly Bear can go 56 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 river country. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
MeerkatGrizzly BearBoth

Meeting biome: river country. 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 river country.

Grizzly Bear

This is home · Lives in North America

Grizzly Bear lives in places like river country.

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.
Grizzly Bear
Plants and meat · Opportunist: fish, berries, and whatever did not get away.

Meerkat

Plants and meat · Bug and scorpion specialist.

Insects, scorpions, eggs, and the occasional lizard.

Grizzly Bear

Plants and meat · Opportunist: fish, berries, and whatever did not get away.

Berries, roots, moths, moose, and a whole river of fish.

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
Grizzly Bear
Lives alone
Meerkat10 grit /10
Grizzly Bear9 grit /10

Meerkat

Lives in a big group

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

Grizzly Bear

Lives alone

Wants space. 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?

Meerkat
7/10
Grizzly Bear
7/10
Meerkat7 brains /10
Grizzly Bear7 brains /10

Meerkat

7/10

Dark-eye rings cut glare.

Grizzly Bear

7/10

Nose of the year.

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
Grizzly Bear
Ursus arctos horribilis

Meerkat

Suricata suricatta

Mongooses.

Grizzly Bear

Ursus arctos horribilis

Polar 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?

Meerkat
Sentry Siren
Grizzly Bear
Salmon-Swipe Charge

Meerkat

Sentry Siren

One meerkat stands watch while the rest forage.

Grizzly Bear

Salmon-Swipe Charge

They can outrun a horse for a short, extremely convincing burst.

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 · Grizzly Bear 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

WHAM!

THEY MEET

Grizzly Bear runs first. Meerkat does not race. They wait in river country.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

WHOOSH!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Grizzly Bear 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. Grizzly Bear tries the Salmon-Swipe Charge. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Grizzly Bear!

A STOMP

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

On river country, Grizzly Bear wins. Grizzly Bear likes river country 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 · Grizzly Bear 7 · ties 1.

Your card: Meerkat 0 · Grizzly 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.

Also starring · Meerkat

Family meeting. Someone is always on lookout.

Boksi · Wilhelma Zoo · Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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