WHO WILL WIN?
Meerkat
CHK-CHK-ALARM
Lemur
MEOW-HOWL
THE SETUP

Meerkat vs Lemur

Meerkat
Meerkat
Lemur
Lemur

Pretend a meerkat and a lemur 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

Lemur

Lemur catta · A striped-tail spring with a lot of opinions.

Lemur
Home
Madagascar forests · Lives in Africa
Food
Plants and meat
Group
Hunts with a pack
Size
Lemur is tiny.

Fruit, leaves, and insects.

Night-leaning eyes and a nose for ripe fruit.

Loud in a troop, light in a 1-v-1.

  • Lemur is tiny and not very fast.
  • Fruit, leaves, bark, and the occasional insect snack.
  • They live on the ground more than most lemurs, touring Madagascar in noisy troops.

Family: Other lemurs, lorises, and bushbabies — the strepsirrhine fan club.

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

0.45 m

Lemur to scale

Lemur

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

Meerkat0.8 kg

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

Lemur3 kg

About as heavy as a pineapple with a very extra tail.

Meerkat

0.30 m · 0.8 kg

Meerkat is tiny. 0.8 kg.

Lemur

0.45 m · 3 kg

Lemur 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: Tooth comb + leap
  • Armor: Stink-fencing
  • Senses: Night-leaning eyes and a nose for ripe fruit.

Lemur · labeled field diagram

Meerkat50 psi bite
Lemur40 psi bite

Meerkat

Needle claws

Tool: needle claws. Bite: 50 psi.

Lemur

Tooth comb + leap

Tool: tooth comb + leap. Bite: 40 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
Lemur
20 km/h
Meerkat32 km/h
Lemur20 km/h

Meerkat

32 km/h

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

Lemur

20 km/h

Lemur can go 20 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
MeerkatLemurBoth

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.

Lemur

Not their home · Lives in Africa

Lemur's home is the madagascar forests, 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.
Lemur
Plants and meat · Fruit, leaves, and insects.

Meerkat

Plants and meat · Bug and scorpion specialist.

Insects, scorpions, eggs, and the occasional lizard.

Lemur

Plants and meat · Fruit, leaves, and insects.

Fruit, leaves, bark, and the occasional insect snack.

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
Lemur
Hunts with a pack
Meerkat10 grit /10
Lemur5 grit /10

Meerkat

Lives in a big group

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

Lemur

Hunts with a pack

Loud in a troop, light in a 1-v-1. Grit: 5/10.

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
Lemur
6/10
Meerkat7 brains /10
Lemur6 brains /10

Meerkat

7/10

Dark-eye rings cut glare.

Lemur

6/10

Night-leaning eyes and a nose for ripe fruit.

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
Lemur
Lemur catta

Meerkat

Suricata suricatta

Mongooses.

Lemur

Lemur catta

Other lemurs, lorises, and bushbabies — the strepsirrhine fan club.

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
Lemur
Sunbeam Sprint

Meerkat

Sentry Siren

One meerkat stands watch while the rest forage.

Lemur

Sunbeam Sprint

Ring-tailed lemurs sunbathe like yoga class, then bounce off like popcorn.

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 · Lemur 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

SKREEE!

THEY MEET

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

CHOMP!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Lemur 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. Lemur tries the Sunbeam Sprint. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Lemur!

A SQUEAKER · UNDERDOG

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

On the desert, Lemur wins. Lemur 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 6 · Lemur 1 · ties 1.

Your card: Meerkat 0 · Lemur 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 · Lemur

Ring tails. Group chat. Someone is judging you.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

1/17 · scroll