WHO WILL WIN?
Meerkat
CHK-CHK-ALARM
T. rex
RAAWR
THE SETUP

Meerkat vs T. rex

Meerkat
Meerkat
T. rex
T. rex

Pretend they meet in grassland. Dinosaurs lived long ago. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

No. Meerkat and T. rex did not live at the same time. This meeting is pretend.

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

T. rex

Tyrannosaurus rex · The banana-toothed bone cruiser.

T. rex
Home
Late Cretaceous floodplains of western North America · Lived in North America long ago
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
T. rex is giant.

Giant bite-and-pull hunter.

A huge smelling system and eyes that faced more forward than most dinosaurs.

Top of a vanished food web.

  • T. rex is giant and not very fast.
  • Horned dinosaurs, duckbills, leftover carcasses — a giant meat-eater that did not skip free calories.
  • Fossils come from places like Hell Creek: forests, rivers, and floodplains about 66 million years ago.

Family: Birds!

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

3.7 m

T. rex to scale

T. rex

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

Meerkat0.8 kg

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

T. rex8,200 kg

Hip-tall as a basketball hoop, heavier than an African elephant, longer than a school bus.

Meerkat

0.30 m · 0.8 kg

Meerkat is tiny. 0.8 kg.

T. rex

3.7 m · 8,200 kg

T. rex is giant. 8,200 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: Banana-sized bone shears
  • Armor: Thick skull and a neck like a crane
  • Senses: A huge smelling system and eyes that faced more forward than most dinosaurs.

T. rex · labeled field diagram

Meerkat50 psi bite
T. rex8000 psi bite

Meerkat

Needle claws

Tool: needle claws. Bite: 50 psi.

T. rex

Banana-sized bone shears

Tool: banana-sized bone shears. Bite: 8,000 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
T. rex
20 km/h
Meerkat32 km/h
T. rex20 km/h

Meerkat

32 km/h

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

T. rex

20 km/h

T. rex 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 grassland. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
MeerkatT. rexBoth

Meeting biome: grassland. Colored land is fossil range for dinosaurs and living range for zoo animals.

Meerkat

This is home · Lives in Africa

Meerkat lives in places like grassland.

T. rex

This is home · Lived in North America long ago

T. rex lives in places like grassland.

No. Meerkat and T. rex did not live at the same time. This meeting is pretend.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Meerkat
Plants and meat · Bug and scorpion specialist.
T. rex
Meat · Giant bite-and-pull hunter.

Meerkat

Plants and meat · Bug and scorpion specialist.

Insects, scorpions, eggs, and the occasional lizard.

T. rex

Meat · Giant bite-and-pull hunter.

Horned dinosaurs, duckbills, leftover carcasses — a giant meat-eater that did not skip free calories.

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
T. rex
Lives alone
Meerkat10 grit /10
T. rex9 grit /10

Meerkat

Lives in a big group

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

T. rex

Lives alone

Top of a vanished food web. 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
T. rex
5/10
Meerkat7 brains /10
T. rex5 brains /10

Meerkat

7/10

Dark-eye rings cut glare.

T. rex

5/10

A huge smelling system and eyes that faced more forward than most dinosaurs.

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
T. rex
Tyrannosaurus rex

Meerkat

Suricata suricatta

Mongooses.

T. rex

Tyrannosaurus rex

Birds!

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
T. rex
Bone-Crunch Clamp

Meerkat

Sentry Siren

One meerkat stands watch while the rest forage.

T. rex

Bone-Crunch Clamp

T.

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 · T. rex 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

FWOOSH!

THEY MEET

Meerkat runs first. T. rex does not race. They wait in grassland.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

KICK!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

T. rex 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. T. rex tries the Bone-Crunch Clamp. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

T. rex!

A STOMP

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

On grassland, T. rex wins. T. rex 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 2 · T. rex 4 · ties 2.

Your card: Meerkat 0 · T. rex 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

1/17 · scroll