WHO WILL WIN?
Ostrich
BOOM-KICK
Elephant
BRAAAAAMP
THE SETUP

Ostrich vs Elephant

Ostrich
Ostrich
Elephant
Elephant

Pretend a ostrich and a elephant meet in grassland. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

Yes. They could meet in the real wild. This page is still a what-if.

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

Ostrich

Struthio camelus · The kick that thinks it is a dinosaur.

Ostrich
Home
African savanna · Lives in Africa
Food
Plants and meat
Group
Lives in a flock
Size
Ostrich is medium.

Grazer and bug-pecker.

Giant eyes — among the biggest of any land animal.

Run first, kick second.

  • Ostrich is medium and very fast.
  • Plants, seeds, insects, and the occasional lizard.
  • Open country where those huge legs can actually use their speed.

Family: Emus, rheas, and other giant flightless birds.

Corner B

Elephant

Loxodonta africana · The walking earthquake.

Elephant
Home
African savanna and woodland · Lives in Africa
Food
Plants
Group
Lives with family
Size
Elephant is giant.

Does not hunt.

Hears thunder through its feet.

Usually calm.

  • Elephant is giant and fast.
  • Elephants munch 150 kg of plants a day.
  • They roam huge distances and remember watering holes for decades.

Family: Mammoths (extinct) and, surprisingly, manatees way back in the family tree.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

Stand them next to a grown-up. Who is bigger and heavier?

1.70 m

Grown-up

2.7 m

Ostrich to scale

Ostrich

3.2 m

Elephant to scale

Elephant

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

Ostrich140 kg

Taller than most grown-ups, and faster than a city speed limit.

Elephant6,000 kg

As heavy as a school bus. Yes, really.

Ostrich

2.7 m · 140 kg

Ostrich is medium. 140 kg.

Elephant

3.2 m · 6,000 kg

Elephant is giant. 6,000 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: Dinosaur-leg kick
  • Armor: Long-range eyeballs
  • Senses: Giant eyes — among the biggest of any land animal.

Ostrich · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Ivory battering rams
  • Armor: Tank-thick hide
  • Senses: Hears thunder through its feet.

Elephant · labeled field diagram

Ostrich50 psi bite
Elephant800 psi bite

Ostrich

Dinosaur-leg kick

Tool: dinosaur-leg kick. Bite: 50 psi.

Elephant

Ivory battering rams

Tool: ivory battering rams. Bite: 800 psi.

A bite number is only one tool. Coils and kicks count too.

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Ostrich
70 km/h
Elephant
40 km/h
Ostrich70 km/h
Elephant40 km/h

Ostrich

70 km/h

Ostrich can go 70 km/h. That is very fast.

Elephant

40 km/h

Elephant 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 grassland. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
OstrichElephantBoth

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

Ostrich

This is home · Lives in Africa

Ostrich lives in places like grassland.

Elephant

This is home · Lives in Africa

Elephant lives in places like grassland.

Yes. They could meet in the real wild. This page is still a what-if.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Ostrich
Plants and meat · Grazer and bug-pecker.
Elephant
Plants · Does not hunt.

Ostrich

Plants and meat · Grazer and bug-pecker.

Plants, seeds, insects, and the occasional lizard.

Elephant

Plants · Does not hunt.

Elephants munch 150 kg of plants a day.

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.

Ostrich
Lives in a flock
Elephant
Lives with family
Ostrich6 grit /10
Elephant7 grit /10

Ostrich

Lives in a flock

Run first, kick second. Grit: 6/10.

Elephant

Lives with family

Usually calm. Grit: 7/10.

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?

Ostrich
4/10
Elephant
8/10
Ostrich4 brains /10
Elephant8 brains /10

Ostrich

4/10

Giant eyes — among the biggest of any land animal.

Elephant

8/10

Hears thunder through its feet.

In the wild, brains often mean leave before it starts.

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Ostrich
Struthio camelus
Elephant
Loxodonta africana

Ostrich

Struthio camelus

Emus, rheas, and other giant flightless birds.

Elephant

Loxodonta africana

Mammoths (extinct) and, surprisingly, manatees way back in the family tree.

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?

Ostrich
Sprint-and-Slash
Elephant
Trunk Sling + Trumpet Blast

Ostrich

Sprint-and-Slash

They do not bury their heads in sand.

Elephant

Trunk Sling + Trumpet Blast

The trunk has about 40,000 muscles.

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: Ostrich 0 · Elephant 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

WHAM!

THEY MEET

Ostrich runs first. Elephant does not race. They wait in grassland.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

WHOOSH!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Elephant is heavier. Ostrich uses dinosaur-leg kick. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

ZING!

SPECIAL MOVES

Ostrich tries the Sprint-and-Slash. Elephant tries the Trunk Sling + Trumpet Blast. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Elephant!

A STOMP

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

On grassland, Elephant wins. Elephant is a lot heavier. Ostrich 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: Ostrich 1 · Elephant 5 · ties 2.

Your card: Ostrich 0 · Elephant 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 · Ostrich

That is a bird. That is also a sprinter.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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