WHO WILL WIN?
Ostrich
BOOM-KICK
Polar Bear
CHOMP-RUMBLE
THE SETUP

Ostrich vs Polar Bear

Ostrich
Ostrich
Polar Bear
Polar Bear

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

Would they meet?

No. Wild ostrichs and polar bears would not meet. We still look at the facts.

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

Polar Bear

Ursus maritimus · The Arctic's heavyweight champ.

Polar Bear
Home
Arctic sea ice · Lives in North America / Asia / Europe
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Polar Bear is big.

Still-hunter on ice.

Smell can catch a seal from kilometers away.

Patient predator.

  • Polar Bear is big and fast.
  • Mostly seals.
  • Sea ice is their hunting floor.

Family: Brown bears.

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

1.60 m

Polar Bear to scale

Polar Bear

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

Ostrich140 kg

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

Polar Bear450 kg

Can stand taller than a basketball hoop on its hind legs.

Ostrich

2.7 m · 140 kg

Ostrich is medium. 140 kg.

Polar Bear

1.60 m · 450 kg

Polar Bear is big. 450 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: Ice-hook paws
  • Armor: Blubber parka
  • Senses: Smell can catch a seal from kilometers away.

Polar Bear · labeled field diagram

Ostrich50 psi bite
Polar Bear1200 psi bite

Ostrich

Dinosaur-leg kick

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

Polar Bear

Ice-hook paws

Tool: ice-hook 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?

Ostrich
70 km/h
Polar Bear
40 km/h
Ostrich70 km/h
Polar Bear40 km/h

Ostrich

70 km/h

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

Polar Bear

40 km/h

Polar Bear 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
OstrichPolar BearBoth

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

Ostrich

This is home · Lives in Africa

Ostrich lives in places like grassland.

Polar Bear

Wrong place · Lives in North America / Asia / Europe

Polar Bear's home is the arctic sea ice, not grassland.

No. Wild ostrichs and polar bears would not meet. We still look at the facts.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Ostrich
Plants and meat · Grazer and bug-pecker.
Polar Bear
Meat · Still-hunter on ice.

Ostrich

Plants and meat · Grazer and bug-pecker.

Plants, seeds, insects, and the occasional lizard.

Polar Bear

Meat · Still-hunter on ice.

Mostly seals.

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
Polar Bear
Lives alone
Ostrich6 grit /10
Polar Bear9 grit /10

Ostrich

Lives in a flock

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

Polar Bear

Lives alone

Patient predator. 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?

Ostrich
4/10
Polar Bear
7/10
Ostrich4 brains /10
Polar Bear7 brains /10

Ostrich

4/10

Giant eyes — among the biggest of any land animal.

Polar Bear

7/10

Smell can catch a seal from kilometers away.

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
Polar Bear
Ursus maritimus

Ostrich

Struthio camelus

Emus, rheas, and other giant flightless birds.

Polar Bear

Ursus maritimus

Brown 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?

Ostrich
Sprint-and-Slash
Polar Bear
Seal-Snatch Slam

Ostrich

Sprint-and-Slash

They do not bury their heads in sand.

Polar Bear

Seal-Snatch Slam

Polar bears can smell a seal from more than a kilometer away.

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 · Polar Bear 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

WHAM!

THEY MEET

Ostrich runs first. Polar Bear does not race. They wait in grassland.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

WHOOSH!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Polar Bear 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. Polar Bear tries the Seal-Snatch Slam. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Polar Bear!

A CLEAR PICK

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

On grassland, Polar Bear wins. Polar Bear 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 2 · Polar Bear 6.

Your card: Ostrich 0 · Polar 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.

Victory lap · Polar Bear

The champ does laps. Underwater. Showing off.

Wikimedia Commons · Zoo Bremerhaven · CC. Source

1/17 · scroll