WHO WILL WIN?
Otter
CHIRP-CHUCKLE
King Cobra
HISS-HOOD
THE SETUP

Otter vs King Cobra

Otter
Otter
King Cobra
King Cobra

Pretend a otter and a king cobra 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

Otter

Lontra canadensis · A slippery wrestler who treats rivers like gyms.

Otter
Home
Rivers and lakes · Lives in North America
Food
Meat
Group
Lives with family
Size
Otter is small.

Fish wrestler.

Whiskers in murky water.

Playful hustle.

  • Otter is small and not very fast.
  • Fish, crayfish, frogs — they eat lunch in the pool.
  • Riverbanks with dens called holts.

Family: Weasels, badgers, and wolverines.

Corner B

King Cobra

Ophiophagus hannah · The tallest snake, with a hood like a warning sign.

King Cobra
Home
Asian forests · Lives in Asia
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
King Cobra is small.

Snake-eater with a stand-up hood.

Heat and chemical trail.

Alert, not cartoon-mean.

  • King Cobra is small and not very fast.
  • Mostly other snakes.
  • Dense forest and bamboo, where a long warning hiss carries.

Family: Other cobras and mambas — the elapid family of front-fanged specialists.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

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

1.70 m

Grown-up

0.40 m

Otter to scale

Otter

0.50 m

King Cobra to scale

King Cobra

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

Otter10 kg

About as heavy as a bag of flour that learned backstroke.

King Cobra7 kg

Can stretch longer than a pickup truck, but no thicker than a grown-up's arm.

Otter

0.40 m · 10 kg

Otter is small. 10 kg.

King Cobra

0.50 m · 7 kg

King Cobra is small. 7 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 teeth plus twist
  • Armor: Oilskin fur
  • Senses: Whiskers in murky water.

Otter · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Hood-high venom fangs
  • Armor: Scale slicker
  • Senses: Heat and chemical trail.

King Cobra · labeled field diagram

Otter150 psi bite
King Cobra100 psi bite

Otter

Needle teeth plus twist

Tool: needle teeth plus twist. Bite: 150 psi.

King Cobra

Hood-high venom fangs

Tool: hood-high venom fangs. Bite: 100 psi.

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

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Otter
30 km/h
King Cobra
18 km/h
Otter30 km/h
King Cobra18 km/h

Otter

30 km/h

Otter can go 30 km/h. That is not very fast.

King Cobra

18 km/h

King Cobra can go 18 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 river country. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
OtterKing CobraBoth

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

Otter

This is home · Lives in North America

Otter lives in places like river country.

King Cobra

Can handle it · Lives in Asia

King Cobra's home is the asian forests, not river country.

Almost never. Their homes sit next to each other.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Otter
Meat · Fish wrestler.
King Cobra
Meat · Snake-eater with a stand-up hood.

Otter

Meat · Fish wrestler.

Fish, crayfish, frogs — they eat lunch in the pool.

King Cobra

Meat · Snake-eater with a stand-up hood.

Mostly other snakes.

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.

Otter
Lives with family
King Cobra
Lives alone
Otter7 grit /10
King Cobra8 grit /10

Otter

Lives with family

Playful hustle. Grit: 7/10.

King Cobra

Lives alone

Alert, not cartoon-mean. Grit: 8/10.

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?

Otter
7/10
King Cobra
5/10
Otter7 brains /10
King Cobra5 brains /10

Otter

7/10

Whiskers in murky water.

King Cobra

5/10

Heat and chemical trail.

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

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Otter
Lontra canadensis
King Cobra
Ophiophagus hannah

Otter

Lontra canadensis

Weasels, badgers, and wolverines.

King Cobra

Ophiophagus hannah

Other cobras and mambas — the elapid family of front-fanged specialists.

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?

Otter
Slide Tackle
King Cobra
Wobble Venom Warning

Otter

Slide Tackle

Mud slides are transport.

King Cobra

Wobble Venom Warning

One bite can make a huge animal feel wobbly and want a very long nap.

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: Otter 0 · King Cobra 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

WHAM!

THEY MEET

Otter runs first. King Cobra does not race. They wait in river country.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

WHOOSH!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Otter is heavier. King Cobra uses hood-high venom fangs. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

ZING!

SPECIAL MOVES

Otter tries the Slide Tackle. King Cobra tries the Wobble Venom Warning. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

King Cobra!

A SQUEAKER

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

On river country, King Cobra wins. King Cobra's hood-high venom fangs helps more. Otter 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: Otter 4 · King Cobra 4.

Your card: Otter 0 · King Cobra 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 · Otter

Playtime. The official otter sport.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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