WHO WILL WIN?
Panda
HONK-BLEAT
Hyena
WHOOP-HAHA
THE SETUP

Panda vs Hyena

Panda
Panda
Hyena
Hyena

Pretend a panda and a hyena meet in forest. 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

Panda

Ailuropoda melanoleuca · A bamboo tank in a costume.

Panda
Home
Chinese mountain forests · Lives in Asia
Food
Plants
Group
Lives alone
Size
Panda is medium.

Bamboo specialist.

Smell finds the right stalks.

Slow-looking, not helpless.

  • Panda is medium and not very fast.
  • Almost all bamboo, all day.
  • Cool, misty mountain forests where bamboo grows like a salad bar.

Family: Other bears.

Corner B

Hyena

Crocuta crocuta · The bone-crunching comedian of the savanna.

Hyena
Home
African savanna · Lives in Africa
Food
Meat
Group
Hunts with a pack
Size
Hyena is medium.

Clan chasers and bone-crushers.

Night hunters with a nose for leftovers and a bite that opens bones.

Bold in a clan.

  • Hyena is medium and fast.
  • They hunt more than they scavenge.
  • Open grassland where clans can hear each other across the night.

Family: Not dogs.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

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

1.70 m

Grown-up

0.90 m

Panda to scale

Panda

0.85 m

Hyena to scale

Hyena

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

Panda120 kg

About as heavy as a big goat, shaped like a stuffed animal that lifts.

Hyena70 kg

About as heavy as a big dog that skipped every 'drop it' lesson.

Panda

0.90 m · 120 kg

Panda is medium. 120 kg.

Hyena

0.85 m · 70 kg

Hyena is medium. 70 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: Bamboo-crusher jaws
  • Armor: Plush padding
  • Senses: Smell finds the right stalks.

Panda · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Bone-blender jaws
  • Armor: Scrappy stamina
  • Senses: Night hunters with a nose for leftovers and a bite that opens bones.

Hyena · labeled field diagram

Panda500 psi bite
Hyena1100 psi bite

Panda

Bamboo-crusher jaws

Tool: bamboo-crusher jaws. Bite: 500 psi.

Hyena

Bone-blender jaws

Tool: bone-blender jaws. Bite: 1,100 psi.

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

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Panda
30 km/h
Hyena
60 km/h
Panda30 km/h
Hyena60 km/h

Panda

30 km/h

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

Hyena

60 km/h

Hyena can go 60 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 forest. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
PandaHyenaBoth

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

Panda

This is home · Lives in Asia

Panda lives in places like forest.

Hyena

Can handle it · Lives in Africa

Hyena's home is the african savanna, not forest.

Almost never. Their homes sit next to each other.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Panda
Plants · Bamboo specialist.
Hyena
Meat · Clan chasers and bone-crushers.

Panda

Plants · Bamboo specialist.

Almost all bamboo, all day.

Hyena

Meat · Clan chasers and bone-crushers.

They hunt more than they scavenge.

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.

Panda
Lives alone
Hyena
Hunts with a pack
Panda4 grit /10
Hyena9 grit /10

Panda

Lives alone

Slow-looking, not helpless. Grit: 4/10.

Hyena

Hunts with a pack

Bold in a clan. 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?

Panda
6/10
Hyena
7/10
Panda6 brains /10
Hyena7 brains /10

Panda

6/10

Smell finds the right stalks.

Hyena

7/10

Night hunters with a nose for leftovers and a bite that opens bones.

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

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Panda
Ailuropoda melanoleuca
Hyena
Crocuta crocuta

Panda

Ailuropoda melanoleuca

Other bears.

Hyena

Crocuta crocuta

Not dogs.

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?

Panda
Sit-and-Smoosh
Hyena
Whoop-and-Swarm

Panda

Sit-and-Smoosh

If a panda leans on a problem, the problem becomes a pancake.

Hyena

Whoop-and-Swarm

The laugh is a call, not a joke.

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: Panda 0 · Hyena 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

WHAM!

THEY MEET

Hyena runs first. Panda does not race. They wait in forest.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

WHOOSH!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Panda is heavier. Hyena uses bone-blender jaws. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

ZING!

SPECIAL MOVES

Panda tries the Sit-and-Smoosh. Hyena tries the Whoop-and-Swarm. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Hyena!

A SQUEAKER

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

On forest, Hyena wins. Hyena's bone-blender jaws helps more. Panda 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: Panda 2 · Hyena 6.

Your card: Panda 0 · Hyena 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 · Panda

Bamboo: the official victory snack.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

1/17 · scroll