WHO WILL WIN?
Panda
HONK-BLEAT
Polar Bear
CHOMP-RUMBLE
THE SETUP

Panda vs Polar Bear

Panda
Panda
Polar Bear
Polar Bear

Pretend a panda and a polar bear 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

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

0.90 m

Panda to scale

Panda

1.60 m

Polar Bear to scale

Polar Bear

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.

Polar Bear450 kg

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

Panda

0.90 m · 120 kg

Panda is medium. 120 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: Bamboo-crusher jaws
  • Armor: Plush padding
  • Senses: Smell finds the right stalks.

Panda · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Ice-hook paws
  • Armor: Blubber parka
  • Senses: Smell can catch a seal from kilometers away.

Polar Bear · labeled field diagram

Panda500 psi bite
Polar Bear1200 psi bite

Panda

Bamboo-crusher jaws

Tool: bamboo-crusher jaws. Bite: 500 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?

Panda
30 km/h
Polar Bear
40 km/h
Panda30 km/h
Polar Bear40 km/h

Panda

30 km/h

Panda can go 30 km/h. That is not 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 forest. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
PandaPolar BearBoth

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

Panda

This is home · Lives in Asia

Panda lives in places like forest.

Polar Bear

Wrong place · Lives in North America / Asia / Europe

Polar Bear's home is the arctic sea ice, 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.
Polar Bear
Meat · Still-hunter on ice.

Panda

Plants · Bamboo specialist.

Almost all bamboo, all day.

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.

Panda
Lives alone
Polar Bear
Lives alone
Panda4 grit /10
Polar Bear9 grit /10

Panda

Lives alone

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

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?

Panda
6/10
Polar Bear
7/10
Panda6 brains /10
Polar Bear7 brains /10

Panda

6/10

Smell finds the right stalks.

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?

Panda
Ailuropoda melanoleuca
Polar Bear
Ursus maritimus

Panda

Ailuropoda melanoleuca

Other bears.

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?

Panda
Sit-and-Smoosh
Polar Bear
Seal-Snatch Slam

Panda

Sit-and-Smoosh

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

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: Panda 0 · Polar Bear 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

WHAM!

THEY MEET

Polar Bear runs first. Panda does not race. They wait in forest.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

WHOOSH!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Polar Bear is heavier. Panda uses bamboo-crusher jaws. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

ZING!

SPECIAL MOVES

Panda tries the Sit-and-Smoosh. 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 STOMP

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

On forest, Polar Bear wins. Polar Bear is a lot heavier. 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 1 · Polar Bear 7.

Your card: Panda 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

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