WHO WILL WIN?
Penguin
HONK-HONK
Alligator
BELLOW-CHOMP
THE SETUP

Penguin vs Alligator

Penguin
Penguin
Alligator
Alligator

Pretend a penguin and a alligator meet in the ice. 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

Penguin

Aptenodytes forsteri · A tuxedo torpedo with zero quit.

Penguin
Home
Antarctic ice · Lives in Antarctica
Food
Meat
Group
Lives in a big group
Size
Penguin is medium.

Torpedo fisher.

Underwater vision is the talent.

Tough about cold.

  • Penguin is medium and slow.
  • Fish, krill, and squid, caught in icy dives.
  • They huddle in storms so tight that the inside of the huddle is toasty.

Family: Other flightless seabirds.

Corner B

Alligator

Alligator mississippiensis · A living log with a U-shaped grin.

Alligator
Home
American swamps · Lives in North America
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Alligator is big.

Ambush from the float.

Night river hunter.

Looks like a log with a secret.

  • Alligator is big and not very fast.
  • Fish, turtles, birds, mammals — swamp buffet, all you can chomp.
  • Freshwater marshes and slow rivers.

Family: Crocodiles and caimans.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

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

1.70 m

Grown-up

1.20 m

Penguin to scale

Penguin

0.50 m

Alligator to scale

Alligator

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

Penguin40 kg

About as heavy as a big bag of dog food, but much more dignified.

Alligator360 kg

Can stretch as long as a small car.

Penguin

1.20 m · 40 kg

Penguin is medium. 40 kg.

Alligator

0.50 m · 360 kg

Alligator is big. 360 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: Flipper slap + beak poke
  • Armor: Tuxedo blubber
  • Senses: Underwater vision is the talent.

Penguin · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Trapdoor jaws
  • Armor: Osteoderm jacket
  • Senses: Night river hunter.

Alligator · labeled field diagram

Penguin80 psi bite
Alligator3000 psi bite

Penguin

Flipper slap + beak poke

Tool: flipper slap + beak poke. Bite: 80 psi.

Alligator

Trapdoor jaws

Tool: trapdoor jaws. Bite: 3,000 psi.

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

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Penguin
8 km/h
Alligator
24 km/h
Penguin8 km/h
Alligator24 km/h

Penguin

8 km/h

Penguin can go 8 km/h. That is slow.

Alligator

24 km/h

Alligator can go 24 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 the ice. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
PenguinAlligatorBoth

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

Penguin

This is home · Lives in Antarctica

Penguin lives in places like the ice.

Alligator

Wrong place · Lives in North America

Alligator's home is the american swamps, not the ice.

Almost never. Their homes sit next to each other.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Penguin
Meat · Torpedo fisher.
Alligator
Meat · Ambush from the float.

Penguin

Meat · Torpedo fisher.

Fish, krill, and squid, caught in icy dives.

Alligator

Meat · Ambush from the float.

Fish, turtles, birds, mammals — swamp buffet, all you can chomp.

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.

Penguin
Lives in a big group
Alligator
Lives alone
Penguin7 grit /10
Alligator7 grit /10

Penguin

Lives in a big group

Tough about cold. Grit: 7/10.

Alligator

Lives alone

Looks like a log with a secret. 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?

Penguin
6/10
Alligator
4/10
Penguin6 brains /10
Alligator4 brains /10

Penguin

6/10

Underwater vision is the talent.

Alligator

4/10

Night river hunter.

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

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Penguin
Aptenodytes forsteri
Alligator
Alligator mississippiensis

Penguin

Aptenodytes forsteri

Other flightless seabirds.

Alligator

Alligator mississippiensis

Crocodiles and caimans.

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?

Penguin
Belly-Toboggan Escape
Alligator
Gator-Gap Lunge

Penguin

Belly-Toboggan Escape

When walking is too slow, an emperor penguin drops and slides.

Alligator

Gator-Gap Lunge

They wait like a stick.

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: Penguin 0 · Alligator 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

WHAM!

THEY MEET

Alligator runs first. Penguin does not race. They wait in the ice.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

WHOOSH!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Alligator is heavier. Penguin uses flipper slap + beak poke. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

ZING!

SPECIAL MOVES

Penguin tries the Belly-Toboggan Escape. Alligator tries the Gator-Gap Lunge. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Alligator!

A STOMP

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

On the ice, Alligator wins. Alligator is a lot heavier. Penguin 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: Penguin 2 · Alligator 6.

Your card: Penguin 0 · Alligator 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 · Alligator

Log? Nope. Champ.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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