WHO WILL WIN?
Penguin
HONK-HONK
Bison
SNORT-GRUNT
THE SETUP

Penguin vs Bison

Penguin
Penguin
Bison
Bison

Pretend a penguin and a bison meet in the ice. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

No. Wild penguins and bisons 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

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

Bison

Bison bison · A shaggy locomotive with horns.

Bison
Home
North American grassland · Lives in North America
Food
Plants
Group
Lives in a herd
Size
Bison is big.

Grazer.

Smell and hearing across open grass.

Looks like furniture until it runs.

  • Bison is big and fast.
  • Grass.
  • Wide plains where a herd can rumble the ground like weather.

Family: Yaks and cattle.

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

1.70 m

Bison to scale

Bison

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.

Bison700 kg

As heavy as a small car, with a haircut that never clocks out.

Penguin

1.20 m · 40 kg

Penguin is medium. 40 kg.

Bison

1.70 m · 700 kg

Bison is big. 700 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: Headbutt horns
  • Armor: Woolly snowplow
  • Senses: Smell and hearing across open grass.

Bison · labeled field diagram

Penguin80 psi bite
Bison200 psi bite

Penguin

Flipper slap + beak poke

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

Bison

Headbutt horns

Tool: headbutt horns. Bite: 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?

Penguin
8 km/h
Bison
55 km/h
Penguin8 km/h
Bison55 km/h

Penguin

8 km/h

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

Bison

55 km/h

Bison can go 55 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 the ice. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
PenguinBisonBoth

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.

Bison

Not their home · Lives in North America

Bison's home is the north american grassland, not the ice.

No. Wild penguins and bisons would not meet. We still look at the facts.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Penguin
Meat · Torpedo fisher.
Bison
Plants · Grazer.

Penguin

Meat · Torpedo fisher.

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

Bison

Plants · Grazer.

Grass.

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
Bison
Lives in a herd
Penguin7 grit /10
Bison8 grit /10

Penguin

Lives in a big group

Tough about cold. Grit: 7/10.

Bison

Lives in a herd

Looks like furniture until it runs. 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?

Penguin
6/10
Bison
4/10
Penguin6 brains /10
Bison4 brains /10

Penguin

6/10

Underwater vision is the talent.

Bison

4/10

Smell and hearing across open grass.

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
Bison
Bison bison

Penguin

Aptenodytes forsteri

Other flightless seabirds.

Bison

Bison bison

Yaks and cattle.

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
Bison
Prairie Freight Charge

Penguin

Belly-Toboggan Escape

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

Bison

Prairie Freight Charge

They look like furniture.

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 · Bison 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

WHAM!

THEY MEET

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

WHOOSH!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Bison 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. Bison tries the Prairie Freight Charge. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Bison!

A STOMP

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

On the ice, Bison wins. Bison 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 · Bison 5 · ties 1.

Your card: Penguin 0 · Bison 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 · Bison

A good scratch after a hard rumble.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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