WHO WILL WIN?
Penguin
HONK-HONK
Elephant
BRAAAAAMP
THE SETUP

Penguin vs Elephant

Penguin
Penguin
Elephant
Elephant

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

Would they meet?

No. Wild penguins and elephants 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

Elephant

Loxodonta africana · The walking earthquake.

Elephant
Home
African savanna and woodland · Lives in Africa
Food
Plants
Group
Lives with family
Size
Elephant is giant.

Does not hunt.

Hears thunder through its feet.

Usually calm.

  • Elephant is giant and fast.
  • Elephants munch 150 kg of plants a day.
  • They roam huge distances and remember watering holes for decades.

Family: Mammoths (extinct) and, surprisingly, manatees way back in the family tree.

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

3.2 m

Elephant to scale

Elephant

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.

Elephant6,000 kg

As heavy as a school bus. Yes, really.

Penguin

1.20 m · 40 kg

Penguin is medium. 40 kg.

Elephant

3.2 m · 6,000 kg

Elephant is giant. 6,000 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: Ivory battering rams
  • Armor: Tank-thick hide
  • Senses: Hears thunder through its feet.

Elephant · labeled field diagram

Penguin80 psi bite
Elephant800 psi bite

Penguin

Flipper slap + beak poke

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

Elephant

Ivory battering rams

Tool: ivory battering rams. Bite: 800 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
Elephant
40 km/h
Penguin8 km/h
Elephant40 km/h

Penguin

8 km/h

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

Elephant

40 km/h

Elephant 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 the ice. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
PenguinElephantBoth

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.

Elephant

Not their home · Lives in Africa

Elephant's home is the african savanna and woodland, not the ice.

No. Wild penguins and elephants 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.
Elephant
Plants · Does not hunt.

Penguin

Meat · Torpedo fisher.

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

Elephant

Plants · Does not hunt.

Elephants munch 150 kg of plants a day.

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
Elephant
Lives with family
Penguin7 grit /10
Elephant7 grit /10

Penguin

Lives in a big group

Tough about cold. Grit: 7/10.

Elephant

Lives with family

Usually calm. 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
Elephant
8/10
Penguin6 brains /10
Elephant8 brains /10

Penguin

6/10

Underwater vision is the talent.

Elephant

8/10

Hears thunder through its feet.

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
Elephant
Loxodonta africana

Penguin

Aptenodytes forsteri

Other flightless seabirds.

Elephant

Loxodonta africana

Mammoths (extinct) and, surprisingly, manatees way back in the family tree.

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
Elephant
Trunk Sling + Trumpet Blast

Penguin

Belly-Toboggan Escape

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

Elephant

Trunk Sling + Trumpet Blast

The trunk has about 40,000 muscles.

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 · Elephant 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

WHAM!

THEY MEET

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

WHOOSH!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Elephant 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. Elephant tries the Trunk Sling + Trumpet Blast. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Elephant!

A STOMP

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

On the ice, Elephant wins. Elephant 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 1 · Elephant 7.

Your card: Penguin 0 · Elephant 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 · Penguin

Penguins in the Ross Sea. Formal wear, chaotic energy.

Francisco Ardini / PNRA · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source

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