WHO WILL WIN?
Penguin
HONK-HONK
Hyena
WHOOP-HAHA
THE SETUP

Penguin vs Hyena

Penguin
Penguin
Hyena
Hyena

Pretend a penguin and a hyena meet in grassland. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

No. Wild penguins and hyenas 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

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

1.20 m

Penguin to scale

Penguin

0.85 m

Hyena to scale

Hyena

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.

Hyena70 kg

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

Penguin

1.20 m · 40 kg

Penguin is medium. 40 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: Flipper slap + beak poke
  • Armor: Tuxedo blubber
  • Senses: Underwater vision is the talent.

Penguin · 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

Penguin80 psi bite
Hyena1100 psi bite

Penguin

Flipper slap + beak poke

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

Penguin
8 km/h
Hyena
60 km/h
Penguin8 km/h
Hyena60 km/h

Penguin

8 km/h

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

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 grassland. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
PenguinHyenaBoth

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

Penguin

Wrong place · Lives in Antarctica

Penguin's home is the antarctic ice, not grassland.

Hyena

This is home · Lives in Africa

Hyena lives in places like grassland.

No. Wild penguins and hyenas 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.
Hyena
Meat · Clan chasers and bone-crushers.

Penguin

Meat · Torpedo fisher.

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

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.

Penguin
Lives in a big group
Hyena
Hunts with a pack
Penguin7 grit /10
Hyena9 grit /10

Penguin

Lives in a big group

Tough about cold. Grit: 7/10.

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?

Penguin
6/10
Hyena
7/10
Penguin6 brains /10
Hyena7 brains /10

Penguin

6/10

Underwater vision is the talent.

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?

Penguin
Aptenodytes forsteri
Hyena
Crocuta crocuta

Penguin

Aptenodytes forsteri

Other flightless seabirds.

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?

Penguin
Belly-Toboggan Escape
Hyena
Whoop-and-Swarm

Penguin

Belly-Toboggan Escape

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

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: Penguin 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. Penguin does not race. They wait in grassland.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

WHOOSH!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Hyena 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. 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 STOMP

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

On grassland, Hyena wins. Hyena likes grassland more. 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 0 · Hyena 7 · ties 1.

Your card: Penguin 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 · Penguin

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

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

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