WHO WILL WIN?
Penguin
HONK-HONK
Panda
HONK-BLEAT
THE SETUP

Penguin vs Panda

Penguin
Penguin
Panda
Panda

Pretend a penguin and a panda meet in the mountains. 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

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.

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

0.90 m

Panda to scale

Panda

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.

Panda120 kg

About as heavy as a big goat, shaped like a stuffed animal that lifts.

Penguin

1.20 m · 40 kg

Penguin is medium. 40 kg.

Panda

0.90 m · 120 kg

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

Panda · labeled field diagram

Penguin80 psi bite
Panda500 psi bite

Penguin

Flipper slap + beak poke

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

Panda

Bamboo-crusher jaws

Tool: bamboo-crusher jaws. Bite: 500 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
Panda
30 km/h
Penguin8 km/h
Panda30 km/h

Penguin

8 km/h

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

Panda

30 km/h

Panda can go 30 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 mountains. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
PenguinPandaBoth

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

Penguin

Not their home · Lives in Antarctica

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

Panda

This is home · Lives in Asia

Panda lives in places like the mountains.

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.
Panda
Plants · Bamboo specialist.

Penguin

Meat · Torpedo fisher.

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

Panda

Plants · Bamboo specialist.

Almost all bamboo, all 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
Panda
Lives alone
Penguin7 grit /10
Panda4 grit /10

Penguin

Lives in a big group

Tough about cold. Grit: 7/10.

Panda

Lives alone

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

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
Panda
6/10
Penguin6 brains /10
Panda6 brains /10

Penguin

6/10

Underwater vision is the talent.

Panda

6/10

Smell finds the right stalks.

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
Panda
Ailuropoda melanoleuca

Penguin

Aptenodytes forsteri

Other flightless seabirds.

Panda

Ailuropoda melanoleuca

Other 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?

Penguin
Belly-Toboggan Escape
Panda
Sit-and-Smoosh

Penguin

Belly-Toboggan Escape

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

Panda

Sit-and-Smoosh

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

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 · Panda 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

THWACK!

THEY MEET

Panda runs first. Penguin does not race. They wait in the mountains.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SLAM!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

POW!

SPECIAL MOVES

Penguin tries the Belly-Toboggan Escape. Panda tries the Sit-and-Smoosh. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Panda!

A STOMP

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

On the mountains, Panda wins. Panda likes the mountains 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 2 · Panda 4 · ties 2.

Your card: Penguin 0 · Panda 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 · Panda

Bamboo: the official victory snack.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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