WHO WILL WIN?
Polar Bear
CHOMP-RUMBLE
Bison
SNORT-GRUNT
THE SETUP

Polar Bear vs Bison

Polar Bear
Polar Bear
Bison
Bison

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

Would they meet?

No. Wild polar bears 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

Polar Bear

Ursus maritimus · The Arctic's heavyweight champ.

Polar Bear
Home
Arctic sea ice · Lives in North America / Asia / Europe
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Polar Bear is big.

Still-hunter on ice.

Smell can catch a seal from kilometers away.

Patient predator.

  • Polar Bear is big and fast.
  • Mostly seals.
  • Sea ice is their hunting floor.

Family: Brown bears.

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

1.60 m

Polar Bear to scale

Polar Bear

1.70 m

Bison to scale

Bison

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

Polar Bear450 kg

Can stand taller than a basketball hoop on its hind legs.

Bison700 kg

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

Polar Bear

1.60 m · 450 kg

Polar Bear is big. 450 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: Ice-hook paws
  • Armor: Blubber parka
  • Senses: Smell can catch a seal from kilometers away.

Polar Bear · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Headbutt horns
  • Armor: Woolly snowplow
  • Senses: Smell and hearing across open grass.

Bison · labeled field diagram

Polar Bear1200 psi bite
Bison200 psi bite

Polar Bear

Ice-hook paws

Tool: ice-hook paws. Bite: 1,200 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?

Polar Bear
40 km/h
Bison
55 km/h
Polar Bear40 km/h
Bison55 km/h

Polar Bear

40 km/h

Polar Bear can go 40 km/h. That is fast.

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
Polar BearBisonBoth

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

Polar Bear

This is home · Lives in North America / Asia / Europe

Polar Bear 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 polar bears and bisons would not meet. We still look at the facts.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Polar Bear
Meat · Still-hunter on ice.
Bison
Plants · Grazer.

Polar Bear

Meat · Still-hunter on ice.

Mostly seals.

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.

Polar Bear
Lives alone
Bison
Lives in a herd
Polar Bear9 grit /10
Bison8 grit /10

Polar Bear

Lives alone

Patient predator. Grit: 9/10.

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?

Polar Bear
7/10
Bison
4/10
Polar Bear7 brains /10
Bison4 brains /10

Polar Bear

7/10

Smell can catch a seal from kilometers away.

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?

Polar Bear
Ursus maritimus
Bison
Bison bison

Polar Bear

Ursus maritimus

Brown bears.

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?

Polar Bear
Seal-Snatch Slam
Bison
Prairie Freight Charge

Polar Bear

Seal-Snatch Slam

Polar bears can smell a seal from more than a kilometer away.

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: Polar Bear 0 · Bison 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

THWACK!

THEY MEET

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SLAM!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Bison is heavier. Polar Bear uses ice-hook paws. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

POW!

SPECIAL MOVES

Polar Bear tries the Seal-Snatch Slam. Bison tries the Prairie Freight Charge. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Polar Bear!

A CLEAR PICK

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

On the ice, Polar Bear wins. Polar Bear likes the ice more. Bison 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: Polar Bear 5 · Bison 3.

Your card: Polar Bear 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 · Polar Bear

The champ does laps. Underwater. Showing off.

Wikimedia Commons · Zoo Bremerhaven · CC. Source

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