WHO WILL WIN?
Polar Bear
CHOMP-RUMBLE
Crocodile
SNAP-HISSS
THE SETUP

Polar Bear vs Crocodile

Polar Bear
Polar Bear
Crocodile
Crocodile

Pretend a polar bear and a crocodile meet in the ice. 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

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

Crocodile

Crocodylus niloticus · A living fossil with a trapdoor mouth.

Crocodile
Home
African rivers · Lives in Africa
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Crocodile is big.

Wait like a log.

Pressure sensors in the skin feel a ripple.

Explosive from zero.

  • Crocodile is big and not very fast.
  • Fish, mammals, birds — if it comes to the water's edge, it is on the menu.
  • They wait like logs.

Family: Alligators, caimans, and dinosaurs' old roommates, the archosaurs.

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

0.70 m

Crocodile to scale

Crocodile

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

Polar Bear450 kg

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

Crocodile500 kg

Can stretch longer than a pickup truck.

Polar Bear

1.60 m · 450 kg

Polar Bear is big. 450 kg.

Crocodile

0.70 m · 500 kg

Crocodile is big. 500 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: The planet's hardest chomp
  • Armor: Bony osteoderm shield
  • Senses: Pressure sensors in the skin feel a ripple.

Crocodile · labeled field diagram

Polar Bear1200 psi bite
Crocodile3700 psi bite

Polar Bear

Ice-hook paws

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

Crocodile

The planet's hardest chomp

Tool: the planet's hardest chomp. Bite: 3,700 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
Crocodile
32 km/h
Polar Bear40 km/h
Crocodile32 km/h

Polar Bear

40 km/h

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

Crocodile

32 km/h

Crocodile can go 32 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 ice. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
Polar BearCrocodileBoth

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.

Crocodile

Wrong place · Lives in Africa

Crocodile's home is the african rivers, not the ice.

Almost never. Their homes sit next to each other.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Polar Bear
Meat · Still-hunter on ice.
Crocodile
Meat · Wait like a log.

Polar Bear

Meat · Still-hunter on ice.

Mostly seals.

Crocodile

Meat · Wait like a log.

Fish, mammals, birds — if it comes to the water's edge, it is on the menu.

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
Crocodile
Lives alone
Polar Bear9 grit /10
Crocodile8 grit /10

Polar Bear

Lives alone

Patient predator. Grit: 9/10.

Crocodile

Lives alone

Explosive from zero. 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
Crocodile
4/10
Polar Bear7 brains /10
Crocodile4 brains /10

Polar Bear

7/10

Smell can catch a seal from kilometers away.

Crocodile

4/10

Pressure sensors in the skin feel a ripple.

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
Crocodile
Crocodylus niloticus

Polar Bear

Ursus maritimus

Brown bears.

Crocodile

Crocodylus niloticus

Alligators, caimans, and dinosaurs' old roommates, the archosaurs.

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
Crocodile
Death-Roll Remix

Polar Bear

Seal-Snatch Slam

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

Crocodile

Death-Roll Remix

If it grabs you, it spins.

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 · Crocodile 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

WHAM!

THEY MEET

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

WHOOSH!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

ZING!

SPECIAL MOVES

Polar Bear tries the Seal-Snatch Slam. Crocodile tries the Death-Roll Remix. 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. Crocodile 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 4 · Crocodile 3 · ties 1.

Your card: Polar Bear 0 · Crocodile 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

1/17 · scroll