WHO WILL WIN?
Polar Bear
CHOMP-RUMBLE
Ostrich
BOOM-KICK
THE SETUP

Polar Bear vs Ostrich

Polar Bear
Polar Bear
Ostrich
Ostrich

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

Would they meet?

No. Wild polar bears and ostrichs 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

Ostrich

Struthio camelus · The kick that thinks it is a dinosaur.

Ostrich
Home
African savanna · Lives in Africa
Food
Plants and meat
Group
Lives in a flock
Size
Ostrich is medium.

Grazer and bug-pecker.

Giant eyes — among the biggest of any land animal.

Run first, kick second.

  • Ostrich is medium and very fast.
  • Plants, seeds, insects, and the occasional lizard.
  • Open country where those huge legs can actually use their speed.

Family: Emus, rheas, and other giant flightless birds.

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

2.7 m

Ostrich to scale

Ostrich

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

Polar Bear450 kg

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

Ostrich140 kg

Taller than most grown-ups, and faster than a city speed limit.

Polar Bear

1.60 m · 450 kg

Polar Bear is big. 450 kg.

Ostrich

2.7 m · 140 kg

Ostrich is medium. 140 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: Dinosaur-leg kick
  • Armor: Long-range eyeballs
  • Senses: Giant eyes — among the biggest of any land animal.

Ostrich · labeled field diagram

Polar Bear1200 psi bite
Ostrich50 psi bite

Polar Bear

Ice-hook paws

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

Ostrich

Dinosaur-leg kick

Tool: dinosaur-leg kick. Bite: 50 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
Ostrich
70 km/h
Polar Bear40 km/h
Ostrich70 km/h

Polar Bear

40 km/h

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

Ostrich

70 km/h

Ostrich can go 70 km/h. That is 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 BearOstrichBoth

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.

Ostrich

Not their home · Lives in Africa

Ostrich's home is the african savanna, not the ice.

No. Wild polar bears and ostrichs 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.
Ostrich
Plants and meat · Grazer and bug-pecker.

Polar Bear

Meat · Still-hunter on ice.

Mostly seals.

Ostrich

Plants and meat · Grazer and bug-pecker.

Plants, seeds, insects, and the occasional lizard.

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
Ostrich
Lives in a flock
Polar Bear9 grit /10
Ostrich6 grit /10

Polar Bear

Lives alone

Patient predator. Grit: 9/10.

Ostrich

Lives in a flock

Run first, kick second. Grit: 6/10.

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
Ostrich
4/10
Polar Bear7 brains /10
Ostrich4 brains /10

Polar Bear

7/10

Smell can catch a seal from kilometers away.

Ostrich

4/10

Giant eyes — among the biggest of any land animal.

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
Ostrich
Struthio camelus

Polar Bear

Ursus maritimus

Brown bears.

Ostrich

Struthio camelus

Emus, rheas, and other giant flightless birds.

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
Ostrich
Sprint-and-Slash

Polar Bear

Seal-Snatch Slam

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

Ostrich

Sprint-and-Slash

They do not bury their heads in sand.

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 · Ostrich 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

WHAM!

THEY MEET

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

WHOOSH!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Polar Bear is heavier. Ostrich uses dinosaur-leg kick. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

ZING!

SPECIAL MOVES

Polar Bear tries the Seal-Snatch Slam. Ostrich tries the Sprint-and-Slash. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Polar Bear!

A STOMP

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

On the ice, Polar Bear wins. Polar Bear likes the ice more. Ostrich 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 7 · Ostrich 1.

Your card: Polar Bear 0 · Ostrich 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