WHO WILL WIN?
Python
Sss-WRAP
Komodo Dragon
HISS-CHOMP
THE SETUP

Python vs Komodo Dragon

Python
Python
Komodo Dragon
Komodo Dragon

Pretend a python and a komodo dragon meet in the island. 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

Python

Malayopython reticulatus · A patterned squeeze machine with patience.

Python
Home
Southeast Asian forests · Lives in Asia
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Python is medium.

Ambush constrictor.

Heat pits on some pythons.

Sit-and-wait.

  • Python is medium and slow.
  • Mammals and birds.
  • Rainforest and farmland edges, often near water.

Family: Other pythons — the Old World constrictor club.

Corner B

Komodo Dragon

Varanus komodoensis · A walking dinosaur with a chemistry set.

Komodo Dragon
Home
Indonesian islands · Lives in Asia
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Komodo Dragon is medium.

Ambush lizard.

Tongue tastes the air.

Slow-looking predator.

  • Komodo Dragon is medium and not very fast.
  • Deer, pigs, water buffalo, even other dragons.
  • Hot, dry islands where a giant lizard can own the trail.

Family: Other monitor lizards.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

Stand them next to a grown-up. Who is bigger and heavier?

1.70 m

Grown-up

0.35 m

Python to scale

Python

0.50 m

Komodo Dragon to scale

Komodo Dragon

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

Python75 kg

Can stretch longer than a bus. Please do not try to use one as a jump rope.

Komodo Dragon80 kg

Longer than a bike, lower than a coffee table, heavier than a grown-up's suitcase.

Python

0.35 m · 75 kg

Python is medium. 75 kg.

Komodo Dragon

0.50 m · 80 kg

Komodo Dragon is medium. 80 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: Reticulated coils
  • Armor: Geometric hide
  • Senses: Heat pits on some pythons.

Python · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Venom-slick bite
  • Armor: Osteoderm chainmail
  • Senses: Tongue tastes the air.

Komodo Dragon · labeled field diagram

Python150 psi bite
Komodo Dragon600 psi bite

Python

Reticulated coils

Tool: reticulated coils. Bite: 150 psi.

Komodo Dragon

Venom-slick bite

Tool: venom-slick bite. Bite: 600 psi.

A bite number is only one tool. Coils and kicks count too.

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Python
5 km/h
Komodo Dragon
20 km/h
Python5 km/h
Komodo Dragon20 km/h

Python

5 km/h

Python can go 5 km/h. That is slow.

Komodo Dragon

20 km/h

Komodo Dragon can go 20 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 island. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
PythonKomodo DragonBoth

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

Python

Can handle it · Lives in Asia

Python's home is the southeast asian forests, not the island.

Komodo Dragon

This is home · Lives in Asia

Komodo Dragon lives in places like the island.

Almost never. Their homes sit next to each other.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Python
Meat · Ambush constrictor.
Komodo Dragon
Meat · Ambush lizard.

Python

Meat · Ambush constrictor.

Mammals and birds.

Komodo Dragon

Meat · Ambush lizard.

Deer, pigs, water buffalo, even other dragons.

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.

Python
Lives alone
Komodo Dragon
Lives alone
Python7 grit /10
Komodo Dragon8 grit /10

Python

Lives alone

Sit-and-wait. Grit: 7/10.

Komodo Dragon

Lives alone

Slow-looking predator. 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?

Python
4/10
Komodo Dragon
4/10
Python4 brains /10
Komodo Dragon4 brains /10

Python

4/10

Heat pits on some pythons.

Komodo Dragon

4/10

Tongue tastes the air.

In the wild, brains often mean leave before it starts.

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Python
Malayopython reticulatus
Komodo Dragon
Varanus komodoensis

Python

Malayopython reticulatus

Other pythons — the Old World constrictor club.

Komodo Dragon

Varanus komodoensis

Other monitor lizards.

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?

Python
Puzzle-Wrap Hold
Komodo Dragon
Patient Island Ambush

Python

Puzzle-Wrap Hold

Heat pits in the face find warm animals in the dark.

Komodo Dragon

Patient Island Ambush

They wait.

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: Python 0 · Komodo Dragon 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

FWOOSH!

THEY MEET

Komodo Dragon runs first. Python does not race. They wait in the island.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

KICK!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Komodo Dragon is heavier. Python uses reticulated coils. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

STOOMP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Python tries the Puzzle-Wrap Hold. Komodo Dragon tries the Patient Island Ambush. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Komodo Dragon!

A CLEAR PICK

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

On the island, Komodo Dragon wins. Komodo Dragon likes the island more. Python 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: Python 0 · Komodo Dragon 6 · ties 2.

Your card: Python 0 · Komodo Dragon 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 · Komodo Dragon

Dragon walk. Tongue out. Homework done.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

1/17 · scroll