WHO WILL WIN?
Rattlesnake
CHK-CHK-BUZZ
Panda
HONK-BLEAT
THE SETUP

Rattlesnake vs Panda

Rattlesnake
Rattlesnake
Panda
Panda

Pretend a rattlesnake 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

Rattlesnake

Crotalus atrox · A desert alarm clock with a noisy tail.

Rattlesnake
Home
North American deserts · Lives in North America
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Rattlesnake is tiny.

Sit, rattle, strike.

Heat pits are infrared goggles.

Would rather be left alone.

  • Rattlesnake is tiny and slow.
  • Mice, rats, rabbits — small warm snacks of the desert.
  • Rocks, brush, and sunny ledges where a coil can stay toasty.

Family: Other pit vipers, including copperheads.

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

0.15 m

Rattlesnake to scale

Rattlesnake

0.90 m

Panda to scale

Panda

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

Rattlesnake2 kg

About as heavy as a water bottle, louder than a snack bag.

Panda120 kg

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

Rattlesnake

0.15 m · 2 kg

Rattlesnake is tiny. 2 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: Hinged venom fangs
  • Armor: Rattle warning
  • Senses: Heat pits are infrared goggles.

Rattlesnake · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Bamboo-crusher jaws
  • Armor: Plush padding
  • Senses: Smell finds the right stalks.

Panda · labeled field diagram

Rattlesnake80 psi bite
Panda500 psi bite

Rattlesnake

Hinged venom fangs

Tool: hinged venom fangs. 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?

Rattlesnake
8 km/h
Panda
30 km/h
Rattlesnake8 km/h
Panda30 km/h

Rattlesnake

8 km/h

Rattlesnake 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
RattlesnakePandaBoth

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

Rattlesnake

Can handle it · Lives in North America

Rattlesnake's home is the north american deserts, 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?

Rattlesnake
Meat · Sit, rattle, strike.
Panda
Plants · Bamboo specialist.

Rattlesnake

Meat · Sit, rattle, strike.

Mice, rats, rabbits — small warm snacks of the desert.

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.

Rattlesnake
Lives alone
Panda
Lives alone
Rattlesnake7 grit /10
Panda4 grit /10

Rattlesnake

Lives alone

Would rather be left alone. 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?

Rattlesnake
4/10
Panda
6/10
Rattlesnake4 brains /10
Panda6 brains /10

Rattlesnake

4/10

Heat pits are infrared goggles.

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?

Rattlesnake
Crotalus atrox
Panda
Ailuropoda melanoleuca

Rattlesnake

Crotalus atrox

Other pit vipers, including copperheads.

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?

Rattlesnake
Buzz Then Zap
Panda
Sit-and-Smoosh

Rattlesnake

Buzz Then Zap

First the concert.

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: Rattlesnake 0 · Panda 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

SKREEE!

THEY MEET

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

CHOMP!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Panda is heavier. Rattlesnake uses hinged venom fangs. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SNAP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Rattlesnake tries the Buzz Then Zap. 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. Rattlesnake 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: Rattlesnake 4 · Panda 4.

Your card: Rattlesnake 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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