WHO WILL WIN?
Rattlesnake
CHK-CHK-BUZZ
Snow Leopard
CHUFF-YOWL
THE SETUP

Rattlesnake vs Snow Leopard

Rattlesnake
Rattlesnake
Snow Leopard
Snow Leopard

Pretend a rattlesnake and a snow leopard meet in the desert. 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

Snow Leopard

Panthera uncia · A ghost cat with a tail like a scarf.

Snow Leopard
Home
Central Asian mountains · Lives in Asia
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Snow Leopard is medium.

Mountain ambush.

Pale coat is the mountain's own shadow.

Ghost cat.

  • Snow Leopard is medium and fast.
  • Blue sheep, ibex, and the occasional livestock snack when wild food is scarce.
  • High, cold mountains where oxygen is a suggestion.

Family: Tigers and leopards.

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

0.60 m

Snow Leopard to scale

Snow Leopard

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

Rattlesnake2 kg

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

Snow Leopard45 kg

About as heavy as a big dog, with a tail as long as the rest of the cat.

Rattlesnake

0.15 m · 2 kg

Rattlesnake is tiny. 2 kg.

Snow Leopard

0.60 m · 45 kg

Snow Leopard is medium. 45 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: Cliff-pounce paws
  • Armor: Smoke-spot coat
  • Senses: Pale coat is the mountain's own shadow.

Snow Leopard · labeled field diagram

Rattlesnake80 psi bite
Snow Leopard310 psi bite

Rattlesnake

Hinged venom fangs

Tool: hinged venom fangs. Bite: 80 psi.

Snow Leopard

Cliff-pounce paws

Tool: cliff-pounce paws. Bite: 310 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
Snow Leopard
64 km/h
Rattlesnake8 km/h
Snow Leopard64 km/h

Rattlesnake

8 km/h

Rattlesnake can go 8 km/h. That is slow.

Snow Leopard

64 km/h

Snow Leopard can go 64 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 desert. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
RattlesnakeSnow LeopardBoth

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

Rattlesnake

This is home · Lives in North America

Rattlesnake lives in places like the desert.

Snow Leopard

Can handle it · Lives in Asia

Snow Leopard's home is the central asian mountains, not the desert.

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.
Snow Leopard
Meat · Mountain ambush.

Rattlesnake

Meat · Sit, rattle, strike.

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

Snow Leopard

Meat · Mountain ambush.

Blue sheep, ibex, and the occasional livestock snack when wild food is scarce.

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
Snow Leopard
Lives alone
Rattlesnake7 grit /10
Snow Leopard7 grit /10

Rattlesnake

Lives alone

Would rather be left alone. Grit: 7/10.

Snow Leopard

Lives alone

Ghost cat. Grit: 7/10.

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
Snow Leopard
7/10
Rattlesnake4 brains /10
Snow Leopard7 brains /10

Rattlesnake

4/10

Heat pits are infrared goggles.

Snow Leopard

7/10

Pale coat is the mountain's own shadow.

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
Snow Leopard
Panthera uncia

Rattlesnake

Crotalus atrox

Other pit vipers, including copperheads.

Snow Leopard

Panthera uncia

Tigers and leopards.

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
Snow Leopard
Ridge Ghost Drop

Rattlesnake

Buzz Then Zap

First the concert.

Snow Leopard

Ridge Ghost Drop

They can leap 9 meters — a whole bus length of 'where did that cat come from?

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 · Snow Leopard 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

WHAM!

THEY MEET

Snow Leopard runs first. Rattlesnake does not race. They wait in the desert.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

WHOOSH!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

ZING!

SPECIAL MOVES

Rattlesnake tries the Buzz Then Zap. Snow Leopard tries the Ridge Ghost Drop. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Snow Leopard!

A STOMP

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

On the desert, Snow Leopard wins. Snow Leopard is a lot heavier. 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 1 · Snow Leopard 4 · ties 3.

Your card: Rattlesnake 0 · Snow Leopard 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 · Snow Leopard

Ghost cat. Lunch. You were never supposed to see this.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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