WHO WILL WIN?
Red Panda
SQUEAK-TWITTER
Cheetah
CHIRRUP-ZOOM
THE SETUP

Red Panda vs Cheetah

Red Panda
Red Panda
Cheetah
Cheetah

Pretend a red panda and a cheetah 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

Red Panda

Ailurus fulgens · A rusty acrobat who would rather nap than rumble.

Red Panda
Home
Himalayan forests · Lives in Asia
Food
Plants and meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Red Panda is small.

Bamboo and snacks.

Whiskers and a good nose in the misty forest.

Shy climber.

  • Red Panda is small and not very fast.
  • Mostly bamboo, plus fruit, eggs, and insects when the salad bar is closed.
  • Cool mountain forests with plenty of branches and very few appointments.

Family: Not giant pandas.

Corner B

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus · The land-speed record in spots.

Cheetah
Home
African savanna · Lives in Africa
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Cheetah is medium.

Sprint specialist.

Huge eyes, huge field of view.

A sprinter, not a wrestler.

  • Cheetah is medium and very fast.
  • They prefer gazelles and other speedy snacks they can outrun.
  • Open plains are a racetrack.

Family: Other cats, but cheetahs are the odd cousins who joined track team.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

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

1.70 m

Grown-up

0.60 m

Red Panda to scale

Red Panda

0.90 m

Cheetah to scale

Cheetah

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

Red Panda5 kg

About as heavy as a bag of flour that learned parkour.

Cheetah50 kg

About as heavy as a fifth-grader — and faster than the school bus.

Red Panda

0.60 m · 5 kg

Red Panda is small. 5 kg.

Cheetah

0.90 m · 50 kg

Cheetah is medium. 50 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: Needle claws + fake thumb
  • Armor: Fluff camouflage
  • Senses: Whiskers and a good nose in the misty forest.

Red Panda · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: High-speed trip claws
  • Armor: Tearaway lightness
  • Senses: Huge eyes, huge field of view.

Cheetah · labeled field diagram

Red Panda80 psi bite
Cheetah400 psi bite

Red Panda

Needle claws + fake thumb

Tool: needle claws + fake thumb. Bite: 80 psi.

Cheetah

High-speed trip claws

Tool: high-speed trip claws. Bite: 400 psi.

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

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Red Panda
24 km/h
Cheetah
110 km/h
Red Panda24 km/h
Cheetah110 km/h

Red Panda

24 km/h

Red Panda can go 24 km/h. That is not very fast.

Cheetah

110 km/h

Cheetah can go 110 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 mountains. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
Red PandaCheetahBoth

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

Red Panda

This is home · Lives in Asia

Red Panda lives in places like the mountains.

Cheetah

Not their home · Lives in Africa

Cheetah's home is the african savanna, not the mountains.

Almost never. Their homes sit next to each other.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Red Panda
Plants and meat · Bamboo and snacks.
Cheetah
Meat · Sprint specialist.

Red Panda

Plants and meat · Bamboo and snacks.

Mostly bamboo, plus fruit, eggs, and insects when the salad bar is closed.

Cheetah

Meat · Sprint specialist.

They prefer gazelles and other speedy snacks they can outrun.

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.

Red Panda
Lives alone
Cheetah
Lives alone
Red Panda4 grit /10
Cheetah6 grit /10

Red Panda

Lives alone

Shy climber. Grit: 4/10.

Cheetah

Lives alone

A sprinter, not a wrestler. 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?

Red Panda
6/10
Cheetah
6/10
Red Panda6 brains /10
Cheetah6 brains /10

Red Panda

6/10

Whiskers and a good nose in the misty forest.

Cheetah

6/10

Huge eyes, huge field of view.

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

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Red Panda
Ailurus fulgens
Cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus

Red Panda

Ailurus fulgens

Not giant pandas.

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus

Other cats, but cheetahs are the odd cousins who joined track team.

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?

Red Panda
Tree-Drop Vanish
Cheetah
Hundred-Kilo Zoom

Red Panda

Tree-Drop Vanish

When scared they climb.

Cheetah

Hundred-Kilo Zoom

0 to 100 km/h in about 3 seconds.

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: Red Panda 0 · Cheetah 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

THWACK!

THEY MEET

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SLAM!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Cheetah is heavier. Red Panda uses needle claws + fake thumb. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

POW!

SPECIAL MOVES

Red Panda tries the Tree-Drop Vanish. Cheetah tries the Hundred-Kilo Zoom. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Cheetah!

A STOMP

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

On the mountains, Cheetah wins. Cheetah is a lot heavier. Red Panda 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: Red Panda 1 · Cheetah 6 · ties 1.

Your card: Red Panda 0 · Cheetah 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 · Cheetah

Rozi the cheetah. Zoom is not a metaphor.

Cincinnati Zoo · Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

1/17 · scroll