WHO WILL WIN?
Sea Lion
ARK-ARK-ARK
Bison
SNORT-GRUNT
THE SETUP

Sea Lion vs Bison

Sea Lion
Sea Lion
Bison
Bison

Pretend a sea lion and a bison meet in the coast. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

No. Wild sea lions and bisons 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

Sea Lion

Zalophus californianus · A barking torpedo in a wet tuxedo.

Sea Lion
Home
Pacific coasts · Lives in North America
Food
Meat
Group
Lives in a big group
Size
Sea Lion is big.

Fish chaser in the surf.

Whiskers read fish in murk.

Playful and noisy.

  • Sea Lion is big and not very fast.
  • Fish, squid, and the occasional unfortunate leftover from the ocean buffet.
  • Rocky coasts and piers, where barking is a civic duty.

Family: Fur seals and walruses.

Corner B

Bison

Bison bison · A shaggy locomotive with horns.

Bison
Home
North American grassland · Lives in North America
Food
Plants
Group
Lives in a herd
Size
Bison is big.

Grazer.

Smell and hearing across open grass.

Looks like furniture until it runs.

  • Bison is big and fast.
  • Grass.
  • Wide plains where a herd can rumble the ground like weather.

Family: Yaks and cattle.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

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

1.70 m

Grown-up

1.20 m

Sea Lion to scale

Sea Lion

1.70 m

Bison to scale

Bison

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

Sea Lion300 kg

As heavy as a couple of grown-ups, shaped like a barking sofa.

Bison700 kg

As heavy as a small car, with a haircut that never clocks out.

Sea Lion

1.20 m · 300 kg

Sea Lion is big. 300 kg.

Bison

1.70 m · 700 kg

Bison is big. 700 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: Speed-bite plus flipper slap
  • Armor: Blubber wetsuit
  • Senses: Whiskers read fish in murk.

Sea Lion · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Headbutt horns
  • Armor: Woolly snowplow
  • Senses: Smell and hearing across open grass.

Bison · labeled field diagram

Sea Lion400 psi bite
Bison200 psi bite

Sea Lion

Speed-bite plus flipper slap

Tool: speed-bite plus flipper slap. Bite: 400 psi.

Bison

Headbutt horns

Tool: headbutt horns. Bite: 200 psi.

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

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Sea Lion
30 km/h
Bison
55 km/h
Sea Lion30 km/h
Bison55 km/h

Sea Lion

30 km/h

Sea Lion can go 30 km/h. That is not very fast.

Bison

55 km/h

Bison can go 55 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 coast. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
Sea LionBisonBoth

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

Sea Lion

This is home · Lives in North America

Sea Lion lives in places like the coast.

Bison

Not their home · Lives in North America

Bison's home is the north american grassland, not the coast.

No. Wild sea lions and bisons would not meet. We still look at the facts.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Sea Lion
Meat · Fish chaser in the surf.
Bison
Plants · Grazer.

Sea Lion

Meat · Fish chaser in the surf.

Fish, squid, and the occasional unfortunate leftover from the ocean buffet.

Bison

Plants · Grazer.

Grass.

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.

Sea Lion
Lives in a big group
Bison
Lives in a herd
Sea Lion6 grit /10
Bison8 grit /10

Sea Lion

Lives in a big group

Playful and noisy. Grit: 6/10.

Bison

Lives in a herd

Looks like furniture until it runs. 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?

Sea Lion
6/10
Bison
4/10
Sea Lion6 brains /10
Bison4 brains /10

Sea Lion

6/10

Whiskers read fish in murk.

Bison

4/10

Smell and hearing across open grass.

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

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Sea Lion
Zalophus californianus
Bison
Bison bison

Sea Lion

Zalophus californianus

Fur seals and walruses.

Bison

Bison bison

Yaks and cattle.

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?

Sea Lion
Porpoise Missile
Bison
Prairie Freight Charge

Sea Lion

Porpoise Missile

They leap, twist, and snatch fish mid-zoom.

Bison

Prairie Freight Charge

They look like furniture.

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: Sea Lion 0 · Bison 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

FWOOSH!

THEY MEET

Bison runs first. Sea Lion does not race. They wait in the coast.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

KICK!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Bison is heavier. Sea Lion uses speed-bite plus flipper slap. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

STOOMP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Sea Lion tries the Porpoise Missile. Bison tries the Prairie Freight Charge. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Bison!

A CLEAR PICK

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

On the coast, Bison wins. Bison is a lot heavier. Sea Lion 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: Sea Lion 2 · Bison 6.

Your card: Sea Lion 0 · Bison 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 · Bison

A good scratch after a hard rumble.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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