WHO WILL WIN?
Sea Lion
ARK-ARK-ARK
Cougar
SCREAM-PURR
THE SETUP

Sea Lion vs Cougar

Sea Lion
Sea Lion
Cougar
Cougar

Pretend a sea lion and a cougar meet in forest. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

No. Wild sea lions and cougars 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

Cougar

Puma concolor · The quiet jumper with a hundred nicknames.

Cougar
Home
Americas from mountains to swamp · Lives in North America / South America
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Cougar is medium.

Stalk and pounce.

Dawn-and-dusk eyes.

A loner with a plan.

  • Cougar is medium and very fast.
  • Deer are favorite.
  • The widest range of any New World mammal, from Canada to the Andes.

Family: Cheetahs and jaguarundis more than roaring lions.

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

0.75 m

Cougar to scale

Cougar

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.

Cougar65 kg

About as heavy as a grown-up's suitcase that can jump a creek.

Sea Lion

1.20 m · 300 kg

Sea Lion is big. 300 kg.

Cougar

0.75 m · 65 kg

Cougar is medium. 65 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: Pounce and hold
  • Armor: Tawny vanish
  • Senses: Dawn-and-dusk eyes.

Cougar · labeled field diagram

Sea Lion400 psi bite
Cougar400 psi bite

Sea Lion

Speed-bite plus flipper slap

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

Cougar

Pounce and hold

Tool: pounce and hold. 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?

Sea Lion
30 km/h
Cougar
70 km/h
Sea Lion30 km/h
Cougar70 km/h

Sea Lion

30 km/h

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

Cougar

70 km/h

Cougar can go 70 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 forest. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
Sea LionCougarBoth

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

Sea Lion

Wrong place · Lives in North America

Sea Lion's home is the pacific coasts, not forest.

Cougar

This is home · Lives in North America / South America

Cougar lives in places like forest.

No. Wild sea lions and cougars 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.
Cougar
Meat · Stalk and pounce.

Sea Lion

Meat · Fish chaser in the surf.

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

Cougar

Meat · Stalk and pounce.

Deer are favorite.

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
Cougar
Lives alone
Sea Lion6 grit /10
Cougar7 grit /10

Sea Lion

Lives in a big group

Playful and noisy. Grit: 6/10.

Cougar

Lives alone

A loner with a plan. 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?

Sea Lion
6/10
Cougar
7/10
Sea Lion6 brains /10
Cougar7 brains /10

Sea Lion

6/10

Whiskers read fish in murk.

Cougar

7/10

Dawn-and-dusk eyes.

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
Cougar
Puma concolor

Sea Lion

Zalophus californianus

Fur seals and walruses.

Cougar

Puma concolor

Cheetahs and jaguarundis more than roaring lions.

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
Cougar
Canyon Long Jump

Sea Lion

Porpoise Missile

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

Cougar

Canyon Long Jump

They can bound 12 meters in a single leap.

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 · Cougar 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

FWOOSH!

THEY MEET

Cougar runs first. Sea Lion does not race. They wait in forest.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

KICK!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Sea Lion is heavier. Cougar uses pounce and hold. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

STOOMP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Sea Lion tries the Porpoise Missile. Cougar tries the Canyon Long Jump. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Cougar!

A SQUEAKER

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

On forest, Cougar wins. Cougar likes forest more. 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 1 · Cougar 7.

Your card: Sea Lion 0 · Cougar 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.

Also starring · Sea Lion

Harbor barking. The champ has notes.

Sarah Stierch · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY. Source

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