WHO WILL WIN?
Sea Lion
ARK-ARK-ARK
Elephant
BRAAAAAMP
THE SETUP

Sea Lion vs Elephant

Sea Lion
Sea Lion
Elephant
Elephant

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

Would they meet?

No. Wild sea lions and elephants 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

Elephant

Loxodonta africana · The walking earthquake.

Elephant
Home
African savanna and woodland · Lives in Africa
Food
Plants
Group
Lives with family
Size
Elephant is giant.

Does not hunt.

Hears thunder through its feet.

Usually calm.

  • Elephant is giant and fast.
  • Elephants munch 150 kg of plants a day.
  • They roam huge distances and remember watering holes for decades.

Family: Mammoths (extinct) and, surprisingly, manatees way back in the family tree.

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

3.2 m

Elephant to scale

Elephant

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.

Elephant6,000 kg

As heavy as a school bus. Yes, really.

Sea Lion

1.20 m · 300 kg

Sea Lion is big. 300 kg.

Elephant

3.2 m · 6,000 kg

Elephant is giant. 6,000 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: Ivory battering rams
  • Armor: Tank-thick hide
  • Senses: Hears thunder through its feet.

Elephant · labeled field diagram

Sea Lion400 psi bite
Elephant800 psi bite

Sea Lion

Speed-bite plus flipper slap

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

Elephant

Ivory battering rams

Tool: ivory battering rams. Bite: 800 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
Elephant
40 km/h
Sea Lion30 km/h
Elephant40 km/h

Sea Lion

30 km/h

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

Elephant

40 km/h

Elephant can go 40 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 forest. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
Sea LionElephantBoth

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.

Elephant

This is home · Lives in Africa

Elephant lives in places like forest.

No. Wild sea lions and elephants 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.
Elephant
Plants · Does not hunt.

Sea Lion

Meat · Fish chaser in the surf.

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

Elephant

Plants · Does not hunt.

Elephants munch 150 kg of plants a 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.

Sea Lion
Lives in a big group
Elephant
Lives with family
Sea Lion6 grit /10
Elephant7 grit /10

Sea Lion

Lives in a big group

Playful and noisy. Grit: 6/10.

Elephant

Lives with family

Usually calm. 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
Elephant
8/10
Sea Lion6 brains /10
Elephant8 brains /10

Sea Lion

6/10

Whiskers read fish in murk.

Elephant

8/10

Hears thunder through its feet.

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
Elephant
Loxodonta africana

Sea Lion

Zalophus californianus

Fur seals and walruses.

Elephant

Loxodonta africana

Mammoths (extinct) and, surprisingly, manatees way back in the family tree.

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
Elephant
Trunk Sling + Trumpet Blast

Sea Lion

Porpoise Missile

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

Elephant

Trunk Sling + Trumpet Blast

The trunk has about 40,000 muscles.

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 · Elephant 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

FWOOSH!

THEY MEET

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

KICK!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Elephant 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. Elephant tries the Trunk Sling + Trumpet Blast. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Elephant!

A STOMP

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

On forest, Elephant wins. Elephant 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 0 · Elephant 8.

Your card: Sea Lion 0 · Elephant 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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