WHO WILL WIN?
Sea Lion
ARK-ARK-ARK
Flamingo
HONK-HONK-PINK
THE SETUP

Sea Lion vs Flamingo

Sea Lion
Sea Lion
Flamingo
Flamingo

Pretend a sea lion and a flamingo meet in the coast. 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

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

Flamingo

Phoenicopterus roseus · A pink question mark with a secret temper.

Flamingo
Home
Lakes and lagoons · Lives in Africa / Europe / South America / North America
Food
Plants and meat
Group
Lives in a flock
Size
Flamingo is tiny.

Filter feeder.

They spot shallows and flock motion.

Social and noisy.

  • Flamingo is tiny and fast.
  • Shrimp and algae.
  • Salty, soda-like lakes where most animals would go 'no thanks.

Family: Other flashy wading birds, with a family tree scientists still argue about.

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

1.20 m

Flamingo to scale

Flamingo

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.

Flamingo3 kg

Light enough to mail (please do not) but taller than a kitchen counter.

Sea Lion

1.20 m · 300 kg

Sea Lion is big. 300 kg.

Flamingo

1.20 m · 3 kg

Flamingo is tiny. 3 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: Hooked filter beak
  • Armor: One-leg balance aura
  • Senses: They spot shallows and flock motion.

Flamingo · labeled field diagram

Sea Lion400 psi bite
Flamingo20 psi bite

Sea Lion

Speed-bite plus flipper slap

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

Flamingo

Hooked filter beak

Tool: hooked filter beak. Bite: 20 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
Flamingo
50 km/h
Sea Lion30 km/h
Flamingo50 km/h

Sea Lion

30 km/h

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

Flamingo

50 km/h

Flamingo can go 50 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 LionFlamingoBoth

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.

Flamingo

Can handle it · Lives in Africa / Europe / South America / North America

Flamingo's home is the lakes and lagoons, not the coast.

Almost never. Their homes sit next to each other.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Sea Lion
Meat · Fish chaser in the surf.
Flamingo
Plants and meat · Filter feeder.

Sea Lion

Meat · Fish chaser in the surf.

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

Flamingo

Plants and meat · Filter feeder.

Shrimp and algae.

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
Flamingo
Lives in a flock
Sea Lion6 grit /10
Flamingo4 grit /10

Sea Lion

Lives in a big group

Playful and noisy. Grit: 6/10.

Flamingo

Lives in a flock

Social and noisy. Grit: 4/10.

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
Flamingo
4/10
Sea Lion6 brains /10
Flamingo4 brains /10

Sea Lion

6/10

Whiskers read fish in murk.

Flamingo

4/10

They spot shallows and flock motion.

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
Flamingo
Phoenicopterus roseus

Sea Lion

Zalophus californianus

Fur seals and walruses.

Flamingo

Phoenicopterus roseus

Other flashy wading birds, with a family tree scientists still argue about.

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
Flamingo
Wing-Whoosh Retreat

Sea Lion

Porpoise Missile

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

Flamingo

Wing-Whoosh Retreat

When trouble shows up, flamingos take the sky.

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 · Flamingo 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

FWOOSH!

THEY MEET

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

KICK!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Sea Lion is heavier. Flamingo uses hooked filter beak. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

STOOMP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Sea Lion tries the Porpoise Missile. Flamingo tries the Wing-Whoosh Retreat. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Sea Lion!

A STOMP

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

On the coast, Sea Lion wins. Sea Lion likes the coast more. Flamingo 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 7 · Flamingo 1.

Your card: Sea Lion 0 · Flamingo 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 · Sea Lion

Harbor barking. The champ has notes.

Sarah Stierch · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY. Source

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