WHO WILL WIN?
Sea Lion
ARK-ARK-ARK
Panda
HONK-BLEAT
THE SETUP

Sea Lion vs Panda

Sea Lion
Sea Lion
Panda
Panda

Pretend a sea lion and a panda meet in the mountains. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

No. Wild sea lions and pandas 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

Panda

Ailuropoda melanoleuca · A bamboo tank in a costume.

Panda
Home
Chinese mountain forests · Lives in Asia
Food
Plants
Group
Lives alone
Size
Panda is medium.

Bamboo specialist.

Smell finds the right stalks.

Slow-looking, not helpless.

  • Panda is medium and not very fast.
  • Almost all bamboo, all day.
  • Cool, misty mountain forests where bamboo grows like a salad bar.

Family: Other bears.

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

0.90 m

Panda to scale

Panda

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.

Panda120 kg

About as heavy as a big goat, shaped like a stuffed animal that lifts.

Sea Lion

1.20 m · 300 kg

Sea Lion is big. 300 kg.

Panda

0.90 m · 120 kg

Panda is medium. 120 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: Bamboo-crusher jaws
  • Armor: Plush padding
  • Senses: Smell finds the right stalks.

Panda · labeled field diagram

Sea Lion400 psi bite
Panda500 psi bite

Sea Lion

Speed-bite plus flipper slap

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

Panda

Bamboo-crusher jaws

Tool: bamboo-crusher jaws. Bite: 500 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
Panda
30 km/h
Sea Lion30 km/h
Panda30 km/h

Sea Lion

30 km/h

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

Panda

30 km/h

Panda can go 30 km/h. That is not 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
Sea LionPandaBoth

Meeting biome: the mountains. 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 the mountains.

Panda

This is home · Lives in Asia

Panda lives in places like the mountains.

No. Wild sea lions and pandas 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.
Panda
Plants · Bamboo specialist.

Sea Lion

Meat · Fish chaser in the surf.

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

Panda

Plants · Bamboo specialist.

Almost all bamboo, all 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
Panda
Lives alone
Sea Lion6 grit /10
Panda4 grit /10

Sea Lion

Lives in a big group

Playful and noisy. Grit: 6/10.

Panda

Lives alone

Slow-looking, not helpless. 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
Panda
6/10
Sea Lion6 brains /10
Panda6 brains /10

Sea Lion

6/10

Whiskers read fish in murk.

Panda

6/10

Smell finds the right stalks.

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
Panda
Ailuropoda melanoleuca

Sea Lion

Zalophus californianus

Fur seals and walruses.

Panda

Ailuropoda melanoleuca

Other bears.

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
Panda
Sit-and-Smoosh

Sea Lion

Porpoise Missile

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

Panda

Sit-and-Smoosh

If a panda leans on a problem, the problem becomes a pancake.

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 · Panda 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

SKREEE!

THEY MEET

Sea Lion runs first. Panda does not race. They wait in the mountains.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

CHOMP!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Sea Lion is heavier. Panda uses bamboo-crusher jaws. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SNAP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Sea Lion tries the Porpoise Missile. Panda tries the Sit-and-Smoosh. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Sea Lion!

A CLEAR PICK

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

On the mountains, Sea Lion wins. Sea Lion is a lot heavier. 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: Sea Lion 5 · Panda 1 · ties 2.

Your card: Sea Lion 0 · Panda 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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