WHO WILL WIN?
Sloth
MEEP-SIGH
King Cobra
HISS-HOOD
THE SETUP

Sloth vs King Cobra

Sloth
Sloth
King Cobra
King Cobra

Pretend a sloth and a king cobra meet in forest. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

Yes. They could meet in the real wild. This page is still a what-if.

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

Sloth

Bradypus variegatus · The slowest fighter with the strongest grip.

Sloth
Home
Central and South American rainforest · Lives in South America
Food
Plants
Group
Lives alone
Size
Sloth is small.

Leaf eater in slow motion.

Not a hunter's kit.

Peaceful to a fault.

  • Sloth is small and slow.
  • Leaves.
  • The high canopy, where going nowhere slowly is a valid plan.

Family: Anteaters and armadillos — the xenarthran club of unhurried specialists.

Corner B

King Cobra

Ophiophagus hannah · The tallest snake, with a hood like a warning sign.

King Cobra
Home
Asian forests · Lives in Asia
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
King Cobra is small.

Snake-eater with a stand-up hood.

Heat and chemical trail.

Alert, not cartoon-mean.

  • King Cobra is small and not very fast.
  • Mostly other snakes.
  • Dense forest and bamboo, where a long warning hiss carries.

Family: Other cobras and mambas — the elapid family of front-fanged specialists.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

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

1.70 m

Grown-up

0.60 m

Sloth to scale

Sloth

0.50 m

King Cobra to scale

King Cobra

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

Sloth6 kg

About as heavy as a small melon that refuses to rush.

King Cobra7 kg

Can stretch longer than a pickup truck, but no thicker than a grown-up's arm.

Sloth

0.60 m · 6 kg

Sloth is small. 6 kg.

King Cobra

0.50 m · 7 kg

King Cobra is small. 7 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: Three-toed hooks
  • Armor: Algae cloak
  • Senses: Not a hunter's kit.

Sloth · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Hood-high venom fangs
  • Armor: Scale slicker
  • Senses: Heat and chemical trail.

King Cobra · labeled field diagram

Sloth50 psi bite
King Cobra100 psi bite

Sloth

Three-toed hooks

Tool: three-toed hooks. Bite: 50 psi.

King Cobra

Hood-high venom fangs

Tool: hood-high venom fangs. Bite: 100 psi.

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

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Sloth
2 km/h
King Cobra
18 km/h
Sloth2 km/h
King Cobra18 km/h

Sloth

2 km/h

Sloth can go 2 km/h. That is slow.

King Cobra

18 km/h

King Cobra can go 18 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 forest. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
SlothKing CobraBoth

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

Sloth

This is home · Lives in South America

Sloth lives in places like forest.

King Cobra

This is home · Lives in Asia

King Cobra lives in places like forest.

Yes. They could meet in the real wild. This page is still a what-if.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Sloth
Plants · Leaf eater in slow motion.
King Cobra
Meat · Snake-eater with a stand-up hood.

Sloth

Plants · Leaf eater in slow motion.

Leaves.

King Cobra

Meat · Snake-eater with a stand-up hood.

Mostly other snakes.

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.

Sloth
Lives alone
King Cobra
Lives alone
Sloth5 grit /10
King Cobra8 grit /10

Sloth

Lives alone

Peaceful to a fault. Grit: 5/10.

King Cobra

Lives alone

Alert, not cartoon-mean. 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?

Sloth
3/10
King Cobra
5/10
Sloth3 brains /10
King Cobra5 brains /10

Sloth

3/10

Not a hunter's kit.

King Cobra

5/10

Heat and chemical trail.

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

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Sloth
Bradypus variegatus
King Cobra
Ophiophagus hannah

Sloth

Bradypus variegatus

Anteaters and armadillos — the xenarthran club of unhurried specialists.

King Cobra

Ophiophagus hannah

Other cobras and mambas — the elapid family of front-fanged specialists.

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?

Sloth
Hang In There
King Cobra
Wobble Venom Warning

Sloth

Hang In There

Predators often cannot peel a sloth off a branch.

King Cobra

Wobble Venom Warning

One bite can make a huge animal feel wobbly and want a very long nap.

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: Sloth 0 · King Cobra 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

FWOOSH!

THEY MEET

King Cobra runs first. Sloth does not race. They wait in forest.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

KICK!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

King Cobra is heavier. Sloth uses three-toed hooks. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

STOOMP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Sloth tries the Hang In There. King Cobra tries the Wobble Venom Warning. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

King Cobra!

A STOMP

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

On forest, King Cobra wins. King Cobra's hood-high venom fangs helps more. Sloth 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: Sloth 0 · King Cobra 7 · ties 1.

Your card: Sloth 0 · King Cobra 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 · Sloth

The slowest victory lap on record.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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