WHO WILL WIN?
Sloth
MEEP-SIGH
Walrus
BELLOW-OONG
THE SETUP

Sloth vs Walrus

Sloth
Sloth
Walrus
Walrus

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

Would they meet?

No. Wild sloths and walruss 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

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

Walrus

Odobenus rosmarus · A tusked sofa that rules the ice.

Walrus
Home
Arctic sea ice · Lives in North America / Asia / Europe
Food
Meat
Group
Lives in a big group
Size
Walrus is big.

Clam vacuum with tusks for ice and arguments.

Whiskers find shellfish in the dark.

A tusked sofa that does not like being shoved.

  • Walrus is big and not very fast.
  • Clams, mostly.
  • Pack ice and rocky coasts, in noisy piles called haulouts.

Family: Seals and sea lions.

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

1.20 m

Walrus to scale

Walrus

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

Sloth6 kg

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

Walrus900 kg

As heavy as a small car, with mustache energy for days.

Sloth

0.60 m · 6 kg

Sloth is small. 6 kg.

Walrus

1.20 m · 900 kg

Walrus is big. 900 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: Ivory ice picks
  • Armor: Blubber fortress
  • Senses: Whiskers find shellfish in the dark.

Walrus · labeled field diagram

Sloth50 psi bite
Walrus300 psi bite

Sloth

Three-toed hooks

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

Walrus

Ivory ice picks

Tool: ivory ice picks. Bite: 300 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
Walrus
20 km/h
Sloth2 km/h
Walrus20 km/h

Sloth

2 km/h

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

Walrus

20 km/h

Walrus can go 20 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
SlothWalrusBoth

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.

Walrus

Wrong place · Lives in North America / Asia / Europe

Walrus's home is the arctic sea ice, not forest.

No. Wild sloths and walruss would not meet. We still look at the facts.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Sloth
Plants · Leaf eater in slow motion.
Walrus
Meat · Clam vacuum with tusks for ice and arguments.

Sloth

Plants · Leaf eater in slow motion.

Leaves.

Walrus

Meat · Clam vacuum with tusks for ice and arguments.

Clams, mostly.

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
Walrus
Lives in a big group
Sloth5 grit /10
Walrus7 grit /10

Sloth

Lives alone

Peaceful to a fault. Grit: 5/10.

Walrus

Lives in a big group

A tusked sofa that does not like being shoved. 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?

Sloth
3/10
Walrus
5/10
Sloth3 brains /10
Walrus5 brains /10

Sloth

3/10

Not a hunter's kit.

Walrus

5/10

Whiskers find shellfish in the dark.

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
Walrus
Odobenus rosmarus

Sloth

Bradypus variegatus

Anteaters and armadillos — the xenarthran club of unhurried specialists.

Walrus

Odobenus rosmarus

Seals and sea 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?

Sloth
Hang In There
Walrus
Tusk-Hook Haul

Sloth

Hang In There

Predators often cannot peel a sloth off a branch.

Walrus

Tusk-Hook Haul

They can hook ice, bellow, and make a beach of other pinnipeds scoot over.

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 · Walrus 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

THWACK!

THEY MEET

Walrus runs first. Sloth does not race. They wait in forest.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SLAM!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

POW!

SPECIAL MOVES

Sloth tries the Hang In There. Walrus tries the Tusk-Hook Haul. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Walrus!

A STOMP

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

On forest, Walrus wins. Walrus is a lot heavier. 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 1 · Walrus 7.

Your card: Sloth 0 · Walrus 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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