WHO WILL WIN?
T. rex
RAAWR
Ostrich
BOOM-KICK
THE SETUP

T. rex vs Ostrich

T. rex
T. rex
Ostrich
Ostrich

Pretend they meet in grassland. Dinosaurs lived long ago. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

No. T. rex and Ostrich did not live at the same time. This meeting is pretend.

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

T. rex

Tyrannosaurus rex · The banana-toothed bone cruiser.

T. rex
Home
Late Cretaceous floodplains of western North America · Lived in North America long ago
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
T. rex is giant.

Giant bite-and-pull hunter.

A huge smelling system and eyes that faced more forward than most dinosaurs.

Top of a vanished food web.

  • T. rex is giant and not very fast.
  • Horned dinosaurs, duckbills, leftover carcasses — a giant meat-eater that did not skip free calories.
  • Fossils come from places like Hell Creek: forests, rivers, and floodplains about 66 million years ago.

Family: Birds!

Corner B

Ostrich

Struthio camelus · The kick that thinks it is a dinosaur.

Ostrich
Home
African savanna · Lives in Africa
Food
Plants and meat
Group
Lives in a flock
Size
Ostrich is medium.

Grazer and bug-pecker.

Giant eyes — among the biggest of any land animal.

Run first, kick second.

  • Ostrich is medium and very fast.
  • Plants, seeds, insects, and the occasional lizard.
  • Open country where those huge legs can actually use their speed.

Family: Emus, rheas, and other giant flightless birds.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

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

1.70 m

Grown-up

3.7 m

T. rex to scale

T. rex

2.7 m

Ostrich to scale

Ostrich

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

T. rex8,200 kg

Hip-tall as a basketball hoop, heavier than an African elephant, longer than a school bus.

Ostrich140 kg

Taller than most grown-ups, and faster than a city speed limit.

T. rex

3.7 m · 8,200 kg

T. rex is giant. 8,200 kg.

Ostrich

2.7 m · 140 kg

Ostrich is medium. 140 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: Banana-sized bone shears
  • Armor: Thick skull and a neck like a crane
  • Senses: A huge smelling system and eyes that faced more forward than most dinosaurs.

T. rex · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Dinosaur-leg kick
  • Armor: Long-range eyeballs
  • Senses: Giant eyes — among the biggest of any land animal.

Ostrich · labeled field diagram

T. rex8000 psi bite
Ostrich50 psi bite

T. rex

Banana-sized bone shears

Tool: banana-sized bone shears. Bite: 8,000 psi.

Ostrich

Dinosaur-leg kick

Tool: dinosaur-leg kick. Bite: 50 psi.

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

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

T. rex
20 km/h
Ostrich
70 km/h
T. rex20 km/h
Ostrich70 km/h

T. rex

20 km/h

T. rex can go 20 km/h. That is not very fast.

Ostrich

70 km/h

Ostrich can go 70 km/h. That is 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 grassland. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
T. rexOstrichBoth

Meeting biome: grassland. Colored land is fossil range for dinosaurs and living range for zoo animals.

T. rex

This is home · Lived in North America long ago

T. rex lives in places like grassland.

Ostrich

This is home · Lives in Africa

Ostrich lives in places like grassland.

No. T. rex and Ostrich did not live at the same time. This meeting is pretend.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

T. rex
Meat · Giant bite-and-pull hunter.
Ostrich
Plants and meat · Grazer and bug-pecker.

T. rex

Meat · Giant bite-and-pull hunter.

Horned dinosaurs, duckbills, leftover carcasses — a giant meat-eater that did not skip free calories.

Ostrich

Plants and meat · Grazer and bug-pecker.

Plants, seeds, insects, and the occasional lizard.

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.

T. rex
Lives alone
Ostrich
Lives in a flock
T. rex9 grit /10
Ostrich6 grit /10

T. rex

Lives alone

Top of a vanished food web. Grit: 9/10.

Ostrich

Lives in a flock

Run first, kick second. Grit: 6/10.

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?

T. rex
5/10
Ostrich
4/10
T. rex5 brains /10
Ostrich4 brains /10

T. rex

5/10

A huge smelling system and eyes that faced more forward than most dinosaurs.

Ostrich

4/10

Giant eyes — among the biggest of any land animal.

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

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

T. rex
Tyrannosaurus rex
Ostrich
Struthio camelus

T. rex

Tyrannosaurus rex

Birds!

Ostrich

Struthio camelus

Emus, rheas, and other giant flightless birds.

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?

T. rex
Bone-Crunch Clamp
Ostrich
Sprint-and-Slash

T. rex

Bone-Crunch Clamp

T.

Ostrich

Sprint-and-Slash

They do not bury their heads in sand.

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: T. rex 0 · Ostrich 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

SKREEE!

THEY MEET

Ostrich runs first. T. rex does not race. They wait in grassland.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

CHOMP!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

T. rex is heavier. Ostrich uses dinosaur-leg kick. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SNAP!

SPECIAL MOVES

T. rex tries the Bone-Crunch Clamp. Ostrich tries the Sprint-and-Slash. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

T. rex!

A STOMP

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

On grassland, T. rex wins. T. rex is a lot heavier. Ostrich 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: T. rex 6 · Ostrich 1 · ties 1.

Your card: T. rex 0 · Ostrich 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 · Ostrich

That is a bird. That is also a sprinter.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

1/17 · scroll