WHO WILL WIN?
Tortoise
HISS-HMPH
Crocodile
SNAP-HISSS
THE SETUP

Tortoise vs Crocodile

Tortoise
Tortoise
Crocodile
Crocodile

Pretend a tortoise and a crocodile meet in river country. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

No. Wild tortoises and crocodiles 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

Tortoise

Chelonoidis niger · A walking bunker that outlives arguments.

Tortoise
Home
Galápagos islands · Lives in South America
Food
Plants
Group
Lives alone
Size
Tortoise is big.

Browser.

They feel footsteps.

Unbothered fortress.

  • Tortoise is big and slow.
  • Cactus, grass, and island plants.
  • Dry islands where going slowly uses less water and fewer bad ideas.

Family: Turtles and terrapins.

Corner B

Crocodile

Crocodylus niloticus · A living fossil with a trapdoor mouth.

Crocodile
Home
African rivers · Lives in Africa
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Crocodile is big.

Wait like a log.

Pressure sensors in the skin feel a ripple.

Explosive from zero.

  • Crocodile is big and not very fast.
  • Fish, mammals, birds — if it comes to the water's edge, it is on the menu.
  • They wait like logs.

Family: Alligators, caimans, and dinosaurs' old roommates, the archosaurs.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

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

1.70 m

Grown-up

0.50 m

Tortoise to scale

Tortoise

0.70 m

Crocodile to scale

Crocodile

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

Tortoise250 kg

As heavy as a grown-up, shaped like a helmet that learned to walk.

Crocodile500 kg

Can stretch longer than a pickup truck.

Tortoise

0.50 m · 250 kg

Tortoise is big. 250 kg.

Crocodile

0.70 m · 500 kg

Crocodile is big. 500 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: Beak ram
  • Armor: Dome fortress
  • Senses: They feel footsteps.

Tortoise · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: The planet's hardest chomp
  • Armor: Bony osteoderm shield
  • Senses: Pressure sensors in the skin feel a ripple.

Crocodile · labeled field diagram

Tortoise200 psi bite
Crocodile3700 psi bite

Tortoise

Beak ram

Tool: beak ram. Bite: 200 psi.

Crocodile

The planet's hardest chomp

Tool: the planet's hardest chomp. Bite: 3,700 psi.

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

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Tortoise
1 km/h
Crocodile
32 km/h
Tortoise1 km/h
Crocodile32 km/h

Tortoise

1 km/h

Tortoise can go 1 km/h. That is slow.

Crocodile

32 km/h

Crocodile can go 32 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 river country. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
TortoiseCrocodileBoth

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

Tortoise

Not their home · Lives in South America

Tortoise's home is the galápagos islands, not river country.

Crocodile

This is home · Lives in Africa

Crocodile lives in places like river country.

No. Wild tortoises and crocodiles would not meet. We still look at the facts.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Tortoise
Plants · Browser.
Crocodile
Meat · Wait like a log.

Tortoise

Plants · Browser.

Cactus, grass, and island plants.

Crocodile

Meat · Wait like a log.

Fish, mammals, birds — if it comes to the water's edge, it is on the menu.

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.

Tortoise
Lives alone
Crocodile
Lives alone
Tortoise6 grit /10
Crocodile8 grit /10

Tortoise

Lives alone

Unbothered fortress. Grit: 6/10.

Crocodile

Lives alone

Explosive from zero. 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?

Tortoise
3/10
Crocodile
4/10
Tortoise3 brains /10
Crocodile4 brains /10

Tortoise

3/10

They feel footsteps.

Crocodile

4/10

Pressure sensors in the skin feel a ripple.

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

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Tortoise
Chelonoidis niger
Crocodile
Crocodylus niloticus

Tortoise

Chelonoidis niger

Turtles and terrapins.

Crocodile

Crocodylus niloticus

Alligators, caimans, and dinosaurs' old roommates, the archosaurs.

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?

Tortoise
Tuck and Outlast
Crocodile
Death-Roll Remix

Tortoise

Tuck and Outlast

They pull in.

Crocodile

Death-Roll Remix

If it grabs you, it spins.

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: Tortoise 0 · Crocodile 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

FWOOSH!

THEY MEET

Crocodile runs first. Tortoise does not race. They wait in river country.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

KICK!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Crocodile is heavier. Tortoise uses beak ram. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

STOOMP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Tortoise tries the Tuck and Outlast. Crocodile tries the Death-Roll Remix. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Crocodile!

A STOMP

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

On river country, Crocodile wins. Crocodile likes river country more. Tortoise 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: Tortoise 0 · Crocodile 8.

Your card: Tortoise 0 · Crocodile 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 · Tortoise

Armor, patience, and a very committed walk.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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