WHO WILL WIN?
Walrus
BELLOW-OONG
Alligator
BELLOW-CHOMP
THE SETUP

Walrus vs Alligator

Walrus
Walrus
Alligator
Alligator

Pretend a walrus and a alligator meet in the ice. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

Almost never. Their homes sit next to each other.

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

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.

Corner B

Alligator

Alligator mississippiensis · A living log with a U-shaped grin.

Alligator
Home
American swamps · Lives in North America
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Alligator is big.

Ambush from the float.

Night river hunter.

Looks like a log with a secret.

  • Alligator is big and not very fast.
  • Fish, turtles, birds, mammals — swamp buffet, all you can chomp.
  • Freshwater marshes and slow rivers.

Family: Crocodiles and caimans.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

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

1.70 m

Grown-up

1.20 m

Walrus to scale

Walrus

0.50 m

Alligator to scale

Alligator

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

Walrus900 kg

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

Alligator360 kg

Can stretch as long as a small car.

Walrus

1.20 m · 900 kg

Walrus is big. 900 kg.

Alligator

0.50 m · 360 kg

Alligator is big. 360 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: Ivory ice picks
  • Armor: Blubber fortress
  • Senses: Whiskers find shellfish in the dark.

Walrus · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Trapdoor jaws
  • Armor: Osteoderm jacket
  • Senses: Night river hunter.

Alligator · labeled field diagram

Walrus300 psi bite
Alligator3000 psi bite

Walrus

Ivory ice picks

Tool: ivory ice picks. Bite: 300 psi.

Alligator

Trapdoor jaws

Tool: trapdoor jaws. Bite: 3,000 psi.

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

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Walrus
20 km/h
Alligator
24 km/h
Walrus20 km/h
Alligator24 km/h

Walrus

20 km/h

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

Alligator

24 km/h

Alligator can go 24 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 ice. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
WalrusAlligatorBoth

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

Walrus

This is home · Lives in North America / Asia / Europe

Walrus lives in places like the ice.

Alligator

Wrong place · Lives in North America

Alligator's home is the american swamps, not the ice.

Almost never. Their homes sit next to each other.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Walrus
Meat · Clam vacuum with tusks for ice and arguments.
Alligator
Meat · Ambush from the float.

Walrus

Meat · Clam vacuum with tusks for ice and arguments.

Clams, mostly.

Alligator

Meat · Ambush from the float.

Fish, turtles, birds, mammals — swamp buffet, all you can chomp.

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.

Walrus
Lives in a big group
Alligator
Lives alone
Walrus7 grit /10
Alligator7 grit /10

Walrus

Lives in a big group

A tusked sofa that does not like being shoved. Grit: 7/10.

Alligator

Lives alone

Looks like a log with a secret. 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?

Walrus
5/10
Alligator
4/10
Walrus5 brains /10
Alligator4 brains /10

Walrus

5/10

Whiskers find shellfish in the dark.

Alligator

4/10

Night river hunter.

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

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Walrus
Odobenus rosmarus
Alligator
Alligator mississippiensis

Walrus

Odobenus rosmarus

Seals and sea lions.

Alligator

Alligator mississippiensis

Crocodiles and caimans.

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?

Walrus
Tusk-Hook Haul
Alligator
Gator-Gap Lunge

Walrus

Tusk-Hook Haul

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

Alligator

Gator-Gap Lunge

They wait like a stick.

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: Walrus 0 · Alligator 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

WHAM!

THEY MEET

Alligator runs first. Walrus does not race. They wait in the ice.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

WHOOSH!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Walrus is heavier. Alligator uses trapdoor jaws. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

ZING!

SPECIAL MOVES

Walrus tries the Tusk-Hook Haul. Alligator tries the Gator-Gap Lunge. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Walrus!

A STOMP · UNDERDOG

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

On the ice, Walrus wins. Walrus likes the ice more. Alligator 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: Walrus 3 · Alligator 5.

Your card: Walrus 0 · Alligator 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 · Alligator

Log? Nope. Champ.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

1/17 · scroll