Introduction 6 STRONGEST Elephant Ant 8 VS EXTREME-LY STRONG ANIMALS 12 CUTEST Pygmy Marmoset Emperor Penguin 14 VS EXTREME-LY CUTE ANIMALS 18 SMARTEST Chimpanzee American Crow 20 VS CREEPIEST Deep-Sea Anglerfish Whip Spider 24 VS EXTREME-LY CREEPY ANIMALS 28 GROUCHIEST Honey Badger Tasmanian Devil 30 VS TOUGHEST Water Bear Giant Tube Worm 34 VS EXTREME-LY TOUGH ANIMALS 38 MOST TALENTED Octopus Bowerbird 40 VS EXTREME-LY TALENTED ANIMALS 44 BIGGEST Blue Whale Argentinosaurus 46 VS PREHISTORIC BADDIE MOST PLAYFUL Japanese Macaque Rat 52 VS FASTEST Cheetah Peregrine Falcon 56 VS EXTREME-LY FAST ANIMALS 60 DEADLIEST Grizzly Bear Black Mamba 62 VS EXTREME-LY DEADLY ANIMALS 66 WEIRDEST Sponge Naked Mole Rat 68 VS EXTREME-LY WEIRD ANIMALS 72 LAZIEST Sloth Koala 74 VS PREHISTORIC BADDIE Quetzalcoatlus SuperCroc 78 VS LEVIATHANS FROM LONG AGO 82 BEST COMPANION Cat Dog 84 VS EXTREME-LY COOL CATS AND DOGS 88 ULTIMATE ANIMAL BRACKET 90 EXTREME-LY BIG ANIMAL FACTS 50 Index and Credits 92 CONTENTS
What if all of the winners in this book were to face off in a series of battles to DETERMINE THE ULTIMATE ANIMAL You’d have a bracket similar to those in sports tournaments only with animals instead of athletes Winners of each round advance to the next until just one creature remains the ultimate animal Because there’s an uneven number 15 of animals to start one gets what’s called a bye in sports It gets to skip the first tournament and start playing in the second In this case that lucky player is the winner of the Fastest smackdown whose speed would surely allow it to advance to the second round anyway Who do you think will win the title of Ultimate Animal and why Make your guesses then grab a parent and go online to natgeokids com animal-smackdown to print and fill out a bracket and then turn to the back of the book to see how it all shakes out LAZIEST 55
BEST PET MOST TALENTED HAVE YOU EVER IMAGINED TWO ANIMALS GOING TOE TO TOE TO DETERMINE WHO’S FASTEST DEADLIEST CLEVEREST OR CUTEST National Geographic Kids Animal Smackdown brings these matchups and more to life pitting supersize and pint-size present-day and prehistoric creatures against each other to see who would go home with the gold Think predicting a winner would be easy Think again Seemingly dull animals can have hidden talents small animals big abilities In a battle for strength could an ant best an elephant Would a dog or a cat claim the title for best pet Could a crow outsmart a chimp Find out who would take first place in these face-offs in the following pages STRONGEST 6 INTRODUCTION
