r/whowouldwin • u/Nicktheman15469 • 1d ago
Battle Just got in a heated argument over this. 1,000,000 penguins versus 100,000 eagles.
The whole battle takes place in an empty void, no weapons, and starvation can't happen.
I still firmly believe the eagles would win.
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u/freshly-stabbed 1d ago
Average weight of an Eagle is 245lb. Average weight of a Penguin is 198lb.
If the Eagles keep their helmets that would help them a little. But even without their sticks, there’s really no way that ten Penguins are going to lose to one Eagle.
Pittsburgh takes this pretty easily.
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u/EmptyOhNein 1d ago
I just googled how heavy eagles are thinking there is no way they're 245 lbs. You got me.
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u/JigglesTheBiggles 1d ago
For some reason I thought that was normal, but was confused at the 198 lbs penguins.
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u/bandti45 11h ago
You're probably thinking about emperor penguins or other big ones that are more common in movies. But there are much smaller species that even it out.
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u/Aggravating-Try1222 1d ago
Go birds!
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u/Wet_FriedChicken 4h ago edited 1h ago
You said this with such confidence that I had to go debunk it, no matter how absurd I knew it was lmao. 6.6-13.9lbs for those wondering.
edit: I am an idiot
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u/freshly-stabbed 3h ago
Nah. If we can’t laugh at ourselves sometimes, what are we even doing here lol.
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u/SnooWorlds 1d ago
what the fuck kind of eagle is 245lb? heaviest eagle is steller’s sea eagle which weighs between 12 to 22 lbs
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u/cream_scepter69 1d ago
the joke is that he's talking about sports players lol
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u/itisburgers 1d ago
It's a sports reference Penguins are a hockey team, eagles are a football team
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u/SnooWorlds 1d ago
yeah i feel dumb now lol
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u/itisburgers 23h ago
This isn't a subreddit for the athletically inclined (Peak Mike Tyson intensifies) so it's not dumb for it to be on the front of your mind when reading a post here.
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u/cream_scepter69 1d ago
>in an empty void
so no ground? no light? no air??
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u/Nicktheman15469 1d ago
there is ground, light, and air
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1d ago edited 1d ago
[deleted]
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u/PicturesquePremortal 21h ago
We also need to know the species of eagle. The smallest eagle, the South Nicobar serpent eagle, only weighs about 450 grams (1 pound). While the largest eagle, the Steller's sea eagle, weighs 5-9 kg (11-20 pounds) and has an 8 foot wingspan. Or a Harpy eagle which is slightly smaller but has the largest feet and talons of any eagle. Either large eagle can only carry up to 20 pounds, but most likely can't lift that much, just glide downward.
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u/MartMillz 18h ago
Think it's fair to assume bald eagle here.
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u/TanmanJack 13h ago
I dont think so. Bald Eagles are northern hemisphere only, penguins are southern hemisphere only. They are the least likely eagle to have a disagreement with a penguin.
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u/UnknowingCarrot69 5h ago
I don’t think any of this is likely to happen. It’s a million penguins vs 100,000 eagles.
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u/Extension-Refuse-159 1d ago
That isn't very voidy.
So basically a Minecraft superflat world.
An eagle can just fly off with a penguin, kill it, come back, repeat. Sure the occasional penguin will hurt an eagle, but on average an eagle (which doesn't tire or get hungry) will definitely handle ten penguins (regardless if their lack of tiredness or hunger)
Eagles can fly, penguins cannot. I realise that's probably totally new information (/s), but it's quite a fundamental difference.
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u/BrightNooblar 1d ago
Fly off with a penguin? How many eagles do you think it would take to lift a penguin?
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u/zach0011 1d ago
I've seen videos of eagles lifting goats and throwing them off mountains
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u/Hoopaboi 21h ago
They don't even lift goats though. The goats are standing high up on a thin rocky ledge, and the eagle pulls it off by the horn and it falls to its death.
That is hardly lifting.
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u/Conscious_Sport_7081 17h ago
Check out this video from this search, eagle lifts goat https://share.google/CEvpYOizfIqdEs4Je
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u/Hoopaboi 10h ago
That was a kid, much lighter than a fully grown goat
Not lifting. It grabbed the goat and glided with it for a bit, probably dropping it later
The penguins here are assumed to be standing on flat ground, so no lifting.
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u/BrightNooblar 1d ago
Battle takes place in a flat void, per the OPs ruleset. Much harder to fly with something high enough up to drop it, than just knock it off balance.
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u/Kiyohara 1d ago
After watching Eagly fuck up a commando team in Peacemaker last night, I'm going with the Eagle.
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u/ExpressCeiling98332 1d ago
Depending on the species of penguin, this probably ends up becoming a feeding frenzy for the eagles.
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/ExpressCeiling98332 1d ago
The species is nowhere mentioned. For all we know, it could be Adelie Penguins vs harpy Eagles.
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u/bassman314 19h ago
Adelie penguins are so depraved, original research was buried for a 100 years….
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u/ExpressCeiling98332 19h ago
Sadly I know....
But this isn't mating season, and harpy eagles aren't penguins.
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u/Sa_Elart 23h ago
They are called emperors for a reason must be strong and dominating. Full of authority
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u/Shifty377 1d ago edited 1d ago
Need to know the species involved to have any meaningful opinion.
King and emperor penguins would be heavier than any eagle species. An emperor penguin would have 10x the numbers and 10x the weight on most eagles. Fairy penguins, on the otherhand, are tiny.
Unless we're talking about the smaller penguin species and the heavier eagles, it's likely penguins take this most times. Anyone who thinks a penguin is defenceless needs to watch more Attenborough. One peck to the head of an eagle from a heavier penguin might be all it takes.
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u/Im_a_rahtard 1d ago
Penguins can't fly. And eagles are actual predators. This is a stomp.
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u/Senshado 1d ago
Penguins are predators... Their entire diet is fresh caugh animals, no plants or carrion.
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u/Lost_city 23h ago
When I was a kid, I made a trip to the zoo. A chipmunk got into the penguin exhibit. It lasted about 2 seconds before a penguin casually bit its head off.
Penguins are tougher than they look.
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u/Im_a_rahtard 1d ago
Fair enough. But they're still not doing anything to an eagle.
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u/VediusPollio 1d ago
Eagles can only stay airborne for about 4 hours. If they're forced to land in the penguin mass, they could become overwhelmed.
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u/Useful-ldiot 1d ago
I have zero doubt in my mind that an eagle would easily kill 10 penguins in a 4 hour span.
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u/N0_PR0BLEM 1d ago
Especially if we’re talking bloodlusted, it’s eagles and it’s not even close.
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u/Im_a_rahtard 1d ago
And even then they'll still have razor sharp talons and beaks made for tearing through flesh
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u/ChoppaSnatcha 1d ago
Sheer weight of the penguins mass and arctic fat might be enough with the numbers. It's 10 kills per deaths at least, penguins huddle eagles are solitary. They arnt aggressive by nature but with no other option or favourable odds they might swamp em
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u/Im_a_rahtard 1d ago
There's a lot of mental gymnastics going on here just to give penguins a fighting chance
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u/VediusPollio 1d ago
I happen to work indirectly with a couple eagles. Tough SOBs. They might win, but I wouldn't discount the penguins entirely, especially if we assume they're bloodlusted.
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u/captainofpizza 1d ago
In 4 hours an eagle can go a hundred miles and get multiple days of rest before it has to fight again. It can see for miles too. Penguins will never get the jump on the eagle but the eagles can fly in an attack fresh whenever they want.
This is going to be a long fight but it’s just going to be weeks or months of eagles attacking a smaller and smaller huddle of terrified penguins- even shorter if they decide to break up and try to chase down eagles.
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u/cream_scepter69 1d ago
They can swim, probably a lot better than eagles, but water isn't a factor in OP's scenario so. (shrugs)
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u/Extension-Refuse-159 1d ago
Probably?
The semi aquatic flightless bird that feeds exclusively on fresh caught fish can probably out swim an eagle?
I feel you're on safe ground there, and I don't feel the need for a citation.
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u/SixPackSocrates 1d ago
OP did not specify species for the eagles and the penguins, which is important to consider here. But also, as someone who had worked with a fair amount of eagles, and also has worked with people who regularly work with penguins, I'm inclined to disagree.
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u/Walnut25993 1d ago
Only 10 penguins per eagle? Easy eagle W. The penguins don’t even really have any offensive ability
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u/CactusWrenAZ 1d ago
No so fast, penguins can peck at your eyes with their beaks. I've seen them do it to gigantic seals. The question is if the penguins are smart enough to adjust to something swooping down on them.
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u/Silverr_Duck 20h ago
Seals can’t fly and don’t have talons. Gonna be pretty hard to get at the eyes.
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u/CactusWrenAZ 20h ago
The eagles don't have guns, they gotta get in range if they're going to get the penguin.
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u/Shifty377 1d ago
They've got sharp, strong beaks and the biggest species would have several times the weight of any eagle species.
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u/Duke-_-Jukem 1d ago
You ever seen inside a penguins mouth? Also I bet they could slap ya pretty hard with those fins haha
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u/LurkersUniteAgain 1d ago
do they have the brainpower to actually hit something as fast as an eagle though?
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u/Duke-_-Jukem 1d ago
I mean fish are pretty quick right?
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u/SimplePotato257 1d ago edited 1d ago
This wildly depends on the species of penguin. as penguin size varies much more than eagles. Smaller penguins such as the little blues would fare very poorly resulting in a stomp for the eagles. On the other hand, larger penguins like king or emperor penguins would be much more capable of both surviving and combating eagles.
My proposal for the best penguin in this scenario would be the Kumimanu which is the largest known penguin at around 5.8 ft in height and weighing in around 223 lbs. That would give the penguins the most swinging weight and make it more difficult for the eagles to take them out while improving their chances in combat.
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u/Mountain-Fennel1189 17h ago
The Kumimamu is extinct, I don’t think it’s really fair to go through and find the single most powerful species.
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u/StuckEden 20h ago
Emperor penguins are like 45kg, I guess five times heavier than the biggest eagle. The penguins also have thick fat layers for defense. If they hurdle together an eagle may have a hard time lifting them up or getting a fatal blow.
Then when an eagle gets tired from flying and attacking, it can only land on the ground (no perches in "void"). If the void is not that big, it may get surrounded and crushed by heavy penguins with beaks which are actually pretty strong. So for big penguins I guess it can be a dragged out victory.
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u/Low-Message9305 1d ago
You would be incorrect. Fish hunting birds have horribly sharp beaks. I once saw a bald eagle, 6' wingspan at least, swoop down and get in a fight with a heron. The heron, to my surprise, thrust its beak straight through the wing and sent the eagle flapping off before it fell back into the river and -I presume- eventually died.
Now, the heron was royally fucked up, don't get me wrong. One of his eyes was dangling out and he was probably going to die eventually, too. In fact, he was so rattled that he walked to the shore and sat 3 feet to the left of me (I was on the pier). He didn't even care that I was there. But man, I didn't expect him to fare that well against a bird 3 times his size!
Now imagine a bird standing much taller, is much stronger, and with a beak that's sharper and longer. Even 1-on-1, this goes to the penguin. But 1 million vs 100,000? No contest.
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u/PhoneRedit 10h ago
Penguins and herons hunt completely differently though - like the heron is specifically designed for that stabbing motion with it's wound up neck and spear like beak. Penguins don't spear their prey they catch the fish in their mouths with their weird toothy things.
They're designed completely differently for different hunting strategies, but I can say for sure that penguins definitely don't have sharper or longer beaks than herons though.
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u/Holy-Crap-Uncle 1d ago
Emperor Penguins are 50-100lbs.
Eagles are like 10-20lbs
The size difference is substantial, the speed advantage and talons of the eagles is prohibitive.
If a penguins get a bite on an eagle, it's lights out for the eagle, that's just too big of a size advantage.
Penguins are also herd creatures. So the eagles are divebombing into a tight formation of creatures that are much larger than them.
The more numerous you make the number of penguins the more reduced space for the eagles to fly free.
I don't think the eagles win. I'm going penguins.
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u/BlatantArtifice 1d ago
That's kinda where I was leaning, I don't think an eagle could even take on 10 penguins stamina wise with that weight difference. It wouldn't be pretty but I think the penguins win by attrition, they fuck up pretty decently sized fish well enough so I could see them mauling an eagle
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u/SimplePotato257 1d ago
If we go with the largest penguins ever recorded we can go with 220 lb, 5.8 foot tall penguins (Kumimanus). I think those penguins got this handled.
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u/Useful-ldiot 1d ago
To counter that, a steller or harpy eagle with its 8 foot wingspan and 4 inch talons are pretty formidable.
Add in that they can fly...
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u/Hoopaboi 21h ago
Those eagles also weigh at around 20 lbs. Still greatly outmassed by the penguin.
4 inch talons don't really mean anything as they're mostly meant for grabbing, not stabbing. If they grab at all the penguins easily get the advantage. They're not getting anywhere near those 4 inches inside the penguin.
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u/Mrs_Crii 23h ago
Some penguins are much smaller, though, so this depends heavily on what kind of penguin we're talking about. The smaller penguins have no chance.
As for the herd thing, predators know to go after stragglers at the edge of the herd. The herd isn't as big of an advantage as you think.
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u/Xanderajax3 22h ago edited 22h ago
Penguin- An eagle coming up against a full, grown, 200lb kumimanu penguin with his 999,999 friends. You lose that battle. you lose that battle nine times out of ten. And guess what, you wandered into our rookery of penguins and we now have a taste of blood! We’ve talked to ourselves. We’ve communicated and said, ‘you know what? Eagle tastes good. Lets go get some more eagle’ We’ve developed a system, to establish a airbase and aggressively hunt you and your family. And we will corner your, your nest, your eggs, your hatchlings…”
Eagle – “How ya gonna to do that?”
Penguin – “We will construct a fleet of flying apparatus with fish bones and scales. We will be able to achieve a certain amount of flight. Its not going to be hours at a time, an minute, minute 45. No problem. That will give us enough time to figure out where you live, go back to rest, get more penguins and then stalk you. You just lost at your own game. You are out gunned and outmanned.
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u/Hoopaboi 21h ago
Penguins stomp even if they were outnumbered by eagles. The biggest eagle species is 20 lbs, biggest penguin over 200 lbs. Smallest eagle is like 450 grams, smallest penguin around 5 lbs.
Eagles have no way of attacking either. They only hunt prey much smaller than themselves if we're discounting pushing goats off mountain ledges, which is a highly environmental situation.
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u/Uneasy_Half-Literate 1d ago
If it’s emperor penguins. Easy penguin win. Not even close. Unless it’s those eagles that Gandalf calls.
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u/jainalk 20h ago
Can each eagle massacre ten penguins? In my mind, the eagle starts to grab and crush a penguins throat or head. Then four or five other penguins body slam and peck at the eagle. The eagle tries to tear two or three more penguin throats before being body slammed and pecked by yet another three or four penguins. Mismatch in numbers, 1 mil penguins defeat 100k eagles.
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u/BBQeanu_Ribs 1d ago
I don't think eagles can fly in a void, so it would be a ground massacre for the penguins overwhelming the eagles 10 v 1
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u/Prior_Confidence4445 1d ago
Aren't some penguins much bigger than others? Seems like you should have specified specific species.
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u/Timmytanks40 1d ago
All eagles have a preset kill limit. Once they reach that it's smooth sailing.
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u/forlaine 1d ago
Eagles. They can fly, have very sharp beaks and talons. Penguins are very clumsy walkers and can’t fly.
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u/_TheBgrey 1d ago
I'll go with Stalemate. Eagles only kill to eat and if they can't starve they won't hunt, even if they did need to hunt a single penguin would sustain multiple eagles for days. Eventually the penguin's will outbreed the eagle's and they'll enter a neutral balance coexistence
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u/No-Annual-7276 1d ago
Empty void?? The penguins.. just fall? Jk, eagles would win as long as they dont try to just brute force them on the ground. Idk much about eagles but I feel like as long as they just do mass murder from the sky they'd be fine.
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u/ChipotleMayoFusion 1d ago
If the Eagles have enough room to fly away and rest, they win this eventually. If this void is like 100km, I don't think the Penguins are able to hunt down the Eagles quickly enough.
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u/Lanracie 1d ago
What is the atmosphere here? If its closer to water Penguins win, if its closer to air then eagles win.
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u/Nuclear_Armadildo 1d ago
Penguins undoubtedly.
I was initially voting eagle but the void thing fucks them. No perch, no chance for rest. They're fucked. They have the weight disadvantage and for a proper take down they'll need to be on the ground where they'll get fucked. Will some penguins get blinded? Yes. Will some get maimed and suffer? Yes. Will some die from. Their injuries? Yes. Is it enough for 1 eagle to kill 10 penguins? No.
The void creates a war of attrition for the birds, and the penguins are well stocked.
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u/ReleaseCharacter3568 22h ago
I would deadass give it to the penguins if the numbers were 1 to 1. Humans can do whatever to birdwhales because they have no evolutionary context for medium-sized terrestrial mammals. These 100 pound blubberballs with razor-sharp beaks absolutely know how to respond to large, aggressive birds. The local aerial predators know to only target chicks.
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u/Medical_Boss_6247 1d ago
“Penguins” vs “eagles”
I’ll be the annoying one. There are 18 different species of penguins and 68 different species of eagles. This question is lacking enough context to give an answer
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u/Gogrian 23h ago
what the hell does a void even mean ? space ? they all die in a stalemate. floating ? idk penguins float in water n outnumber eagles 10/1 so probably penguins, on an infinite flat plane probably eagles ? penguins cant really do much to them in the aur but if an eagle gets caught on the ground maybe the penguins will stomp it or peck at it or something
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u/Positive_Chip6198 23h ago
Eagles, penguins with go orgy-nuts. Eagles will just snack leisurely as they feel like.
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u/Mrs_Crii 23h ago
This depends on whether we're talking Emperor Penguins or one of the smaller ones. Smaller ones Eagles obliterate. Emperor Penguins win.
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u/Mr_Lobster 22h ago
What kind of penguins and what kind of eagles? Chinstrap penguins can get bodied by golden eagles, but emperor penguins would probably have a decent match-up against a lesser fish eagle.
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u/Ok-Resort2364 22h ago
It's obvious that eagles win. Look up their size, claws and their hunting habits.
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u/DARYL_VAN_H0RNE 21h ago
wtf are penguins gonna do to a fuckin eagle? it would just a take a while to shred em up with those talons and beak
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u/BrooklynWhey 20h ago
So 1 Eagle to 10 Penguins? What can penguins do to an eagle exactly? Is there an ocean in this void?
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u/Falsus 20h ago
If the eagles have no place to perch and rest for a bit they will lose eventually because they will get tired, land or crash and then get killed by the eagles.
Besides, Penguins fights of large birds of prey from their on the regular. And the biggest penguins would be way bigger than the eagles.
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u/monkey_trumpets 20h ago
The only way penguins would possibly have a chance would be if they could escape underwater, but if it's a void with nothing in it then they would lose. Of course, if it's truly a void then there also would be no air, so..... they'd both lose.
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u/IntroductionProud532 20h ago
The eagles can fly...wtf would even a billion penguins do? Breed faster than they can be killed?
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u/Cool-Airline-9172 19h ago
The eagles can't fly forever, and there is nowhere safe for them to land and rest.
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u/REXIS_AGECKO 19h ago
I think if the eagles use hit and run tactics, they can eventually wear down the penguins. They already instinctually try to snatch fish and stuff out of the water so I could see them taking lots of scratches at a penguin
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u/mothknight 19h ago
People are way underestimating penguins. Basically calling them defenseless. They're animals if they were defenseless they would be extinct. They're bigger than eagles and outbumber them. When an eagle attempts to swoop down and attack it'd get mobbed before it manages to kill one penguin.
Like imagine if it was about 1 guy with a knives versus 10 big guys twice his weight. People would point out the weight difference all day long. Yeah eagles can fly but unless they can manage to dive into a crowd of penguins and escape without getting harmed it's going to die within a couple passes.
And the prompt isn't even 10 vs 1 its 1 mil vs 100k. So chances are 1 eagle is only maybe taking out 1 penguin max per 10 penguins, then the next eagle will be dealing with 19 penguins and so on. Penguins win
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u/deathnomX 19h ago
Its gotta be eagles right? Eagles can just attack from the skies with their talons. Penguins could go in the water, but eventually would need to surface which makes them vulnerable. Eagles would also eventually have to land, but they could just land far enough away that penguins wouldn't be able to swim/waddle fast enough to catch up.
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u/Easy_Kill 19h ago
It all depends on how close the penguins are clustered. An Eagle can carry anywhere between 16,000 and 24,500lbs. Even at the lower end, 16,000lbs of cluster munitions could absolutely destroy large numbers of penguins.
A standard CBU-87 contains 202 submunitions, and can cover an area approximately 28km². Each submunition can be lethal to soft targets in a ~150m radius. With proper spacing, a single Eagle could cover an absurd area, around 224km², allowing for 50% overlap in munitions.
Lets assume each penguin, valuing its personal space, takes up 1m² of real estate. We can cover roughly 1000km² with penguins. This would require a meager 5 sorties from Eagles to saturate the entire flock with shrapnel from the CBU-87's, even accouting for a higher than normal 10% dud rate.
This leaves 99,500 Eagles to provide top cover with a range of AIM-120 AMRAAMs and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, and to support the ground attack with cannon runs.
Against this, the penguins have no defense. I give this to the Eagles.
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u/PoweredByCoffee5000 18h ago
I had a pet Golden Eagle on the farm (my gramps shot it out of the sky when it was hunting for our chickens. He felt pity for him, since it survived the fall and had a broken wing. - Miraculously to say from the double barrel birdshot).
Aside from the fact that we kept it locked in the barn, while nursing it's wing (it had maggots in it and had to be realigned with improv cast and clean dressed/sanitized)..... needless to say that thing was massive. Not just in the sheer size (I was about 8 or 9 back then) but its razor-sharp talons that looked like they could easily pick up and snatch anything that was 4 or 2-legged living outside of its barn (ducks, chickens, some goats, and sheep. Further down it was pigs barn). When I fed it, my gramps always made me wear some thick industrial mittens and oh boy can I tell you, the eagles beak definitely was felt when one time it bit my finger by accident.
Obviously penguins come in different sizes, but most of them just run away and tend to be very skittish. Eagles are armed with lethal weapons, however it will take them a whe to go through all of them.
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u/treple13 18h ago
What are the laws of physics in this empty void? Can the eagles fly as if it were air? Can the penguins swim like in water?
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u/Bobapool79 17h ago
Eagles still have air superiority. They can attack from the sky without the penguins being able to do much about it.
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u/petklutz 17h ago
100,000 seconds is ~28 hours. 1,000,000 seconds is more than 11.5 days.
I think even if the penguins landed not one kill against the eagles, they would simply outlive the eagles before the eagles could kill them all. I mean, each eagle would have to kill 1,000 penguins. And what species are we talking about? If we assume the most charismatic of each, bald eagle and emperor penguin, like... wtf are we even doing here? Emperor penguins can weigh nearly as much as a person.
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u/Oso_the-Bear 17h ago
I agree. A cow is larger than a lion, but 10 lions will eat for weeks off 100 cows yum yum
and that metaphor doesn't even take into account the power of flight
so anyway I say this would be similarly one sided in favor of the eagles
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u/Cogitatus 17h ago
A lot of variables here. Like others pointed out, the species of both the eagles and penguins matters a lot and would be the deciding factor.
With what information, I am assuming you mean the most (arguably) iconic penguin, the emperor penguin, vs the most (arguably) iconic eagle, the bald eagle.
Flight is a major factor, of course. But so are numbers. And on top of that, emperor penguins are fucking massive. Each swoop an eagle makes on a penguin puts them at risk at a retaliation shot from a bird that's like at least 5 times bigger than them. They can for sure take down at least some of the penguins, but many will likely be able to tank the attacks or, in the scenario, possibly not even be attacked by an eagle before they have to land.
By the time the eagles get tired and need to rest, it's over. The eagles' one advantage is gone and the penguins swarm them.
You mention this takes place in a void, but I assume you mean basically a flat open area. The outcome becomes very different though if you give the eagles a high point to roost, but I don't think you implied that. If it were the case though I only see it fair to also include a body of water, which would make this entirely within the penguin's favor.
Of course different species means different outcomes. I'd still bet on the biggest eagle vs biggest penguins though, since that's still just a huge size gap.
However, If I may propose two species I think would be an interesting matchup: adelie penguins vs golden eagles.
Adelie penguins are about the same size as golden eagles, which means that they can be carried off by them. The eagles would very much be a threat, but the adelies still have numbers and the eagles may be able to kill about 10 each before they need to land.
Adelies though are funny little birds and spunky. They will pick fights with sled dogs (and unfortunately lose), so they will probably not be shy about fighting back. An eagle that swoops in for one adelie may instill enough aggro from nearby adelies for multiple to take the opportunity to try pecking at the eagle. If two or three penguins manage to catch the eagle, it will be grounded. If this were a 1:1 situation, this wouldn't be common I think. But they outnumber eagles 10 to 1, so I believe that makes an attack far riskier. Still, golden eagles have the huge advantage of flight and are properly equipped to be a predator above the water. Close call, I think. But I'll still side with the adelies if just purely for the fact that they outnumber them so greatly and are stubborn. I'm much more willing to believe the eagles would win nonetheless.
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u/CitizenPremier 15h ago
Are these emperor penguins? An emperor penguin can weigh almost 40kg. Ten of those would not be defeated by one eagle.
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u/Sekh765 13h ago
Was a falconer for a number of years. Eagles get obliterated. The method of killing something the size of a penguin is grab, crush and suffocate. That's how most birds of prey actually kill. Impact stuns the prey, talons grab and crush the life out of it. In this situation an eagles method of killing leaves it vulnerable to being mobbed. It's not going to cause serious enough damage to kill through just a quick slash (which BoPs don't even do), so either they kill one and get mobbed or they fly around until exhausted, and then get mobbed. This is a 10/10 sweep for penguins who can just sit and wait, fully rested.
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u/Melodic_Plate 10h ago
Is it the Philippine harpy eagle?(look it up) Because those birds disguised as furries are literally gonna eat those penguins
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u/JeffrotheDude 9h ago
Yall really have no faith in creatures that have to deal with some of the most intelligent ocean predators like orcas. Penguins 100% could beat the eagles
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u/Walnut25993 8h ago
Are they known for having vital organs 3+ inches deep into their body?
I mean, the average radius of an emperor penguin’s torso is about 8 inches. Their hearts are about 2 inches in diameter. So unless the heart is directly in the center of their bodies, that right there is at least one vital organ likely within talon range.
Then we can acknowledge that the eagle doesn’t need to hit a vital organ to kill them. They can just cause them to bleed out
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u/thrashmetaloctopus 8h ago
Well yeah no shit, Penguins are specialised aquatic predators, this is the same shit as ‘1,000,000 sharks vs 100,000 lions’ no shit will the lions win in a void, they’re still at an advantage because they aren’t hyper specialised to one environment
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u/the_glutton17 7h ago
Why not just say ten to one? Why do some of you guys scale these up to ridiculous numbers? And shouldn't there also be some arbitrary prize money? Like, "if you were given $1,000,000, could 1,000,000 penguins beat 100,000 eagles?".
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u/awaythrowthatname 1h ago
Depends on the species obviously. A golden eagle can pick up a d fly away with a small deer
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u/JournalistMammoth637 11m ago
I mean the penguins do have the eagles 10 to 1. Even if the eagles play it safe and just grab a penguin and drop it I feel like the penguins are going to win just off of sheer numbers.
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u/Roam1985 1d ago
The penguins only outnumber the eagles 10 to 1, but the Eagles can fly.
It's in an empty void..... they both suffocate and no one wins.
It's in an empty void with air..... Is it an arctic void or is it a temperate void?
If it is a temperate void, Eagles win.
If it is an arctic temperature void, Eagles still win, they're insulated from cold alone.
If it is an arctic void with weather effects beyond temperature: Now the penguins win. Eagles get ice on their wings and will lose the flight advantage, and now they're outnumbered 10 to 1.
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u/Weewoofiatruck 1d ago
In an empty void? They all float with zero propulsion. This is torture since they can't move or starve.
Dear God.......
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u/Kiyohara 1d ago
In what way can the penguin even injure the Eagle? Hit it with a flipper?
Eagles have talons and sharp beaks. while penguins have dull beaks (and horror mouths, but that's the inside of their maw), can't fly, and waddle like drunken businessmen. I've seen them bite a human. You know what happens? The human goes, "ouch!" and shoos the penguin away. I've also seen a golden eagle slam into a goat on National Geographic. The goat did not survive.
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u/Low-Message9305 1d ago
Penguins are definitely known to defend themselves from predators, and those beaks are DEADLY! I once saw a heron kill a 6' bald eagle, and they don't hunt other birds, either!
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u/DevilPixelation 1d ago
The eagles have every advantage here. Unless the eagles fumble when they swoop down to attack, there’s no way the penguins can hurt their opponents. Eagles are larger, can fly, have sharp talons, and have experience as avian predators.
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u/Shifty377 1d ago
Emperor penguins are several times larger than the largest species of eagle.
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u/captainofpizza 1d ago edited 1d ago
What would even 1000 penguins do against a single eagle?
They can’t reach it, it can swoop and snatch them at 80mph and they have no means of counterattack. Unless it’s a closed environment where the eagle will run out of stamina and be swarmed when it lands this is a stomp, which it isnt.
Put an eagle on an island with nothing to eat but 1000 penguins and the eagle will run out of penguins eventually. I don’t see an eagle EVER getting trashed by any number of penguins unless it’s forced to land among them.
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u/SenorPoontang 1d ago
Eagle will exhaust itself incredibly fast. Flying is energy intensive, let alone fighting something at least 2-4x your size.
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u/captainofpizza 1d ago edited 1d ago
I’ve seen an eagle kill an 60lb sheep by knocking it down repeatedly until it caught a deep enough spot on the neck to kill it. Sheep are way more durable and heavier than an average penguin unless you cherry pick for the largest varieties.
The prompt now says it takes place in a void with no starvation. Eagle can leave after a kill or 2 and come back. Penguins walk 2mph and the eagle can see for miles and fly hundreds of miles. The penguins will never get the jump on it and have no way to ground it.
That decides it imo. This is a bunch of guys on mopeds vs an attack helicopter.
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u/SenorPoontang 1d ago
Have you seen it kill 10 sheep and not tire? If the eagle is intelligent enough to use guerilla tactics why aren't the penguins intelligent enough to form a phalanx with their beaks?
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u/captainofpizza 1d ago edited 23h ago
Because an eagle naturally uses hit and run tactics and avoids ground combat with opponents irl. It will never be forced to fight outside its preferred engagement in this matchup. Why would it ever tire when it can fly DAYS of penguin walking easily. Full rests whenever it tires. Multiple days if it wants then reengage the penguins whenever it wants.
Do penguins naturally engage in phalanxes to take down predators? Penguins will not be able to grab the eagle swooping and do not do things in nature like link arms and form phalanxes.
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u/SenorPoontang 22h ago
They huddle for protection. Not sure how an eagle could even see to target one of them in a throng, much less knock them over. If it hit them from the side it's more likely to just crumple against the sheer mass of the throng.
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u/Madus4 1d ago
Because penguins and eagles are so well known for their usage of weapons in the first place.