March Mammal Madness

By Marissa Yost 

Every year, certain classes of Dalat participate in a worldwide – though little known – event called March Mammal Madness, named partly after the college basketball NCAA March Madness.

March Mammal Madness places two different animals (not always mammals, contrary to the deceptive title) against each other in battle. The result is simulated based on both scientific research and situational chance. Winners continue, and losers are eliminated until the final animals battle it out for the championship.

There are four categories of animals competing. The first is Mammal Collectives, where individuals from the same species work together to win. These groups, as students have found, can have humorous names, such as an embarrassment of pandas. The second category is Wild North America, which features fearsome animals like the grizzly bear. The third is Queens of Sea and Sky, which includes animals where the females of the species are bigger or in some other way superior to the males. One such competitor is the beautiful blanket octopus. Finally, there is the Why Not Both category, where the organism contains several unique traits. One example of this is the spotted salamander, the only vertebrate capable of photosynthesis, which is possible through a symbiotic relationship with green algae at the cellular level.

This year, every individual in Biology, AP Biology, and seventh grade gets to fill out their predictions of who will win. Each student also researches one randomly assigned animal or group of animals, creating a slide that describes the defense mechanisms, physical characteristics, and temperament so that they can make educated predictions on who will win each match. “My animals are doomed,” biology student Keiryn Sandahl (grade 11) predicts mournfully. “I have the labor of moles, and the thing about moles is that they cannot dig in arid soil. Since they’re being dropped right into the savannah, they have absolutely no protection against the pride of lionesses!”

Since everyone makes one slide, every student can take time to peruse through the slides, getting to know each competitor’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as their peculiarities. Upon being asked which animal they thought was the ugliest, seventh graders Ashley Khoo and Samuel Yeoh instantly replied, “the hairy frog,” while Halle Yost (grade 7) argued that the hagfish is the most repulsive. All had different thoughts on which animal would be the ultimate winner.

March Mammal Madness is academically beneficial, for it is a way for biology students to learn about probability and the benefits and practicality of research. Even more than that, though, it offers students an exciting way to learn about the beautiful world and the fantastic creativity of its Maker.