Can a hairy legged bee defeat a tiger in a battle? Will a rainbow scarab reign victorious against an opossum? Anything is possible in the annual March Madness tournament.

March Mammal Madness is a nation-wide tournament that organizes fights between 65 different animal species until one is victorious.

“It’s an annual simulated combat tournament answering the age-old question of who would win in a fight between 65 different interesting species from our wonderful world.  It is organized by a team of scientists and educators from all over the country, with support from Arizona State University,” John Collier, North Penn science teacher, explained.

Although this isn’t a North Penn sponsored event, for years students have enjoyed taking part in this event which harbors a sense of community amongst students in all grades.

“I loved doing March Mammal Madness last year,” Senior Lily Vogel shared. “I used to stay up all night waiting for the next round of the bracket to be released.”

Students can participate on their own or with other students at North Penn by filling out their own bracket.

“Students can fill out a digital bracket until March 11th at Noon.  After that, they can still fill out a paper bracket and follow along just for fun.  I will put some results in morning announcements, but for full results, you can stop by the huge bracket outside of C117,” Collier said.

March Mammal Madness is where fun and knowledge come together, teaching students about hundreds of different species throughout the years and their importance on our planet.

“We’ve identified over a million different species on Earth, and we estimate that many millions more to be discovered.  Learning about the amazing biodiversity that our planet has to offer helps students appreciate it, and hopefully want to protect it,” Collier said.

As the environmental science teacher and ENACT club adviser, Collier takes a huge role in organizing the tournament at North Penn High School. 

“We host the tournament every year, and if you’re taking environmental science, you get a front row seat to the hype, so talk to your counselor during course selection about taking either Environmental Science 5.0 or AP Environmental Science,” Collier exclaimed.

For more information, students can visit this website run by NPHS ENACT or email advisor John Collier at [email protected].