If a puma, a Ginkgo tree, and a narwhal all step into a ring, who’s winning the fight? March Mammal Madness comes as close as one can to answering this question; though the annual event doesn’t literally throw living creatures onto a boxing mat for a face-off, it offers statistic-based simulations paired with entertaining commentary by scientists and researchers, all while celebrating the biodiversity across the Tree of Life. Mr. John Collier, AP Environmental and Chemistry teacher, brings this celebration to North Penn High School. 

Created in 2013 by Arizona State University professor Katie Hinde, March Mammal Madness made its way to North Penn in 2021 when Collier heard about it from an AP Environmental Science teachers Facebook group. 

“I was always looking for the next cool thing to do, and that group provided a lot of those sorts of resources. It was just my perfect, nerdy kind of fun,” Collier said. 

The annual tournament is a string of simulated encounters and battles by every kind of species you could imagine, from cyanobacteria to the Southern Luzon Giant Cloud Rat. The interactions take into consideration real-life factors, such as predator-prey relationships, temperament, and habitat advantages, which are given to the higher seed combatant. Once the studies are lined up and the chances are determined, a random number generator is left with determining the fate. 

Results, once decided, are announced sports-announcer style through evidence-based play-by-plays, bringing humorous and entertaining storylines to studies of animal interactions. The events across the storyline even pass through the brackets, with aspects like injury or fatigue affecting a species’ future battle. 

The theme of 2025 is “Tree of Life,” fit to explore and celebrate evolution and diversity, and similar to actual March Madness, the 65 different species are broken up into four divisions. 2025’s divisions are “Same/Different,” species who experienced convergent evolution; “The Only Ones,” mammals who are the only species of their genus; “Roots and Relics,” species that have existed since ancient times; and “Tuxedo Style,” monochromatic species. 

Participants fill out brackets of the different species they believe will win and face off; for Collier’s classes, students are awarded points for correct predictions and can win a variety of prizes, such as March Mammal Madness branded merch, or themed prizes based on the different animals. 

“Last year was won by the great white shark, so I bought some different great white shark swag. You know, like sticker packs, and sometimes I’ll buy a stuffed animal, things like that. However, also last year, there was a very popular Wild Card animal: the Sparkle Muffin Peacock Spider, and I just so happened to stumble across some Sparkle Muffin merchandise online, so, of course, I had to buy that because it’s the most ridiculous name ever, and I love it so much, I think that was why it was popular,” Collier shared. 

Aside from winning prizes that add to the competition’s fun, participants are able to gain valuable knowledge about different species, fostering a care for biodiversity and the environment. Unlikely combinations of combatants is more than entertainment; it’s education. 

“It has a bunch of cool animals that the students get to learn about, and a lot of them are species they’ve never heard of, and that I hope brings with it an appreciation for the wild amounts of biodiversity that exist on this planet. Then, you appreciate biodiversity, and might want to protect it. As a future voter citizen, you might be like, ‘I do care about the sun bear and what’s going on in its habitat,” Collier said.

“There’s a lot of deeper stuff in the actual tournament itself where you get to learn about adaptations, and you get to learn about human impacts on ecosystems. A lot of the things you’re learning are worth it,” Collier explained. 

Learning aspects, like species diversity, inter-species interactions, species traits, and human impacts on species, environments, and conservation, aren’t the only part of the experience for students; the competition and bizarre scenarios are a source of sparking conversation across participants.

“A fun part of it is, there’s some smack talking and earnest conversation. Like, it’s ridiculous, but this year, there’s a tree, the Ginkgo tree. It’s a high seed, and I’ve heard a lot of lively conversation about, ‘how can you beat a tree, man?’ And then other people are, like, ‘yeah, but how’s the tree gonna win until like those kinds of conversations, even though they’re silly they’re around, you know, animals fighting?’ It brings that camaraderie and social engagement to it” Collier said. 

For interested students, Collier’s impossible-to-miss bracket hangs outside of his room in C117, and blank brackets and more information about the tournament can be found there. 

“I haven’t made my bracket yet, but the first thing I do when they release the animals is, I peruse the number one seeds and polar bear jumped out to me. I’m not committing to that, I’ve got to read all of my students’ research slides, but I am anticipating polar bear will be my pick,” Collier said. 

Collier encourages students to make their own picks and stay tuned in to the event, hoping that “this year is even bigger. Last year was our biggest year yet. I’ve kind of tried to ramp it up a little bit each year, bringing in more of my science colleagues, encouraging other teachers to do it.”

More information can be found outside Collier’s room, or on the March Mammal Madness website.