Every year, Arizona State University puts together a bracket in March. But this isn’t your average March Madness Bracket, this one consists of different animal species throughout the world. The students in Mrs. Murphy’s Ecology class at Wheatland High School have filled out their March Mammal Madness brackets in hope of predicting each round correctly.

The bracket, just like basketball, consists of 4 different regions. These regions, though, are separated a little bit differently. The names of the regions are Rainbow Collection, Connoisseur Critters, Epic Animals, and Take a Bow. The Rainbow Collection region consists of species that have vibrant colors. Connoisseur Critters consists of animals with interesting eating habits, and even a couple of plants. Epic Animals represents animals that have been used in literature. The Take a Bow region animals are showboats, showing off their unique traits.

Mrs. Murphy and her Ecology class have their brackets completed and have made their championship picks. For each match up, students at Arizona state will use a random number generator to determine the winner. (No, the animals don’t actually fight.) The university will then release a simulation they created of how each match went. The higher seed gets home habitat advantage in the first two rounds. Make sure to check out the March Mammal Madness bracket!

Andrew Dougherty