March Mammal Madness has overcome classes at Mid-Prairie Middle School.

Students are given time in class to fill out their brackets.

No, this has nothing to do with the NCAA basketball tournament.

Students in Emma Brenneman’s science classes are filling out brackets for March Mammal Madness.

Brenneman had her students filling out brackets on Friday. Just like in the NCAA tournament, the matchups are ranked with the first round No. 1 rank paired with the No. 16, the No. 2 rank paired with No. 15 and so on.

There is even a play-in where a mongoose and a pygmy spotted skunk battle for the 64th spot in the tournament.

Each matchup pairs one creature against another.

The creatures – they are not all mammals – face off against each other with the victor moving on to the next round and the loser heading home.

Brenneman had her students looking up each of the entries to learn more about them and determine who would win each match.

For example, the first round pairs the Australian feral camel with a face mite. The camel is seeded No. 1, the face mite, No. 16.

Other entries include a house cat, a nematode, a hyena and a racoon dog.

Organizers will crunch data about each entry’s weaponry, armor, fight style, motivation and any special skills to estimate the probability of a winner.

A random number generator then determines the outcome, so there are upsets just like in the NCAA tournament.

Hiding and running away counts as a forfeit. Sometimes the winner wins by displacing the other at a feeding location, sometimes a powerful animal doesn’t attack because it is not motivated.

The tournament features 65 species.

Even going to the website for information is a learning experience for students. The name of the website? Mammals Suck … Milk.