OK, we're here at work and we're having an argument on who would win a fight between a large grizzly bear and a large silver back gorilla. The bear might weigh 800 to 1000 lbs.? The gorilla only weighs about 300 to 500 lbs.?
My son and I say that definitely the grizzly bear would win.
Some of these dumb rednecks that work for me say the gorilla would win.
I told them that I would ask the wildlife experts on the Campfire. What say you?
"Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem." Ronald Reagan
OK, we're here at work and we're having an argument on who would win a fight between a large grizzly bear and a large silver back gorilla. The bear might weigh 800 to 1000 lbs.? The gorilla only weighs about 300 to 500 lbs.?
My son and I say that definitely the grizzly bear would win.
Some of these dumb rednecks that work for me say the gorilla would win.
I told them that I would ask the wildlife experts on the Campfire. What say you?
No contest. The grizzly. Even a large black bear could beat a silverback gorilla. Even a leopard is more than the equal to a silverback gorilla in a real fight. Silverbacks are known to intervene when a leopard has hold of a young gorilla, and its success rate in driving off the leopard (rather than being killed by it) is only about even odds, at best, and there's only one record of a silverback killing a leopard in such a situation. If there's a death, it's usually the silverback.
Both have powerful jaws and razor sharp teeth but the bear has the claws to go with it. They estimate that a Silverback has more strength than 7x the strongest man that you could ever find on earth. Those are some strong fuggers.
My money is on the grizzly. Years ago I read an interesting book called American Maneaters. In it the author tells of a match between an African Lion and a Grizzly that took place in the late nineteenth century in San Francisco IIRC. The grizzly killed the lion in just a few seconds and the crowd was outraged as they had paid good money to see this fight to the death. Ol’ Ursus Horribilis is horrible, especially in a fight.
In the Roman Colliseum the big bears always won. That includes against lions and tigers. and bulls.
Yeah, I think all the recorded cases of Siberian Tigers killing and eating Russian Brown Bears were cases of the Tiger entering the den while the Bear was hibernating.
I have hunted Africa and never felt under gunned (took a 458 Lott/35 Whelen). Bought a stainless 375 H&H for an eventual grizzly hunt which I haven't taken yet. Hope to soon.
In the mean time, we went to the San Diego Zoo a few years back and went up to their grizzly section. Holy smokes those two were monsters in my eyes. That was the first moment that I ever felt I would be under gunned with the 375. I know it isn't with proper shot placement, but it damn sure unnerved me.
Griz would smack the gorilla in the neck and it would be all over. The outfitter that I knew in British Columbia had seen a griz smack a 900 pound horse in the neck, one time, and broke the horse's neck.
The gorilla would learn to haul ass if a bear was close. A friend of mine was watching an inland grizzly on the North Slope. A gopher type critte r ran under a bundle of 3/4 treated plywood. He said the bear went over and lifted it with one leg and was clawing underneath it with the other. Sure. Impressed my buddy. Edk
Stonecutter; Good afternoon, I hope the last day of the week went acceptably for you and those you care about are well.
With the understanding that I'm an expert on exactly nothing and bears even less so, I'll mention a couple instances of bear encounters.
A buddy in northern BC had a 3 year old bull moose hauled out of the creek where it was cooling and most of the fronts, ribs, neck and one back leg were eaten or too messed up to salvage. He said it was dragged about 30 yards out of the creek, through some willows and onto a gravel bar for the meal.
Another fellow I worked for had a horse die in the Wilmore Wilderness in Alberta and that night, what he described as "the smallest excuse for a 5' grizzly you've ever seen" dragged it about 100 yards off into a creek bottom to feast.
Here's a video of an Alberta grizzly digging up a black bear sow with 3 cubs. It's pretty sporty towards the end and there's also a language warning too.
When I'm hunting solo on the mountain behind the house, where we've seen 10 different black bears this fall so far and grizzly bears use the area as a travel corridor, I do my best to pay attention for them for sure.
They're crazy powerful and incredibly fast.
We've seen a black bear come within a whisker of running down a mulie heifer who was booking it down the mountain for all she was worth and that goofy little bear nearly caught her.
Anyways sir, I could go on, but my money is on the bear every time for sure.
All the best and good luck on your hunts this fall.
No contest. The grizzly. Even a large black bear could beat a silverback gorilla. Even a leopard is more than the equal to a silverback gorilla in a real fight. Silverbacks are known to intervene when a leopard has hold of a young gorilla, and its success rate in driving off the leopard (rather than being killed by it) is only about even odds, at best, and there's only one record of a silverback killing a leopard in such a situation. If there's a death, it's usually the silverback.
Per usual, the resident expert has all the answers. No point in directing a question to anyone else, TRH will give you the facts. Just ask him.
“Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
