Many species of bears are scattered throughout the world. Since they are the largest of the carnivores, or flesh-eating mammals, they do not have too many enemies, except man. Bears avoid people and are not ordinarily considered to be as dangerous as other groups of animals.
But bears will kill, though not by hugging. It has been said that a fighting bear first grabs its victim and hugs it to death with its powerful forepaws. But this is not true.
Though the bear stands on its back legs to fight, it uses its mighty front paws to strike, not to grab. This blow is one of the most deadly in the animal kingdom. With all the weight of the bear behind the swat, in addition to the animal’s sharp claws, its victim is usually killed.
A captive great brown bear of Alaska, a close relative of the fabled grizzly bear, weighed in at 1,656 pounds!
See also:
- Can the Polar Bear Mate With the Brown Bear to Produce Mixed Baby Bears?
- How Did the Bear Get Its Name, What Does It Mean, and How Do Bears Mate and Reproduce?
- What Is the Biggest Bear In the World, Where Does It Live, and Are Grizzly Bears the Biggest Bear?
- Where Do Black Bears Live and Are All Black Bears Black?
- Where Do Koala Bears Live and Why Are They Not Really Bears?
