Just how smart is the average bear?

[Namkcalb]

Generally how smart are ursines?
Are Pandas stupider because they forsake all the Omega-3 from fish?

[Indian]

Very smart.

[dtilque]

Dumber than Yogi Bear...

[Der Trihs]

Some bears are dumber than others.

[Little Nemo]

It depends. Does he play offense or defense?

[astro]

Grizzly Bear VS Polar Bear: It’s a draw. Climate change is pushing these two species together into a battle for resources and wits—and most scientists’ money is on the grizzlies, whose stronger teeth and skulls will help them win a potential battle for scarce food. Disappearing Arctic ice, on which polar bears depend for hunting, will force them to turn to vegetarian food sources—something grizzlies are better designed to do. Grizzlies also have been found to have the largest and most complex brains of any land mammal relative to their size; they can recognize other animals they’ve seen as long as 20 years before. But don’t count out polar bears: There’s no scientific agreement on which species has the higher IQ, but some researchers believe polar bears have an intelligence roughly equal to the smartest primates

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See more at: http://www.globalanimal.org/2010/12/....ewXHiCjt.dpuf

[Nunzio Tavulari]

Lions or tigers. Which is smarter than a bear?

[Colibri]

Originally Posted by Namkcalb

Are Pandas stupider because they forsake all the Omega-3 from fish?

More likely because they are more herbivorous than other bears, and it takes less brains to sneak up on a bamboo than to catch a fish or find other prey.

[OldGuy]

Originally Posted by astro

from his quote:
some researchers believe polar bears have an intelligence roughly equal to the smartest primates

See more at: http://www.globalanimal.org/2010/12/....ewXHiCjt.dpuf

Hmmm aren't humans primates? That's a scary thought.

[For You]

Originally Posted by Nunzio Tavulari

Lions or tigers. Which is smarter than a bear?

Cincinnati is in the playoffs, Detroit is at the bottom of their division, right below Chicago, tigers win this one. This year, at least.

[njtt]

Administering IQ tests to bears is a hazardous business. Few psychologists are willing to undertake it.

[Nunzio Tavulari]

A Bear has never won The $10,000 Pyramid, much less Jeopardy. So we can safely assume that they are less smart than Charo.

However, Gentle Ben had a longer run on TV than Chevy Chase's late night show. So they got that goin' for them.

[Namkcalb]

Originally Posted by astro

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See more at: http://www.globalanimal.org/2010/12/....ewXHiCjt.dpuf

I'm scared, not only do they say Grizzlies are smarter than polar bears, they say polar bears are smarter than the smartest primate.
IOW: Grizzly > Polar > Human
I think they'll need more evidence for this assertion then the bears' long memory.

Then again... Do you remember when those Somali pirates attacked a battle-ready French warship in a rusty speedboat? Exceeding them isn't a big achievement.

Originally Posted by Colibri

More likely because they are more herbivorous than other bears, and it takes less brains to sneak up on a bamboo than to catch a fish or find other prey.

It might not even be evolution's fault; Pandas, like all ursines have the jaw and digestive system of a meat-heavy omnivore. Biologically speaking pandas are even more specialised towards meat than we are and I felt significantly less mentally agile on a diverse vegan diet compared to my typical pescetarian one. I couldn't imagine how dumb I would be if I limited it to just grasses.

[Twoflower]

Having done a lot of backpacking in Yosemite in my younger years, I have to say that bears are very smart when it comes to learning how to overcome all the tricks you use to keep your food safe from them.

I hear that one recent summer in Yosemite Valley, a bear broke into a Camaro and found a great stash of food. 29 more Camaros got broken into that summer, since the bear recognized the shape.

[Namkcalb]

Originally Posted by Twoflower

I hear that one recent summer in Yosemite Valley, a bear broke into a Camaro and found a great stash of food. 29 more Camaros got broken into that summer, since the bear recognized the shape.

So what you are saying is that once the bear worked out how to get into one Camaro, he practiced his craft on others.

Hmm, there's another thing I wanted to know, can bears teach other bears? I know dolphins share acquired skills with other dolphins.

[Thuringwethil]

Originally Posted by Namkcalb

So what you are saying is that once the bear worked out how to get into one Camaro, he practiced his craft on others.

Hmm, there's another thing I wanted to know, can bears teach other bears? I know dolphins share acquired skills with other dolphins.

I think mama bears pass along skills to their offspring.

[ducati]

Not as smart as me!

[Nunzio Tavulari]

Originally Posted by ducati

Not as smart as me!

Their home is acres bigger than yours and the Federal Government is paying their mortgage.

[moriah]

Originally Posted by Twoflower

I hear that one recent summer in Yosemite Valley, a bear broke into a Camaro and found a great stash of food. 29 more Camaros got broken into that summer, since the bear recognized the shape.

Maybe the bear just hates douchebags?

[Chronos]

Hmm, there's another thing I wanted to know, can bears teach other bears? I know dolphins share acquired skills with other dolphins.

There was a bear in the eastern US who figured out how to open bear kegs, and then went on to teach all her friends.

[blondebear]

Based upon years of visiting and camping in bear-prone areas, I'd say bears are smarter than a lot of people. When you ignore warnings about proper food storage, it's pretty much a open invitation to the bear to have a look-see at what might be for dinner. I know from personal experience.

On one of my early camping trips, I thought I could wedge a cooler really tight underneath a truck bumper and it would be safe. Uh-huh...that night there was a lot of ruckus over by where the truck was parked. Yep, the next morning, the cooler was laying open and well-ransacked about 20ft from the truck. I learned my lesson and haven't had a problem since.

[barath_s]

Yes, but are they smarter than the average bear?

Scientific American, Yale and the Economist opine on how smart that is.

[Nunzio Tavulari]

And I, for one, welcome our new ursine overlords.
In fact, I'm bare right now.

[Telemark]

Originally Posted by Chronos

There was a bear in the eastern US who figured out how to open bear kegs, and then went on to teach all her friends.

Her name was Yellow-Yellow and she was killed last year. She taught some of her cubs, but it's not clear that any have followed in her paw prints.

[ducati]

Originally Posted by Nunzio Tavulari

Their home is acres bigger than yours and the Federal Government is paying their mortgage.

[Two Many Cats]

I thought "bear kegs" was a typo of "beer kegs". I thought, no wonder Yellow Yellow was killed. You go after someone's beer keg, that's just asking to be shot.

Now, it's just a sad dead bear story.

[Namkcalb]

Originally Posted by Telemark

Her name was Yellow-Yellow and she was killed last year. She taught some of her cubs, but it's not clear that any have followed in her paw prints.

I wonder what a drunk bear is like?

Koalas are permanently drunk on stomach-fermented eukalyptus, but they aren't true bears so they don't count.

[Superhal]

I don't know about averages, but pandas are probably the most stupid animals ever. Refusing to screw to save your own species takes "stupid" to a new level.

[MacLir]

Originally Posted by njtt

Administering IQ tests to bears is a hazardous business. Few psychologists are willing to undertake it.

Actually, there's a facility in West Yellowstone that does exactly that, at least in a directed sense.

It's kind of an Alcatraz for incorrigible bears, and they use them to test "bear-proof" trash cans and storage bins.

They also rotate the bears on display, and have an option for kids to go into the display pen while the bears aren't there and hide meat treats for the bears coming in next.

[TriPolar]

I don't know where I read this, but someone proposed that bears were extremely intelligent in the animal kingdom, and if they weren't apex predators based on their physical attributes alone they would have evolved into the niche of an intelligent species instead of humans. Essentially, he was saying they don't have the need to be any more intelligent, not needing to build shelters, make clothing, or make weapons. I don't recall the lack of social skills being mentioned though.

ETA: MacLir, I think they do something like that in Canada for the polar bears also.

[MacLir]

Originally Posted by Namkcalb

I wonder what a drunk bear is like?

Koalas are permanently drunk on stomach-fermented eukalyptus, but they aren't true bears so they don't count.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0Xsqo-n_AE

http://gawker.com/5933517/drunk-bear...ing-bear-rager

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5756809/...ut-campground/

[Ferd Burfel]

Originally Posted by Namkcalb

I wonder what a drunk bear is like?

He was a Kodiak lookin' fella 'bout 19 feet tall

Originally Posted by jimmy buffett via lord buckley

I gave him one of them jugs of honeydew vine water, he downed it upright, (looked like one of them damn bears in the circus sippin' sasparilly in the moonlight.) I gave him another and another and another 'fore I knew it, he'd downed eight of 'em and commenced to do the "bear dance.