My friends and I have been debating this question for a while. It just blows our minds.
Who would win in a fight, a Kodiak Bear or a Great White Shark? The fight would have to be in water obviously, so the scenario we’ve designed is a arena filled with water. We can’t really put either animal at a disadvantage so there has to be enough water for the shark to swim, and enough so the bear can still stand. So an arena filled with approximately 4 to 5 feet of water.
Seriously, who would win, the bear or the shark?
The bear can attack from five points, mouth and four paws, while the shark has only a mouth. Any ideas? is this even possible?
The shark is more than strong enough to bowl him over. Bear can’t get a purchase on anything meaningful with his mouth, rear claws are out of action 'cause he’s standing on 'em (not that it makes much difference), and while he’s possibly inflicting scratches with his front claws shark has bear’s leg or belly in his mouth–possibly no longer attached to bear.
I can, however, tell you that, in the Artic Circle, according to PBS*, a tethered sled dog will scare off a polar bear. The noise and “jumping around factor” makes the bear go away.
*[sub]Ok. It was a PBS documentary and I’m an addict and it had one of the Trainspotting guys as host. But he was actually THERE! And they had FOOTAGE of the bear being wussy cos of the tied-up dog! And that’s my story and I’m sticking to it![sub]
In this situation I think it’s safe to asume that they would be forced to fight, say due to starvation or something along those lines. Use your imagination.
Mmm? You’re saying the sled dog is hungrier than the polar bear? The sled dog which is fed on a regular basis as humans depend on him for transport? And that the bear is just slumming?
It seems that if we consider the extreme upper sizes of the two species , GWshark versus Kodiak, the Kodiak outweighs the shark by 900 pounds. Considering the largest elk weighs 1100 pounds ( http://www.colorado-elk-deer-hunting.com/Elk%20Facts.htm ) just shy of the maximum GW shark weight, the Kodiak should have no trouble dispatching the GWS.
Furthermore , considering the shallow nature of the arena, the element of surprise that is typical of a GWS attack from below is not employable in this case, While the Kodiak can handle the GWS in the familiar manner of swiping a salmon out of the water.
No, but considering the killer whale is 2 to 3 times the size of the shark, it’s not that surprising. They are predators, after all.
Regarding the bear on shark, if the bear is actually shoulder deep in water, it is difficult for him to swipe the shark with his full effect. Water drag.
The bear would easily crush the shark’s skull. Healthy adult male grizzly bears will prevail in a pure brute force conflict over any other animal. Polar bears are almost as strong as grizzlies, and have killed whales easily. (when whales get trapped in an isolated ice hole, they’re easy pickin’s for a polar bear)
I recall seeing somewhere that they tried staging fights between grizzlie bears and African lions once as a sporting event… didn’t last long, as the grizzlies won every time, paws down! (no cite, as I don’t recall where I saw this. A book? A documentary? Dunno…)
As for a bear VS a GW shark? Hmm… my money is on the bear.
Why? The bear’s lookin’ for some salmon, little fishies. Probably just wouldn’t mess with the shark unless attacked.
And there you have it. The shark’s much more agressive, and would make the first move, rip out a big hunk of the bear, and back off til the splashing settles down a bit.
In my humble O The enviroment would be the deciding factor. You already gave the shark an advantage of being in the water. Now if you add a hot location and deep water the bear wouldn’t have a chance. If you make is shallow and a few blocks of floating ice then the shark wouldn’t last long.
IIRC sharks are cold blooded (they may be aboe to generate some heat but their body temp is not regulated as a warm blooded beast is) Cold artic waters would slow them down and possibly freeze them to death given enough time.
The largest shark weighs a fuck of a lot more then 1302 lbs. Ever heard of the Whale Shark? Largest fish in the sea? Up to 60 feet long…is that ringing any bells. plus, there are NUMEROUS accounts of GW weighing WELL over 2000 lbs.
