# What animals can humans naturally beat in a fight? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 17, 2019, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-can-humans-naturally-beat-in-a-fight/827924 "2019-01-17T12:43:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-can-humans-naturally-beat-in-a-fight/827924/41 "2019-01-21T02:18:07Z")
Wolves attack humans much less frequently than dogs do, so I would expect a ratio like that. I’m not sure how often bobcats attack humans, but anecdotally, it seems that _mountain lions_ attack humans more than single wolves do. (And any single wolf that _does_ attack a human doesn’t count because it’s just a … 🆒 lone wolf. YEAAAHHHHH!) ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-can-humans-naturally-beat-in-a-fight/827924/42 "2019-01-21T09:48:16Z")
A 30 pound bobcat could do a lot of damage, but a reasonably fit adult human with modest fight in them could best the cat. You wouldn’t stand in front of it and try to punch it. You would grab some part of it, then use that as a handle and swing the cat into the ground. If the cat has a grip on some part of you, hit the ground using the cat as a cushion and it would probably be fatally injured at the first fall under a human many times its mass. Every bone in its body is far more fragile than every corresponding bone in yours. Also note that while cats are very strong for their size, those cat muscles use a lot of O2, so they don’t have a lot of stamina. Reptiles are even worse off. I’ve yet to see a cat or alligator do well in a triathlon. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-can-humans-naturally-beat-in-a-fight/827924/43 "2019-01-21T17:54:50Z")
> [@senoy](#): > > I would have liked to have seen that. An axe? A squirrel weighs a pound. An axe isn’t a good idea. If it’s on the road, you’re going to end up trashing your axe and could end up throwing a piece of metal. The old hunter’s way is simply to put your heel between its shoulder and head and put your weight on it quickly and lean forward. It pops the neck to end the pain and the weight forward crushes its skull for nearly instant death provided you aren’t keeping the brains to eat. If it’s still moving too much to get a boot on, then a makeshift club to the back of its head will stop it until you can crush the head. Quick and painless. If you have thick gloves, you can also just pick it up and twist the head with a quick sharp movement while simultaneously pulling it away from the body. With most small animals(probably anything under five pounds or so-above that and you’ll need something else), severing the spinal cord is almost always the way to go. Hope that helps you for next time. Ignorance fought! I now know how to take down an injured squirrel. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-can-humans-naturally-beat-in-a-fight/827924/44 "2019-01-21T20:44:52Z")
I could take down a monkey if I could fight him with a banana. Just as he’s about to kill me with those powerful monkey arms, I’d say ‘Hey, want a banana?’ Then, while he’s distracted by the sweet, sweet banana I’d kill him. Because the damned thing was going to take my banana. No one takes my banana. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-can-humans-naturally-beat-in-a-fight/827924/45 "2019-01-22T06:39:47Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > I bet I could lick a toad as well. I see what you did there. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2019, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-can-humans-naturally-beat-in-a-fight/827924/46 "2019-01-23T04:22:25Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > In Fredric Brown’s “Arena,” a naked human… well, _picks up a rock_ and kills the alien enemy. But only by employing a trick. The two-handed Kirk-ear-cup would only work against maybe a bear that has you in a death hug. And I doubt a rhino or hippo is going to give you time to make a diamond cannon. But that brings up the general point I was going to make. What animals can we defeat? How squeemish are you?? Are you fully prepared to dig your thumbs into their eye sockets and tear their noses apart with your teeth? Cause lots of mammals have very squishy noses. So yeah, you’re putting yourself in mauling distance but that animal better make quick work of you cause he’s gonna be blind in a second.\* \*Disclaimer:This technique may not work against elephants. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2019, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-can-humans-naturally-beat-in-a-fight/827924/47 "2019-01-23T04:50:47Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > In Fredric Brown’s “Arena,” a naked human… well, _picks up a rock_ and kills the alien enemy. But only by employing a trick. Similarly with one of Niven’s “Draco Tavern” stories. I believe the last line is “My evolution includes a club.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2019, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-can-humans-naturally-beat-in-a-fight/827924/48 "2019-01-23T13:47:16Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > The two-handed Kirk-ear-cup would only work against maybe a bear that has you in a death hug. > > And I doubt a rhino or hippo is going to give you time to make a diamond cannon. > > But that brings up the general point I was going to make. What animals can we defeat? How squeemish are you?? Are you fully prepared to dig your thumbs into their eye sockets and tear their noses apart with your teeth? Cause lots of mammals have very squishy noses. > > So yeah, you’re putting yourself in mauling distance but that animal better make quick work of you cause he’s gonna be blind in a second.\* > > \*Disclaimer:This technique may not work against elephants. The Star Trek version , even though supposedly adapted from Brown’s story\*, completely changes the nature of the fight and how it was carried out. Read the story – there’s a reason it’s in the Science Fiction Hal of Fame. One day, I’d like to see someone do it justice in CGI without padding it. No diamond cannon. No gunpowder, no dinosaur-like Gorn. But a wickedly clever problem to overcome if the champion was going to win. And , as you can see from the story, you can’t just “pick up a rock and hit the other guy with it.” \*As has been frequently pointed out, it really wasn’t. Gene L. Coon reportedly wrote the script first, then people noticed the similarity, so they bought the rights from Brown. But the Star Trek story always WAS different. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2019, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-can-humans-naturally-beat-in-a-fight/827924/49 "2019-01-23T14:55:13Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Read the story – there’s a reason it’s in the Science Fiction Hal of Fame. One day, I’d like to see someone do it justice in CGI without padding it. > > No diamond cannon. No gunpowder, no dinosaur-like Gorn. But a wickedly clever problem to overcome if the champion was going to win. > And , as you can see from the story, you can’t just “pick up a rock and hit the other guy with it.” Yeah, it’s hard to believe it hasn’t been properly filmed yet. The staging casting, and even action are very simple. ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-can-humans-naturally-beat-in-a-fight/827924/50 "2019-02-05T19:18:00Z")
To resurrect this thread a bit. Yesterday, a jogger killed a mountain lion with their bare hands. It was a juvenile so only 80 pounds (although adult females will sometimes be that small) so it stays within my 100 lb. range. > **[Colorado Runner Kills Mountain Lion With His Bare Hands After It Attacks Him](https://deadspin.com/colorado-runner-kills-mountain-lion-with-his-bare-hands-1832365312)** > > Yesterday afternoon, a trail runner was out for a run alone in the Horsetooth Mountain Open Space area outside of Fort Collins, Colorado, when he was attacked by a mountain lion. The runner said he heard something behind him, and as he turned around... ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-can-humans-naturally-beat-in-a-fight/827924/51 "2019-02-05T20:14:29Z")
I’m glad this was bumped because I think that pound for pound a juvenile Giant Tortoise might be even easier to defeat than a canid or weak herd animal. I’d think that ones between 1-200 pounds you could eventually inflict enough blunt damage on them to kill them by just kicking and punching and jumping on them. The larger ones, you might not be able to kill them before you die of thirst or hunger. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animals-can-humans-naturally-beat-in-a-fight/827924.md?page=2)