Silverback Gorilla vs Grizzly Bear

[Kane]

Earlier I made a thread called Lion vs Tiger, the biggest animal vs animal debate on the web. Well here is probably the second biggest.

Who would win between a silverback gorilla and a grizzly bear. Let's say both weigh 400 pounds. Would the gorilla's superior strength be enough for the grizzly's advantage of having claws?

I favor the gorilla.

 

[Kane]

Oh crap, I posted it in the wrong section. Can some moderator relocate the topic to it to the rightful section. Sorry for the the mistake. Thanks!

 

[MA-Caver]

The gorilla is a vegetarian, a forager ... the Grizzly is a carnivore... a hunter
The gorilla does have strong forearms but that is to uphold his upper torso off the ground and to easily tear off stubborn foliage and to fight off aggressors. The Gorilla does posesses sharp canine teeth which can be used as weapons but only if the animal feels threatened and has no where to run, which will be his inital instinct at the first sign of danger. It's a safe bet to say that the gorilla does not have any predatory killer instincts. It does not attack without provocation.

Grizzly: experienced hunter and (proven) savage predator. Razor sharp claws and crushing jaws with two sets of sharp canine teeth (upper and lower) all of which consitutes it's primary weaponry (offensive as well as defensive), thick fur and skin (defense), and a right hook that's been known to knock a full grown moose on it's ***. It also has instinct to inflict disabling/killing bites at the spinal column.
While easily spooked, if it's cornered or hungry... it's not to be trifled with.

My money... easily on the grizzly... I'm not sure but I think I saw something on Animal Showdowns from the Animal Planet where they matched a Grizz against a Siberian Tiger... computer says the Grizz won hands down...
So pitting a non-aggressive animal against an aggressive one... :idunno: C'mon ....

 

[DngrRuss]

Silverback Gorilla VS a Grizzly Bear? That sounds like my parents in a romantic mood.

Hey, wait a minute- what does that make me then?

No wonder my friends and students call me Yeti. It all makes sense now.

 

[Gemini]

Bear. I'd state a reason but MACaver pretty much covered it.

 

[ginshun]

400 lbs is a huge gorilla, and a teeny tiny grizzly. A big grizzly is what 1500lbs?

Even at equal weight though, I think a grizzly would whoop up on a gorrilla.

 

[silatman]

Yep its the bear.
Dont mean to hyjack the thread but maybe the question should be "What other animal matchups would be a good fight ?"
I'm thinking Baboon v's Razorback Wildboar.

 

[ginshun]

Yep its the bear.
Dont mean to hyjack the thread but maybe the question should be "What other animal matchups would be a good fight ?"
I'm thinking Baboon v's Razorback Wildboar.

A razorback would tear a baboon to pieces.

 

[silatman]

A razorback would tear a baboon to pieces.

I dunno, a baboon is intelligent, fast, agile and savage, might be closer than you think.

 

[Marvin]

anybody ever see the grizzly vs wolverine video? I cant remember what nature show it was on. but the wolverine made short work of the grizzly. didnt kill him but ran him off.
Pretty neat!
Marvin

 

[Drac]

Tough Call..I go with the Bear..

 

[Gemini]

anybody ever see the grizzly vs wolverine video? I cant remember what nature show it was on. but the wolverine made short work of the grizzly. didnt kill him but ran him off.
Pretty neat!
Marvin

If I remember correctly, there aren't many (if any) animals that will fair well against a wolverine. They're too small to kill a larger animal but with their speed and razor sharp claws are a formidable opponent even then.

 

[hardheadjarhead]

Gorillas are strong, but really aren't that big. One of the biggest in captivity was around 750 pounds, and lived at the St. Louis zoo. Expect a max weight of about 400 pounds...and that is somewhat rare.

http://www.berggorilla.de/english/faq/dvers/fragen/gross.html

Grizzly bears are omnivores, not carnivores. They weigh as much as your average gorilla at about one year of age, and weigh upwards of half a ton.

http://www.bear.org/Grizzly/Grizzly_Brown_Bear_Facts.html

A grizzly would put a gorilla down pretty quickly, I think. If a gorilla were to smack a grizzly, it'd be with a sort of palm strike...like a cuff to the side of the head. A grizzly would do much the same, but with claws well over three inches in length that are capable of going through an iron cook pot.


Regards,


Steve

 

[Martial Tucker]

Back to the topic of Bear vs Gorilla, as stated above, an avg grizzly is closer to 1000 lbs, and adding claws and "carnivorous attitude" I think it would have
a huge advantage over a gorilla. In the wild, the gorilla may have superior quickness that might frustrate the grizzly's ability to attack, but in a hypothetical "cage match", where only one can come out alive, I would bet heavily on the grizzly.

Regarding bears, a more interesting matchup might be a gorilla vs a black bear. They are much more comparable in size, and the black bear is much less of a "killer/meat eater" by nature.

(Of course, that didn't mean much to me when one stuck his head in my tent in the middle of the night while camping in N. Wisconsin several years ago!)

 

[Kembudo-Kai Kempoka]

I'm split on this. One of my sparring partners' instructors was from old-school, Japanese hard-style, and retired to the northwestern states. Hunting, came accross a bear. Remembering the tales of Yamaguchi & the tiger/Oyama & the bulls, he wanted to see if he could take a bear. Flew into it with a reverse punch to the head, and continued his onslaught aggressively. Bear looked at him like he had issues, and wandered off deeper into ther woods. He related that, although bears ripple with movement like they might be soft & fat, that it was one of the hardest surfaces he'd ever struck. Didn;t even faze the bear, and decided later he was lucky the bear decided he was nuts, and not a threat.

I've seen footage of grizz vs. moose. I've also seen chimps turn over a jeep and beat each other savagely with awesome physical strength. I'm not convinced it's as easy a win as y'all are making it out to be: A silverback is a pretty strong critter. They use hammerfists naturally, and the steel cages used in their transport (if cranky) are substantial. Lots of accounts of men tangling with bears with knives, and coming out of it. Men tangling with big mad monkeys usually end in a couple of blows with the person dead.

Regards,

Dave

 

[shesulsa]

**MODERATOR NOTE**

Thread moved to Locker Room

G Ketchmark / shesulsa
MT Senior Moderator

 

[Kane]

Gorillas are pretty strong though. I think that TV show Animal Face Off estimated them at 20 times that of a man which is very imrpessive. And in the same Animal Face Off episode the gorilla whooped the leopard pretty badly (you should have seen the beautiful chop). Of course a grizzly is a lot different though but at same the same time a grizzly at 400 pounds hasn't had a lot of meat to eat so it might even have less experiance. A gorilla has the strength to flip a family Sudan on its back. Let us not forget the superior intelligence over the the grizzly the gorilla has.

In actuality a grizzly is a lot more vegietarion than many people think, their diet believe it or not makes up more grass than meat (over 90%!).

Furthermore the male gorillas can live a somewhat life style. According to the book "BBC Gorillas" close to 40% of gorilla deaths are caused by fights with rival males meaning that they do have quite a bit of fighting experiance, maybe even more so than a grizzly. In fact a gorilla's fighting world maybe even similar to that of a lion, fighting rival males who want control of a lion pride (or in this case gorilla troop).

If anyone has seen that show "The Most Extreme" the gorilla is pretty strong pound for pound, especially between 325-400 pounds;

http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/mostextreme/episode/episode_01.html

""""Come to grips with the strongest animals on Earth! The gorilla can lift ten times it's own body weight, but, pound for pound, the African crowned eagle carries more than a cargo plane. Meet the top ten in most extreme strength. Come to grips with the strongest animals on earth! Which animals can take down prey much bigger than themselves, or carry weights ten times heavier than their own? The strongest humans can lift about 3 times their own body weight, but the average gorilla can lift 10 times it's own body weight! And, pound for pound, the African Crowned Eagle can carry more than a cargo plane, because it can fly carrying up to 4 times it's own weight. Something that would keep a cargo plane grounded. But which animal has the Most Extreme Strength? Find out on this top ten countdown."""

Lifting 10 times your own weight (in this case 400 pound would lift 4,000 pounds) it pretty impressive! Doubt a grizzly can do that, of course a grizzly can do some amazing things too. But at same weight the gorilla seems to have the edge here.

 

[Kane]

The gorilla also has superior reach, those long arms of the gorilla are much longer than the grizzlies.

But on a interesting sidenote, can you imagine if Bruce Lee had the strength of a gorilla. Imagine what gigantic beasts he could take down. Or better yet Mas Oyama . I mean Mas Oyama can take down large bulls with his average human strength, but with gorilla strength who knows what giant things he can take down!

 

[MA-Caver]

Grizzly bears are omnivores, not carnivores. They weigh as much as your average gorilla at about one year of age, and weigh upwards of half a ton.
http://www.bear.org/Grizzly/Grizzly_Brown_Bear_Facts.html
Regards,
Steve

Ah yes you're right... I stand corrected... sheesh. :asian:

 

[Gene Williams]

I've done a good bit of work in natural history and zoology over the years. A gorilla is no match for a grizzly. Wouldn't even be close. There is no animal in the Americas that could handle a grizzly, with the possible exception of a large bull. In the novel, "Lonesome Dove," by Larry Mc Murtry, there is an account (probably taken from an old eyewitness account), of an encounter between a grizzly and a large red bull. Makes for good reading. A grizzly and a Polar Bear would make a good fight. But, if you want to match animals from different continents, try some of these: 1) Tiger vs Grizzly; 2) Salt Water Crocodile vs Great White Shark; 3) Rhino vs Grizzly or Polar Bear. The elephant gets a pass...no land mammal can handle a full grown bull elephant. Now, just for fun (and noise) in North America, how about a badger vs a wolverine.