Those who form their idea of a bear's speed from watching a hulking, slouching prisoner, are sure to be amazed at the real thing. For 50 or 100 yards a Grizzly can go faster than any horse, and keep it up indefinitely.
While bears will attack and kill horses, they aren't natural known enemies. Bears are capable of running at speeds comparable to horses (35 mph), in all directions.
All bear species could easily chase down the average human. The only scenario where a human might out-sprint a bear is if a polar bear was chasing Usain Bolt. A human can, however, outrun a bear in terms of distance.
Although grizzly bears look like lumbering giants, they can run faster than many horses -- 35 miles per hour -- over short distances.
Horses are prey animals, and speed is one of their evolutionary advantages. Their ability to run quickly for great distances protects them from predators. Combine these advantages with thousands of years of breeding for speed and stamina, and now some horses can outrun wolves and bears.
Cattle can be smelly and noisy, and if they all come running over in a group to say hello, they can seem like one huge mass of eyes and shapes and sounds. This can be difficult for a horse to distinguish, so most of them will react to some extent.
Fortunately, bears are not known to actively hunt horses and mostly just keep to themselves. Bear attacks on horses typically only occur when the horse and rider accidentally come across one on the trail.
While we've never seen the two race, it's safe to say that many common dog breeds cannot outrun a bear. There are about 10 different dog breeds that can reach speeds above 35 mph, out of the 195 breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club. So, somewhere between 3 and 5% of the breeds in the world could outrun a bear.
Bear vs Lion: Speed and Movement
Both lions and bears are speedy animals on land. A sprinting lion can reach speeds of 50mph for short times. A bear can reach the same speed, but it cannot sustain that maximum speed for as long as the lion. Lions receive the advantage in terms of speed.
Dogs can gallop for only about 10 to 15 minutes before reverting to a trot, and so their distance-running speed tops out at about 3.8 meters per second. Horses' average distance-running speed is 5.8 meters per second—a canter. Wildebeests' is 5.1 meters per second.
Even Usain Bolt, the world's fastest man, couldn't outrun a steadfast grizzly or black bear at full speed. During a race in Berlin, 2009, the famous Jamaican sprinter set the world record for the fastest human foot speed ever recorded.
Understanding bear weaknesses: Bears are very shortsighted and have very poor peripheral vision hence the reason they stand on their hind legs (to get a better view and smell). They cannot stand erect on a steep grade. Their neck muscles and jaw structure provide more resistance for turning their necks.
The weakest part of a bear's skull is behind the face, in a small triangular shaped area roughly bounded by the eyes and the tip of the nose. A bullet striking this area has the greatest chance of penetrating the skull, hitting the brain and stopping the attack immediately.
Bear cubs often fall prey to tigers, wolves, cougars, and coyotes. Tigers, wolves, cougars, bobcats, coyotes, and humans eat bears, but these predators only focus on bear cubs rather than adult bears. The adult bears are too aggressive and dangerous to prey on – obviously a reason they are at the top of the food chain.
For 50 or 100 yards a Grizzly can go faster than any horse, and keep it up indefinitely. It is well known that in the spring of the year, the Indian ponies that have wintered out and are poor, very commonly become the prey of the Grizzly, who can now catch them on the open plain.
While the bull had a deadly lunge, the bear could parry the advance and grab the bull by the head, sinking its teeth into the bull's neck, or on one account, biting the bull's tongue, which would have undoubtedly released a crowd-pleasing bellow.
Although a silverback gorilla is very fast, quite strong, and has a longer arm span, it is unlikely that a silverback could defeat the much larger and faster grizzly bear in a fair fight. The one advantage that a Silverback might have is in the enormous strength of its muscles.
The gorilla and grizzly have a relatively similar bite strength, but the bear's build makes it harder for a gorilla's bite to be equally as effective. The gorilla's biggest advantage is its spry movement, whereas the grizzly's primary advantage is its claws. The grizzly is larger, but the gorilla is stronger.
A hippo would win a fight against a polar bear.
Instead, the hippo needs one or two bites to incapacitate the polar bear. Its massive teeth would penetrate the bear's fur and skin, breaking bones and ripping into organs. In this rare case, speed on land would only matter at the beginning of the fight.
“Bears are naturally afraid of canids,” Hunt says. “Why? Because packs of coyotes can steal cubs.” The most common breed of bear dog is the Karelian bear dog, a black-and-white working dog that hails from the region between Finland and Russia called Karelia.
Bears also dislike the strong scent of pine-based cleaners, but avoid using anything with a fresh, lemony or fruity smell. And never mix bleach and ammonia; the combination produces fumes that can be deadly to both people and bears.
Loud music itself does not scare bears, but a conversational radio show may very well deter bears from your property. According to Colorado Parks & Wildlife, tuning a radio to a conversational talk show may signal to bears that someone is home, and persuade the bear to leave the area.
In the wild, horses are most scared of natural predators like lions, wolves, and alligators. Domesticated horses can be scared of any sound they haven't heard before, and it could be as innocent as the sounds of plastic bags, barking, or any suspicious noise in the wind.
Stephen Herrero's book Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance, considered the definitive work by many authorities, says “human excrement/urine attracts bears and should not be near your campsite.” The National Park Service promotes that belief as well, adding that the salt in urine attracts wild animals (including ...
Black bears usually run away when dogs chase them. Even the smallest breeds of dogs have scared black bears away. However, bears learn to ignore dogs that are tied up or in pens.