Basic Cat Behavior vs Basic Bear Behavior
Cats and Bears are two very different animals. Both are of the order Carnivora, but cats are from the Suborder Feliformia while bears are from the Suborder Caniformia.
All cats are ambush predators. They have been for roughly 10-million years. Everything about the cat mentally and physically is aimed at his ambush predator lifestyle. No cat likes a frontal confrontation. This is why a man can wear a face-mask on the back of his head and be safe from a tiger attack.
A bear is an omnivore and an opportunist. A grizzly feeds on vegetation from both grazing and foraging. He also eats fish, clams, social insects, honey, and meat. If a grizzly's nose ( perhaps the keenest of any animal's ) catches the scent of a fresh carcass, he is going to investigate. Most bear species are kleptoparasites. This means that he will not only eat another predator's leftovers, but if the predator is still there, the bear will chase it away and take its kill; by force if necessary. This includes wolves and big cats.
This habit shows that for the past million years or so, most bear species, and especially the grizzly, have been accustomed to face-to-face battles with other carnivores. This partly explains why a 200-pound sloth bear sow can stand-up against a 400-pound tiger and the tiger will eventually back away.
Lion enthusiasts insist that the lion is the exception to the rule. They claim that a lion has no objections to face-to-face fights with other large animals. But I have to ask, based on what?
Lions are fighters. This is a fact. Male lions fight and kill other male lions. Tigers are also territorial and do the same thing. Perhaps not as often, but then there are fewer tigers. We know that a tiger will not fight a bear face-to-face. But in Africa, the largest mammalian predator after the lion is the spotted hyena. She is only a third the lions size. We therefore have no carnivores in the lion's kingdom to judge whether or not the lion is any different in this respect than all other cats. I see no reason to think so.
All cats are ambush predators. They have been for roughly 10-million years. Everything about the cat mentally and physically is aimed at his ambush predator lifestyle. No cat likes a frontal confrontation. This is why a man can wear a face-mask on the back of his head and be safe from a tiger attack.
A bear is an omnivore and an opportunist. A grizzly feeds on vegetation from both grazing and foraging. He also eats fish, clams, social insects, honey, and meat. If a grizzly's nose ( perhaps the keenest of any animal's ) catches the scent of a fresh carcass, he is going to investigate. Most bear species are kleptoparasites. This means that he will not only eat another predator's leftovers, but if the predator is still there, the bear will chase it away and take its kill; by force if necessary. This includes wolves and big cats.
This habit shows that for the past million years or so, most bear species, and especially the grizzly, have been accustomed to face-to-face battles with other carnivores. This partly explains why a 200-pound sloth bear sow can stand-up against a 400-pound tiger and the tiger will eventually back away.
Lion enthusiasts insist that the lion is the exception to the rule. They claim that a lion has no objections to face-to-face fights with other large animals. But I have to ask, based on what?
Lions are fighters. This is a fact. Male lions fight and kill other male lions. Tigers are also territorial and do the same thing. Perhaps not as often, but then there are fewer tigers. We know that a tiger will not fight a bear face-to-face. But in Africa, the largest mammalian predator after the lion is the spotted hyena. She is only a third the lions size. We therefore have no carnivores in the lion's kingdom to judge whether or not the lion is any different in this respect than all other cats. I see no reason to think so.
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