Bears as Predators ~

[Pckts]

"Sometimes the bear and bull were tied together to keep them fighting, usually the bear killed the bull, but not always. Some bears and bulls won fame for their repeated victories and earned nicknames like “the celebrated Bull-killing Bear, General Scott” and “the terrible Mexican bull Sant’ Anna”(Snyder, 126). Each species had a distinct fighting style: the bull generally tried to charge the bear with its horns, gore it, and then lift its head to throw the bear up; the bear usually tried to grab the bull by its face to control and avoid the bull’s sharp horns, and then pulled the bull’s face down while scratching the bull’s body with its claws"

From the accounts listed, one can come to these conclusions...

-Bears were the victor more often than the Bull, but both had wins and losses
-Both had specific individuals renowned for their victories over the other
-Individuals of both species were in good shape, healthy and strong animals
-The spanish brought their fighting bulls to California, then they began to test their bulls against the Grizzly
-Sometimes the bulls would have their horns shaved
-These occasions were usually held during a holiday or as a large event, thousands of people would come to watch
-Even in a time of acceptance, the event was still seen as "cruel" to some. Reply