Bear Strength

[brotherbear]

Man Meets Grizzly by Young and Beyers.

No one doubts the grizzly's strength: old-timers, trappers, and hunters tell of grizzlies killing buffalo and dragging or carrying the huge and heavy carcass some distance over rough terrain, then burying it. Many stories have been told of the grizzly catching a buffalo or steer by the head with one paw and with the other breaking its neck. One stroke of his paw can tear the hide and ribs from a victim. However, despite his great strength, the bear has not always been victorious in these encounters. One story, for which I cannot vouch, concerns a powerful bull that was charged by a bear in a forest and, retaliating, struck his horns into his assailant, pinning him to a tree. In this situation both were later found dead, the bull from starvation, the bear from wounds. I know of a Kodiak bear and a bull moose that, joined in a standoff battle, dueled each other to death. A bull or moose cannot be easily killed unless the bear surprises the animal and strikes first. All three - moose, bull, and grizzly - have a terrible tenacity that matches their strength. Reply