Who is the "King" of the bears?

[Polar]

(10-31-2016, 03:57 AM)brotherbear Wrote:

(10-31-2016, 03:36 AM)GrizzlyClaws Wrote: @brotherbear

Don't forget about the two Black bear species, they are also the peer to the Brown bear when it comes as the ultimate survivors.

Yes, the black bears were right there. They were and still are amazing climbers; quick up a tree at the first hint of danger. It is the fact that the brownies were on the ground where their only options were fight or flee that impresses me. I believe that the black and brown bear's ability to sleep through the winter months along with their wide range of food choices were and are their greatest advantages. I don't see the short-faced bears as diggers or fishers. I believe that the diets of both cave bears and short-faced bears were more limited.

Under section II about prey hunting, short-faced bears are quite weak within that category. They mainly scavenged and intimidated other carnivore competitors with their extreme size, but rarely ever hunted. 

With cave bears, it's a flip-flop. Some cave bears were extremely carnivorous, yet some of those exclusively carnivorous cave bears might have mainly scavenged and others might have actively hunted on a regular basis. And of course, most of the other cave bears are herbivorous.

Brown bear wins section II when it comes to the aforementioned bears, especially with ancient grizzlies and their near hyper-carnivorous diet in the Pleistocene and Early Modern era. But the brown bear has no chance, again, against the polar bear or Agriotherium when it comes to that same section.

I don't know that much about black bear predation to categorize it on the second section with any bear. I do know that some target humans as prey, but I don't know whether regularly or on rare circumstances (when both meet). Most black bear (in both continents) seem to be quite omnivorous, more so herbivorous, than brown bears to me. If this is true, they are stuck with the cave and short-faced bears in section II, under the brown bear.

But the black bear, being smaller and just as adaptable as the brown bear, is comparable to the brown bear in terms of adaptability in hibernation, escaping danger, etc... but not domination of the competitors around. Reply