We’ll break down the most important factors that will tell us which creature walks or swims away alive!
Comparing a Bear and a Shark
What Are Key Differences Between a Bear and a Shark?
The biggest differences between a bear and a shark are their morphology and habitat. Bears are terrestrial caniform mammals that possess fur and can weigh up to 990lbs, but sharks are aquatic cartilaginous fish that spend all their time in water and may grow to weigh 2,400lbs. Sharks are found in every ocean in the world, while bears are found everywhere except in Africa and Australia, including the Arctic Circle. Knowing these unique qualities, we can start to look closer at other impactful elements of a fight between these two animals.
What Are the Key Factors in a Fight Between a Bear and a Shark?
The most important factors in a battle between a bear and a shark will be their bodies, how they fight, and looking at how they fare in the water where the fight will take place. Some people might believe that bears can’t do well in water, and that’s the case for most of them. However, the polar bear is an accomplished aquatic hunter and swimmer.
Bear vs Shark: Size
The largest sharks are bigger than bears. A shark can weigh up to 2,400lbs and measure 21ft long, but a bear can grow to be about 900lbs, stand 5ft tall at the shoulder, and grow 9.5ft long. Even if you’re looking at the truly extreme ends, the largest great white shark ever recorded weighed 5,000 pounds while the largest polar bear on record weighed 2,209 pounds. The key idea here, the biggest sharks are larger! Sharks have the size advantage against bears.
Bear vs Shark: Speed and Movement
Sharks are faster than bears in the water. On land, bears can reach speeds of 35 mph, but even the fastest swimmers can only reach about 6 mph in the water. Meanwhile, sharks can cruise at 10 mph with ease and reach 35 mph when they are closing in on their prey to kill it. Sharks have a speed advantage against bears in the water.
Bear vs Shark: Senses
A bear’s senses are good for hunting. They can smell food and prey from miles away, hear about twice as well as humans, and have good vision in the day and the night. However, sharks are perfect hunting specimens. Their sense of sight is very good, and their hearing is limited to low frequencies. Yet, they can smell or taste 1 part per 10 billion parts of chemicals in the water and may also sense animals according to their electrical fields. Sharks have a sensory advantage against bears.
Bear vs Shark: Physical Defenses
Sharks have large bodies, tough skin, speed to leave their enemies behind them, and the knowledge that they are the deadliest thing in the water to keep them safe. Bears have their large size and speed to keep them safe on land along with the ability to climb trees to get out of trouble. Their threat display is also quite effective in getting other animals, including humans, to leave them alone. Unfortunately, only their size protects them underwater. Sharks have better defenses than bears.
Bear vs Shark: Combat Skills
Sharks use their senses to locate prey and then ambush them. When they do this, they’ll run into them, land a bite, and then tear away a large chunk of flesh. After a few bites, their prey is helpless and becomes dinner. Bears will usually maul their prey by charging them down, clawing, and biting them around the neck. Either strangulation or exsanguination spells the end of bears’ victims, and then they start the feast. Both animals are incredibly good at what they do, capable of taking down all sorts of large prey.
Who Would Win in a Fight Between a Bear and a Shark?
A shark would win a fight against a bear. Although a polar bear might be the best match out of any bear for a shark, it would still lose. It doesn’t have the toolkit needed to slay a creature so much larger, faster, and deadlier than it. The shark would probably attack from behind or beneath the polar bear, tearing open the bear’s blubbery middle. A few bites are all it takes for the panic to set in, and the polar bear would begin clawing and slashing at the shark. These attacks don’t help, though. The shark will bite over and over again, eventually tearing away so much flesh that the bear is unable to fight back or simply dies. Very few animals exist that can kill a large shark, and a bear is certainly not one of them. These furry animals cannot inflict a fatal wound on a shark faster than a shark can do the same.
