Shark vs Polar Bear [Archive] - Two Plus Two Older Archives

elwayfans

05-03-2005, 05:31 PM

So here's the situation....

You have a massive polar bear vs a fully grown great white shark. The two are placed into a 20x20x20 unbreakable glass tank filled with 10 feet of water. All the way around the edges is a step which is 2 feet wide and is 9 feet off the ground (so the step is only 1 foot under water).

Who wins?

At first I was in the polar bear camp, thinking it could rip the schnazzle out of the shark's gills and then just outlast him. But I'm being more and more convinced that the shark would win.

GO!!!

Patrick del Poker Grande

05-03-2005, 05:34 PM

I think the tank is not big enough for the shark to be mobile. On the other hand, you are forcing the bear because it also doesn't have nearly enough room on that 2' ledge. In this exact set-up, my money's on the bear. If it were changed to a larger tank, I'd have to say the shark. I'm not sure what the critical size is, though.

MoreWineII

05-03-2005, 05:34 PM

I think the bear. The shark wouldn't have room to maneuver in such a small space. I think in order for a shark to bite and tear flesh effectively, it needs some room.

The bear just swats you with its paw and its over.

...

God, I'm bored.

MoreWineII

05-03-2005, 05:35 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I think the tank is not big enough for the shark to be mobile. On the other hand, you are forcing the bear because it also doesn't have nearly enough room on that 2' ledge. In this exact set-up, my money's on the bear. If it were changed to a larger tank, I'd have to say the shark. I'm not sure what the critical size is, though.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
I think the bear. The shark wouldn't have room to maneuver in such a small space. I think in order for a shark to bite and tear flesh effectively, it needs some room.

The bear just swats you with its paw and its over.

...

God, I'm bored.

[/ QUOTE ]

You sir, are a genius.

Rduke55

05-03-2005, 05:37 PM

Shark all day.
The polar bear could not hut the shark quickly enough before the shark gets ahold of it.
If it wasn't a great white it could be closer.

Rduke55

05-03-2005, 05:38 PM

Bear vs. gator would be better

asofel

05-03-2005, 05:52 PM

I can't believe the responses so far....its a friggin great white....

http://greatwhite.org/images/gws5.jpg

i mean, c'mon people.....

Grisgra

05-03-2005, 05:55 PM

How many 5-year olds are we allowed to dump in there?

PokerFink

05-03-2005, 05:58 PM

There are two problems here.

1) A 20x20 tank is way too small for a great white. Great whites can grow to be 20 feet long, although they average about 15 feet. The shark would have no mobility.

2) A 2 foot ledge isn't big enough for a polar bear to stand on. The bear would just fall into the water, and at that point, it's all over.

Given a larger tank and a larger ledge for the bear, and I think it's an interesting battle. Assuming the bear just stays on the ledge, I don't think the shark would be able to jump out of the water to get ahold of the bear, and I don't think the bear would be able to swat the shark to death - it's too big and it's skin is too thick. If both were in water, I can't see the bear winning.

wayabvpar

05-03-2005, 07:48 PM

[ QUOTE ]
How many 5-year olds are we allowed to dump in there?

[/ QUOTE ]

nh

Woolygimp

05-03-2005, 07:54 PM

Bears are the strongest, most dangerous mammals on the planet (strength wise). Capable of ripping the head clean off a bull...

I recall pit fights in the early 1900's between bears and lions/tigers from africa. They would wound the grizzly, and a majority of the time it would still rape its opponent.

Now since sharks have an obvious advantage in water...

nothumb

05-03-2005, 08:01 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I recall pit fights in the early 1900's between bears and lions/tigers from africa. They would wound the grizzly, and a majority of the time it would still rape its opponent.

[/ QUOTE ]

So they have internet access in your nursing home? At your age I'm surprised you remember to poop.

NT

Rockatansky

05-03-2005, 08:02 PM

http://www.medisin.ntnu.no/~bjar/bjarne/unis/images/bear.jpg

Clearly nature's most efficient killing machine.

Woolygimp

05-03-2005, 08:06 PM

Quote:
I recall pit fights in the early 1900's between bears and lions/tigers from africa. They would wound the grizzly, and a majority of the time it would still rape its opponent.

[ QUOTE ]

So they have internet access in your nursing home? At your age I'm surprised you remember to poop.

[/ QUOTE ]

Fresh supply of "britches" and i don't have to remember...

Woolygimp

05-03-2005, 08:19 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Grizzly bears - the ultimate carnivore:

Almost all queries received on this topic request answers to the lion versus tiger question. Oddly, few people simply ask which is considered the Ultimate Carnivore.

This honour is held by an animal the tiger does not often have encounter; it is the grizzly bear.

The grizzly bear is a poor predator, taking down a caribou only when the opportunity arises. This, however, shifted his evolution in favour of the job in hand, namely as a digger of hard barren ground for roots, tubers and den building. The grizzly bear subsequently evolved enormous bone and muscle density; roughly ten times our own for a given size. They have developed into huge and enormously powerful animals.

Big cat biology is very different. They have evolved powerful elastic muscles over a low weight, low density bone structure to suit their purpose of chasing down prey.
Grizzly bear pit fights:

The Californians of the late 19th century staged well-documented pit fights with grizzlies and spanish bulls. The grizzlies, using their paw as a club, shattered the unfortunate bull's skull or shoulder bones so easily that the betting became poor.

Eventually, and at considerable cost, African lions were brought in to raise the stakes. The most fierce of the adult males was sent in whilst the grizzly was already waiting in the pits. The lion was known for bravely charging straight in and looked good for the money, but the grizzly killed a male lion almost as easily as he'd killed the bull.

The polar bear:

There is obviously no way tigers and polar bears can conflict, however comments regarding the grizzly usually lead to inevitable questions about the power of the polar bear.

The polar bear is a larger, but less robust creature than other bears.

Compared to the grizzly, it has a thinner, longer and more delicate skull, along with narrower forequarters. This streamlining is an adaptation for an aquatic life style.

The grizzly has a shorter, thicker neck, heavily built skull and more powerful shoulder structure. Despite being a good foot shorter, the grizzly has a trump card.

Their claws, having evolved as digging tools, are also unmatched at opening body carcasses. Claws of 6" aren't uncommon (9" record) while the polar bear has small hook-like 2" claws.

Sometimes, when the ice melts, polar bears have been known to be driven off by grizzlies, when they move south into the grizzlies feeding area. A grizzly will defend his barren ground patches jealously as he races to pile on enough fat for the end of summer denning.

[/ QUOTE ]

So the real question is... Grizzly or Great White?

mjohnson406

05-03-2005, 08:32 PM

from sonsofsamhorn.com

"Ok, one last thing, and it's a no brainer Bear beats the dogshit outta shark anyday. Sharks are stupid, they eat, they swim, they eat, they swim, the don't stinking sleep and they reproduce at an almost asexual rate. Bears are cunning, bad ass looking, and they are smart enough to take what I would consider a legitimate nap. If I could sleep from game 7 of the world series to opening day I would, wouldn't you? Whatever tactic a shark took, bear standing on rock or not, the bear would figure it out, and kick his ass. Bear, in a landslide."
Curt Schilling

Blarg

05-03-2005, 10:33 PM

[ QUOTE ]
So here's the situation....

You have a massive polar bear vs a fully grown great white shark. The two are placed into a 20x20x20 unbreakable glass tank filled with 10 feet of water. All the way around the edges is a step which is 2 feet wide and is 9 feet off the ground (so the step is only 1 foot under water).

Who wins?

At first I was in the polar bear camp, thinking it could rip the schnazzle out of the shark's gills and then just outlast him. But I'm being more and more convinced that the shark would win.

GO!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't see how the bear could avoid the shark's initial rush. The bear would be unable to avoid a massive loss of flesh here. A shark will often just wait while their victim bleeds to death after the initial bite. With a great white-sized bite, that should work fine even on a grizzly or polar bear.

A bear's blow wouldn't have the weight behind it if his body were suspended in water, either. And even if it weren't, being in water would drastically slow down his maneuverability.

Further, sharks tend to come up behind their prey for the attack, so given a tank big enough for a shark to really be a shark, there's a good chance the bear would have no defense.

contentless

05-03-2005, 10:39 PM

This was a pointless discussion on SOSH and it's a pointless discussion now. Is there any depth of water that a Great White could do all its shark activities and a grizzly would voluntarily get into? The answer is no. Just a shark on land is useless, so is a bear in deep water. Any assumptions made are irrelevant. Over enough time, both animals will starve to death.

Shajen

05-04-2005, 08:16 AM

Does the shark have a frickin laser beam attached to it's head?

If so, shark all the way. If not, then the grizzly...cause he's angry.

DavidC

05-04-2005, 08:53 AM