Loading ...Grizzly bears, on the other hand, are massive apex predators fiercely protective of their personal space and food. While they don’t hunt humans, they are highly aggressive when surprised or defending cubs, and a provoked grizzly can easily kill any living being in its vicinity.
When confronted by a defensive grizzly in the wild, climbing a tree might not be the best idea, as younger grizzlies can climb, and adults can easily reach up into the lower branches. Wildlife experts recommend playing dead—laying flat on your stomach and using your hands to cover the back of your neck. This shows the bear you are not a threat, and in most defensive attacks, they will eventually walk away.
Facts and Information about Grizzly Bears
- Also referred to as the North American brown bear.
- Native to North America, mostly found in the US states of Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, as well as the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and the northern territories.
- Inhabit the arctic tundra, dense alpine forests, open plains, and sub-alpine meadows.
- While the population in the lower 48 states is heavily protected at around 1,800 individuals, the total North American population is roughly 55,000.
- Lifespan in the wild is typically between 20 and 25 years.
- Can grow to a maximum length of about 2.1 meters (7 feet).
- Shoulder height can reach up to 1.1 meters (3.5 feet) when on all fours.
- Males are significantly larger and heavier than females.
- A mature male grizzly bear typically weighs between 180 and 360 kilograms (400–800 lbs), while females weigh between 130 and 200 kilograms.
- Despite their massive size, they can run at top speeds of up to 55 km/h (35 mph).
- They are highly adaptable omnivores that feed on grass, roots, berries, fungi, fish (like salmon), insects, and large mammals like elk, deer, and bison. They are also notorious scavengers.
- During hyperphagia (late summer and fall), they can gain as much as 1.5 kilograms per day to build fat reserves for winter hibernation.
- They are mostly solitary animals, fiercely defending their immediate space but not actively patrolling vast territories like wolves do.
- Reach sexual maturity between 4 and 5 years of age.
- Mating takes place between May and July.
- The gestation period features delayed implantation, ensuring cubs are born in the winter den.
- Females give birth to a maximum of 4 cubs (usually 2).
- Males do not participate in raising cubs and are actually a major threat to them.
- Female bears fiercely protect and care for their cubs for up to three years before chasing them away to start life on their own.
- Adult bears are highly intelligent animals, known to remember specific, plentiful foraging locations for more than a decade.
Facts and Information about the Western Gorilla
- Scientific name is Gorilla gorilla.
- They are slightly smaller and lighter than their cousins, the Eastern mountain gorillas.
- Males (silverbacks) are drastically bigger than females.
- Males can grow to a standing height of 1.7 to 1.8 meters (nearly 6 feet), while females reach a maximum height of about 1.5 meters.
- Adult males weigh between 140 and 180 kilograms (300–400 lbs), while females weigh about half that.
- Lifespan is up to 40 years in the wild and over 50 years in captivity.
- Can reach short burst speeds of up to 40 km/h (25 mph).
- Their coat is primarily blackish-grey, with mature males developing a distinct patch of silver hair on their backs.
- Categorized as a Critically Endangered species by the IUCN.
- Primarily herbivorous animals that feed heavily on fruit, leaves, shoots, bark, and celery-like stems.
- Though mostly herbivores, they occasionally supplement their diet with termites, ants, and grubs.
- Endemic to the dense tropical rainforests and swamp forests of Central and West Africa, including Congo, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, the Central African Republic, and Gabon.
- Live in tight-knit family troops of up to 20 individuals, led and protected by a single dominant silverback male.
- Their global wild population is estimated to be between 100,000 and 300,000, though rapidly declining due to poaching and habitat loss.
- The Ebola virus has periodically devastated wild western gorilla populations.
- Male gorillas normally leave their birth troop when they reach maturity (around 11 years old) to eventually form their own families.
- The gestation period is about eight and a half months, remarkably similar to humans.
- Females typically give birth to a single baby; twins are exceptionally rare.
- Females carry and deeply care for their infants for up to 5 years.
- Troops slowly travel up to 4 kilometers a day while constantly foraging for vegetation.
- Despite their terrifying appearance, silverbacks are not violent. When defending their troop, they rely almost entirely on intimidation—standing on two legs, screaming, and thumping their chests. They rarely want a physical fight.
Grizzly Bear vs Gorilla Comparison
| Animals | Western Gorilla | Grizzly Bear |
| Kingdom | Animalia | Animalia |
| Family | Hominidae | Ursidae |
| Genus | Gorilla | Ursus |
| Average Length | Up to 6 ft standing | 6.5 to 7 ft |
| Average Height | 1.5 – 1.8 m (Standing) | 1.02 m (On all fours) |
| Class | Mammalia | Mammalia |
| Area | Central Africa | North America (USA, Canada) |
| Order | Primates | Carnivora |
| Habitat | Tropical rainforests and swamps | Forests, tundra, and alpine meadows |
| Teeth | Large 2-inch canine teeth for display | Sharp canines and bone-crushing molars |
| Force | 4 (very good) | 5 (excellent) |
| Technique | 3 (average) | 4 (very good) |
| Stamina | 3 (average) | 5 (excellent) |
| Intelligence | 5 (excellent) | 4 (very good) |
| Weight | 140 – 180 kg (300 – 400 lbs) | 180 – 360 kg (400 – 800 lbs) |
| Average Life Span | 35 – 40 years | 25+ years (Females), 22 years (Males) |
How We Grade the Fighters: Scores are out of 5 based on physical attributes. Force goes to the Grizzly (5) due to its massive weight advantage—often double the size of a silverback—while the gorilla (4) possesses incredible primate lifting strength. Technique favors the bear (4), a seasoned brawler equipped with 4-inch claws, compared to the herbivorous gorilla (3) that mostly relies on blunt force. Stamina easily goes to the Grizzly (5), built to forage and run for miles, while the heavy, dense gorilla (3) tires quickly in a prolonged fight. Finally, Intelligence goes to the highly evolved primate brain of the Gorilla (5), edging out the Grizzly (4) in pure problem-solving capabilities.
The Duel Between the Grizzly Bear and the Gorilla
Because Western gorillas live in the tropical jungles of Africa and grizzly bears roam the freezing wilderness of North America, they will never naturally cross paths. However, if they were magically dropped into an arena together, the fight would not be nearly as close as many people think.
A lot of pop culture myths suggest that a silverback gorilla could easily beat a bear, but biological reality tells a completely different story. The grizzly bear is an apex predator that regularly kills massive, heavily muscled animals like elk and moose. A male grizzly can weigh over 700 pounds, standing 7 feet tall when on its hind legs. It is armed with jaws capable of crushing bowling balls and 4-inch non-retractable claws designed to rip through flesh and dig through frozen earth.
The western gorilla is incredibly strong for a primate, capable of bending iron bars and lifting massive weight. However, silverbacks are peaceful herbivores. They lack predatory killer instincts. When a gorilla fights a rival male, they use their large canine teeth to bite, but a gorilla’s skin is relatively thin, and it has absolutely no defense against the slashing claws of a bear.
Furthermore, the grizzly bear has a massive anatomical advantage: armor. A grizzly is covered in incredibly dense fur, an impossibly tough hide, and thick layers of fat. Even if a 400-pound silverback managed to punch or bite the bear, it would do very little structural damage through all that natural padding.
If this fight were to happen, the gorilla would likely try to bluff charge, screaming and thumping its chest to scare the bear away. But if the grizzly committed to a fight, the sheer weight, predatory weapons, and aggressive brawling nature of the bear would simply overwhelm the ape. The grizzly bear wins this fight easily, 10 times out of 10.
Videos of Grizzly Bear and Gorilla
Who Wins Your Vote?
Do you agree that the grizzly bear’s claws, armor, and massive weight make it an unstoppable force, or do you think the silverback’s primate intelligence and lifting strength could turn the tide? Scroll back up to the very top of the page to cast your vote in our poll, and jump into the comments section below to argue your case!
And a gorilla cannot lift 4 tons that’s 8 thousand pounds and grizzly bears can weig
h up to 1500 pounds
Yes they can. Look it
In the grizzly name people usually lump in brown bear and grizzly bear together, but the bears that weigh that much are brown bears, grizzly bears are what this article says, that being said, grizzly would still win easily.
Gorilla, especially silver back can lift up to 1,700 pounds and punch with a force almost double that
True gorillas have amazing strength. However leapords often kill them so I’m thinking since leapords have no chance against a Grizzly, then yeah grizz is just more powerful with huge claw swipes. Grizzly for the win
I have to disagree. I’m 100% sure that leopards prey on small or infant gorillas. But against a full grown gorilla that leopard wouldn’t stand a chance
Totally wrong; leopards have preyed successfully on adult gorillas. Of course it is an ambush predatory attack, not an ego-driven macho contest. Grizzlies are so much stronger and bigger than gorillas, and they are predators equipped to pull down very big prey. The gorilla would not have a chance.
Also leopards will almost always avoid Silverback gorillas. Unless they find a nest with infants they’ll stay the hell away. The only gorillas that leopards kill are smaller mountain gorillas, and infants of all species of gorilla. The mountain gorilla is a smaller species of gorilla by the way
I recommend, that you study this subject more carefully. There are also dead silverbacks killed by leopards. Gorilla strength is so much a myth, what comes to wildest dreams concerning it. It is strong, but not like some “superanimal”. Their defence is very much based in teamwork. Lone gorilla is in panic if facing a leopard. Silverback has some chance against a leopard, but known cases have dead silverbacks and in only one case there were both dead, silverback and leopard after fight. In other cases only dead gorillas, silverbacks, younger adults and of course mostly young ones.
I’d also like to see how long a lion would survive in a polar bears habitat. Oh wait, it wouldn’t because it would freeze to death and couldn’t catch any prey. Also, you put quotation marks in the wrong place and forget a question mark. Circus and zoo confrontations aren’t reliable, as the health of the animal is always in question. Besides, by your logic Bengal tigers would wreck lions, because in a zoo confrontation in Turkey a Bengal tiger destroyed a male lion in a fight.
hey James. The lion Is definitely not the strongest beast. Seriously did you know a gorilla can crush the skull of a leopard easily, and although lions would probably beat leopards in a fight, lions usually go for the neck and gorillas barley even have necks. And also their necks are very protected and the gorilla would probably just jump onto the lion putting its weight on it and pound the lion to death with their powerful arms. And don’t even get me started with tigers. They would absoloutly destroy even a male lion. They have bigger teeth. They are stronger, and more muscular, and they are smarter. And polar bears are one of the biggest bears in the world and bears don’t run when they attack they charge for the enemy and polar bears teeth are powerful specialized for cutting and slashing through the thick blubber of seals so the flesh of a lion would obviously not be a problem so don’t think the lions are the kings there are many animals that can overthrow a lion so the lion is not the”king” it is just a lion that can be beaten by many creatures so do you’re research and if you actually knew anything about animals you would respect all of them equally and not say that the lion is the best and strongest and fastest so hope you get yourself straight with your lion problem and not respecting any animals because any of those animals could destroy you anytime if they wanted to.
Oh this is Grizzly Bear vs Eastern Gorilla why bring lions, tigers, hippos and rhinos here?
If you are asking who’s strongest, it’s the blue whale, by sheer power. A baby blue whale can weigh 2000 kg, for starters.
If you’re asking land animal, it’s Elephant. Trunk alone has 100,000 muscles, need I say more? It isn’t just a bunch of fat, it’s really strong.
As far as answering the question is concerned, a Grizzly Bear takes this.
No for land it’s the anaconda that can squeeze 19 000 psi. Pythons, monitor lizards, and crocs beat elephant And saltwater crocodile is strongest overall
I ment anaconda is strongest overall
1st: Lions catching seals is BS, it never happens
2nd: Most polar bears do not live near dumpsters, and I’d like to see a male lion catch a seal where the polar bear loves
3rd: That elephant was tiny, I said that a male lion couldn’t kill a fully grown lion. It takes a good sized and healthy pride of lions to kill a female adult elephant, let alone a male.
4th: I already said that hippos dry up easily on land, and that is the only opportunity the lions have to kill them. I’d like to see a male lion, or any lion kill a hippo in the water, even shallow water.
5th: I know lions kill buffalo; once again, this is about a male lion. I’d like to see a male lion kill a male Cape buffalo, by itself. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TdhtIzRG-BE
6th: I don’t even comprehend your reasoning, Alfred
Lions have been known to avoid and sometimes be killed by honey badgers. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RlFfo2VhKDc
How will he kill the bear and eat it when the bear has already thrown the lion to the moon? Polar bears can drag beluga whales out of the water, and battles between polar bears are intense. Their claws are hooked, and their flesh is thick. They can run up to 30 mph for moderate times. Their claws are larger than the lions, as well as their bite force. Their canine teeth are around the same size. Their fur is 1-2 inches thick, and that is just the outer coat. This is thicker than the length of the claws of a lion, which is 1 1/2 inches (on a large male). I see no way why the lion would win. In the animal kingdom, animals have respect for larger animals, especially predators. The polar bear is by far the most aggressive bear, and the least likely to back down. Male lions back down to larger male lions, so what reason would a male lion have to not back down to a behemoth, aggressive boar polar bear? Either way, if the male lion attacks the polar bear will rip it to shreds with it’s greater than 2 inch claws. You must not know anything about polar bears. They aren’t dumbster divers; they are expert hunters. They live 6 months in pitch blackness in the harshest place on earth, without hibernating, still hunting prey. Polar bears are some of the toughest creatures on earth, so I’d like to see a male lion try.
1. Polar bears are not the most aggressive of bears. They consistently back away from much smaller Grizzlies.
2. Polar bears are not capable of very lengthy exertions of effort on land. The reason is that they are so well insulated, they overheat quickly.
3. Polar bears are not capable of running 30 miles an hour. You are confusing their speed with that of more terrestrial bears. They top out at 20 miles per hour.
They are however, so big and strong, and so well protected by their fat and their fur that a lion would have not the slightest chance against it.
Africa has no mega-fauna. That’s simply ludicrous. Nothing in Africa is perfectly evolved, that’s why they’re changing.
Besides, polar bears also hunt beluga whales, which weigh as much as hippos.
Also, you stated that polar bears have half the bite force of a lion. It is actually quite the opposite; lions have 600 PSI and polar bears have 1200 PSI.
Lions bite force: http://listverse.com/2012/11/05/top-10-animal-bites-that-will-completely-destroy-you/
Polar bear bite force: http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/the-top-20-worlds-strongest-animal-bite-forces-measured-in-psi-new.2393047/
You also stated that polar bears overheat rapidly, which I don’t deny. However, lions freeze quickly due to their short and coarse hair. Neither of them could survive in each other’s habitats, simply due to the climate differences.
Health is unreliable in those encounters, and those were grizzly bears, not polar bears. I have proven time and time again that the polar bear would beat a lion. They have 1250 PSI, lions have 600 PSI. Polar bears have longer claws, fur thicker than how long the lions claws are, and are much bigger. Polar bears are also much more muscular than other bears. Polar bears have no natural enemies, and don’t have a natural fear of humans. Also, lions are the king of beasts? Really? I could think of plenty of animals that could kill a lion. Like, for example, the killer whale, the black mamba, the honey badger, and, oh yeah, the POLAR BEAR. You stated that a polar bear would lose to a killer whale. Well, I’d like to see a lion take on a killer whale. James, you’re just a preposterous, ridiculous, asinine fool who claims to have evidence and that mine is false, when all you do is prove to me that you aren’t worth my time. If you respond to this, I probably won’t respond because your response will probably be too moronic for me to understand.
Also, no. Lions live on the desert of skeleton coast, but very rarely kill seals there. They most often prey on the livestock of the villagers that live there, like cattle and donkeys.
Wrong link.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9-_IRwfX-Z0
Not even close to being true. It is extremely hard to catch a seal where the polar bears live, and considering the deterioration of ice flows, the breathing holes are less common. Also, I love how the person who has posted no evidence is accusing me of having no evidence, where I have posted YouTube videos and articles proving you wrong. There are some polar bears in Canada, but live very high in the arctic circle, where there are very few people. What is also really funny that you call polar bears pests, where as lions are pests to the people where they live, as they prey on the people’s livestock and are then killed.
Read the first part of the article https://www.thedodo.com/animal-agriculture-threat-lions-1273776010.html
thats good points
A polar bear will win against a lion. No questions, head-on. Polar bears will back down Undoomed, but only after giving their all. Male lions fihht rivals, but will back down if there is a clear difference in power. Polar bears are also more aggressive, which means that when it really counts, they get a larger boost of adrenaline, which would make them more powerful. However, it is likely we will never know thr true outcome for they will meet unless either animal adapts to the others habitat.
Hail Odin.
lions fight to kill not run away, they dont back down from what they started “sometimes”
In no way shape or form could a lion win against a grizzly,Or polar bear, Infact it would be nearly impossible for a lion to kill them for many factors, One a lion cannot get close enough to the bear without being mauled, Bears weigh nearly if not more then twice the lion male or female, And ontop lions have low stamina as most big cats do they run out of energy fast, while bears are known to have enormous amounts of stamina and could fight full strength for hours while the lion will basically become so exhausted it wont be able to move, No matter how it’s played s lion could never kill a grizzly bear or a polar bear they simply do not have enough stamina to do do and anything a lion did wont be effective enough to kill the bear due to its tough skin and layers of fat
true
James, no. Oh my god, no. Would you PLEASE just look up lion and polar bear bite forces, and see that polar bears have around 1,200 PSI, while lions have around 600 PSI? All you have to do is a simple google search, that is all it will take. Bears are not closely related at all to pigs, and in fact, are more closely related to dogs than pigs.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj5lZnrreXRAhVC34MKHY79D70QFggdMAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Finteresting-animal-facts.com%2FStrongest-Animal-Facts%2FPolar-Bear-Facts.shtml&usg=AFQjCNHxewOLns2MI7yQjT9RjHTNQZbifQ&sig2=to07tS9dl_rY3s3HuGOjQw&bvm=bv.145822982,d.amc
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiEvP7yreXRAhUK0IMKHdjrA94QFggdMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Flistverse.com%2F2012%2F11%2F05%2Ftop-10-animal-bites-that-will-completely-destroy-you%2F&usg=AFQjCNGj_fK-0Sk5s4ki47kff3isfAOrRw&sig2=A1tfVX_lzSp7xic80omRbQ&bvm=bv.145822982,d.amc
There you go, polar bears have stronger bites, ya wanker.
i like a bears more but the lion fights to the death and a bears runs away when they know the target is to hard and even though bears are strong, there is no way in hell a bear can take down a lion or a gorilla easly, even though there stronger but they hunt to eat and lions hunt to eat and show there there dominit. and dont even talk about poler bares we all know a poler bare could easly take down a smaller cat. but a gorilla lion could take down any type of bear, a gorilla and a lion is the strongest.
If a Gorilla hammer fists any of them its night night time.
The Gorilla has no chance against an adult Grizzly Bear.The grizzly will always defeat the gorilla in a one on one fight.
You guys should really just stop acknowledging James. It is horrifically obvious he is a troll.
Grizzle is a big win against a gorilla. Grizzles have 5 inch claws and skull crushing teeth. Gorilla is no mach for a grizzle.
gorilla can climb and use blunt object. like big rocks and logs.
They have the same bite force but grizzly is stronger and it’s.teeth is sharper
In nature size and strength really matter boys and talking 1 v 1 a grizz vs silverback would be compelling…What wouldn’t be as compelling is a lion bc even their big prey could fuck them up!!! It takes 3 or more lionesses to finish off a Cape Buffalo!!!
You are mistaken about the diet of the Polar Bear, James. Although you are correct about a full grown polar bear besting a full grown lion.
-> Polar bears DONT regularly hunt walrus, they do that because food options are scarce in the summer months. In fact I recall seeing a desperate polar bear being killed by a walrus recently; on the brink of starvation the bear attempted to kill one and was gored.
just like the trash-can the polar bear would rather hunt seal.
Lmao… Lions aren’t that tough. Male “Pride Boss” Lions rarely have to fight, or Hunt, for that matter. Male Lions generally only fight for territory and breeding, rarely do they fight to the death against something that can hold its own. Hyenas, in groups of three, can typically scare off a male Lion. This has been documented, and is shown on youtube with a simple search. Male Lions are known for being big, loud, and Lazy.
If you’d like a big cat to Idolize why not the Tiger? (Siberian or Bengal) both have been shown to defeat Lions in captivity (encounters in the wild would be rare if not impossible.)
The Tiger(male or female) is larger, stronger, faster, possesses a higher intellect and has more experience fighting when compared to a Male Lion. Tigers are known to, when desperate, hunt and even sometimes kill full grown Grizzly Bears.
Do any research at all and you’ll see this is VERIFIABLY accurate. Tigers>Lions 9/10. The original Tarzan movie even went through multiple Lions because THE TIGERS KEPT KILLING THEM.
although tigers are stronger than lions bears are stronger than tigers and no way a tiger can kill full grown grizzlies
The Grizzly wins this one. Make no mistake about it, Gorillas are ridiculously strong. They can bend bananna trees in half, flip over small sedans, etc. However, the Grizzly is everything the Gorilla is, except it is many times larger and stronger and is armed with large claws and canines.
Unless the Gorilla does not land a very solid, purposeful blow on the Grizzly’s skull or spine, the Grizzly should win this more often than not.
Grizzly would destroy a gorilla no offense to gorilla fans though. Bears are predators they are double the height of the average gorilla and also double the weight. They also have claws while gorillas don’t. Gorillas may have thumbs and can grab but grizzlies can partially grab using there claws. Bears don’t have as hard a bite but grizzlies jaws are more adapted for fighting.
Iap,
Yes, you are correct.
Seruiously I think King Kong could take down a grizzly, but a normal gorilla would not, it would last 30 seconds against a bear, his skin does not have enough protection against the long and strong claws of the bear
No mountain lions are not on any record of defeating a full grown me grizzly bear and even male alpha lions would not be able to take on a full grown grizzly, only on a very few occasions has a Siberian tiger ( which is much bigger and stronger than lions) ever defeated Russian brown bears that are much smaller than their North American cousins the grizzly
I’ve actually seen a video of a mountain lion making a full grown grizzly turn and run.
The grizzly bear would crush the western gorilla in a fight. It would be more fair if it was a silver back gorilla. And no the lion is not the strongest animal the elephant could take down any animal.
A siberian tiger
It is odd to see those comments about some gorilla “superstrength” and like they would lift thousands of kilos, no they won´t. Gorilla is just a big ape, 140-200 kg usually (male), grizzly bears can be 300-400 kg, inland grizzlies, and Alaskan coastal bears can be even 650-700 kg if huge individual. There is no match here, bear is bigger and stronger and also predator used to kill other animals. Gorilla is herbivore, not a joke but still defence of gorillas is based on group.
Leopards are known to kill even silverback gorillas, strongest individuals. Not often, but those cases are there. So gorillas are quite vulnerable, leopards for instance have ripped groin area causing massive and fast bleeding to death.
People should study the subject really and not only remember some myth and urban legends about gorillas, they are just big apes, nothing more or less
A full grown Griz can weigh up to 1500lbs and hit 55km per hour. They can decapitate a moose which is a huge and dangerous animal. They have much better smell than a dog and are an ambush predator. They are a terrifying animal with no natural predator. It would destroy a gorilla in seconds zero question about it.
King of the Jungle not king of beasts.