From: officialflagrant
Grizzly bears are considered formidable predators, described as 900lb “predatory wild dogs” that can climb trees and break a moose’s back with a single slap [01:05:13]. Personal accounts reveal a deep-seated fear of these animals, stemming from childhood trauma with bears rattling trash cans in Florida [01:15:18].
Types of Bears and Their Behaviors
While black bears in Florida might be smaller [01:06:30], they can still be dangerous and unpredictable [01:06:31].
Polar Bears
Polar bears are highlighted as the “most predatory of all bears” because their environment offers no vegetables, forcing them to exclusively eat meat like seals, or even people [01:07:03]. When a polar bear sniffs “meat” on a man, it’s not curiosity but an attempt to eat him [01:06:39].
Real-Life Encounters
- Moose vs. Bear: An observer once watched a bear chase a moose, catch up to it, and break its back with a slap, sending the moose slamming against a tree [01:05:24].
- Polar Bear Attack on Ice Raft: A horrifying story recounts explorers on a sinking icebreaker who had to move to an ice raft. A polar bear observed them, strategically moved from one ice raft to the next, then dove into the water, surfaced on their raft, grabbed one man, pulled him into the water, and began eating him alive in front of the others [01:07:51].
- Elk Hunting Encounter: During an elk hunt on Foggy Neck Island in Alaska, where the biggest brown bears live (up to 11 feet tall) [01:09:24], a group noticed bear droppings but ignored them. While having lunch, a “giant beast” ran through their camp. One man, Dirtmouth, wound up on top of the running bear for 30 feet before falling off. The bear ran into the woods, “hoofing” at them, and claimed their elk kill. The hunters were lucky to escape with their lives [01:09:46].
- Moose Encounter: Moose are known to be dangerous, regularly stomping people to death with their 1,800-pound bodies [01:46:25]. They have developed stomping as a defense mechanism against wolves [01:46:40]. A friend on horseback was chased by a cow moose and barely escaped [01:49:15].
Safety and Survival in Bear Country
Camping is advised where grizzly bears don’t live, as a “little cloth house” offers no protection against an 900-pound predator [01:04:50]. Generally, bears do not seek out humans as a primary food source, focusing on berries, fawns, and calves [01:05:55]. Yelling might scare them off [01:05:50].
- Moose Safety: To avoid moose, one must be smart and not frighten them or get between a mother and her calves [01:47:56].
“The woods is that it’s a human reset, you you’re when you’re like legitimately out in the mountains it’s a human reset because you realize like oh oh no one gives a s*** who you are out here” [01:10:55].
Other Dangerous Wildlife
While bears are terrifying, other animals pose significant threats:
- Sharks and Alligators: Pose a greater fear than bears [01:37:35].
- Big Cats: Considered even scarier than bears, as there is “nothing you can do” against a tiger or lion [01:14:58]. A mountain lion observed in Utah was described as an 180-pound cat with a “big ass pumpkin head” and “wild eyes” [01:40:48].
- Monkeys: Are “freakishly strong” and dangerous, with one instance of a monkey biting off a large chunk of a man’s scalp [01:12:49]. An orangutan can pull a person apart “like a roll of toilet paper” due to their strength-to-weight ratio [01:14:27].
- Wolves: A wolf’s bite is five times stronger than a pit bull’s, with teeth designed to crush bones [01:43:42].
- Coyotes: A 19-year-old promising folk singer was killed by coyotes while hiking in the woods in Canada [01:51:48].
The challenges of being a big guy and living without fear in nature: “We think of our like oh it’s not that much bigger than me it’s kind of the same size as me it’s not even the same thing yeah strength to weight ratio we’re made out of jelly donut” [01:14:36].