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All 8 Species of Bears Ranked by How Powerful They Are — Transcript

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0:00All eight species of bears ranked by how
0:02powerful they are.
0:05What is the most powerful bear alive
0:07today? Is the grizzly bear really as
0:09terrifying as everyone says? Or is there
0:12something out there in the wild that is
0:14even scarier?
0:15And what about those cute little bears
0:18that most people never think about? Are
0:20they actually dangerous? There are eight
0:23species of bears living on this planet
0:25right now.
0:27They range from massive Arctic hunters
0:29that can weigh over 1,700 lbs, 770 kg,
0:35to tiny jungle climbers that most people
0:37have never even heard of.
0:40And while every single one of them is
0:42stronger than you might expect, they are
0:44not equal, not even close.
0:47Today we are ranking all eight species
0:50from the most powerful to the least
0:51powerful, looking at bite force, body
0:54strength, claws, size, and the kind of
0:57raw physical ability that separates a
0:59top predator from the rest of the pack,
1:02or in this case, the rest of the forest.
1:05One important thing before we dive in,
1:08when we say powerful, we are not just
1:10talking about who would win in a fight.
1:13We are talking about total physical
1:15capability, strength, bite force,
1:18endurance, and the tools each bear has
1:21evolved to survive and dominate its
1:23environment. Let's get into it.
1:27Number one, polar bear.
1:30The king of the north,
1:32the undisputed heavyweight champion of
1:34the bear world.
1:36The polar bear takes the top spot, and
1:38it is not even a close race. [music]
1:41Adult male polar bears weigh anywhere
1:43between 775
1:46and 1,700 lbs, 350
1:49to 770 kg. The largest one ever recorded
1:54tipped the scales at a jaw dropping
1:562,200 [music]
1:58lbs.
1:59997
2:00kg.
2:02Standing on their hind legs, they can
2:04reach nearly 10 ft 3 m tall.
2:08That is taller than a standard ceiling
2:10in most homes, which is a thought that
2:13should keep anyone up at night. Their
2:15bite force is estimated to exceed 1,200
2:18PSI. That is nearly two times the bite
2:21force of a lion and strong enough to
2:24crush the thick skull of a seal with a
2:26single snap.
2:28Their forelimbs are the strongest of any
2:30bear species, built specifically for two
2:33jobs.
2:34Smashing through ice that is up to 3 ft
2:37thick and dragging prey that can weigh
2:39nearly 1,000
2:41450 kg right out of the freezing Arctic
2:46water. Their paws alone are up to 12 in
2:4930 cm wide, about the size of a dinner
2:52plate, and a single swipe is powerful
2:54enough to kill a seal [snorts] on
2:56contact.
2:58Not injure it, kill it. What makes polar
3:01bears stand apart from every other bear
3:03is that they are the only species that
3:05actively hunts humans as prey.
3:08Every other bear attacks out of
3:10surprise, fear, or defense. The polar
3:13bear looks at a human and sees a meal.
3:16That alone tells you everything you need
3:18to know about where this animal sits in
3:21the food chain. They are also incredible
3:23swimmers, capable of covering over 60 mi
3:27of open ocean without stopping. They are
3:30apex predators in one of the harshest
3:32environments on Earth. No natural
3:35predators,
3:37no real competition,
3:39just pure, cold, calculated power.
3:44Number two, brown bear.
3:47The brown bear is the most widespread
3:49bear species on the planet, found across
3:51North America, Europe, and Asia. And
3:54within their species, you have some
3:56serious heavyweights. None more famous
3:59than the grizzly bear and the Kodiak
4:02bear. Both of which are subspecies of
4:05Ursus arctos. Kodiak bears, found only
4:08on the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago
4:10in Alaska, are the largest of the brown
4:13bear subspecies and rival polar bears in
4:16sheer mass. Some Kodiak males top 1,500
4:20lbs, 680 kg. Their bite force is
4:24estimated at around 1,100 psi, just
4:28below the polar bear's. And they are
4:30powerful enough to flip boulders
4:32weighing 1,500 lbs, 680 kg,
4:36while searching for food underneath. The
4:39grizzly bear, on the other hand, is the
4:41most feared bear in North America and
4:44for very good reason. That distinctive
4:46shoulder hump you see on a grizzly is
4:48not fat.
4:50It is pure muscle. A massive structure
4:53of dense muscle tissue that powers their
4:55digging and gives their forearms
4:57extraordinary force.
5:00A fully grown grizzly can lift around
5:02500 lbs, 226 kg,
5:07with one paw. According to the BBC's
5:09Science Focus, a [music] grizzly bear
5:11has the strength of five strong humans
5:14combined. Their claws grow up to 4 in,
5:1810 cm long, and they're built for
5:20digging. They can excavate a burrow in
5:22minutes, rip through solid logs, and
5:25tear up the ground chasing rodents at
5:27impressive speed. They can run up to 35
5:30[music]
5:30mph,
5:3256 km/h in short bursts, which is faster
5:36than the world's fastest human sprinter.
5:39Grizzlies are responsible for the vast
5:41majority of bear attacks in North
5:43America, with roughly 46 attacks per
5:45year in the United States alone. The
5:48grizzly bear has no natural predators.
5:52Number three, Asian black bear.
5:55You might know this one by its other
5:57name, the moon bear, named for that
6:00crescent-shaped white patch on its
6:02chest. It looks almost decorative, like
6:05someone stamped a logo on a very
6:07dangerous animal. The Asian black bear
6:09weighs in at roughly 200 to 440 lb, 90
6:14to 200 kg, and lives across a wide range
6:17of habitats from the Himalayas to Japan
6:21and southern China. It is a medium-sized
6:23bear by global standards, but do not let
6:26that fool you. Its bite force is
6:28estimated at around 700 PSI, which it
6:32uses to crack open tough nuts and thick
6:34bamboo that most other animals cannot
6:37even make a dent in. Asian black bears
6:40are also known to be expert honey
6:42thieves, capable of tearing apart thick
6:44wooden hive structures with their
6:46forepaws.
6:48Their climbing skills are legendary,
6:51even among bears. Documented cases have
6:53shown them scaling surfaces that would
6:56genuinely challenge an experienced human
6:58rock climber.
7:00What earns this bear the number three
7:01spot is the combination of solid raw
7:04strength, aggressive temperament, and a
7:06very high rate of attacks on humans.
7:09Globally, the Asian black bear is
7:11actually responsible for more bear
7:12attacks on people than any other species
7:15in the world. It does not back down
7:18easily, and it is not particularly shy.
7:21They have also been recorded fighting
7:23off other predators, [music]
7:25including wolves and large cats in their
7:27range.
7:29Not a bear you would want to surprise in
7:31a forest.
7:33Number four, American black bear.
7:37This is the bear most people in North
7:38America are most likely to actually
7:41encounter, And that familiarity can
7:44sometimes lead to underestimating just
7:46how powerful this animal is.
7:49Do not make that mistake. American black
7:52[music] bears range from 200 to 600 lb,
7:5690 to 270 kg,
7:59with some large males pushing closer to
8:01800 lb,
8:03360 kg.
8:06They have a bite force of around 650
8:09to 800 psi, depending on the individual,
8:13strong enough to crunch through bone and
8:15strip a deer carcass clean. What makes
8:18them particularly impressive is their
8:20strength to weight ratio. Research has
8:23shown that American black bears can pull
8:25and drag loads up to two or three times
8:28their own body weight.
8:30An average-sized individual can move
8:32objects well over 1,000 lb,
8:35450 kg. These bears have also been well
8:39documented bending open car doors and
8:42prying off windshields to get at food
8:45inside vehicles. If a black bear wants
8:47into your car,
8:49it is getting into your car.
8:51They are exceptional climbers, able to
8:54scale a 100-ft 30-m tree in under 30
8:58seconds. [music] Their fast-twitch
9:00muscle fibers also give them explosive
9:03short bursts of speed,
9:0535 mph, 56 km/h,
9:09which puts them in the same speed
9:10category as the much larger grizzly. The
9:14American black bear sits at number four,
9:16mostly because of its smaller average
9:19size compared to the brown bear and
9:21Asian black bear. But in terms of muscle
9:23efficiency [music]
9:25and raw capability relative to its
9:27weight,
9:28it punches well above its class.
9:32Number five, sloth bear.
9:35Here is where things start to get a bit
9:37unusual. The sloth bear does not look
9:40like a killing machine. It looks like
9:42someone crossed a bear with a mop.
9:44Shaggy, disheveled, with a long snout
9:47that it uses to hoover up termites and
9:49dance like [music] a vacuum cleaner.
9:52But this bear has a serious reputation.
9:55Found across India and Sri Lanka, sloth
9:58bears have something [music] most bears
10:00do not,
10:01a deeply aggressive disposition toward
10:03humans, even without much provocation.
10:07In a study published in 2000,
10:09researchers documented 735
10:12sloth bear attacks on humans in the
10:15state of Madhya Pradesh, India, alone,
10:19over just 5 years. With 48 of those
10:22attacks being fatal. That is a serious
10:25number for a mid-sized bear that weighs
10:27around 200 to 310 lb, 90 to 140 kg.
10:33Their front claws are around 3 in,
10:367.6 cm, long and designed for one thing,
10:41ripping apart rock-hard termite mounds.
10:45Those same claws tear through flesh just
10:47as easily.
10:49Their forearm strength is exceptional,
10:52able to demolish a termite colony buried
10:54in concrete-hard earth in seconds. Even
10:58more impressive is the fact that sloth
11:00bears have been documented fighting off
11:02tigers,
11:03not running from them, actually engaging
11:06them and forcing them to retreat. That
11:09says a lot about the kind of raw
11:10aggression and physical toughness packed
11:13into this shaggy termite-eating package.
11:17Their bite force of around 650 psi is
11:20slightly below the American black bear,
11:23and they are lighter overall, which is
11:25why they come in at number five. But in
11:27terms of danger per pound, the sloth
11:29bear might actually be one of the
11:31scariest animals on this list.
11:35Number six, sun bear.
11:38Now, here is the one that genuinely
11:40surprises people. The sun bear is the
11:42smallest bear species on Earth. Adults
11:45weigh between 55 and 143 lb, 25 to 65
11:50kg, and yet it might be the most
11:53powerful animal on this list relative to
11:56its body size. Let that sink in. This
11:59little bear from the tropical forests of
12:01Southeast Asia, about the size of a
12:04large dog, has a bite force quotient,
12:06which measures bite force relative to
12:08body mass, [music]
12:09that is higher than any other bear. A
12:12sun bear can generate a maximum bite
12:14force of over 1,900 [music]
12:16N
12:17at the rear molar, according to
12:20measurements documented in scientific
12:22literature. That is an extraordinary
12:24amount of force coming from something
12:27that small.
12:28The San Diego Zoo describes the sun
12:30bear's jaw [music] structure and
12:32surrounding muscles as providing a
12:34powerful bite force that it uses
12:36specifically for tearing into tropical
12:39hardwood trees to reach insects and
12:42honey inside. It can open a coconut with
12:44its bare paws.
12:46It has been documented ripping apart
12:49metal food containers at wildlife
12:51sanctuaries.
12:54Their claws are disproportionately large
12:56for their size, about 4 in long,
12:59comparable to those of a brown bear, and
13:02their forearms are packed with dense
13:04muscle.
13:06According to the International
13:07Association for Bear Research and
13:09Management, their claw and jaw structure
13:12gives them phenomenal strength relative
13:15to their body size. The only reason the
13:17sun bear does not rank higher is raw
13:20size. You simply cannot out-muscle a
13:23grizzly, but pound for pound, the sun
13:25bear is one of nature's most underrated
13:28powerhouses.
13:30Number seven, giant panda.
13:34Yes, the giant panda is on this list.
13:37And yes, it is stronger than most people
13:39give it credit for. The problem is that
13:41people see those big round ears, the
13:44black and white pattern, and the slow
13:46roly-poly way a panda moves around a
13:48bamboo forest, and they assume it is
13:51basically a stuffed animal that somehow
13:53got loose.
13:54It is not. A giant panda is a bear,
13:58a real bear. It weighs between 150 and
14:01280 lb, 68 to 127 kg, with some large
14:07males approaching 350 lb, 160 kg. And
14:13its jaws are genuinely extraordinary.
14:17The giant panda has one of the highest
14:19raw bite force measurements of any bear,
14:21with a Newton value of around 1.299,
14:25which is more than a grizzly bear's raw
14:27jaw output, though the grizzly wins on
14:30overall body strength. That jaw power
14:33exists for a very specific reason.
14:36Bamboo. Pandas eat between 26 to 80 lb,
14:4012 to 36 kg of bamboo every single day.
14:46Bamboo is dense, fibrous, and hard.
14:50It takes serious jaw strength and
14:51endurance to process that volume of food
14:55day after day.
14:57The panda's wide flat molars and thick
14:59jaw muscles are built around this diet,
15:03and they do the job very, very well. The
15:06giant panda also has a modified wrist
15:08bone that functions somewhat like a
15:10thumb, giving it a strong gripping
15:13ability used to manipulate bamboo
15:15stalks. Their neck muscles are notably
15:18developed, giving them the ability to
15:20generate surprising force even from a
15:23resting position.
15:25As Discover Wildlife notes, a panda's
15:27paws can deliver a swipe powerful enough
15:30to lay out a heavyweight boxer. There
15:32have been recorded incidents of pandas
15:34seriously injuring people who got too
15:36close at zoos, usually not out of
15:39aggression, but just out of being, you
15:42know, a bear. So, why is it at number
15:45seven? Because despite having impressive
15:47jaws and reasonable body strength, the
15:50giant panda's overall physical
15:52capability is limited [music] by its
15:54slow metabolism, its near exclusive
15:57bamboo diet, and its general preference
16:00for [music] doing as little as possible.
16:03Evolution shaped this animal for
16:04efficient eating, not for fighting. The
16:07tools are there, the motivation is not.
16:12Number eight, spectacled bear.
16:15Last on our list, but by no means
16:17harmless,
16:18meet the spectacled bear. The only bear
16:21species native to South America, found
16:24living in the Andes mountains from
16:25Venezuela down to Bolivia. This is also,
16:29if you want to get nostalgic about it,
16:32the real-world inspiration for
16:34Paddington Bear, the actual Paddington
16:37from Peru. Spectacled bears get their
16:40name from the distinctive cream or white
16:42markings around their eyes that look
16:44like a pair of glasses. And honestly,
16:48the name suits them because they are the
16:49most laid-back, least confrontational
16:52bear on this list. In terms of raw bite
16:55force, the spectacled bear has the
16:57lowest numbers of all eight species with
17:01a Newton value of around 795
17:04and a bite force quotient of just 59.9,
17:09the weakest relative bite of any living
17:11bear. They weigh between 175
17:15and 400 lb, 80 to 180 kg, making them a
17:20medium-sized bear. But, their overall
17:22muscle density and raw power output rank
17:26below the other species. Their diet is
17:29primarily fruits, bromeliads, and other
17:31plant material with the occasional small
17:34animal. They spend a lot of their time
17:36in trees, which they climb well, [music]
17:38and they generally go out of their way
17:40to avoid humans. According to Discover
17:43Wildlife, there has been only one
17:45recorded death ever attributed to a
17:47spectacled bear, and even that case
17:50involved an already injured animal that
17:52had been shot by a hunter. That tells
17:55you something important. This bear is
17:57not particularly dangerous, and it is
17:59not built for combat or dominance in the
18:02way the bears above it on this list are.
18:04It is also short-sighted and has limited
18:07hearing, which makes it the least likely
18:09bear to cause trouble during a
18:11wilderness encounter. To be fair, if a
18:14spectacled bear decided it really wanted
18:17to hurt you, it absolutely could. It is
18:19still a bear. It can still run you down,
18:22climb after you, and bite hard enough to
18:24do serious damage.
18:27But, as bears go, this one drew the
18:29short straw in the power department. So,
18:32there you have it. From the polar bear's
18:34crushing Arctic dominance at the top to
18:37the Paddington-inspired spectacled bear
18:39at the bottom, every single one of these
18:42animals is a reminder of just how
18:44extraordinary the bear family really is.
18:47What makes this ranking fascinating is
18:50that raw size alone does not tell the
18:52full story. The sun bear, a 100-lb
18:55animal from a Southeast Asian jungle,
18:57has a stronger bite relative to its body
19:00than almost any other land predator. The
19:02sloth bear, despite looking like it
19:04belongs in a shampoo commercial, will go
19:07toe-to-toe with a tiger without
19:09flinching. The giant panda, which the
19:11whole world treats like a stuffed toy,
19:14can snap bamboo thicker than your wrist
19:17and has jaws that could ruin anyone's
19:19afternoon. [music]
19:20Bears are not just powerful,
19:23they are diverse. They have evolved to
19:25dominate everything from the Arctic ice
19:27sheet to the Amazon basin, from
19:30Himalayan mountain forests to South
19:32American cloud forests. Each of these
19:35eight species is perfectly adapted to
19:38its own environment and with that
19:40environment, each one sits firmly at the
19:43top. The next time you see a bear in a
19:46wildlife [music] documentary, at a
19:47distance in the mountains, or in a zoo
19:50enclosure, take a second [music] to
19:52really look at it. Because behind every
19:54fluffy bear photo and every [music] cute
19:57viral video is one of the most finely
20:00tuned physical machines evolution has
20:03ever produced.

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