Many species of bears are scattered throughout the world. Since they are the largest of the carnivores, or flesh-eating mammals, they do not have too many enemies, except man. Bears avoid people and are not ordinarily considered to be as dangerous as other groups of animals.
But bears will kill, though not by hugging. It has been said that a fighting bear first grabs its victim and hugs it to death with its powerful forepaws. But this is not true.
Though the bear stands on its back legs to fight, it uses its mighty front paws to strike, not to grab. This blow is one of the most deadly in the animal kingdom. With all the weight of the bear behind the swat, in addition to the animal’s sharp claws, its victim is usually killed.
A captive great brown bear of Alaska, a close relative of the fabled grizzly bear, weighed in at 1,656 pounds!
