Siberian tiger or lion vs. the grizzly?

Question

If a one-on-one fight between a Siberian tiger and a grizzly bear took place, who would win most of the time? What about in a lion-vs-grizzly fight.

Please bring in some reasons or details if you can! THANKS!

Answer 1

Well a siberian would have some speed advantage, but some bears have been clocked at 30mph, so i think the Bear could easily overpower the tiger, unless it got one of it's bite's to the neck which it is so famous for.

As for the lion, lions like to attack in groups, so i think a bear would be too big a target for it.  So once again i think the bear would have a better chance, but there's always the possibility of the lion winning, same with the tiger.

Answer 2

well if they were both males a adult grizzly has alot more weight then a tiger. the grizzly can weigh up to1500 pounds, while the siberian tiger grows up to 700 pounds. so there is a large weight difference, not to mention the grizzlys thick fur making it difficult for the tiger to hurt it badly fast. the grizzly bear has been seen multiple times killing caribou which are huge animals have been killed by the bear simply swating it in the head with its paw. nothing in the forest stands up to male grizzly bears even some packs of wolves run away from the kill when the male grizzly walks into the seen.

grizzly would definently win

http://www.bcadventure.com/adventure/wil...

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/an...

Answer 3

My money would be on the big cat. Though the grizzly is heavier, much of that weight comes from the large, heavy bones and considerable amount of body-fat. By contrast, the skeleton of a tiger or lion is quite small given the size of the animal - much of its size comes from its enormous musculature. They have evolved to kill prey considerably larger than themselves, and are swifter and more agile than bears. They have stronger jaws, larger canine teeth, and eighteen razor-sharp claws (bears' claws are non-rectractile, and therefore blunt from constant contact with the ground). The cat would leap onto the bear's back, clinging on with its claws, and drag the bear to the ground, where a throat-bite would be employed to kill it.

EDIT: Whilst I respect other people's opinions, in response to Nurnord's answer I must just point out that the canine teeth of lions and tigers are not largely the same size as those of grizzlies. Compare these images:

Tiger skull:

http://www.skullsunlimited.com/graphics/...

Grizzly skull:

http://www.skullsunlimited.com/graphics/...

As you can clearly see, the canines of the tiger are much larger. Also, the shortened muzzle of the big cats provides greater jaw strength - the large sagittal crest at the back of the skull shows where the huge muscles for the jaws attach. Tigers and lions must use their jaws to kill prey much larger than they are - grizzlies are largely vegetarian. When they do take meat, it is usually either carrion or young, inexperienced animals which are easily killed.

Answer 4

This depends on the size of the Grizzly in the contest as Grizzly size and weight varies greatly from region to region. The smaller populations such as those found in Yukon I think would have trouble with a male lion and a male Siberian tiger would be too much for it. So assuming you mean a large formidable example, I will use a male Grizzly from coastal Alaska (as big as they get) as the contestant. I do not believe anyone can arrive at a qualified decision, people tend to 'favour' the attributes of one over the other rather than presenting a balanced and unbias opinion. And that is all it will amount to, OPINION ! All one can do is compare attributes and make a conclusion on that basis. Both have LARGELY the same jaw and canine size and LARGELY the same jaw strength. All three have very powerful forelimbs, moreso in the Grizzly. (The idea, however that a large bear species can crush a skull or snap a spine with blows from its forelimbs is LARGELY conjecture and I don't think this is viable, although it could certainly inflict harm). Powerfully built as a Lion (more so for the Sib tig) is, a coastal Grizzly is more so and I would say that the Grizzly is physically stronger. There may be circumstantial advantage gained by the Lions/Tigers claws simply if he manages to catch the bears' eye. Other than this I think the thick shaggy coat of a Grizzly would render the lions/Tigers claw swipes ineffective. I think it would be possible for the Lion/Tiger to grip on to the bears back and make bite attempts but coastal Grizzlies are heavily muscled and I believe the chances of the Lion/Tiger inflicting a significant wound would be low and infrequent. The coastal Grizzly is typically twice the weight of a Lion/Tiger . It is worth noting that although Siberian tigers do prey on their native Brown Bear sub-species this cannot be a factor here as they rarely tackle mature males. So with these considerations it will come down to physical strength and size and here, the coastal Grizzly clearly has the edge. Specific scenarios will always have influence over the outcome and the contest is likely to be far from one-sided but on balance, I think the coastal Grizzly will win in the majority of cases. I am very specific about using the coastal Grizzly for this contest because as mentioned Grizzly size varies dramatically, if it was a Yukon specimen my money would be on the Sib Tig and I would back the lion as well.

P.S. I find it very annoying when people quote, "Grizzlies weigh 1500lbs" The reality is that taking the MEAN weight over a calendar year, a coastal Grizzly (the physically largest population) the figure is around 680lbs for a mature male. This means that this bear may weigh 480lbs emerging from hibernation and 880lbs at its peak before hibernation. 1500lbs, to use an analogy would be a the equivalent of a HEALTHY and WELL PROPORTIONED 400lbs man ! Inland Grizzlies would sit just above male Sib tigers weight range. A male lion and male Sib tiger weigh much the same year round at TYPICALLY 400lbs and 450lbs respectively. Of course larger and heavier specimens are fairly common