We’ll take a close look at this fight and show you what the most likely outcome would be! Will the tenacity of the honey badgers be enough to overcome the fierce strength of the grizzly bear?
Comparing a Grizzly Bear and a Pack of Honey Badgers
What Are the Key Differences Between a Grizzly Bear and a Honey Badger?
The most significant differences between a grizzly bear and a honey badger are their size and attack methods. The average grizzly bear weighs up to 700 pounds or more, stands up to 4 feet tall at the shoulder, and grows about 7 feet long on average. Meanwhile, the average honey badger only weighs up to 35 pounds, grows about 2.5 feet long, and stands less than a foot tall. While honey badgers only have their teeth to attack, grizzly bears use a multi-faceted attack of claws, bites, shaking, and smacks called mauling. These differences will greatly impact the fight, ultimately limiting the honey badgers’ means of attack while giving the grizzly a variety of options when facing these deadly foes.
What Are the Key Factors in a Fight Between a Grizzly Bear vs a Pack of Honey Badgers?
The most important factors in a battle between grizzly bears and a pack of honey badgers include the number of combatants, but also the individuals’ size, speed, attack powers, and more. We’ll explore each of these factors and determine what animal has an edge over the other.
Grizzly Bear vs. Honey Badger: Size
A grizzly bear is much larger than a honey badger. As we’ve said, the average grizzly bear can weigh up to 700 pounds on average and over 1,000 pounds at its largest. They stand between 3 and 4 feet tall at the shoulder and grow 7 feet long or more. Honey badgers are far smaller, only weighing between 11 and 40 pounds, grow up to 2.5 feet long, and stand less than 1 foot tall. The grizzly bear has a significant advantage in size.
Grizzly Bear vs. Honey Badger: Speed
Surprisingly, a grizzly bear is faster than a honey badger. The average honey badger can run about 19 mph at their maximum, but grizzly bears can hit speeds of 35 mph while running at their fastest. These creatures can take down large deer after beating them in a foot race. The bear has a serious speed advantage, so the honey badgers may not be able to escape this fight even if they want to.
Grizzly Bear vs. Honey Badger: Defenses
The average honey badger has a fair amount of physical protection. Their skin is thick and has some looser portions that allows the honey badger to counterattack if it finds itself being held by another animal. Moreover, they can fit into small spaces and use their musk to make other animals unwilling to eat them. Grizzly bears are very large and strong. That makes them incredibly hard to kill, especially for animals that are smaller and weaker than them. Grizzly bears have several inches of protection around their bodies, including fur, fat, and skin. Lastly, grizzly bears can successfully run in this scenario. In short, grizzly bears have a defensive advantage.
Grizzly Bear vs. Honey Badger: Offensive Capabilities
The honey badger makes up for its somewhat small teeth with a powerful bite force and sheer aggression. This animal likes to bite at the weak spots on its prey to end the fight quickly and without much of a fight. Grizzly bears have a powerful bite that can reach 975 PSI in strength. They drive 3-inch canines and other 1-inch teeth into their prey, biting weak spots and grasping their prey. They can easily break vertebrae and other bones in their prey. That’s not all they have, though. Grizzly bears also use their large paws to smack prey along with long claws to gash them, even though the claws aren’t that sharp. Grizzlies like to combine their attacks, mauling prey with a variety of strikes. All told, the grizzly bear has an advantage in offensive capacities.
Grizzly Bear vs. Honey Badger: Predatory Behavior
The honey badger is a predator that hunts and pursues its prey, even if they are underground. Grizzly bears are part-time hunters, using opportunism to find and kill their prey. They’ll run down their prey and maul them to death.
Who Would Win in a Fight Between a Grizzly Bear vs a Pack of Honey Badgers?
A grizzly bear would win a fight against a pack of badgers. The number of honey badgers, let’s say five, is not enough to overcome the size and sheer ferocity of a grizzly bear. Given a grizzly bear’s power, the size of its teeth, its large paws, and body weight, the bear only needs to land a single attack to take out a honey badger, especially if it’s a bite to the back or head. Meanwhile, nothing that a honey badger can do is enough to seriously harm or kill a grizzly bear. The bear is simply too large and strong. A group of honey badgers isn’t going to “go for the eyes” or “bite through the bear’s jugular vein.” They’re going to try to intimidate the bear, and the bear is going to work its way through the group using vicious mauling attacks. The honey badgers can emit a musk to make the grizzly bear pause its attack, but that won’t be enough to secure a decisive win for the smaller animals. Even if they try to run, the grizzly is faster, and it could take each of them down individually unless they split up and run in several different directions. All in all, the honey badgers die in this fight.
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