Follow-Ups to Answer from Expert Jonathan Wright

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Christopher Pickwell wrote at 2006-06-23 21:55:49
Firstly, you quoted me very incorrectly, I'm the Christopher Pickwell you reffered to and I don't recall saying anything of the sort there, in fact my post was largely about how a tiger and bear would deal with each other. While I agree that bear can take on cariboo and moose and such it dosen't exactly have that much bearing on how it would deal with a hippo. Quite simply hippo's would attack with their mouths while the northern ungulates charge with antlers. My best guess on how that would turn out is something along the lines of how big cats and bears duke it out. That is to say the bear bludgeons the hippo to death with it's heavy paws. Now the large jaws of a hippo are certainly intimidating but lacking the same killing power that predators pack into their own jaws as well as the knowlage of how best to use their massive jaws I think the hippo would be much like a monkey with a machine gun, well armed but completely unable to use it's jaws to any great effect and certainly not against a well armed and practiced brawler like a bear.

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Spencer wrote at 2006-06-26 01:33:08
I think a wolf would win, pitbulls were bred to fight but wolves kill to survive. Wolves are experienced killers and chances are that a pitbull would attack, bite and latch on to the wolf, totally exposing itself. The wolf would kill the pitbull but then probably die shortly after.

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twolves wrote at 2006-07-09 10:13:45
Pit bull over a wolf, come on!  A wolf has stronger jaws and is a wild animals.  Wolves live through a code of dominance, reinforced constantly.  Also, a pit bull would not suprise a wolf because of animal signs signaling the attack.  As for a bear vs. a hippo;  largest bear 1500 lbs.  largest hippo over 8000.  no contest.

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osher wrote at 2006-07-19 05:55:33
With respect to the crocodile shark fight. Given the size of a crocodile's prey, often attacking deer and zebra vs a shark's prey which is much smaller it is intuitive to expect the croc to win.  

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osher wrote at 2006-07-19 12:38:09
Chris's comments on a bear's likely victory over a hippo are unrealistic. Even admitting the bear's superior fighting style, the hippo has such powerful ingredients from the toughness of its hide to the strength of its bite that the bear could hardly wound the hippo. Chris also overlooks the sheer ferocity of the hipppo. Hippos are responsible for more human deaths in Africa then any other wild animal.

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Annona wrote at 2006-07-21 05:58:48
The 1,800 lb. Brown Bear would prevail over the Hippo. First of all, an 1,800 lb Brown Bear would be an extreme rarity. They usually max out at 1,500 lbs..



In the old Spanish days in California, 600-700 lb. Grizzly Bears would consistently crush the akulls of wild Spanish Longhorn Bulls with a single power blow of their paws when pitted agisnst the bulls in arranged matches in bull rings. A Brown Bear weighing 1,800 lbs. would possess surrealistic  power!

I foresee it rearing up on it's hind legs and delivering a devastating power blow to the head of the Hippo, stunning the Hippo, and then finishing off the Hippo with repeated paw blows and a lethal bite to the neck.  

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alia wrote at 2006-07-26 20:01:41
Nile Crocs and Bull sharks compete, and have been seen fighting, occasionally to the death. Saltwater crocs and Bull sharks have also been seen fighting. Apparently the Croc usually wins - more armour.

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Bugmenot wrote at 2006-09-30 08:56:59
If you actually believe that a bear could take down a hippo then you need to kill yourself. Just one bite could crush any bones in a bear's body. A grizzly bear would get rocked by a hippo.

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Beatice Rondon wrote at 2006-10-01 21:04:17
On average size a saltwater crocodile is 16 feet and if healthy can weigh 2000 pounds. When a great white shark can weigh 2300-2700 pounds if it is 15 to 16 feet.

Crocodiles can swim 12-15 miles per hour in the water. They are not slow in the water and they don't get tired as fast in water. Crocodiles have a stronger bite force than great whites. And their skin is much tougher than the sharks.

Unliking that they will fight till the death, but if they did the crocodile will win. Because even though the shark may weigh more the crocodile has a lot more POWER.

Hope this Helps

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Patrick wrote at 2006-11-08 09:52:26
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/animalfaceoff/game/play.html Says that a Puma would beat a wolf. Now in a fight between a Puma and Jaguar actually could occur because they share much of the same habitat, much of south america, so the fight could and most likely has happened. Jaguar's are specialized for jungle hunting while puma's are just general predators that can hunt almost anywhere. Pumas have the ability to jump 40 feet into the air and often use a jump-slam attack which can bring down a full grown bull elk. Jaguar on the other hand are stealth hunters and use their strong jaws. In a fight between the two it would be close and most likely both would die from injuries if one did not flee the only real reason the two would fight would be for a kill or possibly for territory.  

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Eben wrote at 2007-04-13 22:24:28
Hippos fight all the time with each other and lions. They have bad tempers and they are fast. I've seen a Hippo push its own baby into the middle of a croc feeding frenzy just to make a point to its baby and the crocs. There were about a dozen nile crocs and they did not dare touch the Hippo baby. I would like to see a grizzly bear try that and receive the same courtesy and respect.

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emmet wrote at 2009-03-01 21:56:36
Hi - Emmet here, the original questioner. I've seen lots of speculation both ways about wolf vs pit. I have no idea what the answer is , except that I should have clarified my scenario. I'm imagining a scenario in which both animals have been trained for pit fighting and have both been very successful. While I'd tend to root for the wolf, I still have no idea about the outcome. But as far as the argument that the wolf is a killer-hunter by nature, and would therefore have the edge - not necessarily. It just occurred to me recently that the dog evolved out of the wolf. Man had selectively bred different kinds of dogs to excel at different skills. I think that most people would not find it hard to accept that a blood hound could out smell a wolf, or that a grey hound could out run it. So it seems to me not inconceiveable that a dog could be bred that might (though not necessarily) out fight it.

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James wrote at 2009-06-19 03:04:44
I am disagreeing with the majority of people here with shark vs. croc and bear vs. Hippo. I actually believe there are Great White sharks in the ocean that can swallow a 16 ft. croc whole. I think that there are 25 to 30 ft.long Great whites in our oceans today. I have seen a 12 ft. long great white shark live and this thing looked like the front of a buick.  This would be no contest shark wins. I have never seen a real live hippo but I once saw a live Kodiac bear in capitivity and this thing had a head bigger than an elephant;no kidding. Hard to imagine any animal putting this beast down for the count.

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Your name or alias wrote at 2009-09-18 07:11:37
I think pit vs. wolf if could go either way.  Especially If you get a pit thats 125 lbs. Wolfs are fastwe in the long run butpits are qicker and have stonger jaws. The reason i saw this is becaues i own 2 pits and 1 alaskan timber wolf.. the timberwolf if a bit larger but they place rough and my male pit is deffinately the alpha male over the timber wolf.. When i bring them food the wolf dosent get to eat untill the pits done.. My girl pit is submissive to both.. Male pit- 85-90lbs. male timber wolf around 120..

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David wrote at 2010-01-26 18:59:42
I have seen video of lions killing a full grown hippo on land so what do you think an adult rhino would do !!  They are quicker and would ram that huge horn right thru a fat hippo . On land , this is a no brainer . The RHINO would dispatch of a hippo with ease !!!!!!!!!!!

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