What if We introduced Bears to the Outback?

[PACOX]

grizzly is more than twice the weight. in some cases the males can weight 1500-1700 pounds. silverbacks weight 300-500. and gorillas don't have giant knives on their hands

Yeah, on second thought a grizzly has both a weight and speed advantage on a gorilla. A Gorilla might be more agile in close quarters but even even then the size and sheer strength of the bear will overcome

[derpkitteh]

Yeah, on second thought a grizzly has both a weight and speed advantage on a gorilla. A Gorilla might be more agile in close quarters but even even then the size and sheer strength of the bear will overcome

gorillas aren't really even fighters anyway. they're very peaceful.

yeah, they sometimes get in scruffs with other silverbacks, but it usually just ends with chest beating and threats, or pushing.

[Afrospinach]

It's about maintaining a balance.

Aussie crocs were nearly hunted to extinction and there has been a big effort to get their numbers back up quite recently lol.

Ya, that ranger/you/your brother (choose an option) is full of shit. The preferred method isn't "wrestling it to the ground." You don't even need bear mace as it doesn't always shoot that far. Wasp spray works, and usually shoots further.

Yeah, grizzlys are also decent climbers, good luck with those trees. They can also run at something like 50kph so if you are running for a tree you will probably not get far if he has seen you.

[Techno-Druid]

I don't think it's neccessarily heat that would be the downfall of bears, since there are bears within Mexico/Central America (Black bears; extinct Mexican Grizzly Bear), South America (Spectacled bear) and the Middle East (Syrian brown bear). It's a matter of other environmental factors as bears could not survive in Central/Western Australia, they would have to radically evolve to deal with smaller prey and having to walk large distances in sandy deserts.

One species that could feasibly be introduced to Australia is the Komodo dragon as a form of free population control on introduced species such as camels, horses, water buffalo, pigs, cattle and banteng. Relatives of the Komodo also persisted on Australia until relatively recently.

[Nathreim]

Black Bears aren't Grizzlies though, and we were discussing the viability of Grizzlies in Australia.

But why?


Grizzlies used to range in the south west deserts of the US.

I had already discussed Grizzlys they once lived in the South West deserts of the US they could do fine in Australia. The whole place is not Mad Max land.

[Wyrt]

Australia has enough problems with rabbits, cats, foxes, and dingos. They don't need more foreign animals.

[Ripster42]

I had already discussed Grizzlys they once lived in the South West deserts of the US they could do fine in Australia. The whole place is not Mad Max land.

For the most part, the ones that lived in "the desert" weren't really living in the desert. They'd live on sky islands.

[THE Bigzoman]

I think the Bears could help control Koala overpopulation and Croc aggression.

[Kronik85]

For the most part, the ones that lived in "the desert" weren't really living in the desert. They'd live on sky islands.

Sounds terrifying. Bears with jetpacks? Count me out.

[Shadowferal]

Ya, that ranger/you/your brother (choose an option) is full of shit. The preferred method isn't "wrestling it to the ground." You don't even need bear mace as it doesn't always shoot that far. Wasp spray works, and usually shoots further.

How dangerous are black bears?
Not so much.

Grizzlies are another story...

[Felya]

Cutler is having enouph trouble on this side of the globe, to even guess what he will do down under.

[Ripster42]

How dangerous are black bears?
Not so much.

Grizzlies are another story...

Notice your link doesn't say wrestle it to the ground like you suggested, but to carry bear spray (and again, wasp spray works and usually shoots further). So ya, the ranger/your brother/you (pick one) is full of shit.

[Deleted]

That's why first you genetically engineer them into this:



No more overheating problems.

Dem sick side burns.

[Mormolyce]

Everything in Australia wants to kill you, right?

Something of an undeserved reputation. Let me put it this way:

Europeans introduced RABBITS, and they murdered everything.

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When my brother was in the CO Rockies, a ranger told him that if he ever gets charged by a black bear, the recommended method to deal with it is to charge back and muscle it to the ground.

Wow.

Did your brother sleep with that ranger's wife by any chance?

[Wyrt]

Europeans introduced RABBITS, and they murdered everything.

Rabbits just ate the plants, it was the cats/foxes that were introduced to hunt the rabbits that murdered everything.

[Mormolyce]

I think the Bears could help control Koala overpopulation and Croc aggression.

Koalas are down from millions a century ago to about 80k. There's also about 100-200k saltwater crocodiles. Can't find numbers on freshwater crocs, but apparently their numbers are down a lot thanks to the cane toad invasion (another introduced species that ravaged Australia's native fauna).

There's about 28 million kangaroos though. Note: Australia's human population is about 23 million.

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Rabbits just ate the plants, it was the cats/foxes that were introduced to hunt the rabbits that murdered everything.

And when they didn't work we resorted to biological warfare with the myxoma and calici viruses.

That's what it took, because rabbits were so unbelievably successful in the Australian wild. So much better adapted than any native species, which they muscled out.

Apparently there were 600 million of them before the myxoma virus, which got them down to 100 million. But the remainders developed an immunity and the population rapidly went back up to 200-300 million, until calici...

Australia's history of introduced species is pretty horrifying.

[Shadowferal]

Notice your link doesn't say wrestle it to the ground like you suggested, but to carry bear spray (and again, wasp spray works and usually shoots further). So ya, the ranger/your brother/you (pick one) is full of shit.

Never been around a black bear have you? LOL...

They're kinda nice really. (No violence)

https://www.nps.gov/subjects/bears/safety.htm

Black Bears: If you are attacked by a black bear, DO NOT PLAY DEAD. Try to escape to a secure place such as a car or building. If escape is not possible, try to fight back using any object available. Concentrate your kicks and blows on the bear's face and muzzle.

What if I corner a black bear?

Woman Fends Off Bear Attack in Her Own Garage
DULUTH, Minn. — Kim Heil-Smith walked into her garage outside Grand Marais, Minn., one night last week expecting to pull something out of her car. Instead, she ended up wrestling a large black bear.
Dave Ingebrigtsen, assistant Department of Natural Resources wildlife manager in Grand Marais, said this attack sounds "more like a cornered animal than a problem bear." There have been very few nuisance calls in the area and no reports of troublemaking bears. "It doesn't sound to me like an animal we'd have to track down," he said. Dave Garshelis, a DNR bear expert, agrees.

"Generally with black bears, there's no indication that females with cubs are more dangerous than a single bear. That comes from grizzly bears," Garshelis said. "Black bears generally aren't aggressive. But when any animal feels cornered, they'll sometimes act. Not very often, but it can happen."

Garshelis said black bears will almost always avoid confrontations with people. Minnesota has more than 20,000 black bears.

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Believe whatever the fuck you want. I suppose a little girl would want to believe differently.

[breadisfunny]

Everything in Australia wants to kill you, right?

Crocdiles are the king of Aussies rights now.

But what if we introduced Grizzly Bears to the outback? Would Bears be able to dethrone them? Would Bears be able to tame the Aussie Outback?

are you seriously asking this? think about it for just 5 minutes.

[Vatyr]

I mean its not the crocs we've got to worry about. We suppressed the camel insurrection and fought in the emu war (and lost.)[seriously look it up]. Them emu's on the rise again

[THE Bigzoman]

are you seriously asking this? think about it for just 5 minutes.

It'd be badass. Crocs would finally meet their match. Hydration is very important for bears, so they won't take too kindly to their outback bullshit

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They'd devolve into koalas.

Koalas aren't related to bears. Bears aren't marsupials