You would most probably fear a black bear but would love to spend time with a panda bear, isn’t it? However, you should never forget that they are both dangerous regardless of their appearance. Have you ever thought about the battle between giant panda vs black bear: who will win?
A black bear will more likely win between their fight. This is because a black bear is more aggressive in nature. A giant panda would prefer to run away than fight. However, if the panda bear fights using all its capabilities, it won’t be something we’d call impossible.
Now that we know that a black bear would more likely win because of it’s behavior, you may be wondering can a giant panda actually win from using other means?
In this article, we will take a look at each others capabilities and evaluate them. Let’s dive in shall we?
Giant Panda vs Black Bear: The Battle
The black bear will win. Do you want to know why? Let’s analyze some of the facts to show you how a black bear would win against a giant panda.
A Black Bear will most certainly win in this duel. It’s not about size, weight, or strength; it’s about ferocity. Giant pandas are not ferocious animals unless they are provoked. However, even when they are provoked, they do not like being killed or killing other animals.
This is one of the reasons why they changed their carnivorous lifestyle and became herbivores! What’s the point of all that if they still get to fight?
However, it’s not totally obvious! Giant pandas have a fair chance of winning as well. So, let’s talk about some of the factors that might help both giant pandas and black bears in a fight.
Size
Do you think it’s the size that would help a giant panda or bear to win a fight? It definitely is!
A giant panda is normally 1.2 to 1.9 meters (47.2 to 74.8 inches) in length from its nose to tail. On the other hand, an adult black bear is about 1.4 meters (55.1 inches). Therefore, it mostly depends on the age of both bears.
However, the black bear can go as much as 1.4 meters (55.1 inches) as compared to giant pandas, which can achieve a total body length of 1.9 (74.8 inches).
Winner:
GIANT PANDA. This is because an average adult giant panda is bigger than a black bear. This is definitely going to help a giant panda in a fight with a black bear (only if it is willing to fight, after all). The larger-sized giant panda can overpower a black bear quite easily!
Weight
A female giant panda can weigh 70 kg (154 lb) to 120 kg (265 lb) on average. At the same time, the male giant panda is 85 to 125 kg (190 to 275 lb) on average. That’s heavy!
With their diet only restricted to bamboo, that’s definitely surprising! On the other hand, black bears can be as heavy as 59 to 300 kg (130 lb to 661 lb) which makes them way heavier than giant pandas.
Winner:
BLACK BEAR. They are heavier than giant pandas. This can be owed to the fact that black bears mostly feed on meat and other animals. However, giant pandas live on bamboo. This might help bears in a duet.
Speed
A giant panda can sprint at 20 miles per hour (32 kilometers), and that’s very comparable with the running speed of a human being (23 mph).
In contrast to the giant pandas, black bears move in a more rhythmic way and can run at 25 to 30 miles per hour (40 to 48 km). We consider giant pandas quite lazy, but it turns out they are not that lazy when defensive! Now that must be surprising for you!
Winner:
GIANT PANDA. The speeds are pretty comparable, and we can imagine both giant pandas and black bears chasing each other quite interestingly! The speed is one great aspect that would help the giant panda to escape a fighting situation because that’s what they’d prefer in the first place.
Strength
A giant panda has a biting force of 2603 newtons, and that’s more than enough to crack the bones of a bear. Savage! In comparison to giant pandas, black bears are super strong with the ability to casually hit a blow of 140 kg (1373 N)!
Both giant pandas and black bears have different capabilities and strengths. However, none of them seems to be lacking on the whole. A giant panda bear has a carnivorous jaw and body structure, which makes it quite strong.
Winner:
IT’S A TIE! This is because the biting force of giant pandas makes them more powerful and strong as compared to the hitting force of black bears.
Now, that looks like an interesting giant panda vs black bear fight with the giant pandas biting black bears and the black bears hitting giant pandas with a punch.
Fair fight, isn’t it?
Other Capabilities
If we talk about other capabilities, here are a few facts about black bears:
- A black bear has an excellent hearing ability with more sensitivity than humans.
- They hear in high pitches and can sense a predator coming from a long way.
- If we talk about their vision, black bears have a very good one.
- They can quickly differentiate between colors which helps them to focus their prey.
- The best thing about black bears is that they know how and when to learn!
On the other hand, giant pandas do not have very good eyesight, but here are some other facts that make them equally competitive:
- The ability of giant pandas to hear and smell is exceptional.
- They mostly navigate with the help of smelling senses.
- The giant pandas counter or avoid any attacks from afar due to their enhanced smelling sense
- Giant pandas also have a very sharp sense of hearing and can sense an attacker coming from the rustling of leaves.
Overall
The black bear will definitely win in a fight with a giant panda. The giant panda vs. black bear is a very fair fight and is definitely interesting!
If we leave out the two animals in a forest, there are many chances that the fight won’t happen in the first place. This is because the giant panda will avoid every possible way that might indulge him in a fight.
Related Questions:
Here are some other questions that you might be curious about in a fight between a giant panda and a black bear.
Are pandas stronger than bears?
Owing to their bite force, giant pandas are definitely stronger than black bears. This is because giant pandas have a carnivorous body structure and physiology.
Hence, this makes them very strong to prey on other animals and compete against some other ferocious animals such as lions and tigers. However, bears have a stronger punch, and they can be equally strong and powerful.
Is a panda a bear, yes or no?
Yes, a giant panda is a bear. The DNA analysis proves it to be closely related to the bear family. It belongs to the family Ursidae of order Carnivora. This is the reason why a panda is generally known as a panda bear.
However, they are in many ways different from a typical black bear.
Is a panda a black bear?
No, a panda can not be a bear. Bears, Ursus americanus, belong to the genus Ursus, whereas panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca belongs to the family Ursidae.
However, they are closely related because both of them belong to the phylum Chordata of class Mammalia. So if there is one thing common in both of them, it’s both of them and carnivorous mammals!
How big is a panda compared to other bears?
Giant pandas are quite comparable in size to bears. In fact, some of the bears are larger in size than an average adult giant panda. In some instances, a giant panda can be slightly bigger than other bears.
Conclusion
In a fight between a giant panda, and a black bear, we can expect a 50-50 chance of both of them winning. This is because the giant panda has sharp canines and a jaw that can easily rip off the black bear.
On the other hand, the black bear has a very forceful punch. So, the stronger and the wittier one of them would win a fair fight. Giant pandas tend to avoid a fight, whereas a black bear will be the one initiating an attack.
If you want to learn more interesting stuff about giant pandas, refer to our blog section!
