I knew they were big bears but not TWICE A HUMAN size! I didn't even google this image for the polar bear I wanted to see how big a black bear is.

guess I'm never going to Antarctica!

edit: okay we got ANOTHER TIL. Apparently polar bears don't live in Antarctica!

...I need to watch more nature documentaries...

Good news, Antarctica is still polar bear free ;)

That is what the name means, afterall.

Ah, the North Pole. The furthest point from Polar Bear- (Dramatic Polar Bear backflip attack)

Now you learned the meaning of a "bear hug" better? 😉

Why are people downvoting this?

Reality is often "controversial" these days.

If it's black, fight back.
If it's brown, lay down.
If it's white, say good night.

I will say, those bears represent the upper end of the ‘weight ranges’ for those 3 species. Average sizes would be a bit less.

I've seen black bears. that's a huge fucking black bear.

normally they could be mistaken for a really big raccoon in the dark. smaller than a Dane/mastiff in height

Sometimes downright unbearable

Seconded. While staying in a cabin in Southern Oregon, a black bear used to stop by to fuck around in the pond.
The first time I saw him, I thought he was my dog.

OK so TIL black bears are way smaller than I thought. But "really big raccoon"? That's got to be an exaggeration... right?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_gigantism

Bergmann's rule

There is a great scientific reason, too! Square cube law is fun.

That has to be an exaggeration. That or we're all thinking of different kinds of black bears. I'm assuming they can vary a lot in size based on age and other factors, but the ones I've seen in my area are definitely about the size depicted in the photo.

Also never fight back against Asiatic black bears. They will kill you.

No, they aren't a "really big raccon".

The small end is 60kg(130lbs), with the upper end being 300kg(600lbs).

Height 120cm to 188cm ~4 to 6 foot tall. (Standing on hind legs)

Because it actually means "The opposite side from the bear place"

because it's not directly true, Antarctica means "land opposite the place below the bear-shaped constellations", not "land without bears".

Almost all bears will kill you under circumstances. A 200lb man is nothing against a 500 lb or more bear.

And yet some 7% of men think they can take a bear.

Yes. Barely true for a cub.

This would only be accurate for a cub. Why are you saying it with such confidence?

I think the artist took some creative liberties with this. I'm not sure exactly how big a polar bear or a grizzly is, but that black bear is freaking huge!
I guess that I could imagine one getting that big, but that has to be the absolute max of an absolute unit of a black bear. The John Henry of black bears.

maybe all the ones I've seen are cubs, fair point... i don't live in the woods

Theyre pretty much the very top of the food chain. They say there are multiple apexes because of different environments but id bet on a polar bear over a tiger or lion probably. Idk if its an accurate assesment tho.

Hmm... How would you like to see a polar bear from below?

😉

That’s nearly four-score american footballs high!

You must have some giant-ass raccoons

Now I'm trying to figure out if they repainted the Palm Beach Zoo mural at some point, or just added the logo.

polar bears: "i just love kidding"

I was exaggerating but the bears I've seen were I would guess 4 feet standing up

I’m pretty sure I could take Winnie the Pooh. That mfer would be too busy getting his head stuck in a honey pot or singing songs about Heffalumps and Woozles… He’d never see me coming.

Is this question a furry thing?

From what I'm reading now, I've seen some big ones. Comparing the adults to dogs or raccoons though, to me still seems fairlly incorrect. Dogs can be really big, but a 7 foot nose to toes bear isn't super rare from what I can tell.

I totally could, if I had a rocket launcher.

Verry.

According to Wikipedia the largest on record was over 7ft tall, they don't have average heights listed but some other BS site said they range from 4-6.5 ft so it's large but apparently not too incredibly so.

Well then I think it would be too much for me to bear...

Eh? Eh?

All the ones I've seen have been at a distance and usually in shadows so my judgment may be off, I suspect there might be regional differences in how large they get too

Yeah, if one ever gets that unlucky you just have to hope they make it quick.

Yeah I was wondering about regional differences. Maybe they're particularly big around here.

They're northern Hemisphere, not Antarctica. We have them in our province (Manitoba), but yes they're big. On average tho not quite as big as the painting there shows.

Get me a saddle

I'm about to show you something you can only do once

I saw it in a cartoon, but I'm pretty sure I can do it.

Imo, the ladder goes:

Rest of the terrestrial animal kingdom < Bengal Tigers < Polar Bears < Hippos < Rhinos < Elephants < Honey Badger.

That's as far as the ratio of animal capability to fuck something up divided by willingness to kick something else's ass goes.

I actually think the Tiger and the Polar Bear are fairly close in terms of power and lethality, and it would all come down to whether the Tiger had the opportunity to stalk, which it probably would avoid doing anyways to something the size of a Polar Bear.

I still do not know where Honey Badger rightfully belongs on Earth's tourney ladders, so I rather err on the side of caution there in case one reads this.

You did the hyperlink the wrong way around, the label should be the first part in square brackets like this: [label](link). The way you posted it tries to link to the url of this post + /Bergmann's rule.

Bearly, you might say.

Haha nice

Kislev salutes you.

Arctus = “Bear”, Anti = “against” in ancient Greek, or “opposite” in modern meaning.

Arctic = bears are here

Anti-arctic = opposite bears, or “no bears”.

I think the sizes shown are probably biggest specimen. Black bears can get pretty big, but I've never encountered one that was taller than me.