What's the Difference Between a Bear and a Pit Bull?

One is Domesticated
The difference between a pit bull and a bear, alligator or lion is that the former is considered a domesticated pet. What makes pit bulls more dangerous than a wild animal is that pit bulls often do not retreat when under attack; wild animals often do. Pit bulls were selectively bred to "fight to death" and will continue to fight even after extensive pain is inflicted upon them.

Some passages from a famous dogfighter book sums up this pit bull trait clearly. The book, The Complete Gamedog - A Guide to Breeding and Raising the American Pit Bull Terrier by Ed and Chris Faron, is considered a relic and can be purchased for a price. We challenge anyone to find an example of a bear with only two working legs, or stumps as dogfighters call them, to continue attacking its competitor.

"The gamest dog I ever saw in my life was King David. At ten minutes, his right leg was broken. At twenty-three minutes, his left leg was broken. At thirty-seven he scratched on stumps, and at forty-eight minutes when he scratched he scratched down one wall and down the other until he got to Beau again."

"Ajex gradually worked his way to the top and at forty-five minutes broke on of Bandit’s front legs with a loud snap. The leg dangled uselessly for the rest of the fight."

The most recent wild animal attack that we bring to your attention involves a bear. An 8-year-old boy and his father were recently mauled by a black bear that pounced on the boy in a creek without provocation in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Evan Pala was cut, scratched and bitten. His father, John Pala of Boca Raton, also was cut before driving off the bear with rocks and sticks.

Hurling rocks and sticks at a pit bull typically does not stop an attack. Baseball bats, rakes, hoes, pitchforks and two-by-fours also do not always stop a pit bull attack. Pepper spray and Tasers used by law enforcement officers may not stop a pit bull attack either. Firearms are the most common weapons used by officers to bring a pit bull attack to a final halt.

Park spokesman Nancy Gray said black bears have injured people eight times in the past decade in the Great Smokies, a 520,000-acre preserve straddling the Tennessee-North Carolina border that has about 1,600 bears and draws more than 9 million visitors annually. One attack was fatal. Just last year, pit bulls attacked and killed twenty-one Americans.

Related articles:
07/31/08: What's the Difference Between an Alligator and a Pit Bull?
06/06/08: Nanny Rips Baby Girl From Jaws of Coyote
05/18/08: The Natural Survival Instinct of a Pit Bull is "Missing"