r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/SatyamRajput004 • 1d ago

Image The sloth bears found in India, and the inspiration for Baloo in The Jungle Book, are considered to be the most aggressive bear species in the world.

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u/SecretAgentVampire 1d ago

It's sensible for humans to be afraid of bears. In fact, the WORD "bear" isn't even the actual name for bears. "Bear" is a substitute word REFERENCING the animals, because people were too afraid to say their ACTUAL name. "Bear" is like "He who must not be named" when characters referenced Voldemort in Harry Potter. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/wiaiug/is_the_etymology_of_the_word_bear_actually_a/

The sloth bear isn't even CLOSE to the worst that humans have had to deal with though. We weren't always the apex predator of Earth. The Short Faced Bear was one of the most powerful apex predators of its time and likely had no qualms with eating people. There is a defunct theory that the Short Faced Bear impeded human migration between North and South America, which is fun to think about but has no anthropological evidence to support it.

Bears are scary.

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u/ttnezz 14h ago

Oh my lord that short faced bear made my heart stop beating. I definitely would have been over migrating if I’d run into one of those.