[marktwain]

If you are traveling on foot in bear country, you are far, far, more at danger from bears than from lightning.

[IrishBrigade]

who would win, a grizzly or a silverback gorilla...?

[Edward.Fish]

Obviously what we need are LightningBears.

[texas booster]

And the stats for Florida and Minnesota?

I’ll bet that lightning win in those two states.

Even if you restrict it to just golfers struck by lightning or golfers verses alligators.

Stats are fun!

[HalfIrish]

Oh darn. I thought it was a football vs hockey thread.

[blackdog]

I suppose being in bear territory in a thunderstorm near a SUV, while the wife is menstruating is about as dangerous as it can get?

[Rebelbase]

Long-faced lightning bear will kick your arse .

[4yearlurker]

I guess they are about the same. They both will bruin your day.

[Vaduz]

Would rather take the lightning hit it’s over in a flash and not the pain of having skin and guts ripped open.

[HereInTheHeartland]

“Bears vs. Lightning: Which is more Deadly?”

Getting hit by lightning while being attacked by a bear is the most deadly.

[maddog55]

Building the retirement home in bear country.. black bear. Every time we’ve been on the land (surrounded by 87,000 acres of USFS) there’s been a bear or two walking around.

I carry a 45 but that’s for the occasional feral hog.

No your surroundings and you’ll be fine.

[Vaquero]

You are also more likely to die of a heart attack or to be murdered than to be killed by a bear

If you coat yourself with bacon grease and climb to a tall bare mountain in bear country during a ferocious thunderstorm using a 10 ft aluminum pole(for good strength to weight ratio) for a staff, while blowing a predator call…

…Your odds of getting killed by either one of the two, greatly increases.

[null and void]

Hmmm, slow, lumbering, huge RCS Tu-95 vs swift, maneuverable, radar invisible F-22?

One-on-one F-22, every time.

60 some odd Bears vs 187 F-22s, advantage F-22...

[Snickering Hound]

Since neither made it to the Stanley Cup, it's moot.

[palmer]

The author's comparison of twice as likely to die from bear attacks comes from 2 lightning deaths versus 4 bear deaths. Does he not understand anything about statistics? You can't use small samples. His data about Alaska lightning comes from an anecdotal article about 46,000 strikes in 4 days (June 2015). That article he linked also says the average Alaska season has 100,000 lightning strikes. His claim that nobody was killed by lightning in Alaska is no surprise given so few strikes.

If he followed his own advice on context, he would notice that a person is much more likely to die of lightning in certain situations than from bears. Those include hiking on mountains in thunderstorms. In Alaska that is easily avoided since it only happens a few times a year.

[Just A Reader]

Wow! this thread has been all over - hockey, bacon grease, metal poles, bears vs gorillas!

I think we need bear control. People should be safe in America so we should get rid of all the bears.

[snarkpup]

Here in Mesa County, CO, one of the local thrill sports is bicycling in thunderstorms. Insane. We also have bears, which sometimes come down into residential neighborhoods when the natural food supply runs short. There was a mauling a few weeks ago in someone's back yard.

When I go for walks around the neighborhood, I carry bear spray, though in practice I'm more likely to have to use it on a dog.

[Hoosier-Daddy]

Lightning won’t chase you up a tree

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

Is my tinfoil hat a plus or a minus in a thunderstorm? A grizz attack?

[dznutz]

Bill Swerski answered this question a long time ago. Da Bears

[who_would_fardels_bear]

They turned sharks and tornadoes into a successful movie franchise. Why not:

Bear Lightning!

It's like ball lightning only instead of balls you get angry Sizzly Bears. If the lightning strike doesn't kill you then the Sizzly Bear will hunt you down and devour you instead.