The reason for the Fall Of Civilization

[Swatopluk]

I think it would depend on the tank size. A great white may not be the ideal killer here. Don't underestimate the shallow water capacity of sharks. Humans (and other large mammals) have been attacked by sharks in knee-deep water.*
Personally I think the bear, however hungry, would try to get out of the tank the instance (s)he sees the shark. Apart from (normal) fish (e.g. salmon) bears do not hunt their prey in the water but from the edge (sharks have been seen as grabbing prey from the edge also though).
Polar bears attack walrusses, except in extreme circumstances, only when they (i.e. the walrus) are alone and from behind. In Russia a standard method of chasing polar bears away is imitating the sound of walrus teeth on gravel** because walrusses use that gesture for threats (and bears are cautious to avoid those tusks).
Belugas don't bite back. That may be anecdotal or misremembered but swimming bears have been attacked by orcas.
The bear has only one chance to do real damage to the shark quickly enough: going for the gills.

What's next? Army ants against killer bees or Japanese hornets (without the water tank obviously)?

*I am aware that the ratio of humans killed by sharks to sharks killed by humans is about 1:10⁸
**e.g. using a stick.

I'd choose C) but

a) it isn't foggy here
b) nor rainy
c) much less cold

and it#s not November anymore either

[Kiyoodle the Gambrinous]

I'm sometimes a little slower, I guess I am still living in November...


What would happen, if we would freeze the water? WWE on ice?


Oooops, I'm a little crossthreading here...

[Aggie]

Yeah, I figured we would never make it 15 pages without thread drift, here.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Actually that is an interesting scenario, not necessarily a half full tank but a layer of ice thick enough for the bear to walk in, both the bear and the shark know the other is at the other side and both are hungry. I know great whites attack vertically their preferred prey (sea lions) but I'm not sure if they have broken ice while hunting like orcas do. Such case would possibly give the advantage to the shark unless the bear is able to keep is 'cool' and remain on the ice attacking with his paws (as they do with belugas).

[Swatopluk]

A properly trained bear would do a salto mortale plus turn and land on the shark's back. First it would gnaw the dorsal fin off, then either go for the gills (double-pawed grip on both sides, aka bear-hug from behind) or trying to get to the other fins/flippers.
If he cannot do the turn after the salto, he could do a heavy bite at the beginning of the tail cutting the connection of brain and tail fin. A really mad bear (is rabies an illegal form of bear doping for a fight?) would bite the shark's nose off. Sharks really hate that.
But be careful, most sharks react to direct hits on the nose with flight, great whites do not.
But why a one-on-one fight? Eleven bears against eleven sharks would be more interesting (but whre to get the proper unbiased umpire?).

[beagle]

I think Mrs Thatcher would win.

Oh sorry, wrong discussion.  Why does this one remind me of the Time Lords determining which species to put in the Death Zone?

How long would the bear have to immobilize the shark before it drowned?

[Swatopluk]

I think Mrs Thatcher would win.

As was stated above, great whites can bite through steel, so iron should not fare better
But to my knowledge Mrs. Thatcher is a a (self-declared*) mummy, not a bear or shark. At least in the tank it could not be set on fire.

*she famously joked when she arrvied (unexpectedly) at a Tory conference that nobody should have been surprised since there were posters all over the town declaring "The Mummy Returns"

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

I was actually wondering if Mrs. Thatcher was the shark or the bear...

[Griffin NoName]

A properly trained bear would do a salto mortale plus turn and land on the shark's back.

But the shark would be properly trained too. Although nothing was mentioned about training and I am not sure it is allowed.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

A properly trained bear would do a salto mortale plus turn and land on the shark's back.

But the shark would be properly trained too. Although nothing was mentioned about training and I am not sure it is allowed.

Well, a proper shark, at the very least, would have attended law school...

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

The most dangerous sharks don't even need an associate degree, check any used car salesperson, or even better, a loan shark.

[Swatopluk]

Unfortunately the land based sharks lack gill slits that make them identifiable. Persons with them are either atavists or Deep Ones.

[Lindorm]

Oh, come on. Everybody knows that it's the lesbian stripper ninja that wins.

[Darlica]

How about the flying pirate monkeys then?

[Lindorm]

Lesbian stripper ninja bear with gene-spliced shark fangs!