Grizzly bear

Bear is an animal found in Red Dead Redemption. They are arguably the toughest, meanest, and most dangerous animals in the game, easily compared to Cougars, who have a speed advantage. They are large predatory animals, found throughout the western United States at the time of Red Dead Redemption.

Description
Like all animals, they can be killed, skinned and traded for large amounts of cash at General Stores throughout the game. A bear can be identified in-game by it's loud growl, and by it's panting and ground-shaking sound when running. In singleplayer, 2 strikes from a bear can kill Marston, and one strike is enough in multiplayer. After killing a bear, chances are another one or two will show up, responding to the gunshots or the scent of the dead bear's blood. This can be paradise for a hunter, but when trying to get out of a bad situation this can be extremely annoying.

There are two types of Grizzly Bears in the game, a lighter colored kind (Most likely female) and a darker grey kind (Most likely the males), the males will take a few more shots than the lighter kind, taking up to three buffalo rifle shots in the body before dying.

Location
Bears usually found in common locations like:
 * The snow capped area of Tall Trees.
 * Sometimes found drinking from the rivers in Tall Trees.
 * Wandering around Manzanita Post during the afternoon. They will not be attacked by the residents.
 * Anywhere in the wooded area of Tall Trees.
 * Around Bearclaw Camp.
 * West of Wreck of the Serendipity.
 * Near the train tracks close to Beecher's Hope.
 * They are also found near the west of Manzanita Post.
 * Grizzly Bears frequently spawn on the riverbank east of Nekoti Rock.
 * South of Beecher's Hope.
 * Right outside the north entrance of Beecher's Hope.
 * Found frequently just east of Manzanita Post.

Hunting Tips
When Hunting bears, having your horse with you can be a lifesaver because:
 * When on foot, a horse will flee when a bear is coming.
 * They will rear half if a bear gets close by.
 * With your horse around, you can flee, because horses are faster than bears. However, when you are on foot, your maximum speed is the same as that of a bear, causing a difficult escape.

When alone on foot

 * When alone, turn off your music, walk slowly, and listen carefully. They might be big, but they make nearly no sound (however, they do breath very heavily).
 * Listen for their easy-to-hear growl just before they attack.
 * Throwing knives are nearly always a 1-hit kill weapon.
 * Climb on a rock or boulder on which bears and cougars can't reach you. However, be sure there are none left or they might just get you.
 * Using a coach, cart or any alike vehicle ensures safety because all animals from beavers to bears will not only leave you alone; they might even flee from you.
 * After killing a bear, the chances of meeting another bear quickly dramatically increase from normal. Several players have reported after skinning one bear, they were immediately killed by another bear when there was nothing else nearby. Whether this is a bug or intentional is unknown. (Bears usually spawn in 3's. On shooting 1, remain still and rotate camera 360 degrees, if no more appear within 1-2 minutes, you can "usually" safely skin your prey.)
 * The above situation can become incredibly dangerous when hunting more than one bear at once. There have been several instances of players triggering a nearly unending rush of bears when they encountered, and subsequently killed, a small family of bears just southeast of Tanner's Reach. The end result was a pile of upwards of twenty-five Grizzly Bears, and one thoroughly shaken hunter.
 * Hunting bears just south of Beecher's Hope can prove to be extremely dangerous as well, since it's an open area and bears will then have to spawn BEHIND the player.

Melee killing

 * The easiest way to kill a bear with a knife, is to shoot in in the face once with the Henry Repeater, then finish it off with a knife slash.
 * Using a Rifle or repeater and shoot it about 3 times in it body should weak them enough to kill them with one knife slash.
 * If you want to do the melee kill on a bear for your Master Hunter challenge in a true John Marston fashion, lock on to a charging bear with your combat knife (timing is everything here). Be patient and hold your ground, center your screen on the bears head. Once the bear comes just close enough to almost touch you swing your combat knife. If done correctly, your will kill it with one clean slash across the bears face. If not, you will most likely be dead so have a save file in Manzanita Post. Getting used to the timing in multiplayer makes it easier for your single player challenge
 * One famous bear spawn point is Bearclaw Camp. This location just happens to have a large road in the middle that often has 1 or more people walking down on horse back. If a bear gets to close it will charge them. However, the horseback rider will not fight back and will try to outrun the bear. This is your chance to strike. Sneak up on the bear and while it is charging the horse, get in 3 or more quick stabs. It will be dead before it even turns around.


 * If you are struggling to melee kill a bear for the master hunter challenge, be aware that there are 3 separate missions in West Elizabeth (At Home with Dutch, For Purely Scientific Reasons, and Spare the Love, Spoil the Child) that involve facing off versus a bear, and all of these missions checkpoint you right before the bear.
 * Bears get confused and scared when you lasso them, making them flee instead of attacking, so shoot your bear a few times to weaken it, then lasso it. While holding the rope, get up behind the bear and stab it a few times. This will allow you for a relatively safe bear hunting session, and is an easy way to complete the Master Hunter Challenge that requires you to kill a bear with a knife.
 * One good way to kill a bear involves stocking up on medicine. Get 5 medicines and go save game. Then go to Tall Trees and look for a bear. When you see a bear, get off your horse and let the bear hit you one time. Imediately press select and use medicine. As soon as you are able, run towards the bear, get behind him and start slashing. It is very easy to keep running around and stay behind the bear and slash at this point. You should be able to kill with no problem.

Weapon recommendation
Buffalo Rifle, Henry Repeater, Springfield Rifle, Bolt-Action Rifle, Carcano Rifle or Semi-auto Shotgun, Evans Repeater.


 * Wait to skin your kills once the four plus bears have been dealt with. Likely once you've slain them, you'll probably get two skinnings in before another grizzly shows up.


 * For the Sharpshooter Challenge, use a Buffalo Rifle, Bolt Action Rifle or a Springfield Rifle, and Dead-Eye to hit the bear in the head when it's dangerously close.
 * In Bearclaw Camp, there is a broken house that you can go to. When you go in there, the bears will come attacking you, but they can't attack you because the house zone prevents the bears from getting in. This is also a good way to snipe bears, as they will often go a little back and stand on their rear legs for a few seconds. This gives enough time to shoot a bullet in their face. In mutiplayer, killing enough bears lets loose the legendary bear, Brumas, that has a lighter brown fur and has a scar on one of his eyes.

Trivia
The game counts buckshot as more than one bullet
 * When skinned, the bear has a similar model as other large animals like the cattle, and the buffalo.
 * Bears will stand up in front of you if you find a spot where they can not attack you. For example standing on a building. However, there is an occasional glitch where the bear will stand on its hind legs and still not attack the player.
 * If confronted by two or more bears and the player kills one the other bear(s) will flee. (Rare)
 * There are also regular Bears that can be hunted, which give the player Bear fur, and Meat, but can not be identified by their fur or structure.
 * Sharpshooter rank 7 of singleplayer requires you to shoot 3 bears each with 1 bullet. Some may find this confusing and think it means to kill 3 bears by shooting the gun once. However, it means kill 3 bears, using 1 bullet for each bear. The best way to achieve this is to go to the Tall Trees and shoot the bear in the head with a powerful repeater or rifle (example Buffalo Rifle, but Semi-Auto shotgun with being close and using Dead-Eye to aim between the eyes also works.)
 * If you're using bait to lure animals to you in West Elizabeth, be on the lookout, because you might get unlucky and attract a bear. *Note* Bears don't just attack in the woods. You may get assaulted out in the Great Plains, rarely this happens. (It could be a bug or the character being near the woods.)
 * In real life, bears act nothing like they do in the game. In reality, bears will only attack if threatened, and are territorial (this trait does appear and is commented on in one mission, when Harold MacDougal sees a passive bear and begins shooting at it in panic, provoking the bear to attack and earning him scorn from Nastas). They are also usually seen alone.
 * In real life, bears will usually ignore humans and move away from them if they make loud noises. On most occasions in the game, bears will only attack the player if charged or taken by surprise in the forest. However being taken by surprise may include walking past it without you noticing thus causing a seemingly unprovoked attack.
 * In Single Player, it usually takes two hits from a bear to die if your health is full. Although in Multiplayer, they can kill you in one hit every time. This goes for cougars as well.
 * In Single Player a player experienced a bear just outside of Beecher's hope that did not attack. Rather the bear ran away as the player walked towards it. This could be a glitch or the bear not seeing any threat due to a wide range in which to see the player.
 * When completing the Master Hunter Challenge Rank 8 (kill a bear with your melee knife and collect its pelt) it is advised to lasso the bear then immediately change to your knife. If you are hit by the Grizzly, medicine is advisable.

Achievements/Trophies
There are two available achievements/trophies involving the hunting of Grizzly Bears.

Videos
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