It really just comes down yo evolution. Dogs evolved to hunt in packs while most big cats evolved to hunt alone. Dogs didn't need to get bigger to survive while cats did. (This excludes lions. They're just weird lol)
A lioness is actually capable of hunting alone with stealth. They’re capable of taking down a zebra head on and sometimes a buffalo if they catch it off guard. Male lions also hunt alone and are just as proficient
@@fhngyn5760 negative. A lioness isn’t bringing down a buffalo unless it’s an adolescent, or it’s already dying anyway. Even taking down a zebra “head on” is not likely. They could manage a wart hog though.
@@ilikefreespeech3565 There are plenty of documentations and videos of a lioness taking down a zebra by itself. You have to remember that even a lioness, is still a 250-350 pound predator, and can take down large prey by herself. Now a buffalo would be too much to handle alone, but most other animals smaller than a buffalo would be fair game if the opportunity presented itself. But lions developed social behavior not only for hunting, but for protection from other social predators that were around(and still are) on the African savanna. Hyenas, wild dogs, various forms of saber-toothed cats, and early humans, were all social predators that competed with lions.
My grandma has an Irish wolfhound and on his hind legs, he can put his paws on my shoulders with room to spare, I'm 6'1" which isn't really that tall but it's still pretty impressive
Surprised there was no mention of bears, the evolutionary neighbors of dogs.They are much closer analogues to the large cats of the world, both in size and hunting strategy.
Why there are no big dogs - The answer is easy, it is because most wild dogs are stamina hunters, whereas big cats are always zoom and grab hunters. There are limits to how large a dog can be before it loses its stamina hunting ability and winds up evolving into something like a bear and becoming forced into mostly being vegetarian because it can no longer reliably catch prey.
@@luffydono1129 You're clueless. There's a video on TH-cam of a Brown Bear chasing an elk for 25 minutes through land and water nonstop, then catching and killing it.
what about bears, which are very closely related to canine? They have been classified as a separate group (ursidae) mostly because they are... BIG. And what about other dog-likes like seals and walruses, which are much closer related to dogs than to cats?
@@zee9709 they are. Dogs inherited this trait straight from wolves, which have been observed many times in the wild eating fruits. Sure, we describe wolves as carnivorous, but mostly because it is simpler this way. In fact they eat everything. Unlike cats.
Dogs are successful not only because of their stamina but also their level of intelligence. African dogs have been shown time and time again to employ coordinated hunting tactics. They are able to shift strategies on the fly. Their large ears are meant for the receipt of communication from members of the pack with whom they are hunting. This video over simplified the differences between dogs and cats. Wolves have been formidable hunters for thousands of years, they’ve taken down animals 10x their size. Their ability to work as a team makes them successful.
Dogs r scary smart! The street dogs in my locale selectively bark and chase vehicles.... And always the same vehicles r targeted.... Keen sense of smell, taste, hearing and grudge
I've seen two housecats team up against an aggressive rottweiler.. exploiting the dogs weakness to the fullest.. two cats on the opposite ends of the dog.. always attacking it from the rear... If the dog turned the other cat would attack... The dog retreated quickly. I don't think there is much of a difference in intelligence between them but cats have less of a need to show it off to their owners 😂
apparently the answer is: big cats are specialized on big preys. But the areas, where dogs are living, there is no so much prey and dogs must be universal to catch both big and small animals. For that they must be medium sized with high durability. Not 100 meters runners like cats.
@@shinqqing5161 Agreed, large canines lost because big cats are simply more efficient. Retractable claws are OP. Canines had to stick to pack endurance hunting to compete.
I used to think people in Africa and India were crazy for living so close to lions and tigers, but then I realized I live in the Rocky Mountains with mountain lions and have seen them several times near my home. Guess fear is greatest with the things that are very far or very close, but the mid range is close enough to understand yet not be in immediate danger.
I had a that realization about alligators in the Southern US. Just... giant lizards that can both swim and run faster than you, and can 100% kill you. They just, don't? most the time.
Bigger hunter, bigger prey. It seems logical but what boggles my mind is Humans were able to take down prey that were 10 times or more their size. If you had a choice to have strength and mind like in a video games, most would associate strength for taking greater foes and never consider mind. But nature chose mind for a strength. I find that facinating.
Key word "prey" they were able to take down big prey, but big predators like short face bear was a challenge for early humans I hear and stopped them from getting deep into North America initially after crossing the bearing straight.
When you said "Tigers are the SECOND largest naturally occurring wild cat" I got confused because Tigers are suppose to be THE LARGEST wild cats that evolved naturally whereas the Liger HYBRID that was created unnaturally is the largest "wild" cat on the planet but they thrive only in zoos. 2nd is the African Lion and 3rd largest is the Jaguar of South America.
@@Virtue.X.Vitality Actually the Liger is a natural occurring cat, as they can be produced in the wild without human interference. Its just exceptionally rare.
@@christucker9490 It's been proven that Ligers can't reproduce as they are born infertile. A lion can still fuck a tiger and produce a liger though. Otherwise we'd never have had any of them.
Even the wolves of today seem to be getting quite large. Northern MN and parts of Montana are seeing wolves that are larger than humans even though they hunt in packs. They are starting to hunt for fun rather than simply for food.
3:47 correction not all canine breeds were made through crossing other breeds. That is mostly a myth especially with old breeds. Crossing two different breeds doesn’t produce a new larger breed. In order to produce a new record breaker for size. Breeders will need to stick with one breed, and keep outbreeding large specimens for generations until a major change in size development is visible. Let’s take the Great Dane or pshdar mastiff. If a skilled breeder starts using one of the said mentioned breeds and has enough for an outbreeding selective breeding program he may develop a new Great Dane larger than its predecessor and weighing nearly 300lbs but from my estimate it would take him 40 years of careful and expensive selective breeding. A large dog single handedly costs around 20$ a day to maintain in peek conditions. So imagine raising 50 at once. The amount of costs required for space food and medicine and the amount of time would be too much for any skilled breeder to be interested in.
Its true that no matter how strong a dog is, even when you see pitbulls pulling weights several hundred times their own weight, they still wouldn't be able to fully use it in a fight/hunt, all because of the lack of flexibility in their shoulders, wrist, and paws. Thats why dogs suck at wrestling and ground fighting.
The order Carnivora is divided into only four infraorders based mostly on morphology, Cynopsia (meaning "dog-shaped faced ones" in latin), Galopsia (meaning "weasel-shaped faced ones" in latin), Aeluropsia (meaning "cat-shaped faced ones" in latin), and Crocutopsia (meaning "hyena-shaped faced ones" in latin), both Cynopsia and Galopsia are infraorders within the suborder Caniformia, while both Aeluropsia and Crocutopsia are infraorders within the suborder Feliformia List of Carnivoran infraorders: 1) Cynopsia (Greater Caniforms (contains 7 families: Canidae, Ursidae, Ailuropodidae, Phocidae, Cystophoridae, Otariidae, and Odobenidae)) 2) Galopsia (Lesser Caniforms (contains 8 families: Mephitidae, Procyonidae, Ailuridae, Nasuidae, Melidae, Mustelidae, Lutridae, and Ictonychidae)) 3) Aeluropsia (Cat-Morphed Feliforms (contains 1 family: Felidae)) 4) Crocutopsia (Hyena-Morphed Feliforms (contains 9 families: Protelidae, Hyaenidae, Nandiniidae, Prionodontidae, Poianidae, Genettidae, Viverridae, Herpestidae, and Eupleridae)) Dogs are most closely related to only the bears, giant panda, and pinnipeds, while cats are not closely related to any other extant family of feliform carnivorans.
That's because canids and ursids share the same ancestor, in other words, both families evolved from a common ancestor. So in a not-so-accurate way, you could say that bears are just big dogs.
Anyone that thinks there’s no big dogs have never seen 5% of the species. I’ve seen a panther up close and seen a dog much bigger then a panther. I’m a dog Walker and have walked a dog about 6-7feet long and could look me in my eyes so about 5’ 6” tall on all 4 the dog could easily drag me when getting excited. Don’t know where such a dumb idea came from for a video but that headline isn’t even close to true.
I consider an Irish Wolfhound a BIG Dog. I have also come across a Great Dane larger than grown human adults. However, there are still vicious and brutal breeds of dogs, a leftover from bygone eras where humans bred and trained War Dogs to tear apart their human enemies (children, women, the elderly in addition to enemy warriors).
My first impression without seeing the whole video: there _were_ big dogs! We called them dire wolves, and we hunted them to extinction because a pack of them was so incredibly dangerous to our little bands of hunter-gatherers.
@@starman-l2xbiggest wild dogs for sure but no bigger than some other domesticated breeds we have, lots of livestock guardian dogs are bred to be as big or bigger than the wolves in that part of the world. Imagine a 400lb American bulldog😳
Dogs dont have the deadly claws to hunt and kill large preys like cats, so bigger is not better in their case. Different style in hunting required different built.
Bigger animals are always at risk for extinction and need a specialized environment. Canines are all over the world because they're smaller and can survive any environment.
Mammilian carnivores are split into two categories.. Doglike (Caniform) and Catlike (Feliform).. the biggest feliform would be a siberian tiger.. the biggest Caniform would be the Polar bear or Kodiak bear..
@@Nagasutra on average, siberian tigers are bigger.. they HAVE to be, since they need HEAVIER coats of fur to withstand the cold winter.. Bengals live in hot climate. they are leaner than siberians..
@@soramirez5473 Bengal tiger is the biggest feline in wild, Siberian are bigger only in captivity and captivity doesn’t count! Just google it out before applying common logic.
@@Nagasutra NOT according to National Geographic and its website, ALONG with countless OTHER websites.. "The largest big cat is the Siberian tiger, which can weigh an astonishing 660 pounds and stretch more than 10 feet nose to tail. It is one of six surviving tiger subspecies." Sorry but i HAVE googled it and just did..
Dogs lineage separated from bears a long time ago. Bears grew large as omnivores to store energy for hibernation whilst dogs had to maintain a size that is more fit to the long hunt of wearing their quarry down as they lope behind and wait for weakness to set in.
Dogs are bigger in numbers while Cats are bigger in size, can you imagine a wild pack of Dogs that are the size of a Siberian Tiger?? Trust and believe there's a reason nature didn't allow Dogs to be giants
At one time there were wild canines that were comparable in size to big cats. Most famously the 'Bone Crushing Dogs'. But many of these large canine species were outcompeted by big cats over time, once big cats entered North America. They were also outcompeted by smaller, more versatile/adaptable canine species. Being larger is not always an advantage.....
0:5 the answer is simple. Just like how the red coywolf also previously known as red wolves replaced their wolf ancestors same happened with dire wolves. Somehow smaller size was more successful after the climate changed and early humans started becoming more and more common. And it’s not just big canines but many large felines in that area like the cave lions and saber tooth went extinct same with short faced bears etc... the new environment wasn’t as nutritious for the giants as it was for their smaller relatives. This is happening at the very moment with grey wolves.
Have you actually seen wolves in the wild in northern parts of MN and areas of Montana? Wolves, especially the Timberwolf, are getting to be very large - and taking down large prey like Elk, and not just for food but are starting to hunt for fun and leaving much of their kill to waste.
@@clever_handle in arenas where humans live coy wolves are becoming more common and grey wolves are becoming less and less common. As for the timber wolf. The large mutants are only temporary because trophy hunters will eventually wipe them out sadly.
So I got a bit confused. Africa/dry areas still maintain their large animals simply because it is also the origin place of humans and the megafauna are natrually wary of them due to evolving alongside them. This is not to say humans are detrimental to all megafauna but it is a pattern you missed on mentioning when you both had mentioned human populations and prey species that also likely changed some bits of evolution paths such as big cats in north america- or the lack of.
Megafaunal extinction in northern latitudes likely related to natural catastrophe; meteor impact and or volcanic activity that occurred near the end of the last glacial maximum. Ask yourself, why did the American bison survive over 10,000 years as a prey animal of the planes tribes, while so many other large species disappeared? Some other cause than tribal hunting caused the mass extinctions.
Because they aren't meant to be big. They have the ideal body type for a predator, they are not too big and not too small. They have got incredible endurance, stamina, pack behaviour, high intelligence and excellent coordination which make them the most successful land predators. Their only weapons are their powerful jaws. Big cats on the other hand rely more on strength, size and stealth while hunting, hence they lack the stamina. Even the social big cats like lions and cheetahs lay down ambushes because they can't chase their prey for too long like dogs. Their weapons are paws and jaws, they often use their hind legs during hunts and fights.
dire wolves were bigger than a modern-day lion but went extinct hundreds of thousands of years ago. I think in the ice age period. trust me they were meant to be big.
@@Radius.. Their average weight was between 50 to 100 kilograms which is around the same weight as that of an average spotted hyena or a leopard. Also the era in which they lived in had much larger animals than today so they were smal for their time.
@@Radius.. You watch too many movies. Dire wolves were slightly larger than modern grey wolves. And they weren't taller, they were just more robustly built. And the largest grey wolves today, were just as big as dire wolves. They were nowhere close to being the size of a lion lol. And dire wolves only went extinct around 10,000 - 12,000 years ago. Not that long ago in terms of geologic time.
yeah evolution is not working towards some ultimate goal. the reason wolves are not as big as tigers is simply because there is no pressure to be that large. larger animals need to use more energy therefore need to hunt more. unless they need size to stay warm its only a hazard
Finally gets to the point @ 3:03. Size difference is due to hunting strategy, which is only a partial answer to the original question. You'd need to try to answer why they have different hunting strategies to really address the original question.
@@visionentertainment8006 In word, yes. Cats are just better predators. canids survived because pretty much all canids are omnivores or can survive entirely by scavenging. While cats will scavenge, it's more common in big cats than small ones, they are apex, obligate carnivores, they NEED to eat meat.
Big cats is a weird idea to me cause I live in Southern Ontario (Canada) we have 0 big cats in the wild here coyote wolf's and bears are the worry instead and really only coyotes in my area I just realized I live in one of the least competitive ecosystems
@@DissidentPrick and crocs don't forget the crocs I mean legit I can go swimming in any body of water in my area without getting bit by something I have nothing poisonous enough in my area to cause me to have to goto the hospital tbh I wished I lived somewhere else I love studying animals in nature.. but going out to the woods a skunk is my biggest worry then a coyote
Fun fact: The largest domestic dog breed ever was the Alpine Mastiff, a large male could weigh up to 158 kilograms which is more than the weight of an average Asiatic lioness by a small margin. Those dogs haven't been bred for almost 200 years for unknown reasons. I believe their size resulted in several health issues.
Dogs are pack animals is why and rely on stamina in the hunt - Cats are much stronger, more stealthy and more agile so are better suited to hunt alone.
@@pietropes1322 Interestingly enough all of them for however brief a stint. Mothers don't immediately boot their cubs and juvinile/young adult males form gangs until they establish territory.
I've always felt bears were more common to dogs than having a category all their own. Sure they can climb trees and dogs can't not like a bear . However they're very similar in other ways
Pound for pound, cats are the most formidable land hunters that have ever lived. They can take any other animal their own size (and many prey animals that are actually bigger than they are).
I always saw hyenas as a form of big dog. They bark ,make noises,and are social creatures just like dogs as well as hunting in groups.also when a baby hyena is born ,it is called a hyena pup. So I say they are the exception for a big dog.
The largest common breeds (Great Dane, Saint Bernard) of dog are in the range of some of the Big Cats (leopards and jaguars); the snow leopard, more closely related to tigers, is as large as a not particularly-large dog. Then there is a kangal, about as large as a lioness. Even without the extreme size, dogs are formidable killers.
Epicyon - soon ran out of large prey to hunt Also Epicyon - lived for 15 million years in North America Obviously it was a highly successful predator with plenty of prey for a long time. It wasn't that it simply grew too big and ran out of food supply. Something ELSE caused it's extinction like climate change and vegetation change that caused large prey to become less numerous or maybe humans arriving and eliminating large prey? Not sure if they overlapped.
Dogs are in the same suborder as bears...caniformia, which are dog-like carnivorans. So yea: there are no big proper dogs, but there are big dog-like animals. It is interesting that bears are omnivores and eat more plant matter than flesh, because if they were carnivores there probably wouldn't be any cougars in North America. But it's pretty hard to conceive of a bear (other than a polar bear) subsisting only on meat: they seem to be too flabby and slow to succeed as carnivores. Polar bears are monsters, but are flabby and slow themselves, but that doesn't really matter when your prey has no legs.
"they seem to be too flabby and slow to succeed as carnivores" You've never seen a black bear or grizzly in full on "fuck you" mode then. This is a meme type video but it gets the point across than bears CAN be fast and agile when they need to be th-cam.com/users/shortskDkB15pQOgE
@@blobbertmcblob4888 Compared to a cougar, they're flabby and slow, dummy. There's no way a 1,000 lb Grizzly is getting all his calories from meat...which is what "carnivore" means. There's especially no way when you factor in how many calories he's going to burn hunting. If grizzlies weren't able to stand in rivers and literally have their prey swim to them, they'd probably either be borderline vegans or die off as a species if meat is nutritionally necessary to them. Grizzlies are practically nonexistent in the modern Pacific Northwest because humans damming the rivers, destroying streams, and fishing have decimated the spawning salmon population.
@@_gamepoint_ Not 35 mph, which is the top speed of a grizzly. Not in this context. A cougar has a top speed of 50 mph, and even he has to employ ambush tactics and stealth to get food. If you don't have a gun or a trap, animals are extremely difficult to catch.
dogs as in the canid/canis genus, but wolves are the wild originals of domesticated dog breeds. Wolves aren't breeds, just subspecies depending on geography.
In terms of height & length north western wolves are the same size as Jaguars(third biggest big cat in the world) but in terms of weight they’re roughly half the weight of a jaguar
I would love to see huge megafauna around again besides what we see in Africa. Plus it would be cool if Bear Dogs were around today. Don't think they could run too fast but their bite force I bet would make a Hyena's feel like last place.
Bear Dogs truly are a specimen to be amazed at. Yeah, they have poor speed but man, everything else is top notch that only a few extinct predators would be able to match. Daedon is another great example of a force to be weary of.
there are wolves (exceptional males) that could match or rival an Irish wolf-hound in height or body length. Alaskan, Canadian and Russian wolves beg to differ!
@@Ispeakthetruthify agreed...Wich is why this was presented as a joke....but food for thought ....the ancient breed Wich was less selective....was significantly bigger by all accounts....cheers
Very interesting video. I always assumed there were plenty of big ancestors of dogs in the Americas and they died during ice age due to big game herbivores extinctions and competition with smaller canine breeds. The Dire wolf i always assumed was about 300 lbs because they were big game hunters but may be only a bit bigger than modern day grey wolves 150-180lbs. Alo were Xenocyon sub species that got big as dire wolves as well. As you state, there are big, domesticated dog breeds like mastiff, St Benard's or big but taller Great Danes, Afghan hounds or Irish wolf hounds. They are big through human breeding. Game of Thrones Dire wolves were exaggerated in size, i guess.
You picked the two largest species of big cat lol. Cheetahs, leopards, and cougars aren't much bigger than a full size wolf. Plus wolves have always competed with big cats and even bigger threats like bears, mammoths, bison and so on
@@americanhero8606 because bears and dogs are somewhat closely related. It's like asking why deer did not reach the size of elephants, because they did. But they're called giraffes.
@@disturbedfan545 That response lacks sense though. Similar species can just as easily out-compete each other than those of different families/orders. I'm asking why dogs as a distinct group haven't rivaled large cats or bears in terms of individual size. Being able to cite taxonomical closeness doesn't address the question...
@@americanhero8606 because they don't need to. They are more successful hunters as a group. They can out compete their competition without really trying fur to being pack based. Wolves have existed with big cats in the America's and have out competed them. Steppe wolves went extinct, but grey wolves didn't.
I think the bear-dog would disagree with this assertion, easily one of the most dangerous prehistoric predators I've seen, big and fast and hunt in packs, with a skull size more than 1.5 times bigger than a fully grown male lion, it decimated the ecosystem in it's day and reset the competitive food chain in prehistoric North America
Are you talking about Amphicyon? If so, they were not fast predators (they mostly rely on ambush like big cats) and they didn't hunt/live in packs. Also they aren't big "dogs"
The biggest dog breed to ever exist was the Alpine mastiff which could reach the whopping weight of 158 kilograms but they haven't been bred for almost 200 years now.
why? Wolverines are part of the Caniform or Doglike mammilian carnivores.. the other species you mentioned are part of the Feliform or Catlike section.
@@soramirez5473 it takes at least two to three wolves to hold off a wolverine. The sheer tenacity of the animal along with its strong jaws are why the wolf lost
@@eamparbeng that's not what im tyring to say.. you LUMPED a wolverine, which is actually closer related to dogs, with a bunch of animals that are more feline like..
@@soramirez5473 a wolf's body, though more closely related to the wolverine, simply isn't built for fighting. Yes it has strong jaws and superior endurance, but what's that if you can't use your upper body in junction with your lower body to climb trees and grapple opponents
@@soramirez5473 They are not really "closer related". Caniformia is a large suborder that comprehends walruses and stoats. Arctoidea (where the wolverines and bears belongs) and canidae closest common ancestor is the same closest common ancestor they have with felines, myacids. Wolverines' anestors separated from canidae around the same time caniformia separated from feliformia.
This question occurred to me quite a few times. It is unfortunate on my part to not actively look for the answer and fortunate of me to stumble upon it so randomly.
i think dogs just evolved to be in packs, they are always more effective in hunting than cats, but cats are better built to hunt alone and fighting, kind of the case with bears
They arent more effective. Wild Dogs are the only canines more successful than cats at hunting. Wolves and other dogs arent as successful. If you look at the most successful land predators, cats will dominate that list.
Guys there is big dogs, besides the many species of abnormally large dog's there are bears bears and dogs share the same family tree and are closely related.
I always thought they were never able to get that big because they didnt have claws like cats which would make them a much more fierce and dominant predator. It kinda makes sense if you think about it. Dogs only have speed and a powerful bite while cats have the same plus those sharp ass claws that can gut anything that tries to get ahold of them
As an American raised on imperial, everything really just needs to go metric, man. It's just better. I only even thought of this because he sounds British, yet actually mentioned imperial weights first, which i found interesting.
Some dogs get pretty big. The largest mastiff ever was Zorba, an Old English Mastiff that grew to around 345 pounds with a total length of 8 feet 3 inches.
I have always believed that bears (Ursidae) and dogs/wolves (Canidea) are more closely related than we currently think. Based on DNA analysis, we know they share a common ancestor, amphicyonidae - which lived about 45 million years ago, but I wouldn't be surprised if a more modern ancestor is discovered.
It really just comes down yo evolution. Dogs evolved to hunt in packs while most big cats evolved to hunt alone. Dogs didn't need to get bigger to survive while cats did. (This excludes lions. They're just weird lol)
A lioness is actually capable of hunting alone with stealth. They’re capable of taking down a zebra head on and sometimes a buffalo if they catch it off guard. Male lions also hunt alone and are just as proficient
"yo evolution"
Faxs
@@fhngyn5760 negative. A lioness isn’t bringing down a buffalo unless it’s an adolescent, or it’s already dying anyway. Even taking down a zebra “head on” is not likely. They could manage a wart hog though.
@@ilikefreespeech3565 There are plenty of documentations and videos of a lioness taking down a zebra by itself. You have to remember that even a lioness, is still a 250-350 pound predator, and can take down large prey by herself. Now a buffalo would be too much to handle alone, but most other animals smaller than a buffalo would be fair game if the opportunity presented itself.
But lions developed social behavior not only for hunting, but for protection from other social predators that were around(and still are) on the African savanna. Hyenas, wild dogs, various forms of saber-toothed cats, and early humans, were all social predators that competed with lions.
Have you ever done a size comparison of household dogs and wolves? Some wolves are gigantic.
their paws are as big as my head, funny beans, the bigger the better i say :D
Average Wolf of the biggest breed 130lb, very small lion 200lb, very big lion 600lb.
Irish wolf hounds can get up to 83kg. Think the Tibetan mastiff also gets to a similar weight.
HYENAS
My grandma has an Irish wolfhound and on his hind legs, he can put his paws on my shoulders with room to spare, I'm 6'1" which isn't really that tall but it's still pretty impressive
Surprised there was no mention of bears, the evolutionary neighbors of dogs.They are much closer analogues to the large cats of the world, both in size and hunting strategy.
Bears are cousins
That’s what I was just about to say! Bears are most closely related! My Dog is a Mix between Polar Bear & Grizzly. 😅
@@bookmouse2719Then Lions / Jags / Etc. are Cats Cousins
Pri@@FrostyTheSnowman12321prizzly bear or groller bear
Grolar bear
Why there are no big dogs - The answer is easy, it is because most wild dogs are stamina hunters, whereas big cats are always zoom and grab hunters. There are limits to how large a dog can be before it loses its stamina hunting ability and winds up evolving into something like a bear and becoming forced into mostly being vegetarian because it can no longer reliably catch prey.
I agree with you. This is a valid point
Bears have great stamina, and they are huge, so your theory doesn't work there...fyi, Bears are the largest animal in the dog family.
Bears can't run for long time. Wolves can run for 5 hours
@@luffydono1129 You're clueless. There's a video on TH-cam of a Brown Bear chasing an elk for 25 minutes through land and water nonstop, then catching and killing it.
@@rebeltvr6046 25 min is a short sprint compared to it's smaller cousins who can run hours on end non stop.
what about bears, which are very closely related to canine? They have been classified as a separate group (ursidae) mostly because they are... BIG. And what about other dog-likes like seals and walruses, which are much closer related to dogs than to cats?
Bears are big dogs fuck it
Bear not just big, they are very different. They have claw, can eat veggies and anatomically not the same
@@zee9709 there are differences but not as big as it appears. for instance, bears are omnivorous, and so are dogs
@@calponis not wild dog.
@@zee9709 they are. Dogs inherited this trait straight from wolves, which have been observed many times in the wild eating fruits. Sure, we describe wolves as carnivorous, but mostly because it is simpler this way. In fact they eat everything. Unlike cats.
Dogs are successful not only because of their stamina but also their level of intelligence. African dogs have been shown time and time again to employ coordinated hunting tactics. They are able to shift strategies on the fly. Their large ears are meant for the receipt of communication from members of the pack with whom they are hunting. This video over simplified the differences between dogs and cats. Wolves have been formidable hunters for thousands of years, they’ve taken down animals 10x their size. Their ability to work as a team makes them successful.
Dogs r scary smart! The street dogs in my locale selectively bark and chase vehicles.... And always the same vehicles r targeted.... Keen sense of smell, taste, hearing and grudge
@@Horne_Bakayeah they just lack self awareness and people think they’re dumb
I've seen two housecats team up against an aggressive rottweiler.. exploiting the dogs weakness to the fullest.. two cats on the opposite ends of the dog.. always attacking it from the rear... If the dog turned the other cat would attack... The dog retreated quickly. I don't think there is much of a difference in intelligence between them but cats have less of a need to show it off to their owners 😂
No group of dogs can take down a giraffe, rhino, or elephant. A pride of lions is the apex predator anywhere
@@PocketAznRoxr dude I saw a puppy chase off a group of sea lions and a small dog make a rhino run across the game range
apparently the answer is: big cats are specialized on big preys. But the areas, where dogs are living, there is no so much prey and dogs must be universal to catch both big and small animals. For that they must be medium sized with high durability. Not 100 meters runners like cats.
Why
No. The big dogs that preyed on larger preys got out competed by cats so they went extinct. Simple as that.
@@shinqqing5161 Bro, Wolves are one of the reasons on why cougars are going extinct.
Actually wolves can hunt bisons in packs.
@@shinqqing5161 Agreed, large canines lost because big cats are simply more efficient. Retractable claws are OP. Canines had to stick to pack endurance hunting to compete.
This was just a really interesting look at dogs and cats and the larger varieties well done keep the videos coming all your videos are fantastic
Maybe dogs took a strange evolutionary turn and became bears.
@@kimgo4518 bears really diverged from dogs
@@GonnaPutSomeDirtInYourEyes-786 Exactly what I’m saying
Use period "."
@@kimgo4518 Bears are not dog's friend. Two different species
I used to think people in Africa and India were crazy for living so close to lions and tigers, but then I realized I live in the Rocky Mountains with mountain lions and have seen them several times near my home. Guess fear is greatest with the things that are very far or very close, but the mid range is close enough to understand yet not be in immediate danger.
There are bears in the Rockies too.
@@bookmouse2719 oh yeah! I’ve run into those. Dang, just goes to show 🤷♂️
I live in Africa and I can assure we don't live anywhere near lions or any other wild animals. Our problem is snakes!
@@pkkgyasi haha, so essentially the same as the United States. A world apart but not too different.
I had a that realization about alligators in the Southern US. Just... giant lizards that can both swim and run faster than you, and can 100% kill you.
They just, don't? most the time.
Bigger hunter, bigger prey. It seems logical but what boggles my mind is Humans were able to take down prey that were 10 times or more their size. If you had a choice to have strength and mind like in a video games, most would associate strength for taking greater foes and never consider mind. But nature chose mind for a strength. I find that facinating.
The brain gives you the ability to make and make use of tools. A gun got more 'strength'.
@@clownprince1313 not guns but traps
@@clownprince1313 The power of yeeting rocks
We pick strength in video games because our brain is the one in control
Key word "prey" they were able to take down big prey, but big predators like short face bear was a challenge for early humans I hear and stopped them from getting deep into North America initially after crossing the bearing straight.
When you said "Tigers are the SECOND largest naturally occurring wild cat" I got confused because Tigers are suppose to be THE LARGEST wild cats that evolved naturally whereas the Liger HYBRID that was created unnaturally is the largest "wild" cat on the planet but they thrive only in zoos. 2nd is the African Lion and 3rd largest is the Jaguar of South America.
Atlas lion, Amur tiger
@@Virtue.X.Vitality Actually the Liger is a natural occurring cat, as they can be produced in the wild without human interference. Its just exceptionally rare.
@@connorbutler5900 no they can't it's been proven
@@connorbutler5900 dude both big cats you mentioned were separated by continent so yeah it's possible.😅
@@christucker9490 It's been proven that Ligers can't reproduce as they are born infertile. A lion can still fuck a tiger and produce a liger though. Otherwise we'd never have had any of them.
Dire wolves were much bigger than the wolves today. They died out in the Pleistocene era with a lot of other species.
Even the wolves of today seem to be getting quite large. Northern MN and parts of Montana are seeing wolves that are larger than humans even though they hunt in packs. They are starting to hunt for fun rather than simply for food.
3:47 correction not all canine breeds were made through crossing other breeds. That is mostly a myth especially with old breeds. Crossing two different breeds doesn’t produce a new larger breed. In order to produce a new record breaker for size. Breeders will need to stick with one breed, and keep outbreeding large specimens for generations until a major change in size development is visible. Let’s take the Great Dane or pshdar mastiff. If a skilled breeder starts using one of the said mentioned breeds and has enough for an outbreeding selective breeding program he may develop a new Great Dane larger than its predecessor and weighing nearly 300lbs but from my estimate it would take him 40 years of careful and expensive selective breeding. A large dog single handedly costs around 20$ a day to maintain in peek conditions. So imagine raising 50 at once. The amount of costs required for space food and medicine and the amount of time would be too much for any skilled breeder to be interested in.
Its true that no matter how strong a dog is, even when you see pitbulls pulling weights several hundred times their own weight, they still wouldn't be able to fully use it in a fight/hunt, all because of the lack of flexibility in their shoulders, wrist, and paws. Thats why dogs suck at wrestling and ground fighting.
Drag weight wit wheels
recommend this channel vs Battle 👍100
good point
And dogs have NAILS designed for digging and cats have CLAWS and much denser forearm muscles (p2p) to grab, hold, climb and pull something
Pitbull doesn’t have the strongest bite. Kangal has the strongest bite force of any dog.
this channel addresses all the questions I had about wild magnificent beasts. Greeeeat!
The order Carnivora is divided into only four infraorders based mostly on morphology, Cynopsia (meaning "dog-shaped faced ones" in latin), Galopsia (meaning "weasel-shaped faced ones" in latin), Aeluropsia (meaning "cat-shaped faced ones" in latin), and Crocutopsia (meaning "hyena-shaped faced ones" in latin), both Cynopsia and Galopsia are infraorders within the suborder Caniformia, while both Aeluropsia and Crocutopsia are infraorders within the suborder Feliformia
List of Carnivoran infraorders:
1) Cynopsia (Greater Caniforms (contains 7 families: Canidae, Ursidae, Ailuropodidae, Phocidae, Cystophoridae, Otariidae, and Odobenidae))
2) Galopsia (Lesser Caniforms (contains 8 families: Mephitidae, Procyonidae, Ailuridae, Nasuidae, Melidae, Mustelidae, Lutridae, and Ictonychidae))
3) Aeluropsia (Cat-Morphed Feliforms (contains 1 family: Felidae))
4) Crocutopsia (Hyena-Morphed Feliforms (contains 9 families: Protelidae, Hyaenidae, Nandiniidae, Prionodontidae, Poianidae, Genettidae, Viverridae, Herpestidae, and Eupleridae))
Dogs are most closely related to only the bears, giant panda, and pinnipeds, while cats are not closely related to any other extant family of feliform carnivorans.
That's because canids and ursids share the same ancestor, in other words, both families evolved from a common ancestor.
So in a not-so-accurate way, you could say that bears are just big dogs.
@@nogerboher5266 basically
They are Greek words, not Latin.
You must be a Muttology major. 😅😅
A very interesting look at canines and felines. Thank you very much.
Anyone that thinks there’s no big dogs have never seen 5% of the species. I’ve seen a panther up close and seen a dog much bigger then a panther. I’m a dog Walker and have walked a dog about 6-7feet long and could look me in my eyes so about 5’ 6” tall on all 4 the dog could easily drag me when getting excited. Don’t know where such a dumb idea came from for a video but that headline isn’t even close to true.
I consider an Irish Wolfhound a BIG Dog. I have also come across a Great Dane larger than grown human adults. However, there are still vicious and brutal breeds of dogs, a leftover from bygone eras where humans bred and trained War Dogs to tear apart their human enemies (children, women, the elderly in addition to enemy warriors).
Isn't natural
Yes, but we bred them to be that big
@@melaniehecker190 The video is about wild animals not domesticated animals. Also Irsh Wolfhound are pretty friendly, lovely breed
I think it's because bears already fill the niche of big canine in places where big dogs have the potential to form.
Bear/dogs were a real thing, then they split through time.
Bears aren't canines though.
@@thatdragon_fromspyro1219bears are a sub group but they still related
I had no idea why there were no large dogs and know I know it makes perfect sense. Great video.
We call the big dogs "bears".
My first impression without seeing the whole video: there _were_ big dogs! We called them dire wolves, and we hunted them to extinction because a pack of them was so incredibly dangerous to our little bands of hunter-gatherers.
Direwolves aren't wolves and their own classification I thought according to recent research?
@@ReidGarwin does that even matter regarding my point? They were canines of some kind, ergo, _big_ dogs.
Humans are NOT why Dire wolves went extinct
A full grow timber wolf is pretty god damn big when he looks at you like a meal@@ReidGarwin
@@starman-l2xbiggest wild dogs for sure but no bigger than some other domesticated breeds we have, lots of livestock guardian dogs are bred to be as big or bigger than the wolves in that part of the world. Imagine a 400lb American bulldog😳
Dogs dont have the deadly claws to hunt and kill large preys like cats, so bigger is not better in their case. Different style in hunting required different built.
Right, dogs are pack animals, like hyenas, wolves. They kill bigger prey by working together.
Bigger animals are always at risk for extinction and need a specialized environment. Canines are all over the world because they're smaller and can survive any environment.
Dogs catch more bodies though crazy to think about
Mammilian carnivores are split into two categories.. Doglike (Caniform) and Catlike (Feliform).. the biggest feliform would be a siberian tiger.. the biggest Caniform would be the Polar bear or Kodiak bear..
Polar Bear is the biggest, Kodiak is the heaviest.
Biggest feline is Bengal tiger and not Siberian tiger!!
@@Nagasutra on average, siberian tigers are bigger.. they HAVE to be, since they need HEAVIER coats of fur to withstand the cold winter.. Bengals live in hot climate. they are leaner than siberians..
@@soramirez5473 Bengal tiger is the biggest feline in wild, Siberian are bigger only in captivity and captivity doesn’t count!
Just google it out before applying common logic.
@@Nagasutra NOT according to National Geographic and its website, ALONG with countless OTHER websites..
"The largest big cat is the Siberian tiger, which can weigh an astonishing 660 pounds and stretch more than 10 feet nose to tail. It is one of six surviving tiger subspecies."
Sorry but i HAVE googled it and just did..
Wolves are big enough 😆 and bears are close to dogs.
When u realise the smallest bear ( sun bear) is stronger than the biggest canide😮
Is the sun bear stronger than the strongest dog breed?
@@derekrobertson60388grey wolf is the strongest canid
Did you see the videos of the sloth bear scaring off a tiger
@@derekrobertson60388 and did u see a cougar doing that to a grizzly bear?
@@derekrobertson60388 of course even kangals don't stand a chance
Dogs lineage separated from bears a long time ago. Bears grew large as omnivores to store energy for hibernation whilst dogs had to maintain a size that is more fit to the long hunt of wearing their quarry down as they lope behind and wait for weakness to set in.
There are no large Dogs.
Bears : Are we a joke to you.
Ain’t gonna lie this is a really good topic I always wondered about why there ain’t big big dogs
@JK Yeah the same one who says gooder at the end lol
WOW...and this is transferable to life in so many ways...GREAT CONTENT!!!!
Stop saying bears are like big dogs no they're not.. bears are solitary animal they don't bark or hunt in groups
Dogs are bigger in numbers while Cats are bigger in size, can you imagine a wild pack of Dogs that are the size of a Siberian Tiger?? Trust and believe there's a reason nature didn't allow Dogs to be giants
Could you imagine a pack of siberian tigers though? Theres a reason why that doesn’t exist either. Although we have close to it, lion prides.
@@e9cw196 hehe you think poorly of the male lion....that thing comes with great wrath
@@cryharder1877 I never said i thought poorly of a lion?
At one time there were wild canines that were comparable in size to big cats. Most famously the 'Bone Crushing Dogs'. But many of these large canine species were outcompeted by big cats over time, once big cats entered North America. They were also outcompeted by smaller, more versatile/adaptable canine species.
Being larger is not always an advantage.....
@@cryharder1877 lion king 2019
0:5 the answer is simple. Just like how the red coywolf also previously known as red wolves replaced their wolf ancestors same happened with dire wolves. Somehow smaller size was more successful after the climate changed and early humans started becoming more and more common. And it’s not just big canines but many large felines in that area like the cave lions and saber tooth went extinct same with short faced bears etc... the new environment wasn’t as nutritious for the giants as it was for their smaller relatives. This is happening at the very moment with grey wolves.
Honestly the best answer thank you 🙏🏽
Have you actually seen wolves in the wild in northern parts of MN and areas of Montana? Wolves, especially the Timberwolf, are getting to be very large - and taking down large prey like Elk, and not just for food but are starting to hunt for fun and leaving much of their kill to waste.
@@clever_handle in arenas where humans live coy wolves are becoming more common and grey wolves are becoming less and less common. As for the timber wolf. The large mutants are only temporary because trophy hunters will eventually wipe them out sadly.
Northern Europe hasn’t had a cat bigger than wolves in tens of thousands of years
So I got a bit confused. Africa/dry areas still maintain their large animals simply because it is also the origin place of humans and the megafauna are natrually wary of them due to evolving alongside them.
This is not to say humans are detrimental to all megafauna but it is a pattern you missed on mentioning when you both had mentioned human populations and prey species that also likely changed some bits of evolution paths such as big cats in north america- or the lack of.
Megafaunal extinction in northern latitudes likely related to natural catastrophe; meteor impact and or volcanic activity that occurred near the end of the last glacial maximum. Ask yourself, why did the American bison survive over 10,000 years as a prey animal of the planes tribes, while so many other large species disappeared? Some other cause than tribal hunting caused the mass extinctions.
Because they aren't meant to be big. They have the ideal body type for a predator, they are not too big and not too small. They have got incredible endurance, stamina, pack behaviour, high intelligence and excellent coordination which make them the most successful land predators. Their only weapons are their powerful jaws. Big cats on the other hand rely more on strength, size and stealth while hunting, hence they lack the stamina. Even the social big cats like lions and cheetahs lay down ambushes because they can't chase their prey for too long like dogs. Their weapons are paws and jaws, they often use their hind legs during hunts and fights.
The best canines are African wild dogs
dire wolves were bigger than a modern-day lion but went extinct hundreds of thousands of years ago. I think in the ice age period. trust me they were meant to be big.
@@Radius..
Their average weight was between 50 to 100 kilograms which is around the same weight as that of an average spotted hyena or a leopard. Also the era in which they lived in had much larger animals than today so they were smal for their time.
@@Radius.. You watch too many movies. Dire wolves were slightly larger than modern grey wolves. And they weren't taller, they were just more robustly built. And the largest grey wolves today, were just as big as dire wolves. They were nowhere close to being the size of a lion lol.
And dire wolves only went extinct around 10,000 - 12,000 years ago. Not that long ago in terms of geologic time.
yeah evolution is not working towards some ultimate goal. the reason wolves are not as big as tigers is simply because there is no pressure to be that large. larger animals need to use more energy therefore need to hunt more. unless they need size to stay warm its only a hazard
And this is why, cats manage to scare their predators away, even if their far weaker than them
Bears are insanely SCARED to fight a cat.
Wolves are also very fast. They've been known to run close to 40 mph
Yeah and there are plenty dog species that can outrun a wolf
@@StevenTheGreat_ if by PLENTY , you meant like 4 , maybe 5. Then yes you are correct
@@righty-o3585 maybe 6-7. Remember certain dogs are bred for racing bro.
@@StevenTheGreat_ yeah, and those racing dogs are just barely faster
Finally gets to the point @ 3:03. Size difference is due to hunting strategy, which is only a partial answer to the original question. You'd need to try to answer why they have different hunting strategies to really address the original question.
Right
Very Intersting! Good job!
"If there are big cats, why are there no big dogs?"
That question answers itself.
Got destroyed by Cats
@@visionentertainment8006 In word, yes. Cats are just better predators. canids survived because pretty much all canids are omnivores or can survive entirely by scavenging. While cats will scavenge, it's more common in big cats than small ones, they are apex, obligate carnivores, they NEED to eat meat.
FYI: A "pack" of lions is called a pride :)
“Hey, ChatGPT make me a video about cats being bigger than dogs”
When i was young i thought that bears are closely related to dogs😁
Close ish
they all came from seals... sort of.
They kinda are
You were right
Big cats is a weird idea to me cause I live in Southern Ontario (Canada) we have 0 big cats in the wild here coyote wolf's and bears are the worry instead and really only coyotes in my area I just realized I live in one of the least competitive ecosystems
I live in Australia we have no big dogs, cats or bears.
@@DissidentPrick yeah just sharks snakes and scorpions and don't get me started on the spiders lol
@@DissidentPrick and crocs don't forget the crocs I mean legit I can go swimming in any body of water in my area without getting bit by something I have nothing poisonous enough in my area to cause me to have to goto the hospital tbh I wished I lived somewhere else I love studying animals in nature.. but going out to the woods a skunk is my biggest worry then a coyote
@@alexchatovop4305 no crocodiles where I live.
@@DissidentPrick just learned that croc country is north tip of Australia weird the media makes it seem like they're everywhere
Very nice channel. Subscribed. Are you the guy from HistoryMarche ?
Fun fact: The largest domestic dog breed ever was the Alpine Mastiff, a large male could weigh up to 158 kilograms which is more than the weight of an average Asiatic lioness by a small margin. Those dogs haven't been bred for almost 200 years for unknown reasons. I believe their size resulted in several health issues.
Can the alpine mastiff take down a lion or a bear?
@@derekrobertson60388
Nope.
@@derekrobertson60388 idk why u thought that😂😂😂
@@pj3795 well because it being the biggest dog ever, I wanted to know if it is capable of taking down other big animals like a lion or tiger
@@derekrobertson60388 pound per pound no canine beats a feline so no not even a bear without human intervention
Dogs are pack animals is why and rely on stamina in the hunt - Cats are much stronger, more stealthy and more agile so are better suited to hunt alone.
Tell that to a lion pride.
@@psychedashell Lions are the obvious exception to the rule, everyone knows that....What other big cats live in groups? 🙄
@@pietropes1322 Interestingly enough all of them for however brief a stint.
Mothers don't immediately boot their cubs and juvinile/young adult males form gangs until they establish territory.
Very informative.
Love the general flow, presentation and break down off information. Keep it up!
"Why there are no big Dogs?"
Bears: "am I not big enough?"
This is the comment I was looking for
Lol Bears are not big dogs, they are not in the same Dog family 🤣🤣🤣, unlike House cats and big cats 😂😂😂. Maybe you are just joking
Bears are close relatives of dogs but not dogs actually they have literally lose the meaning of dogs
@@GonnaPutSomeDirtInYourEyes-786 fair point, they evolved together but separated and have different natures
@@franciscovelasco7456 nah but bears evolved from dogs but instead walking the path of becoming weak and having crazy level stamina they became a tank
Only one big dog left and he's in WWE working part time 😅😂😂😅
I've always felt bears were more common to dogs than having a category all their own.
Sure they can climb trees and dogs can't not like a bear .
However they're very similar in other ways
"No dog breed does this naturally?" WTF? Have you heard of African hunting dogs? Dingos? Wolves are actually canines too you know.
breed as in developed to benefit humans
They aren't Domestic
DOG BREED. wolves african painted dogs and dingo's are not dog breeds. they are canine species
Pound for pound, cats are the most formidable land hunters that have ever lived. They can take any other animal their own size (and many prey animals that are actually bigger than they are).
I believe there was the bone-crushing dogs that grew to large sizes. But they got outcompeted by the canids we know today.
I always saw hyenas as a form of big dog. They bark ,make noises,and are social creatures just like dogs as well as hunting in groups.also when a baby hyena is born ,it is called a hyena pup. So I say they are the exception for a big dog.
Hyenas are closer to cats.
Actually Hyenas are closer related to Cats than dogs.
@@masxedsyfirspyrul9189 I disagree. They look similar to a wild dog but bigger obviously.
@@rogerdominguez3691 bro u can't disagree to facts 🤣
Theyre actually closer to badgers than to cats or dogs
The largest common breeds (Great Dane, Saint Bernard) of dog are in the range of some of the Big Cats (leopards and jaguars); the snow leopard, more closely related to tigers, is as large as a not particularly-large dog. Then there is a kangal, about as large as a lioness.
Even without the extreme size, dogs are formidable killers.
Big dogs exist only in our human societies, only difference is we. Got two legged ones.
Epicyon - soon ran out of large prey to hunt
Also Epicyon - lived for 15 million years in North America
Obviously it was a highly successful predator with plenty of prey for a long time. It wasn't that it simply grew too big and ran out of food supply. Something ELSE caused it's extinction like climate change and vegetation change that caused large prey to become less numerous or maybe humans arriving and eliminating large prey? Not sure if they overlapped.
Fun fact : Polar bears,kodiak bears,grizzly bears,and other bears are kinda like big dogs.
Ikr
Bears are not dogs
@@basedmonke3385 Bears look more like seals in some regarding their ancestors.
Bears and canines share a common ancestor, and they split from each other around 30 million years ago. So they are distantly related....
@@basedmonke3385 look at the skull of a dog and compare it to bear you know it
Dogs are in the same suborder as bears...caniformia, which are dog-like carnivorans. So yea: there are no big proper dogs, but there are big dog-like animals. It is interesting that bears are omnivores and eat more plant matter than flesh, because if they were carnivores there probably wouldn't be any cougars in North America. But it's pretty hard to conceive of a bear (other than a polar bear) subsisting only on meat: they seem to be too flabby and slow to succeed as carnivores. Polar bears are monsters, but are flabby and slow themselves, but that doesn't really matter when your prey has no legs.
"they seem to be too flabby and slow to succeed as carnivores"
You've never seen a black bear or grizzly in full on "fuck you" mode then.
This is a meme type video but it gets the point across than bears CAN be fast and agile when they need to be
th-cam.com/users/shortskDkB15pQOgE
35 to 40 mph is the top end speed of a grizzly. What are we considering fast here?
@@blobbertmcblob4888 Compared to a cougar, they're flabby and slow, dummy. There's no way a 1,000 lb Grizzly is getting all his calories from meat...which is what "carnivore" means. There's especially no way when you factor in how many calories he's going to burn hunting. If grizzlies weren't able to stand in rivers and literally have their prey swim to them, they'd probably either be borderline vegans or die off as a species if meat is nutritionally necessary to them. Grizzlies are practically nonexistent in the modern Pacific Northwest because humans damming the rivers, destroying streams, and fishing have decimated the spawning salmon population.
@@_gamepoint_ Not 35 mph, which is the top speed of a grizzly. Not in this context. A cougar has a top speed of 50 mph, and even he has to employ ambush tactics and stealth to get food.
If you don't have a gun or a trap, animals are extremely difficult to catch.
Bear dogs also.
Video: Why no big dogs exist?
Molossus: Am I a joke to you?
Wolves are technically big dogs and so are Kangals and other large dog breeds.
dogs as in the canid/canis genus, but wolves are the wild originals of domesticated dog breeds. Wolves aren't breeds, just subspecies depending on geography.
Bear in is the dog family
Caucasian Shepherds are my favorite so far
Well, there are technically Small Dogs - we just call them foxes. So maybe Big Dogs would be anything that isn't a fox?
Chihuahuas, dachshunds, beagles, toy and miniature poodles are often smaller than foxes.
Those I consider a weird mix of cat and dog to be honest;I mean they are dog chassis but they are running cat software
Great video 🔥🔥🔥
Excellent scientific evolutionary explanation. Thank you!
In terms of height & length north western wolves are the same size as Jaguars(third biggest big cat in the world) but in terms of weight they’re roughly half the weight of a jaguar
Thanks for the information; I've never thought of it before, Blessed Be.
Wolves are Big Dogs (I think)
Nah
Not big enough
I mean the biggest on is a Timberwolf and a leopard or cougar are still much larger.
I would love to see huge megafauna around again besides what we see in Africa. Plus it would be cool if Bear Dogs were around today.
Don't think they could run too fast but their bite force I bet would make a Hyena's feel like last place.
Bear Dogs truly are a specimen to be amazed at. Yeah, they have poor speed but man, everything else is top notch that only a few extinct predators would be able to match. Daedon is another great example of a force to be weary of.
05:57 - "Wolves, on the other hand, are extremely lackluster as individuals"
Wolf: "Hey, there's no need to get personal!" lol
Apparently you've never seen an Irish wolfhound 😂
there are wolves (exceptional males) that could match or rival an Irish wolf-hound in height or body length. Alaskan, Canadian and Russian wolves beg to differ!
That is a domestic dog that has been selectively bred over hundreds to thousands of years. It's not a naturally occurring canine.
@@Ispeakthetruthify agreed...Wich is why this was presented as a joke....but food for thought ....the ancient breed Wich was less selective....was significantly bigger by all accounts....cheers
I’m not an animal expert but I’m pretty sure a large wolf would be considered a big dog !
Yeah, people underestimate how big wolves can be.
Not only size but physical structure is huge. Two totally different animals.
Yes, being of the genus (Canis), Latin for dog, all the genus (Canis) are deemed true dogs.
The jaguar is the real king of the jungle, cause it actually lives in the jungle
Very interesting video. I always assumed there were plenty of big ancestors of dogs in the Americas and they died during ice age due to big game herbivores extinctions and competition with smaller canine breeds. The Dire wolf i always assumed was about 300 lbs because they were big game hunters but may be only a bit bigger than modern day grey wolves 150-180lbs. Alo were Xenocyon sub species that got big as dire wolves as well. As you state, there are big, domesticated dog breeds like mastiff, St Benard's or big but taller Great Danes, Afghan hounds or Irish wolf hounds. They are big through human breeding. Game of Thrones Dire wolves were exaggerated in size, i guess.
You picked the two largest species of big cat lol. Cheetahs, leopards, and cougars aren't much bigger than a full size wolf. Plus wolves have always competed with big cats and even bigger threats like bears, mammoths, bison and so on
Yeah but why aren't there dogs that approach the individual size of the larger cat/bear species? That was the question of the video?
@@americanhero8606 because bears and dogs are somewhat closely related. It's like asking why deer did not reach the size of elephants, because they did. But they're called giraffes.
@@disturbedfan545 That response lacks sense though. Similar species can just as easily out-compete each other than those of different families/orders.
I'm asking why dogs as a distinct group haven't rivaled large cats or bears in terms of individual size. Being able to cite taxonomical closeness doesn't address the question...
@@americanhero8606 because they don't need to. They are more successful hunters as a group. They can out compete their competition without really trying fur to being pack based. Wolves have existed with big cats in the America's and have out competed them. Steppe wolves went extinct, but grey wolves didn't.
Cheetah and puma aren't big cats
"If there are big cats why are there no big dogs? "
Wolves: are we a joke to you?
I think the bear-dog would disagree with this assertion, easily one of the most dangerous prehistoric predators I've seen, big and fast and hunt in packs, with a skull size more than 1.5 times bigger than a fully grown male lion, it decimated the ecosystem in it's day and reset the competitive food chain in prehistoric North America
Would you rather be a bear, or a dog? I'd rather be a bear-dog
Are you talking about Amphicyon? If so, they were not fast predators (they mostly rely on ambush like big cats) and they didn't hunt/live in packs.
Also they aren't big "dogs"
“Why are there no big dogs?”
Kangals, Tosa Inu, Caucasian Shepherds, Turkish Akbash: “Are we a joke to you?!!”
🤦
Those are not big
@@arbschannel9215 they are big for a dog but not bigger than big cats
The biggest dog breed to ever exist was the Alpine mastiff which could reach the whopping weight of 158 kilograms but they haven't been bred for almost 200 years now.
all domestic dogs. he is talking wild canids. those dogs where bred to be big.
Have you ever seen a wild wolf in person??
Wolves are big dogs. And they are various species of big dogs and small dogs. Versus house cats which are similar sizes.
Exactly. And Timberwolves are pretty fn big. 🐺
This video explains why the wolf lost almost all its matches against the hyena, wolverine, cougar, and snow leopard
why? Wolverines are part of the Caniform or Doglike mammilian carnivores.. the other species you mentioned are part of the Feliform or Catlike section.
@@soramirez5473 it takes at least two to three wolves to hold off a wolverine. The sheer tenacity of the animal along with its strong jaws are why the wolf lost
@@eamparbeng that's not what im tyring to say.. you LUMPED a wolverine, which is actually closer related to dogs, with a bunch of animals that are more feline like..
@@soramirez5473 a wolf's body, though more closely related to the wolverine, simply isn't built for fighting. Yes it has strong jaws and superior endurance, but what's that if you can't use your upper body in junction with your lower body to climb trees and grapple opponents
@@soramirez5473 They are not really "closer related". Caniformia is a large suborder that comprehends walruses and stoats. Arctoidea (where the wolverines and bears belongs) and canidae closest common ancestor is the same closest common ancestor they have with felines, myacids. Wolverines' anestors separated from canidae around the same time caniformia separated from feliformia.
This question occurred to me quite a few times. It is unfortunate on my part to not actively look for the answer and fortunate of me to stumble upon it so randomly.
i think dogs just evolved to be in packs, they are always more effective in hunting than cats, but cats are better built to hunt alone and fighting, kind of the case with bears
They arent more effective. Wild Dogs are the only canines more successful than cats at hunting. Wolves and other dogs arent as successful. If you look at the most successful land predators, cats will dominate that list.
@@dariusbrock2713 Mainly cats dominate the list, but wild dogs still more effective than every cat by far
It’s called a wolf. You’re welcome! 😎👍
Thank you very much.
Big dog will be too OP that why
I never thought I'd see the same question I asked myself.. I always imagine how big they would be
Guys there is big dogs, besides the many species of abnormally large dog's there are bears bears and dogs share the same family tree and are closely related.
bears are not related to dogs
1:00 I disagree they are not mentioned or that cats are better hunters
Wonderful Video!!!!
Really interesting. It answered a question I had never asked myself and now I wonder why I never did. Thank you.
I always thought they were never able to get that big because they didnt have claws like cats which would make them a much more fierce and dominant predator. It kinda makes sense if you think about it. Dogs only have speed and a powerful bite while cats have the same plus those sharp ass claws that can gut anything that tries to get ahold of them
I asked myself and other people this same question before.
As an American raised on imperial, everything really just needs to go metric, man. It's just better.
I only even thought of this because he sounds British, yet actually mentioned imperial weights first, which i found interesting.
Some dogs get pretty big. The largest mastiff ever was Zorba, an Old English Mastiff that grew to around 345 pounds with a total length of 8 feet 3 inches.
I have always believed that bears (Ursidae) and dogs/wolves (Canidea) are more closely related than we currently think. Based on DNA analysis, we know they share a common ancestor, amphicyonidae - which lived about 45 million years ago, but I wouldn't be surprised if a more modern ancestor is discovered.
epicyon is about the same size as large dogs today...
There are we have wild dogs species called Dhole in india, they are endangered tho
This was a very interesting video.