"Run like a hare and fight like a Bear..."

[Tam and Martin]

There is a song in High Rhulain that is about Skilly and Duff. A line in that song goes like this:
 
                  "You're run like a hare and fight like a bear,
                     On Good 'ol Skilly 'n' Duff!"

 Do you think that they're is possiby a bear in the redwall world? There are Wolverines in redwall so there might be bears too? In this line they are acknowledging that they know what a bear is?  Thoughts?

[Ungatt Trunn]

Well, if there are bears in the Redwall series, they would be HUGE! Redwall Abbey probubly would withstand an attack by one.

[Leatho Shellhound]

Hmmm I think it was just for the song.

[HeadInAnotherGalaxy]

Ah'm reminded o' ze Berenztain Bearz...Anyvay, back tae ze topic...

Mayhapz zey could be real zmall bearz...

[Buzz_Bumble]

There haven't been wild bears in England for a LONG time, so that basically rules out bears being in Mossflower. It's possible that the song is referring to an animal they know of from ancient history (like we know of dinosaurs and dodos), or an imaginary animal used in dibbun's tales (like dragons and ogres), or simply an animal from a far away land.

Besides, it's better than saying "run like a snail and fight like an autumn leaf." 

[Romsca]

In the fanfic "The Outlander" by SandyB there's a panda bear

[Rusvul]

There haven't been wild bears in England for a LONG time, so that basically rules out bears being in Mossflower. It's possible that the song is referring to an animal they know of from ancient history (like we know of dinosaurs and dodos), or an imaginary animal used in dibbun's tales (like dragons and ogres), or simply an animal from a far away land.

Besides, it's better than saying "run like a snail and fight like an autumn leaf." 

Hmm. Your point is valid, and probably the most likely, if everyone feels the need to overthing an oversight, though I would like to point out that Dodos are not ancient history, humans hunted them to extinction several hundred years ago.

[Tam and Martin]

Hmmm I think it was just for the song.

I was thinking that but they must need to know what a bear is to use it in a song.

There haven't been wild bears in England for a LONG time, so that basically rules out bears being in Mossflower. It's possible that the song is referring to an animal they know of from ancient history (like we know of dinosaurs and dodos), or an imaginary animal used in dibbun's tales (like dragons and ogres), or simply an animal from a far away land.

Besides, it's better than saying "run like a snail and fight like an autumn leaf." 

That is one of the best explanations for this topic I'd say.

[Buzz_Bumble]

... though I would like to point out that Dodos are not ancient history, humans hunted them to extinction several hundred years ago.

They're ancient history in the sense that nobody currently alive has ever seen a live one, nor has anyone in the last few generations. It could be similar with bears in Redwall - they could have died out in Mossflower generations ago, so no living or recent beasts have ever seen one, but they know what they are from the history. 

[HeadInAnotherGalaxy]

... though I would like to point out that Dodos are not ancient history, humans hunted them to extinction several hundred years ago.

They're ancient history in the sense that nobody currently alive has ever seen a live one, nor has anyone in the last few generations. It could be similar with bears in Redwall - they could have died out in Mossflower generations ago, so no living or recent beasts have ever seen one, but they know what they are from the history. 

An' actually, huntin' vaznae ze real zin' zat killed zem. It vaz ze introduction o' nev zpeciez like Dogz zat killed zem. Anyvay, back tae ze topic...

[Buzz_Bumble]

Nobody really knows what killed off the dodo. Sailors eating them all is often the rumoured cause, but many reports say they didn't taste very nice (then again, a sailor stuck at sea with only preserved meat would jump at the chance of eating anything fresh). It was most likely a combination of lots of things - being unafraid of man and the dogs they brought with them, rats from the visiting ships eating the eggs, the removal of their forest habitat, a natural disaster (like a tidal wave) that killed off too many for them to sustain a population even before man arrived, etc.

[Shadowed One]

I think it was just for that one song.

[HeadInAnotherGalaxy]

Nobody really knows what killed off the dodo. Sailors eating them all is often the rumoured cause, but many reports say they didn't taste very nice (then again, a sailor stuck at sea with only preserved meat would jump at the chance of eating anything fresh). It was most likely a combination of lots of things - being unafraid of man and the dogs they brought with them, rats from the visiting ships eating the eggs, the removal of their forest habitat, a natural disaster (like a tidal wave) that killed off too many for them to sustain a population even before man arrived, etc.

Or it could 'ave been a Zloth, a Tiger, an' a Mammoth vith zome zmaw hairy creature came an' tried tae take zere melonz, an' aw but vone o' ze melonz vaz mezzed up an' ze Zloth an' company took ze lazt melon vhile ze Dodoz lozt mozt o' zere group (includin' ze lazt female) vhen zey fell off ze zide o' a cliff...

[Buzz_Bumble]

I reckon it was Tigger ... he bounced on them all. 

I think it was just for that one song.

There's a few things that happen only once or twice, especially in the early books (e.g. in the first book or so there's a horse-drawn cart, but horses never appear again). I think that as Brian Jacques settled into the "Redwall universe" he kept it simple, which helped make the stories more enjoyable and "believable" ... it would be rather ridiculous having a bear fighting a shrew, for example. 

[Kitsune]

Nobody really knows what killed off the dodo. Sailors eating them all is often the rumoured cause, but many reports say they didn't taste very nice (then again, a sailor stuck at sea with only preserved meat would jump at the chance of eating anything fresh). It was most likely a combination of lots of things - being unafraid of man and the dogs they brought with them, rats from the visiting ships eating the eggs, the removal of their forest habitat, a natural disaster (like a tidal wave) that killed off too many for them to sustain a population even before man arrived, etc.

Or it could 'ave been a Zloth, a Tiger, an' a Mammoth vith zome zmaw hairy creature came an' tried tae take zere melonz, an' aw but vone o' ze melonz vaz mezzed up an' ze Zloth an' company took ze lazt melon vhile ze Dodoz lozt mozt o' zere group (includin' ze lazt female) vhen zey fell off ze zide o' a cliff...

I remember that part!

I don't think there were bears where they were, they could have been elsewhere. Legend of them could have come from some travelling beast, or 'bears' could have been made up in Redwall like dragons to us.