A bearhug is when the bear hugs his prey tightly with both hands and presses him to death.
There are indeed similar expressions and popular ideas about wild animals in every language. For example, in Hindi, we say ‘Magarmach ke aansu aaana’ (Crocodile tears) ‘Haathi ke daant dikhane ke aur, khane ke aur’, ‘Ab pachtaye hot kya jab chidiya chug gai khet’, ‘Girgit ke tarah rang badalna’.