The video was shot by Akshay Kumar, chief naturalist of Bamboo Forest Safari Lodge at Tadoba National Park in Maharashtra, India.
Tigers are ferocious predators whose sheer size often allows them to dominate their enemies. But a fierce battle between the Bengal tiger and the sloth bear ended with a surprising victory for the bear, proving that fearless defiance can get you far in the animal kingdom.
A bear and its cubs were approaching a watering hole in Tadoba National Park, India, when they were noticed by a male tiger standing guard overhead. When the cubs started chasing the cubs, the mother cat immediately stepped in and challenged the big cat.
As one of the largest cats, with males that can weigh up to nearly 700 pounds, tigers can often overpower these smaller bears. In fact, they are known to occasionally hunt sloth bears in ambush-style attacks.
But sloth bears can also fend off large predators like tigers, even rhinos and elephants, when needed. When threatened, bears become very aggressive and will actually lunge at an attacker. Although they primarily feed on termites and rarely prey on other mammals, their sharp claws, large fangs and assertive demeanor make them a formidable opponent to any predator. which meat. which bait. Choose to engage them head-on – even an adult tiger.
In the dramatic video, the two animals exchange, in which the cat grinds its teeth into the back of the bear’s neck several times. After a long battle, the tiger seemed to have gained the upper hand, but out of nowhere, the bear seemed to gain new strength and freed itself from the tiger’s clutches.
Using a typical bear strategy, the badly injured sloth bear stands on its hind legs to make itself bigger and show dominance, before finally chasing the tiger into the water.