Rare Footage of a Tiger and a Bear Confronting Each Other

Visitors to the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve in northern India recently witnessed an incredibly rare scene: a bear unexpectedly charged at a tiger.

The female tiger was strolling leisurely along a dirt path when it stopped as a sloth bear appeared in its way. The bear crossed the path and disappeared into the tall grass, while the tiger kept a watchful eye. Moments later, the tiger resumed walking, but the bear began pursuing it. The video shows the tiger abruptly turning around upon hearing the bear’s charge, but it does not attack. After a few seconds of standoff, the bear ultimately decided not to engage in a fight at the last moment.

A rarest of rare sight of a bear charging towards a tigress, captured today at Pilibhit Tiger Reserve- A CATS( Conservation Assured Tiger Standards) habitat developed assiduously by UP Forest Department.
Pl don’t miss the calm and composure of Big Cat even in face of attack &… pic.twitter.com/jU48UWpTqJ

– Dr Rajiv Kumar Gupta IAS (Retd) (@drrajivguptaias) April 30, 2024

Tiger vs. Bear: Why Didn’t the Fight Escalate?

“Apex predators usually have a mutual respect for each other especially if they are of a similar size. The tiger took time to watch the bear, sizing it up possibly to understand more about it. The bear did not show a particularly aggressive charge from the video so the tiger must have decided it was big enough to stand its ground,” explained Tara Pirie, a lecturer in ecology and wildlife conservation at the University of Surrey, UK. According to the expert, predators of similar strength and size usually avoid unnecessary conflict because fights waste energy and pose injury risks to both parties.

Jitender Govindani, a witness to the encounter, highlighted that in this case, the tiger may have been particularly reluctant to engage in a fight since it had been nursing three cubs shortly before the confrontation. “The tigress lowered her guard and surrendered when the bear got into attack mode. Once the tigress surrendered the bear left immediately, as [it] was also not keen to fight and showed aggression just [to] show its readiness to take on the tigress head on if provoked to a fight,” the witness elaborated.

Speaking of Interesting Tiger Footage…

Earlier this year in April, another female tiger and her cubs ambushed and killed a crocodile in Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, northwestern India. A video captured by visitors shows the four tigers feasting on the crocodile, which they had hunted together as a family.

Family Hunting

This wasn’t the first time the mother, a six-year-old Bengal tiger named Riddhi, hunted a crocodile, but it was her first documented success. “Riddhi’s skills reinforce her status as the reigning queen of Ranthambore,” the park representatives stated in a press release. Before Riddhi, her grandmother Machli was known as the park’s crocodile slayer, according to the statement. Machli passed away in 2016 at the age of 19 but remains legendary for once taking down a 4.3-meter-long crocodile.

While tigers typically hunt land-based prey, they are excellent swimmers, and if crocodiles are abundant in their environment and conditions are favorable, they may target them.