On the plains, the lion is the king, while the mountainous forest belongs to the tiger – the animal known as the lord of the jungle.
When you are the king – the creature standing atop the food chain, you can do as you please without any creature daring to challenge you. And perhaps it was this confidence in its title that recently led to the capture of a video showcasing a fierce battle between a tiger and a bear within the confines of a national park in western India.
Specifically, the footage was captured by a group of tourists at Tadoba National Park in Maharashtra, India. According to eyewitnesses, while the tiger was immersed in a waterhole, a mother bear and her cub appeared.
As the waterhole is considered territory, the tiger immediately sprung into action, attacking the bear cub. However, the mother bear, driven by her maternal instincts, retaliated without hesitation, resulting in a momentous video.
The battle between these two forest behemoths was naturally intense. The tiger named Matkasur quickly gained the upper hand due to its speed. It pinned the bear down, using its claws and upper body in an attempt to overpower it.
Unfortunately for the tiger, its opponent was a sloth bear.
It is known that sloth bears have a relatively modest appearance, standing only 1.8 meters tall and weighing 80-140 kg. However, they are notorious for being easily provoked. When threatened, they will not hesitate to fight back recklessly, regardless of the opponent, even humans.
Furthermore, the sloth bear’s thick fur provides an advantage. The tiger couldn’t completely subdue the bear or sink its teeth deep enough to strangle it. As a result, the bear fought back, causing the tiger to lose a significant amount of skin and retreat.
“You see, the bear was too exhausted to chase after the tiger,” said Dr. Anish Andheria, President of the Wildlife Conservation Society.
“The only thing that saved the bear was its thick fur, as the tiger couldn’t deliver a lethal bite.”
Maternal instincts (and the thick fur) helped the mother bear emerge victorious. However, the expression on the bear’s face as it chased after the tiger