Do not cross an angry mother bear!
Tigers are known for being one of the planet's most fearsome predators. Their huge size alone is enough to intimidate most animals into submission. One of the only animals that stands up to tigers on a regular basis in their home range in India is the sloth bear.
Do not let the name fool you. Sloth bears may appear slow, but they can be extremely ferocious. Especially when a sow is trying to defend her cubs. Then they get downright nasty towards any threat.
This footage was taken in India's Tadoba National Park during the dry season. With water becoming scarce, this bear and her cubs come to one of the few water holes left. The only problem is that there is already a large tiger there drinking. The tiger decides to pick a fight with momma bear, who is not about to stand for this big cat's aggressive behavior.
Hell hath no fury like a mother bear scorned! This was the second time we have witnessed a fight between a sloth bear and a tiger. The other incident we wrote about last year had the bear in a handicap match against two tigers and the bruin still came out on top.
Although many bear and tiger encounters have ended with the bruin on the winning end, some tigers have been observed preying on sloth bears in the past. The video's description says the fight lasted around 15 minutes before the tiger relented. In the end, we think he gave up simply because it was not worth risking further injury in this battle. The bear had more to lose in this fight, which probably made her fight harder.
Fights between these two species seem to rarely be captured on film. Mostly because the tigers will often avoid sloth bears at all costs. When these animals do fight, it makes for a raw and powerful display of the brutality of nature in action!
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