ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)

[Apex Titan]

Amur tiger Predation on Bears in the Russian Far East - PART 1

The Amur tiger is at the pinnacle of the food-chain, the top of the ecological pyramid and the apex predator of the entire Far Eastern taiga. Therefore, the health and state of the entire Far Eastern nature depends on a healthy tiger population. Being the dominant carnivore and top predator in the ecosystem, the tiger often kills and eats other medium to large carnivores such as brown bears, Himalayan black bears and wolves.

Throughout most of its range in the wild ( North America, Alaska, Canada & Europe ) the brown bear is considered to be an 'Apex predator' at the top of the food-chain, but what makes the Amur-Ussuri region unique is that even a large, powerful apex carnivore like the brown bear is displaced from the top position in the food-chain and becomes prey of the Amur tiger. - A giant predatory feline that has reigned supreme in the forests of the Amur-Ussuri taiga since the Prehistoric Pleistocene.

This tiger food-chain diagram shows that the Amur tiger is at the top of the food-chain, with no natural enemies and directly preys on the primary carnivores and herbivores:

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://www.bioexplorer.net/what-do-tige...rian_Tiger


For this reason, the Amur tiger is the most feared beast in the taiga. It is known to hunt, kill and eat every creature in the taiga from seals, eagles, ducks, fish, ungulates, wolves and bears. As the Russian tiger expert / zoologist N.A. Baikov stated: "There is no creature in the Manchurian taiga that is guaranteed against attack from this terrible predator, starting from the bear and finishing with the hare ." ( "The Manchurian Tiger" - Baikov ).

Russian scientist, zoologist & naturalist 'Sergey Ivanovich Ognev' also made note that even such a powerful inhabitant of the forest as the bear, is not safe from attack by the tiger:

*This image is copyright of its original author

The following information in my posts will finally debunk and clear-up the old myths and misconceptions surrounding this topic. What size of bears do tigers hunt? How often do tigers hunt adult bears?  Do tigers mostly hunt hibernating bears? Do tigers mainly hunt young bears & cubs? Do tigers mainly target sick, old and unhealthy bears? Do tigers habitually hunt bears? ...

All these questions will be answered with irrefutable evidence, research and studies from leading experts, biologists, zoologists, naturalists, scientists, ecologists & researchers.

How often do tigers hunt adult bears?

Some posters, especially bear enthusiasts, claim that tigers mainly hunt young bears ( juveniles, sub-adults, cubs ) and "rarely" prey on adult bears. But this claim is based on no evidence and is just pure guesswork. Recent scientific research and studies show the exact opposite. Tigers regularly prey on adult bears, so much so, that biologists like Dale Miquelle had to change their opinion ( previous assertions ) on tigers hunting bears. Risk of injury was "too high" for tigers to regularly predate on bears he previously assumed, but he later found out he was wrong.

Miquelle and Kerley's research ( 2015 ) showed that tigers, more often than previously assumed, hunt and kill dangerous prey like bears on a regular basis, especially during the summer months. In fact, tigers consumed more bears than wild boars during the snow-free period. Their studies suggested that bears ( brown & black ) are a seasonally important prey item for tigers and make up a large portion of tiger diet during the summer months. Tigers often hunt bears in autumn too.

According to the Siberian Tiger Project ( chapter 19 ) researchers found far more adult bears, both brown and black bears, killed and eaten by tigers than young bears or cubs. Now if tigers "rarely" hunt adult bears and mostly target young bears and cubs like some people assume, then how comes biologists found mostly adult bears hunted and killed by tigers during this study?  How comes more recent studies from the same biologists again indicates that tigers regularly hunt and kill adult bears in the summer months?  How comes studies from other Russian biologists and researchers also show that tigers often hunt adult bears?

Scientific research from various experts clearly debunks this misconception, and confirms that adult bears are hunted and killed by tigers far more often than many people assume. Since tigers prefer to hunt large prey animals, an experienced bear-hunting tiger also often hunts large bears too, as an adult bear provides the tiger with a lot of meat.

Russian biologist & tiger ecologist  - Konstantin Tkachenko reported that when tigers hunt brown bears, male tigers more often hunted adult brown bears. The tigress nicknamed "Three-toed" hunted young, smaller brown bears:

"The feces of tigers contained wool and small fragments of brown bear bones. Male tigers more often hunted adults, larger animals, Three-toed (tigress) - on young, smaller ones."

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://elementy.ru/nauchno-populyarnaya...stvovaniya


"For example, the tigress had a clear distinctive feature - three toes on her hind paw, for which she was given the conditional nickname "Three-toed". This mark was quite well noticeable on the tigress's paw prints, which very well distinguished her tracks from those of other tigers." ( Tkachenko, 1996, 2004 )

https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/koshac...apovednika

Although tigresses can and have hunted and killed larger brown bears, (Bromley, Kucherenko) tigresses more often prey on smaller bears, but adult male tigers have the size, power and strength to regularly hunt and kill full-grown adult brown bears. According to Tkachenko's observations in the Khekhtsir Reserve, male tigers more often hunted and killed adult brown bears. i.e. Adult female brown bears are usually hunted.


A comparison of food habits and prey preference of Amur tiger at three sites in the Russian Far East

Across all sites, tiger diet varied seasonally, with tigers consuming more bear, and less wild boar biomass during the snow-free months.

In addition, bears constituted a significantly higher proportion of tiger diet in the summer, and while not significant, badgers increased in the diet of tigers during the snow-free period as well...

The increased predation on bears and badgers is likely due to their increased availability following emergence from hibernation and the increased vulnerability of their young, although tigers do prey on adult bears. Amur tiger predation on bear is not a new phenomenon, but our results, in addition to identifying seasonality in tiger predation of bears, also suggests that bears constitute a relatively large portion of tiger diet, particularly during the snow-free period. This runs counter to previous assertions that the risk of injury was too high for tigers to regularly predate bears. (Miquelle et al. 2010).

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dal...r-East.pdf

Now if tigers usually hunted young bears or cubs, then why did Miquelle state that his findings ran counter to his previous assertions of bears being too risky for tigers to regularly predate on?  Young bears and cubs are easy pickings for tigers to kill and eat all the time, so why did Miquelle specifically mention the risk of injury being "too high" ?

This strongly indicates that tigers are hunting adult bears ( that pose some risk ) more often than some biologists previously assumed. Judging from other studies, this clearly seems to be the case. In the reserve and region that biologist Tkachenko worked in, tigers hunted and killed adult brown & black bears. Himalayan black bears of all ages and genders fall victim to tiger predation all year round. Brown bears are primarily hunted by tigers during the summer and autumn months.


Predation on Himalayan black bears

*This image is copyright of its original author

The Ussuri black bear ( Asiatic black bear ) of the Russian Far East is the largest subspecies of Asiatic / Himalayan black bears on earth. Adult male bears can weigh 180 - 200 kg, in spite of their large size and aggression, adult male black bears are frequently hunted and eaten by tigers. Tkachenko reported that individuals of all ages and genders are hunted by tigers. For this reason, most black bears, including mature adult male bears, greatly fear tigers and are well known to flee up tree's as soon as they sense a tigers presence or see a tiger.

Interestingly, I have found much more cases of tigers killing adult male black bears than female bears. 

The main predator of U. thibetanus is the Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris). The fact that tiger kills are a favorite food of U. thibetanus leaves it susceptible to tiger attacks when the tiger returns to its kill and finds the bear feeding on the carrion. (Than, et al., 1998)

Asiatic black bears are the prey of Siberian Tigers. Asiatic black bears feed upon the carrion that the tigers kill, and if the bears are caught while feeding, they are killed and eaten by the tigers.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Ursus_thibetanus/

Specific Features of Feeding of the Amur Tiger Panthera tigris altaica (Carnivora, Felidae) in a Densely Populated Locality (with Reference to Bol’shekhekhtsirskii Reserve and Its Environs). K.N. Tkachenko, 2012

Adult Himalayan black bears ( both sexes ) regularly hunted and eaten by tigers:

Himalayan black bears ( individuals of any age and sex ) were more frequently attacked by tigers (Tkachenko, 2008). Two Himalayan bears—tiger’s prey—found in the reserve appeared to be adult (one of them male, the other, presumably, female). Claws of adult bears were also found repeatedly in the excreta of tigers. According to observations in Bol’shekhekhtsirskii Reserve, the tiger successfully hunted the Himalayan black bear at any time of the year.

The suggestion that the tigers attack bears only when there is an insufficient amount of its usual food—boar and Manchurian wapiti—(Rukovsky, 1968) is not quite correct since attacks take place also at their high numbers.  Male tiger A specialized on hunting Himalayan black bear. The remains of two bears of this species found by us are its prey. In excreta (n = 56) of this individual collected from 1992 to 2000, bear remains comprised 31.6%, in particular, that of the Himalayan black bear, 22.8%; that of brown bear, 7%; and that of bear not determined up to species, 1.7%.

From November to March, the occurrence of the Himalayan black bear in the feeding of tiger was 22.7% and from April to October, slightly lower, 16.7%. Brown bear, on the contrary, in the cold time of the year was recorded much more rarely (2.7%) than in the warm time ( 16.7% ).

In Lazovsky Reserve in the feeding of the tiger, only Himalayan black bear was recorded (Zhivotchenko, 1981; Khramtsov, 1993). According to other studies performed in middle Sikhote-Alin, it attacks this species more seldom than the brown bear (Bromlei, 1965; Kostoglod, 1977; Seryodkin et al., 2005). Apparently, such a contradiction is explained by the difference of individual ecological conditions in areas where studies were performed. However, the fact that the Himalayan black bear of any sex and age is a typical prey of the tiger is obvious (Sysoev, 1960, 1966; Gorokhov, 1973; Kostoglod, 1977, 1981; Khramtsov,1993; Seryodkin et al., 2005; Yudin and Yudina, 2009; author’s unpublished data).

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Sp...be361da82a

So depending on region, ecological conditions and areas, sometimes tigers prey on brown bears more often than Himalayan black bears and vice versa. 


Russian zoologist N.A. Baikov reported that tigers will even mimic the mating call of a female black bear in order to lure the male black bear to him:

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://archive.org/details/bears00perr?q=bears

There are several other reliable sources reporting that tigers imitate the call of bears in order to lure them into an ambush. Tigers are well known to do this with red deer too.


Amur tigers actively hunting Brown bears and Black bears:

The male often hunted bears, mainly Himalayan. In his excrement, wool, small fragments of bones, skin from the paw pads and the claws of a Himalayan bear were repeatedly found. The feces of tigers contained wool and small fragments of brown bear bones. Male tigers more often hunted adults, larger animals, Three-toed - on young, smaller ones."

https://elementy.ru/nauchno-populyarnaya...stvovaniya


The incidence of bear remains is high in tiger feces - 37.0% (table). Kaplanov (1948, p. 26) wrote that a tiger specializing in hunting bears can find them at any time of the year and in the required quantity. "During tracking, we found three prey of a male tiger: a young boar (II 1993), an adult male Himalayan bear and a male red deer (II 1995). 

https://books.google.ru/books?id=7QIzAAA...8Q6AEISzAH

*This image is copyright of its original author

Adult male Himalayan black bear killed and eaten by a radio-collared tiger:

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://russia.wcs.org/en-us/About-Us/Pu...ecies.aspx


When tigers hunt Himalayan / Ussuri black bears, they readily prey on all individuals, including full-grown mature male bears. Baikov reported that large tigers successfully prey on bears of similar size. 

Here's an adult male Himalayan black bear ( Common tiger prey ) from the Lazovsky Reserve, Primorye region:

Because tigers heavily predate upon Asiatic black bears, the bears spend most of their time in nests up in the tree's to be safe from tiger attacks. When on the ground and they encounter a tiger, the bear immediately flee's up the nearest tree to escape from the tiger. ( Baikov, Kucherenko, Heptner, Sludskii, Aramilev, Dunishenko, Batalov etc )

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://www.mammalwatching.com/wp-conten...017-MW.pdf


Kucherenko found the remains of a male black bear that was killed and torn apart by a tiger. The bear tried to escape up the tree, but was pulled off the tree by the tiger and killed: 

"On another occasion I managed to see large pieces of freshly torn bark of a tree, and nearby - the bloody remains of a torn and eaten black bear. On the trail, one could assume that a split second was not enough for him, the tiger managed to grab him by the hind leg and pull him down along with the bark."

https://www.litmir.me/br/?b=559283&p=1


Predation on Brown bears

*This image is copyright of its original author

According to modern scientific research, biologists have observed and reported that tigers successfully prey on full-grown, prime (large) female brown bears and young adult male brown bears. In the Khekhtsir and Durminskoye Nature Reserve, Khabarovsk territory, male tigers often hunt adult brown bears in summer.

Alexander Dolitsky, an Anthropologist, scientist, researcher & historian from the Alaska-Siberia research center, also made note that even adult brown bears are prey of the Siberian tiger:

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://www.arlis.org/docs/vol1/P/262479152.pdf


Wildlife biologist / senior scientist - Joel Berger also mentioned a case of an adult brown bear that was killed by a tiger before his arrival in the Russian Far East. Another brown bear was also tree'd by a tiger:

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://archive.org/details/bettertoeatyouwi0000berg

In addition, other biologists like Kucherenko found and reported at least 7 adult brown bears ( unknown gender ) that were killed and eaten by tigers. Other Russian zoologists & researchers like Heptner, Sludskii, Bromley, Gorokhov, Kaplanov, Matyushkin etc....have also reported cases of tigers killing and eating adult brown bears. 

Among the dead animals killed by tigers, Matyushkin found the remains of an adult brown bear also killed by a tiger:

*This image is copyright of its original author

Original Russian text: ( English Translation )

"It is noteworthy, for example, that in such a site in the middle reaches of the Beloborodovsky key, where the valley is compressed by rocky slopes, and its flat bottom is cut through by narrow hollows, along with the animals that died from tigers, red deer have been found and the remains of an adult brown bear were also found, most likely also killed by a tiger."

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/%...frontcover

Also reported in the Moscow Society of Naturalists:

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/B...frontcover

The only thing thats not clear or confirmed, is if tigers deliberately prey on full-grown adult male brown bears. Although modern researchers and biologists never found any cases, it doesn't mean that it doesn't happen. Remember, the vast majority of tiger kills are never found by experts or people in general. Biologists are always learning more unknown behaviour from animals they've studied for decades, and some biologists and experts still admit that they know next to nothing about tigers.

Alexander Batalov, a highly respected authority on Amur tigers, thinks that adult male brown bears are not immune from tiger predation. In fact, according to Batalov's observations, in the summer, some male tigers prey on almost any bear. He also reported that the huge male brown bear ( 350 - 420 kg ) 'Chlamida' was killed and eaten by a male tiger called 'Ochkarik', a tiger who specializes in hunting bears.

There are also other reliable accounts from the last century of large / very large male brown bears that were killed and eaten by tigers. ( Jankowski, Abramov ) But these cases were not accepted by modern scientific researchers for unknown reasons.

Large adult female brown bears ( Up to the largest and healthiest bears, Kerley 2011 ) are hunted by tigers. Biologists ( Seryodkin, Miquelle, Kerley, Goodrich etc ) found at least 5 adult female brown bears killed and eaten by tigers. 4 adult female brown bears were killed by the male tiger "Dale", who was a habitual bear-killer, and another large, 150-200 kg mature adult female brown bear was killed and eaten by a different male tiger in the summer of August, 2001.

Adult brown bears have been reported to be hunted and killed by tigers in other research by various biologists and researchers.

Note, the 150-200 kg brown bear was not killed in an ambush attack. The bear was being pursued by the tiger, being fully aware of the tiger, before being attacked and killed after a prolonged battle. The tiger sustained a minor wound. Nothing serious as the account ( description ) clearly indicates:

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

Adult female brown bears, as reliable evidence suggests, are hunted and eaten by tigers far more often than some people think. The fact that tigers deliberately prey on full-grown adult female brown bears, especially in summer and autumn when bears are in peak condition, weight and strength, is impressive to say the least. 

What does an adult female Ussuri brown bear look like?....

Here's an adult female Ussuri brown bear from 'Land of the Leopard', Primorye region, which shows a very robust bear:  This is tiger food !

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

From this video:

How often are Brown bears killed and eaten by tigers?

In some areas and regions, brown bears are regularly hunted, killed and eaten by tigers. Whereas in other areas, brown bears are occasionally hunted by tigers. This could be due to the fact that in the Amur region, tigers, due to man and severe prey depletion, have become very rare, whereas brown bears are abundant. So in some areas, brown bears would never encounter tigers or rarely would. So the predation on brown bears would decrease significantly in certain areas where tiger numbers are very low or rare.

"Amur tigers live in the south of the Far East, this is most of the Primorsky Territory and the south of the Khabarovsk Territory, in the Amur region they are rare."

https://ampravda.ru/2013/10/03/039794.html

But in some regions and reserves in the Primorsky & Khabarovsk territory where tiger numbers are dense, brown bears, especially in summer and autumn, are often hunted and killed by tigers. Seryodkin's data showed that the brown bears input in the tigers diet is only 1.5%. Now if brown bears are regularly hunted and eaten by tigers, how explain the 1.5% input?? Its simple, many people fail to realize that Seryodkin's data is only from one specific area of the Sikhote Alin Biosphere Reserve. 

It depends on the area of Sikhote Alin, whereas in other areas of Sikhote Alin, Khabarovsk and Primorye region, brown bears are frequently hunted by tigers and make up a large portion of the tigers diet in summer.

Seryodkins data was from a limited number of tigers from a very limited area during the study period. i.e. Limited research and data.

According to biologist Tkachenko's data, ( See above ) the brown bear made up 16.7% of the tigers diet in summer, respectably. The brown bears input in the tigers diet varies from area to area. It depends on the ecological conditions, region, season and the individual tigers involved in the study. There's many factors that can influence the results of a study. But overall, based on all scientific data, research and sources, tigers most likely kill and eat around 70 - 100 brown bears every year in the Russian Far East.

Seryodkin and senior researcher, biologist & scientist, Pikunov reported that tiger predation is the main natural cause of brown bear mortality.

MONITORING, SURVEY, UTILIZATION AND THREATS TO THE POPULATIONS OF ASIATIC BLACK BEAR AND BROWN BEAR IN SIKHOTE-ALIN 

Pikunov D.G., Seryodkin I.V. 

The annual increase in the population of brown bears is approximately 38%, and natural mortality is 25-30% (Yudin, 1993). The main natural cause of their death is the predation of the tiger."

You can download the study here:

https://www.google.com/search?q=%D0%9F%D...36&bih=746

Hunting is not the only way tigers kill and eat brown bears. Sometimes catching a scavenging brown bear on its kill, the tiger attacks, kills and eats the bear. This could explain why some tigers become bear-hunters and learnt how to kill bears. Dale Miquelle also suggested the same thing.

Renowned tiger biologist & ecologist, Dr Seidenstecker mentioned that when a tiger returns to its kill and finds a wild boar or brown bear scavenging the kill, the tiger has a chance to kill another big meal:

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/C...frontcover


Do tigers reduce Brown bear numbers?

According to reliable testimonies from those who know, this definitely seems to be the case. Recent scientific research ( 2020 ) from Northeast China has shown that Siberian tigers dominate and reduce both brown bear and black bear populations. ( See previous post ) Researchers and biologists observed that a healthy population of brown bears and black bears dropped significantly as soon as tigers started to enter the reserve. They also found a bear killed and eaten by a tiger.

Its most likely that tigers also reduce brown bear numbers in the south of the Far East, Primorsky Territory. Note, Pikunov and Seryodkin reported that tiger predation is the main natural cause of brown bear mortality. ( See above )

Whats interesting, is that in the Russian Far East, brown bear numbers have only significantly increased in the Amur region, where tigers ( due to humans ) have become very rare. But in the Primorsky Krai, where most of the Amur tigers live, brown bear numbers are not that high and are low compared to other regions of the Far East which are almost devoid of tigers. One of the reasons for the brown bears numbers increasing in the Amur region, besides human hunters, is the absence of natural enemies like tigers.

"In the Amur Region, the number of bears has almost doubled in nine years. “For example, if in 2011 there were 6,380 bears in the Amur region, in 2018 there were already 11,609, and in 2020 - 12,449. The stable increase is explained by the lack of natural enemies in the species and insufficient interest from the hunters,” he explained Vladislav Khudoleev, leading specialist of the department of protection of the department for the protection of animal world of the region."

https://iz.ru/1036488/2020-07-16/chislen...v-dva-raza


"The tiger became rare due to the fault of man - in the Amur region and the Jewish Autonomy, it was simply completely exterminated."

https://ampravda.ru/2021/05/20/0104226.html

This is why Russian specialists and authorities from the Amur Tiger Center are now releasing young radio-collared tigers into the Amur region, to re-populate the region with tigers again. So far, its been a huge success. The juvenile tiger 'Boris' even hunted and killed an adult brown bear.

According to Olga Krasnykh, who operates / provides wildlife tours in the Primorye region, and the Russian scientists she knows, tigers do indeed reduce the population of brown bears in Primorsky Krai.

( Credits to 'epaiva' for contacting her & receiving this info )

*This image is copyright of its original author

Sergey Aramilev, tiger ecologist and General Director of the Amur tiger center, also stated that tigers regulate the number of bears and other predators:

"It is also important that the tiger regulates the number of other predators - wolves, bears and others who fall under its paw." - commented Sergey Aramilev , general director of the Amur Tiger Center.

http://amur-tiger.ru/ru/press_center/news/1460/

Its been mentioned that brown bears must fear tigers, as well as other enemies like humans and wolves:

"Brown bear must be afraid of enemies - humans, wolves, Amur tigers. Packs of wolves, especially in spring, when bears are weakened after hibernation, can drive a bear up a tree and wait for it to become exhausted."

https://29.mchs.gov.ru/deyatelnost/press...ti/2174662


One may ask, why do tigers depress only brown bear populations in Primorye and not Himalayan black bears? The reason is simple. Himalayan black bears seek refuge from tigers by spending most of their time high up in the tree's in nests. And when on the ground and they encounter or sense a tiger, the bear immediately flee's up the nearest tree to escape. Whereas Brown bears are simply too large and heavy to quickly climb up a tree or spend most of their time in tree's to escape or be safe from tiger predation.

Although there is an authentic account ( Joel Berger ) of a brown bear being tree'd by a tiger, they cannot do this most of the time. So the best thing for the larger brown bear to do is, is to migrate to other regions where tiger numbers are very low or scarcer, just like wolves do to escape decimation from tigers.

Russian biologists / zoologists Matyushkin, Smirnov & Zhivotchenko reported that bears are regularly taken by tigers and the brown bear falls victim to tigers more often than black bears. This is because the black bear climbs tree's to escape from tigers, whereas the larger brown bear can't, which makes them more vulnerable to tiger predation:

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/l...80-005.pdf

A brown bear in the forests of Primorye, that cannot escape from tiger attacks by climbing high up tree's like their smaller cousins do, in the same forest where a huge, extremely powerful and ferocious apex predator that actively hunts bears is, has a serious problem on its hands. Better to migrate to safer areas than being regularly killed and eaten.

Whats also very dangerous for the brown bear is that there's some tigers that actually prefer ( Habitually ) to hunt and eat bears over ungulate prey. Which makes the threat and risk of tiger predation much higher.

This is a fact that many people don't seem to appreciate. What other predator on earth, except the tiger, views and treats a full-grown adult brown bear as food?  What other predator strikes fear into the brown bear?  What other predator habitually hunts and eats brown bears like some tigers do?  What other predator reduces the number of brown bears?  What other predator can cause a huge male brown bear to flee just from its tracks? What other predator displaces the brown bear from the top position in the food-chain and makes them prey? .....There's none. 

This speaks volumes of the Amur tigers sheer dominance over other large carnivores and shows why this fearsome apex predator has ruled the forests of the Far East Russian taiga since the Pleistocene.

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://archive.org/details/naturesdeadl...b?q=tigers


Summary / Overview based on reliable information & evidence:

1) Tiger predation is the main natural cause of brown bear mortality. ( Pikunov, Seryodkin )

2) Reliable information and testimonies from those who know, strongly suggests that tigers reduce the population of brown bears in Primorye.

3) When tigers hunt brown bears, male tigers more often hunt and kill adult, larger brown bears. Tigresses more often prey on smaller bears. ( Tkachenko )

4) Brown bear numbers have only increased in the Amur region where tigers have become very rare. One of the reasons for this is the absence of natural enemies like tigers, which are the main natural enemy and predator of brown bears and black bears.

5) Modern scientific research confirms that tigers successfully prey on the largest and healthiest adult female brown bears and young adult male brown bears.

6) Recent scientific studies show that tigers often hunt and kill adult bears, primarily during the summer months. In some regions and seasons like summer, bears are more important in the diet of tigers than wild boars and red deer. In the snow-free period ( summer ) bears make up a large significant portion of tiger diet. ( Miquelle, Kerley, Matiukhina, Mukhacheva )

7) Himalayan black bears are heavily predated upon by tigers and individuals of all ages, sizes and genders (including large male bears) are hunted and eaten by tigers. And according to documented cases, there's more accounts of tigers killing and eating adult male black bears than female bears.

8) Siberian Tiger Project biologists ( Seryodkin, Miquelle, Kerley, Goodrich, Petrunenko ) found mostly adult bears, both brown & black bears, killed and eaten by tigers during their research.

9) Russian biologist & researcher, Tkachenko, repeatedly found the claws of adult bears in the feces of bear-hunting tigers.

10) Himalayan black bears flee up tree's when they encounter a tiger or sense a tigers presence. The presence of tigers is also the reason why black bears spend so much time in the tree's.

11) The tiger is the main natural predator and enemy of bears in the Far East of Russia. - Amur-Ussuri region.

My next post ( PART 2 ) will feature authentic information and evidence on the size of bears hunted by tigers, and evidence of young tigers ( sub-adults/juveniles ) and tigresses hunting bears too. And provide information from Russian authorities and specialists on how often bears are hunted by tigers, in what seasons and info on habitual bear-hunting tigers. Reply