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

[Apex Titan]

Review of Recent Accounts of Tiger Predation on Bears (2020 - 2025)

In addition to this post, here's another informative post I made: "Is a Significant Portion of Bear Consumption by Tigers due to Feeding on Carrion?" (Read post #2,764)

https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-on-the-...s?page=185

To put it simply, tigers are large apex predators that always prefer to eat live prey, and rarely consume carrion. As a rule, tigers only rarely consume carrion in times of desperation or starvation. The large portion of bears in the tigers' diet, is due to predation.

What kind of bears do tigers usually hunt?

*This image is copyright of its original author

In recent years (2020 - 2024), there have been multiple documented cases on video, reports, and pictures of tigers killing and eating bears. In all cases, tigers hunted and killed fully grown adult bears, most of which were adult males, including some large male bears. Amur tigers killed and ate both large male Ussuri brown bears and large male Asiatic black bears, Bengal tigers (including young tigers) hunted and killed adult sloth bears, including large males, and in 2020, an Indochinese tiger hunted, killed, and mostly consumed a large Asiatic black bear in Thailand.

We see a consistent pattern, and that is tigers generally avoid hunting young bears or cubs as a food source, and instead usually hunt adult bears for food. This makes sense as adult bears are large animals which provide a lot more meat for an adult tiger to consume than a young bear typically would. This pattern is not just based on recent accounts, but also on modern scientific field research and studies conducted in both the Primorye and Khabarovsk regions.

According to the Siberian Tiger Project (STP) field research (1992 - 2012), almost all of the black and brown bears hunted, killed, and eaten by tigers, were adult bears. 

During 20 years of research in the Sikhote-Alin and surrounding areas, STP biologists found that Amur tigers hunted and killed adult Asiatic black bears of all ages, genders, and sizes, up to the largest and healthiest adult female brown bears that are similar in size to large male tigers. The predation data and scientific information published by the STP biologists (Seryodkin, Miquelle, Kerley, Goodrich, Petrunenko, et al) showed that Amur tigers clearly prefer to hunt and eat healthy adult brown and black bears, instead of young bears.

Biologists have said that Amur tigers even hunt and kill the largest male Asiatic black bears weighing 200 - 250 kg (Kerley, 2011; Aramilev, 2021; Kolchin, 2022).

"Predation was mainly on adult bears (Seryodkin et al., 2018)."

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PM...lt%20bears.

Even according to biologist Tkachenko's experience and observations, who studied and tracked bear-eating tigers in the Khekhtsir reserve, the claws/remains of adult bears were regularly found in tiger scats. Tigers regularly hunted and killed adult black bears of all ages and genders. The remains of brown bears were also found. According to one study conducted by Tkachenko (1996) brown bears made-up 18.5% of the tigers diet.

Tkachenko added that when tigers hunt brown bears, adult male tigers usually hunted large, adult bears. This fact is also backed up by recent accounts.

Now, new scientific field research (2025) conducted by leading tiger expert & biologist Dr. Feng Limin, and multiple research teams, confirms that even Amur tigers from Northeast China, are actively hunting and eating Ussuri brown bears and Asiatic black bears, with bears making up a large significant portion (10%) of the tigers' diet throughout the year.

Amur tigers are not the only subspecies that frequently hunt and kill adult bears, the vast majority of the (countless) cases of Bengal tigers killing and eating sloth bears I've seen and read, have mostly been adult sloth bears killed, including large male bears. Even Indochinese tigers regularly hunt and eat both adult Asiatic black bears and sun bears in Southeast Asia.

Videos and Recent Cases of Tiger Predation on Adult Bears

A large adult male brown bear hunted, killed, and partially eaten by the male tiger Odyr (2022):

"Before he could hibernate, the clubfoot became the prey of the striped master of the taiga, " the report says.

"Moreover, the bear was of impressive size - the width of the callus on its front paw was 18 cm."

"Judging by the tracks, the fight here was serious. The animals fought for a long time, but the tiger still won." - Yuri Kya, chief engineer for forest protection and forestry activities of the Bolshekhekhtsirsky Reserve.

https://www.interfax-russia.ru/far-east/...vskom-krae

A young adult tigress hunting and pursuing a much larger adult male brown bear in Northeast China. Biologist Feng Limin said the tigress was relatively young, and had not yet mastered the skills of hunting brown bears. But this video confirms, that Amur tigers will even hunt much larger brown bears at times.

Note: In this region where this footage was recorded, the Amur tigers are actively hunting and eating brown bears:

To put it into perspective, here's a size comparison. The male brown bear is significantly larger and more massive than the tigress who's pursuing him:

*This image is copyright of its original author

A large adult male black bear pulled out of his den, killed, and eaten by a male Amur tiger (Sergey Kolchin, 2021):

The remains (claw and fur) of an adult black bear in the excrement of a tigress. Biologist Sergey Kolchin said the tigress had killed and eaten the bear: (September, 2021)

*This image is copyright of its original author

Young tiger T-120 (4 years old) hunted and killed a large male sloth bear (Ranthambore, 2023):

*This image is copyright of its original author

Young tiger 'Shankar' easily kills an adult male sloth bear, without ambush, in seconds (2024):

Male tiger kills an adult sloth bear in Bandipur. (2024)

The bear was an adult, confirmed by the eye-witnesses - Arun Kumar and BarnMedia:

https://i.postimg.cc/d0XnsgqP/Screenshot...-45-PM.png

https://i.postimg.cc/dtYJCtC8/Screenshot...-05-PM.png

Indochinese tiger hunted and killed a large Asiatic black bear (2020):

Forest officials in Thailand and WCS officers found the remains of a large Asiatic black bear that was hunted, killed (in a fight) and mostly devoured by a tiger:

"This time let's take a look at the prey of the tiger. From a patrol in the Kaeng Krachan forest area, Patrols and wildlife conservation officers (WCS) in Thailand have found signs of fighting. And found the remains of a large buffalo bear, eaten by a tiger. It can be seen that tigers are strong enough to hunt large dangerous animals such as bears. It is another thing that confirms the integrity of Kaeng Krachan forest as well."

https://www.facebook.com/Kaengkrachannat...nf&__xts__

Remains of the large black bear killed and mostly eaten by the tiger: (In Thailand, Asiatic black bears are commonly called: "Buffalo bears")

*This image is copyright of its original author

Amur tiger electrocuted to death while hunting a large male black bear of similar size: (2024)

*This image is copyright of its original author

“An autopsy of the tiger confirmed that death was due to electric shock. Thus, the first version of what happened was confirmed. The tiger was hunting the bear and drove it onto a support, which collapsed and hit both of them with a high-voltage discharge,” Aramilev said.

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://www.amur.life/news/2024/05/30/st...-v-primore

https://www.dv.kp.ru/daily/27612/4938471/

https://www.ohotniki.ru/hunting/article/...u-lep.html

Old Myths and Misconceptions Debunked

Some people may assume that because bears are such a large, powerful, and dangerous predator in their own right, then theoretically speaking, tigers should supposedly target only young bears/cubs, hibernating bears, or weakened, sick bears. But there is no shred of evidence supporting this false notion. In fact, the total opposite is true. 

Observations from various biologists, zoologists, naturalists, rangers, and hunters, as well as modern scientific field research consistently shows that Amur tigers primarily hunt bears during summer and autumn (peak seasons), and male tigers in particular, regularly hunt and kill healthy adult bears at full strength. 

The information I've read suggests that tigers will usually kill young bears or cubs, most likely, to eliminate bears, but when hunting bears as prey (food), tigers will usually target bears that will provide more meat to consume over a period of at least several days or more (i.e. adult bears). This is why there's numerous accounts of large brown bears hunted, killed and eaten by tigers.

Add to this, in all recent cases above, tigers hunted adult bears, including some large male bears. The accounts also show that young tigers are able to easily kill adult sloth bears.

Although Amur tigers are well known to habitually hunt bears, however, in Southeast Asia, Indochinese tigers also regularly kill and eat both sun bears and Asiatic black bears, and bear remains are frequently found in tiger scats in those regions. In some areas and regions of Southeast Asia, the percentage of Asiatic black bears in the diet of tigers is significant, up to 10%.

Unlike winter (hibernating season) in Far East Russia and Northeast China, in summer and autumn, bears are very accessible for Amur tigers to hunt, as they actively move through the forest foraging for food (primarily feeding on vegetation, pine nuts, acorns, etc). In some areas, Amur tigers hunt and kill salmon-eating brown bears. 

Renowned Siberian tiger expert and naturalist, Sooyong Park (who spent over 20 years studying, observing, and tracking wild Amur tigers), in his great book: 'The Great Soul of Siberia: In Search of the Elusive Siberian Tiger' wrote:

"In September and October, bears gather along rivers to catch the fish. Tigers also come down to the river during this period for the salmon and the bears, although the bears are the tigers' primary target."

https://www.summerfieldbooks.com/product...n-tiger-2/

Leopards, wolves, and dholes usually pose a risk mainly to young bears or cubs, but the tiger is the only major (and natural) predator of adult bears throughout its range, and is the only extant predator on earth that habitually hunts and kills healthy adult bears for food.

Bears are important seasonal prey for Amur Tigers

*This image is copyright of its original author

Due to the availability of bears during the non-hibernation period (summer and autumn), Amur tigers actively hunt and eat bears, so much so, that the consumption of ungulates decreases and the consumption of bears increases in the tigers diet.

In this peer-reviewed scientific study: 'A Comparison of Food Habits and Prey Preference of Amur Tiger at three sites in the Russian Far East' biologists found that bears (black and brown bears) make-up a large significant portion of the tigers diet in summer. The diet of tigers varied seasonally, with tigers eating more bears than wild boars in the snow-free period:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication...n_Far_East

Trophic Ecology of The Tiger (Panthera Tigris Altaica): New Approaches to Research (2021)

Yuri Petrunenko (Scientific Adviser: Ivan Seryodkin)

Increased tiger predation on bears during the snowless period (summer and autumn) is due to their increased availability after leaving winter shelters, although tigers will also hunt hibernating bears during the winter. 

While Asiatic badgers have a low share in the diet of tigers, bears, being relatively an insignificant component (bears hibernate for 4-5 months in the taiga, making them unavailable for tigers to hunt throughout the year) of the diet of tigers compared to ungulates, are an important seasonal prey (during summer and autumn), due to its large mass:

"The availability of different types of prey for the tiger varies depending on the seasons (Yudin, Yudina, 2009; Rozhnov et al., 2012; Zaitsev et al., 2013); for example bears during winter sleep, as a rule, they are not available for predation (Kostoglod, 1977; Seryodkin et al., 2012; Seryodkin et al., 2018)."

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://www.dissercat.com/content/trofic...sledovanii


In summer and autumn (snow-less period), both black and brown bears make-up a significant portion of the Amur tigers diet:

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://neaspec.org/sites/default/files/...%9D%B4.pdf

According to studies in the Sikhote Alin Reserve and surrounding environs, tigers primarily hunted bears in the fall. The percentage of bears in the tiger's diet is significant in the non-hibernation period. This is due to active predation on bears:

Their field studies showed that bears are of great importance in the diet of tigers, second only to wild boar and red deer.

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10afDwfy...mmvOz/view

Conclusion:

The opinion that Amur tigers mainly hunt "hibernating" bears and mostly prey on "young bears" or "cubs" is a total myth and false notion that's been clearly debunked by plenty of modern scientific field research, studies, and recent accounts. Amur tigers actively (and mainly) hunt healthy adult bears in summer and autumn (snowless period). Bears are one of the Amur tigers favorite prey items and are an important seasonal prey due to their large mass and availability during the non-hibernation period.

Numerous evidence, accounts, and expert testimonies confirm that tigers prey on large bears of similar size, and heavier bears too.

Amur tigers are not the only subspecies that are specialized bear-killers, Indochinese tigers also regularly hunt and eat bears, and in some areas of India, Bengal tigers often hunt and eat sloth bears. There are also multiple confirmed cases of Bengal tigers who were (and are) habitual sloth bear killers. Sumatran and Malayan tigers also hunt and eat bears. But, overall, among all tiger subspecies, the Amur tiger is definitely the most aggressive and violent towards bears, and is the most active bear hunter.

All in all, when looking at the relationship between tigers and bears in Russia, Northeast China, India, and Southeast Asia, its very clear, that as a species, the tiger is a major predator of bears. And wherever these two large predators ranges overlap, there's a clear predator-prey relationship.

*This image is copyright of its original author

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