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

[peter]

APEX

Another good post. Much appreciated! I saw the interview with English subtitles just after it was (re)posted at YouTube a few days ago. Same for the other videos. I also read the articles. It was very good to find out he recovered from the injuries he sustained when he suddenly found himself between a captured tigress and her cub. 

Some years ago, there was quite a discussion about tiger 'Uporny'. The young adult male was doing quite well after rehab. He tried his luck in different districts, settled down, mated with a tigress and then met with fate. I remember the photograph of Pavel during the autopsy. He was shocked to see the results of what seemed to have been an execution. 

Those interested in wild Amur tigers know their numbers, largely as a result of the efforts of people like Pavel Fomenko, slowly increased. Today, there could be over 700 Amur tigers in the Russian federation and northeasern China. They've also been seen in some districts in North Korea. Although things, in this respect, seem to be going quite well, few realize wild tigers often struggle to make ends meet. Recent information from the Anyuisky National Park (referring to the period 2015-2022) suggests adults with a territory often seem able to cope with hardship (referring to the near local extinction of wild boars as a result of a disease), but youngsters not seldom pay. In the Anyuisky National Park, Gotvansky noticed tigers up to 2 years of age at times stayed together to cope with the situation. Some tigresses lost all cubs, at times even more than once. 

Even when they survive a lean year, young males in particular face many problems. In the Anyuisky National Park, they occupy the less productive fringes for years. In that period, they have to learn how to avoid adult males, adult bears and humans. Poaching still is a very real problem in remote districts seldom visited by rangers and biologists. So are adult male tigers. Tiger 'Uporny' is just one example of what can happen when young males try to find a territory. 

As to the info about tigers and bears you posted. I'll respond in detail in a future post. In this post, the aim is to underline there's a significant difference between 'bears' in general and large adult males (of both bear subspecies). There's enough reliable information to conclude Amur tigers consider bears up to about their own size as a potential source of food. Although the info you posted confirms male Amur tigers even hunt adult male Himalayan black bears, one has to remember incidents of this nature seem to be few. As far as I can see, it depends. In some districts, tigers habitually hunt bears, whereas they don't in others. It could depend on the time of year, although individuality and gender also seem to be factors. Tiger 'Uporny', who was collared, hunted Himalayan black bears when he was released from rehab, but the male tigers in the Anyuisky National Park, apart from a few exceptions, didn't. That is to say, Gotvansky, although he found the remains of juvenile Himalayan black bears every now and then, never found a brown bear killed by a tiger in the period 2015-2022. This also means size (referring to tigers) can be excluded as a factor.

Here's a short (0:23) video showing an encounter between male tiger 'Zeus' and a male Himalyan black bear recently posted at YouTube (by 'Pallas's Cat):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jfiQ5ebF5w

At the start of the video, it seemed the bear was preparing for a clash. The tiger, however, left the trail right in front of him and defecated a few yards from, and in full view of, the bear. As far as I can see, the tiger told him he had entered his territory. In spite of this violation, there was no follow-up. At the end of the video, however, the bear left the trail and started to climb the hill. When defecating, the tiger didn't watch the bear. He only saw his back, meaning the tiger didn't fear, and respect, him. A bit of an insult, but the bear didn't take it personal. Meaning not every encounter between males will result in animosity, let alone a life and death struggle. It depends. On factors we're not aware of. Individuality could be one of them. Although he was quite tall, the bear seemed to be a youngish adult. Had they met before? 

For now, I'd say relations between tigers and bears are quite complex. They've lived in close proximity for thousands of years. During this period, they learned to tolerate each other. In the videos I watched, I never saw a lot of animosity. The tigress pushing the young male Ussuri brown bear most probably did so for a very good reason and the bear seemed to agree. The bear driving the tigress from a kill (referring to another recent video I saw on YouTube) apparently decided the tigress wasn't prepared to defend the kill. Was it the same bear male tiger 'Zeus' encountered on the trail? I don't know, but the videos I saw and the articles I read suggest (adult) tigers and bears found a way to get along most of the time. But all bets are off when the circumstances change. And then there's, in the end, individuality. Some male tigers will hunt bears at every occasion. My guess is most bears know about him and try to avoid problems. And when brown bears enter the romantic season, tigers avoid problems.  

The information you posted is reliable. It says tigers win most fights with 'bears' (referring to clashes near kill sites). It also says tigers, in some seasons and districts, habitually hunt bears. While I agree some of these bears, as you said, were quite 'large', bear posters have a point when they say solid evidence of large male brown bears killed by male tigers in an open fight is lacking (referring to peer-reviewed documents only). That, however, doesn't mean tigers avoid a clash with an adult male Ussuri brown bear. It also doesn't mean adult male brown bears have the best chance in a fight, as those interested in bears suggest. Most of those who know about (interactions between) tigers and brown bears (referring to rangers, hunters and biologists) think it's the other way round. I don't doubt they have good reasons to get to that conclusion, but it's a fact serious fights between adult males of both species are few and far between, suggesting the margins could be very small. Too small to get to a conclusion. Reply