Bears as Predators ~

[brotherbear]

Animal facts and feats by Gerald L. Wood.
The only creatures that the large brown bears of Alaska have to fear are men - and perhaps the odd horse or so! Some years ago a surveying party tried to land a small number of horses near Geographic Bay on the Alaskan mainland for transportation use. The animals were being towed in a barge, and as the shoreline came into sight a violent storm blew up. Somehow or other the two vessels became separated, with the result that the equine cargo was tipped into the rough sea. There was only one survivor, and this courageous beast managed to swim to the shore collapsing.

During the next few months the stallion was often seen on the open beach and passing fishermen would land there specially to feed the friendly animal. It must have helped considerably because three years later the steed, now a local celebrity, was still alive and flourishing, despite the fact that there were a number of giant brown bears in the area.

One day Bill Kvasnikoff, a professional hunter, was passing along this shoreline in his boat when he suddenly spotted two large brown bears making rapid tracks for the horse which, attracted by the noise of the outboard engine, was standing on the beach hoping for a tidbit. The next moment he witnessed one of the most amazing battles in Nature.

"As the bears tore in, teeth grabbing and arms flailing", writes Clyde Ormond ( 1961 ), "they were met with feet on each end of their adversary, and teeth almost equal to their's. They were met also with a speed in whirling, ducking to knees and running ... which baffled the bears and kept them off balance. Fur, hide and feet flew. Dust enveloped them all. The squeals of the furious nag mixed with the roars and bawls of the bears."

The fight, which lasted about 5 minutes, eventually ended with two bears running for their lives with the enraged stallion in hot pursuit, which suggests that the equine fury had been involved in battles with brown bears many times and had developed some expertise in this field.

Note: the fact that there were two bears hunting together would suggest that these were sub-adult bears, not long in leaving their mother; very likey about three years old. Reply