Sloth Bear

[brotherbear]

http://www.lankalibrary.com/wlife/slothbear.htm
The bear took no notice of him, but kept sniffing the air and following the drag-mark made by the leopard earlier on, which meant he was not taking the most direct path to kill. The leopard sped towards the bear, belly to the ground, making low snarling, hissing sounds. The bear did not relent however, even as the big cat sprang at him thus three more times. Outdone, and in no mood for a fight, the leopard retreated to a small hollow in the thorny scrub.

The bear did not bother to pursue him. The confrontation had been a noisy one, but with absolutely no physical contact. The bear then opened up the calf's stomach and began sucking on the gory juices. Then, using his paw, he tore out the intestines and ate them. Next, while holding down the carcass with one paw, he opened out the young buffalo's chest with a single sweep of the other paw and fed on the heart and lungs, sucking up all the blood in the cavity. It was interesting to note that he did not eat any of the 'flesh' (muscle). After feeding for about an hour and a half, the bear sat down patiently, cleaned his paws and face, rolled on the sandy road, and then ambled off in the same direction from whence he had come.

Some minutes after his departure, the leopard came out of the thicket and started feeding. We left him to his meal. 
( in my own words )... the sloth bear has courage, tenacity, and is well armed with long deeply-curved claws. He can guard or chase a leopard from it's kill. He has been known to fend off tigers, even though he often falls prey to them. Where you come-up with this idea of the sloth bear's brute-strength is a mystery. Notice too, the sloth bear feeds only on the soft tissue. Question: other than man; what is the largest animal ( documented ) you can name that a sloth bear has ever killed?  Reply