Animal trainers

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(02-09-2016, 09:10 AM)peter Wrote: One could write a book on tigers and bears. Wild animals first.

In total agreement.

(02-09-2016, 09:10 AM)peter Wrote: Interactions between Sumatran tigers and sun bears were described in a number of books written by Dutch hunters. Although little is known, they seem to avoid each other. There are exceptions. There is a newspaper report on a fight between a sun bear and a tiger. Both perished. The report had no information on gender and age. I found more in the books I read and posted on it in the tiger-extinction thread.

I do not know much about interactions between tigers and sun bears in their native habitat, but what I do know is that they tend to avoid each other as much as often just like any other interaction between big cat and bear. The account of the two dying was a bit weird, as I expected the tiger to win (the sun bear was lower than the tiger in weight), but who knows? That tiger must have been sick, a female, etc... the account is poorly detailed.

(02-09-2016, 09:10 AM)peter Wrote: Indian tigers and sloth bears co-exist in many parts of India. Incidents are quite rare, but there is no question that some male tigers hunted bears not so long ago. They still do at times. Although sloth bears are more than capable to stand their ground, I never heard of a tiger killed. Not so the other way round. Males bears are killed as well at times. Read the authentic reports in the JBNHS.

Now, about sloth bears: it is true that they get killed often by resident male tigers. I've read the JBNHS reports (on an internet search to the direct journal and on the old Animal vs Animal Yuku forum where you posted some of them). They are pretty interesting, but I have to add that I have a scientific report from 1979, specifically from two researchers (their last names Ahdhara and Bush, respectively). Basically, they investigate a few carcasses of female tigers, young male tigers, and even one resident male tiger (6 in total), and come to the conclusion that the killings were based off of sloth bears, mainly for two reasons:

1. The coarse mane hair of the sloth bear is often incredibly ragged and too coarse like "steel wool" unlike most other bears. They've found claws identical to those of a sloth bear as well as a few hairs identical to that of the sloth bear.

2. No other species of bears reside in the area the researchers studied the tiger carcasses in, which was the southernmost part of the Uttar Pradesh region (not the north part where Himalayan black bears reside, right above the Uttar Pradesh-Madhya Pradesh border.)

If you want me to, I can provide the report.

In all, both can kill each other given any circumstance (or drive another away, in some cases). It's an ongoing feud between the two for now.


I'll reply to the rest of your post later, but I have to sleep right now. Reply