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

[brotherbear]

Peter says: ~~Russian biologists concluded male Ussuri bears would win 'on points' in this category. I agree in general terms, but every individual is different. Furthermore, we have to remember brown bears show a lot of seasonal variation in weight. A prime male Ussuri brown bear of 650 pounds might lose as much as 150-200 pounds during hibernation. I don't think he would be bothered by tigers in summer, autumn or winter, but it could be a different story in early spring. Just suppose a prime male Amur tiger of 440 pounds has had a nice winter with plenty of porc. Suppose he doesn't like a particular male bear because he has been displaced by him more than once. Also suppose the male tiger has a good memory and a nasty character. Let's say he's as vindictive as they come. Finally suppose it is that bear who is on his way to rob that particular tiger in early spring, when the tiger is over 450 pounds and very close to the bear in weight. Mutual avoidance? I don't think so. Russian biologist Bromlej once found a brown bear killed by a tigress in spring. The bear, at 158 cm. in length, was 170 kg. It didn't look good for bear-posters. The debate started. The bear was a very fat cub, some tried. The weight was just an estimate, others said. The tigress was a very large one, they thought. I tried to make a case for an adult female or a young adult male bear. The reason was weight. A brown bear often loses 20-30% of his weight during hibernation. A bear of about 170 kg. shortly after hibernation (the bear Bromlej found was killed in early May), for this reason, probably was (well) over 200 kg. before he or she (Bromlej didn't say if the bear was a male or a female) entered hibernation. This argument, of course, was dismissed and no conclusion was reached. What to say in the end? It is an undisputed fact a tigress killed and ate a brown bear heavier than she was in early spring. A singular incident or not? Could a male tiger get to a similar result? We don't know, but in tigers and bears you never know. Eternal enemies. ----This makes sense. A grizzly emerging from hibernation is hungry and bad-tempered. This is possibly the most likely time that he might grow bold and challenge a big male tiger over a kill. That and in late Autumn when the bear is desperate to gain weight. In early spring, the brown bear might be near weight parity with the tiger. Too bad such a clash has never been caught on film, but simply catching an Amur tiger on film at all is in itself an accomplisment these days.

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