Big cat and Bear tale

[brotherbear]

My views and opinions on the topic of grizzly vs tiger are far less fanatical than in years gone by. We live, we learn, and we grow. Some call it flip-flopping; I call it advancing.

First of all, let's look at the players. The grizzly is not truly territorial. A mature male grizzly will claim a large expanse of land to roam as he forages for various food sources and for female bears. There can be numerous adult male bears sharing this same expanse of land. However, there will normally be that one dominant male who will violently defend his choice food supplies such as a lush berry patch or a rich fishing location. This king grizzly will always be a big, strong, battle-scared brute of a bear.
The tiger is a true territorial predator. He will lay claim to a huge expanse of land and defend his property by fighting off all other male tigers and by removing other predators of large prey. He doesn't appreciate competition. This king tiger will always be a large and powerful hunter and fighter.
So, what happens when the king grizzly roams into the king tiger's domain? This is my opinion; it is only an opinion: If the tiger manages to launch an unexpected ambush upon the grizzly, thus giving the big cat the intial advantage, the tiger has better than a 50% chance of defeating the grizzly. If the grizzly should manage to launch an unexpected ambush attack on the tiger, then the grizzly has better than a 50% chance of defeating the tiger. Should these two lords of the wild go at it in a face-to-face battle royal, then it is my opinion that the grizzly will defeat the tiger better than 50% of such confrontations.
But, as Peter has pointed out, and after giving the matter a great deal of thought, I must agree; if the tiger should come to realize that he is losing to the bear, with his superior agility, the tiger has a fair chance of escaping from the clutches of the grizzly and retreating. In the wild, there is no shame in a life-saving retreat. If the bear should find himself on the losing end of this fight, he has little chance of escaping from the tiger. Retreat for the bear would be difficult considering the big cat's deeply curved claws designed to hold onto powerful struggling herbivores.
Therefore, even when the grizzly is victorious in this fight, the tiger will perhaps more often as not escape with his life. But, when the tiger wins the fight, more often as not, the grizzly will be killed and eaten. I must also add that, the winner of this fight will seldom if ever walk away without some gruesome and perhaps life-threatening battle scars. Reply