Big cat and Bear tale

[brotherbear]

The old on-line "beast war" of heated debates and arguments over which predator can defeat the others, which involved for the most part the lion, the tiger, and the grizzly lasted longer than America's involvement in Viet Nam. Of course, there were neither winners nor losers in those often ridiculous squabbles. 
Brown bears are incredibly individualistic. This can be seen in and around a river where grizzlies are fishing. Each bear has his own individual fishing technique. Another prime example is where one grizzly, in discovering the fresh tracks of a tigers runs away from them, yet another bear in the same circumstance follows the tracks in the hope of discovering the remains of a tiger kill. 
The question has often been asked, "what takes place when a mature male grizzly discovers a mature male tiger feeding on a fresh-killed carcass?" To start with, no where near enough evidence has been found and certainly very little eye-witness reports to come up with a clear-cut answer. However, I have learned that a grizzly very rarely will challenge any large and powerful prey animal, such as a bull moose or a bull bison. For the most part, the bear would rather not risk serious injury or even death when he has other food options available to him. Then again, I have seen ( documentary ) a young three year old adolescent male grizzly stand his ground against a wolf pack ( each adult wolf nearly as big as the bear ). 
I believe that sometimes a mature male grizzly will indeed challenge a mature male tiger over a carcass. This would depend on the individual bear's personality, the mood he is in on this particular day, and just how much he needs or wants that tiger-kill.     Reply