Tiger Predation

[Apex Titan]

@Pckts 

Quote:This idea that because the Tiger hunts an animal also means that they dominate it is wrong. Lions hunt Cape Buffalo but you can bet a male Cape will dominate a Lion more often than not and the same holds true with a Gaur and Tiger. 

Next is @apex titan posted an Amur Tiger study with the mention of Bear appearing more during the spring months. The problem is that if you actually read that study you find out it’s only in regards to scat sample which again doesn’t segregate age/sex/health or how the incident occurs or if the prey was even alive when the predator happened upon it. Scats can also be bias towards larger prey since they stay in the system longer and cluster together over an extended period of time. Meaning larger prey items tend to show up more than smaller ones that are out of the system fast and tougher to track. Also noted in the study is the vulnerability of young during those months which could also contribute to predation bias. Some people like to lump all kills into healthy adults but like with most other dangerous game, a big cat will generally prefer a weaker individual of that species.

The study shows that bears make up a large significant portion of the tigers diet in summer, not spring. And it also clearly states: "Although tigers prey on adult bears". Thats exactly how biologists accurately determine what a tiger is regularly hunting, by examining scat samples. If wild boar remains are regularly found in tiger scats, that means that tigers are regularly hunting and killing wild boar, if deer remains are regularly found in tiger scats, then that means that tigers are regularly hunting deer. And the fact that numerous biologists regularly find the remains of bears (claws, fur, bone fragments) in tigers excrements, confirms and clearly indicates that tigers are regularly hunting bears. 

And the fact that claws of adult bears are often found in tiger scats, means that tigers are regularly hunting and killing adult bears. Plain and simple.


According to the Siberian Tiger Project study, tigers primarily hunted bears (brown & black) in the fall. And most of the bears hunted and killed by tigers were ADULT bears. Biologists found at least 6 bears killed by the tiger Dima. He (with only 3 canines!) killed 4 adult female brown bears, one adult male black bear and a young brown bear. The rest of the many bears he killed throughout his lifetime, their remains were found in his scats. Bears made up over 80% of his diet.

Tkachenko, a biologist & senior researcher, also observed that tigers regularly prey on adult bears; His studies show that tigers readily prey on Himalayan black bears of all ages and genders and regularly hunt and kill adult bears of both sexes (Same as Sergey Kolchin's field observations).

Specific Features of Feeding of the Amur Tiger Panthera tigris altaica (Carnivora, Felidae) in a Densely Populated Locality (with Reference to Bol’shekhekhtsirskii Reserve and Its Environs). K.N. Tkachenko, 2012


"Himalayan black bears (individuals of any age and sex) were more frequently attacked by tigers (Tkachenko, 2008). Two Himalayan bears—tiger’s prey—found in the reserve appeared to be adult (one of them male, the other, presumably, female). Claws of adult bears were also found repeatedly in the excreta of tigers. According to observations in Bol’shekhekhtsirskii Reserve, the tiger successfully hunted the Himalayan black bear at any time of the year."

"The suggestion that the tigers attack bears only when there is an insufficient amount of its usual food—boar and Manchurian wapiti—(Rukovsky, 1968) is not quite correct since attacks take place also at their high numbers.  Male tiger A specialized on hunting Himalayan black bear. The remains of two bears of this species found by us are its prey. In excreta (n = 56) of this individual collected from 1992 to 2000, bear remains comprised 31.6%, in particular, that of the Himalayan black bear, 22.8%; that of BROWN BEAR, 7%; and that of bear not determined up to species, 1.7%."

"From November to March, the occurrence of the Himalayan black bear in the feeding of tiger was 22.7% and from April to October, slightly lower, 16.7%. Brown bear, on the contrary, in the cold time of the year was recorded much more rarely (2.7%) than in the warm time ( 16.7% )."

"In Lazovsky Reserve in the feeding of the tiger, only Himalayan black bear was recorded (Zhivotchenko, 1981; Khramtsov, 1993). According to other studies performed in middle Sikhote-Alin, it attacks this species more seldom than the brown bear (Bromlei, 1965; Kostoglod, 1977; Seryodkin et al., 2005). Apparently, such a contradiction is explained by the difference of individual ecological conditions in areas where studies were performed. However, the fact that the Himalayan black bear of any sex and age is a typical prey of the tiger is obvious (Sysoev, 1960, 1966; Gorokhov, 1973; Kostoglod, 1977, 1981; Khramtsov,1993; Seryodkin et al., 2005; Yudin and Yudina, 2009; author’s unpublished data)."

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Sp...be361da82a

When hunting brown bears, male tigers more often hunted adults, (large) brown bears:  ("Three-toed" is the tigress)

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://elementy.ru/nauchno-populyarnaya...stvovaniya


V.G. Yudin, Batalov, Kolchin, Fomenko, Miquelle, Kerley, Matiukhina, Kucherenko, as well as many other biologists and researchers all have observed and documented that bears are common prey for tigers, especially in summer and autumn.

The fact that Amur tigers regularly prey on adult bears primarily during the summer and fall, when bears are in peak condition and full strength, just goes to show that even the larger bear subspecies like Ussuri brown bears and black bears (bigger than sloth bears) do not pose any serious threat to tigers, hence why bears are frequently killed and eaten, and hence why some tigers even prefer hunting (habitually) and eating bears instead of ungulate prey animals.

Wherever tigers and bears co-exist, bears are food for tigers. - An established scientific fact. And that is clear dominance, how can you deny that? One carnivore regularly murdering and eating another carnivore is pure dominance. Not to mention that tigers regulate bear populations in Russia and Northeast China (Taipinggou Reserve).

And Yoganand did observe and report that sloth bears actively avoid tigers.

Quote:At the end of the day anyone who thinks a Tiger is going to easily dominate a Big male Sloth Bear is wrong. Can a Tiger kill one, absolutely but is that going to happen every time? Not a chance, the bear will also defeat the Tiger as well. Tigers being a solitary predator make them quicker to disengage when not fighting for mating rights, which again favor the bolder Bear.

What do you mean by "defeat" ??  You mean "kill" the tiger? A tiger holds every single physical advantage over a big male sloth bear. (i.e. size, weight, strength, power, speed, weaponry, biteforce, killing abilities). Its a complete mismatch in clear favour of the tiger.

At best, a big male sloth bear can sometimes fend off an undetermined tigers attack, but in a serious fight to the death, the bear will always end up being the tigers dinner.

And like I said before, if the sloth bear posed any "threat" to a tiger, then there simply wouldn't be TONS of accounts throughout the history of tigers slaughtering and eating sloth bears. Going by your logic and arguments, these cases would be very rare, but there not, they've happened countless times and continue to happen today. Your grossly over-exaggerating the sloth bears capabilities. Reply