Brown Bears (Info, Pics and Videos)

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Records of brown bears (Grizzlies) killing polar bears

From "Mitchell Taylor (1995) Grizzly Bear Sightings in Viscount Melville Sound". Mitchell Taylor is a scientist who has conducted extensive research on polar bear for a very long time.

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"On 4 May 1991 a grizzly bear was sighted about 40 miles south of Dundas Peninsula, Melville Island (73° 47' N, 112° 17' W), on the sea-ice of Viscount Melville Sound. From tracks it was apparent that the grizzly bear had been hunting seal pups in birth lairs. The remains of two kills (presumably seal pups) were observed in the vicinity of where the bear was seen. The bear was immobilized, ear tagged, lip tattooed, weighed, measured, and examined. The bear was an adult male weighing approximately 700lbs. The bear was in good condition, had no broken teeth, and no visible scars or wounds. The testes were small and not descended, indicating the bear was not mating. The bear was lightly drugged, and was able to lift its head and move its paws before we left it."

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A grizzly had killed 2 year old polar bear cub. It was presumed to be the same bear.

"On 7 May 1991 Joseph Haluksit from Holman Island encountered a grizzly bear about 40km NW of Barnard Point. The grizzly bear was seen near a seven-foot, un-sexed two-year-old polar bear cub that had been killed and partially eaten. The grizzly bear had eaten part of the hindquarters and partially buried the carcass. The grizzly bear appeared to be a large male and was presumed to be the same bear that had been captured earlier. From wounds on the polar bear, blood spread around the area, and tracks, the hunters concluded that the grizzly bear had killed the polar bear, then eaten the hindquarters."

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Grizzly bears scavenge polar bear kills and kill seals of all ages. It has been suggested polar bears evolved from barren-ground grizzly bears.

"Grizzly bears are known to venture onto the sea-ice to scavenge from polar bear kills and hunt adult and newborn seals. Two grizzly bears have been observed in Wager Bay, one of which was on a seal kill. Both researchers and local people have observed grizzly bears and grizzly bear tracks on sea-ice in the Amundson Gulf area. Kurten suggested that polar bears evolved from barren land grizzly bears that were forced onto the sea-ice when glaciers advanced north (as well as south) during the Pleistocene."

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Mitchell Taylor (Polar bear expert) was of the impression that the bear observed on May 4th could catch (i.e kill) an adult polar bear sow or subadult.

"I suggest that this grizzly bear has somehow learned to exploit the sea-ice habitat in spring. Perhaps it ventured onto Banks Island or Victoria Island to exploit Muskox calves, perhaps it dispersed as a sub-adult, perhaps it is only a curious bear that has learned to exploit marine and terrestrial habitat. In the course of hunting seal pups it probably encountered polar bears, and was able to kill one for food. Large male polar bears are not as fast as female or sub-adult polar bears. My impression was that the grizzly bear we observed on 4 May could catch a sub-adult or adult female polar bear."

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Polar bears : proceedings of the eleventh Working Meeting of the IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group, 25-27 January 1993, Copenhagen, Denmark LINK

Key take-aways from this report

• Grizzly bears may scavenge on polar bear kills and prey on juveniles
• A polar bear scientist has suggested that a large 300 kg+ grizzly bear could kill a subadult or adult female polar bear.
  

A very nice image of a grizzly bear in Melville Island. From "Most Northerly Observation of a Grizzly Bear ( Ursus arctos ) in Canada: Photographic and DNA Evidence from Melville Island, Northwest Territories"

*This image is copyright of its original author

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