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

[peter]

THE ACTORS FROM THE ARTICLE IN POST 1,308


A - The tigress

This is Amur tigress 'Rashel', a mother of four cubs. Wolverine (next post) says she had 4 cubs last year. Two of these already dispersed, meaning they left their mother well before reaching their second year. This underlines the conclusion of L. Kerley on the dispersal of young Amur tigers (her article was discussed some time ago).

This means that two large cubs still depend on 'Rashel'. At their age (between 18-22 months or so), chances are they could decide to interact with the large male bear taking their kills soon. Considering the size of the bear, this could be costly. 

As information about her size is lacking, we have to assume she could be about average in weight (110-130 kg.) :    

*This image is copyright of its original author

B - The male brown bear

And this is the male brown bear following 'Rashel' and displacing her whenever possible. He is taking his job very seriously, as his photograph was taken about 30 minutes after 'Rashel' passed the same spot.

The bear, as you can see, is a very large animal. He's a bit longer, much taller and much more robust than the tigress. If tigress 'Rashel' is about 120 kg. (265 pounds), the bear could be about three times her weight (close to 800 pounds). 

In order to get to that size and stay there, a bear needs a lot of energy. As protein is much more productive than carrots, a large bear needs to eat fish or meat at regular intervals. Fish is no problem, but the season is too short to get big. That leaves meat. A large bear can get lucky, but hunting isn't easy for an animal as large as a male brown bear. This means they have to find another way to get to meat. And that's where tigers come in.

Following an Amur tiger in order to feed on his kill when the opportunity presents itself is not a problem for an animal with a great nose. The problem for all scavengers is moving out in time. As Amur tigers invest a lot of time and energy in hunting, they take theft very serious. As bears are even more obsessive regarding food, clashes near kill sites are quite common. Not a few of them develop into a serious fight. About half of these have a fatal outcome.

Based on what I read some years ago, bears seem to initiate more fights. Tigers, however, win more. As tigers usually eat what they kill, not a few a them develop a taste for bear. As there are many thousands of bears in the Russian Far East, hunting them is not that difficult. The problem is in selection. Tigers try to kill large animals whenever possible, as this is the most efficient way to use energy.

When a tiger develops in the bear department, chances are he or she (tigresses hunt bears as well) will try to move from small bears to large bears. Most bears killed are small to medium-sized animals, but adult female brown bears are hunted as well. For quite some time, biologists thought that Amur tigers didn't hunt large bears because of the risks involved. Recent research, however, indicates that they could be wrong. 

When a tiger and a bear engage, a tiger can leave when the fight isn't going his way. This is not true for a bear. Advantage tiger, that is. In spite of that, tigers have been killed by brown bears. Doesn't happen often, but it happens and my guess is it happens every year. More than once, I think.

Brown bears, like tigers, usually eat what they kill. A bear that won a fight with a tiger will try his chances again. My guess is that a fight isn't the object of a large male bear. Bears are very intelligent animals. Adult males know that displacing a tiger is far more productive in the long run.

The big male bear following tigress 'Rashel' most probably is very experienced regarding tigers, as he selected an adult female with cubs. Tigresses with cubs often use a relatively small area. This means that she can't avoid a bear out for food. It also means she can't risk a fight. A male bear who selected a tigress with cubs can profit for quite some time. 

Most bears following a tigress do so in lean periods or lean years. This year, however, seems to be very productive in all respects. This means that the bear following the tigress isn't suffering from a shortage of food. It means he is living a very easy life at the expense of 'Rashel'. My guess is the rangers want to take him out because he has become a professional in this respect. At his size, he would be a great trophy. 

I hope they reconsider his case. If it's possible to rehabilitate a tiger, it should be possible to rehabilitate a brown bear. My guess is Pavlov should do it.

Have a good look at this giant, as he is as large as they come :             

*This image is copyright of its original author

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