The anatomy of the tiger-bear fight in Maharashtra forest that has gone viral on social media

A video from Maharashtra's Tadoba National Park showing the duel between a sloth bear and a tiger has gone viral on social media. The sheer resilience that the female bear shows in the fight as it counters repeated attacks from the tiger has left many wildlife observers astounded and surprised.

The video starts with the tiger charging on the bear but later the bear retaliates in equal measure. As the video progresses, the bear seems tired but unwilling to give up against the tiger. Sunil Nayak a Mumbai-based senior management professional was witness to the fight.He shared his experience with amazement to DNA,” Even the guide who was with us felt that this was an extremely rare sight. It was quite a close fight. It was very thrilling and nail-biting. We thought that the tiger will overpower the bear. But the bear knew one thing that if it gives access to it's neck to the tiger then she would loose the fight and her life. Hence, the bear dug her neck between her legs and curled herself when the tiger pounced on her. The bear used its lighter weight to push the tiger back. We were extremely lucky to witness such a fight.”

The video recorded a couple of days back has given wildlife enthusiasts an opportunity to see predatory behaviour in the jungle in greater detail. Saresh Lodhi, a wildlife photographer admits that sightings of tiger are very high but bear sightings are very rare. “ You see many animals in Tadoba National Park in all their splendour. However, tiger and sloth bear fight is a rare occurrence. In my last 25 years, I have seen such fight only once before. It is equally rare to see such a fight getting documented. Both could get equally injured in such a battle. In this case, the bear has received more injuries but it could have been equally severe for the tiger. The tiger attacked the sloth bear cub and this may have provoked the female bear to attack the tiger. Bears are generally very shy but they have such run-ins with tigers. “ 

Dr Anish Andheria,President, Wildlife Conservation Trust who is an animal biologist has some interesting insights on the issue. He informs that tigers are predators and can overpower anything. Sloth bear is the part of their diet. A male tiger can weigh anything over 200kg and a bear up to 100 kg.

“I have witnessed tigers following elephant cubs and killing them. Even in this instance the tiger had bitten the sloth bear. The sloth bear is clearly injured. It can never outrun a tiger. Sloth bears have weapons to injure but tiger with his sharp canines and claws have weapons to injure as well as kill.”  Andheria's research has revealed that bears are prey for tigers.

“I have analysed scat of the tiger and have found sloth bear hairs in the excreta. However, on most accounts it is not an easy prey and there is a chance of injury to the tiger. Hence, the tigers mostly avoid hunting bear“, adds Andheria. Both the bear and the tiger have their strong points in a fight. The long hair gives the bear a edge in the fight. The tiger in a fight throttles the animal. However, with its dense hair it is not easy to throttle a bear. The tiger has a muscular body whereas bear has sharp claws which can injure the underbelly of a tiger. But a tiger can pursue the bear for long distances and the bear can get tired in the process. The sloth bear in the video is unusually aggressive. This is clearly because the male tiger had attacked the pup of the female bear.

The video is just another instance of the mysterious way our animal kingdom works.