Who is stronger: the Ussuri tiger or the brown bear? Who is stronger, a bear or a tiger? Lion or bear? Lion habitats

For many years, researchers have been trying to figure out who is stronger - a bear or a tiger? This question arose quite a long time ago and, despite the fact that these animals are rarely found in nature, there are known cases when fights broke out between them. It was not always possible to observe a clear victory of one of the predators. Some fights ended in the flight of the tiger, others in the defeat of the bear. But in order to understand this issue in more detail, it is necessary to take a closer look at each predator.

About Ussuri tigers

In order to understand who is stronger - a bear or a tiger, it is necessary to consider the characteristics of each of them. We'll start with a representative of the felines. The main feature of tigers of this species is that they never pursue the goal of immobilizing or injuring their prey. - an animal that tries to kill its future food with the first blow. Although his claws are shorter than those of a bear, they are very sharp, and the animal’s fangs are capable of tearing apart a victim in an instant. When hunting a small deer, one blow to the spine with your paw is enough. But in most cases, the tiger hunts larger game, and in this case he does not rely on luck, but acts radically. It wraps its two paws around its prey and bites the underneck. It also bites through the spine, after which the victim cannot offer any resistance. However, the description of the tiger does not end there, and now we will learn something more interesting.

The Perfect Big Game Killer

We can speak with great confidence about such advantages of tigers as agility and speed. This predator tries to win the fight with one blow. The biggest prey of the Ussuri tiger is the buffalo or bull. It happens that it is not possible to bite through the spinal cord, and then the hunter tries to strangle his prey. Cases have been repeatedly observed when a tiger first tears the tendons with its paw so that the prey does not run far, and then proceeds to strangle the victim. However, problems often arise in the process. However, the tiger is an animal created for lightning-fast and cunning kills. These predators cannot stand long battles with the enemy. It's no secret that tigers are prone to panic, especially if something doesn't go according to plan. It often happens that the animal simply runs away even after it has wounded its victim.

Description of the tiger in detail

It's no secret that cats are considered ideal predators. Their diet consists of 100% animal meat. From this we can conclude that the only thing the tiger does is hunt. Almost every day an adult predator can go hunting and bring back prey. But there are also sad cases. For example, a fight with a large cleaver more than once ended in defeat for a feline. As a result of a bloody fight, both the wild boar and the tiger can die. The main disadvantage of these predators is that they are prone to panic during a fight, and nothing can be worse than this. The weight of a tiger often reaches 300 kilograms, which means that it is a very dangerous massive predator, but a long fight and retaliatory strikes from the prey can confuse it.

About brown bears

The bear received the title of owner of the taiga for a reason. Few people can fight on equal terms with a clubfoot. If a tiger sometimes has problems with a cleaver, then a wild boar does not pose much of a danger to a bear. The key feature is that he is slow and lazy for the time being. Usually he leads such a lifestyle only because he needs to save precious fat. Usually the average bear is slightly larger in weight than a tiger, and the same applies to strength. It is worth noting that brown bear- an omnivorous animal. For this simple reason, the clubfoot is not as afraid of injury as the tiger. This is due to the fact that if something happens, he will be able to find prey that will not resist, and when he heals his wounds, he will return with renewed vigor. In the case of a tiger, any injury can be the last. It will be difficult to catch up with someone with a broken paw or damaged eyes.

What else is interesting about the owner of the forest?

We can say with great confidence that the clubfoot is very well adapted to a long fight. He is a very stubborn fighter, so he will stand until the last, unlike almost any tiger. Although there are cases where the persistence of cats did its job. In principle, tigers are very unpredictable; they can first run away, and then change their minds and return. Here you can find slight similarities with domestic cats, whose behavior sometimes defies explanation.

We have already figured out what the brown bear eats, and you know that it is omnivorous. For this simple reason, this animal is less aggressive. The exception is a female with offspring. In this case, her rage will be higher than any hungry cat, but not a cat with kittens. But fights between such females have not been recorded. By by and large The mobility of a bear is somewhat lower than that of an adult cat, however, it is many times more resilient.

Who is stronger - a bear or a tiger: statistics

According to hunters, a tiger is easier to kill. However, this beast is at times more dangerous than that or a bear or a cleaver. If the latter run away when they sense danger, especially if they hear the sound of a shot, then it is difficult to predict the tiger’s reaction. It is likely that he will attack the hunter. To date, 44 cases of bear-tiger collisions have been recorded. In 50% of cases the bear died. About 27% of fights ended in the death of the tiger, and in 23% the feline ran away from the battlefield. Another interesting point is that 12 fights were initiated by the tiger, and the bear - 8. It is not clear who was the aggressor in the remaining cases. From the statistics it is clear that the tiger is somewhat stronger; it also initiates conflict more often and suddenly attacks. If the fight drags on, the cat either dies or leaves the fight. But if a tiger can escape from the battlefield, then a bear cannot, since the speed of cats is somewhat higher. It is also interesting that it is the tiger who chooses its victim, since it is the aggressor. It is unlikely that he will choose a brown bear, which significantly exceeds him in mass.

Several fights in detail

Around 2009, a fight was recorded between a tiger weighing approximately 205 kilograms and a young female bear weighing 200 kilograms. According to an eyewitness, the instant killing did not work out, which, in fact, tired the predator. But the bear could not kill the tiger. It is quite possible that there were not enough claws and teeth. As a result, the animals dispersed.

In 1997, there was a fight between a female bear, who was giving birth, and a tiger. The latter was the initiator. As a result of falling from a small slope, the animals grappled and flew several meters down. A few minutes later, the tiger won the fight, but received a serious wound, so he was forced to lie down nearby. The cubs managed to escape during the fight.

From all of the above, we can conclude that the outcome of the battle largely depends on what kind of victim the tiger chooses. The characteristics of potential prey are always inferior to those of the predator. This is due to the fact that if you come across a very large bear, it will be very difficult to defeat it.

Educational facts

In most cases, the tiger's failure in the first attack leads to its defeat. More than more bear, the more difficult it is to defeat him. This is due to the fact that he is stable, hardy, and there are no places on his body where he could cling to with impunity. Moreover, every tiger strike ends with him receiving a strike in return. Of course, there are so-called “upsets” - exceptions to the rules. So, according to these very exceptions, big tigers They can even defeat Kodiaks, giant bears. However, there are no reported cases of this yet. The bear has very monotonous tactics; it always tries to crush the victim under itself, and then breaks its spine. In some cases it bites the scruff of the neck.

Conclusion

We tried to figure out who is stronger - a bear or a tiger? According to statistics, the feline representative is in the lead. This may be due to several factors. If it is not possible to kill the prey quickly, the predator can always retreat. The tiger rightfully deserves the title of king of the Far Eastern taiga. Among the ancient peoples, this beast evoked special respect, since it was very difficult to hit. Although there have been cases where young tigers were caught with bare hands, and this is due to their habit of panicking. In addition, felines have more regal manners. They often attack even when there is no chance of victory. Perhaps what the brown bear eats also plays a role in the outcome of the battles. If he hunted day after day, he could more effectively repel the attacks of predatory cats. In the meantime, there is no clear answer to the question of who is stronger - a bear or a tiger.

Once, while tracking one of the man-eating leopards, Jim Corbett saw a huge Himalayan bear. “He walked so importantly, as if it didn’t matter to him how long he had to walk to get from one place to another.” Suddenly he stopped, turned his nose, sniffing, looked at the hillside and lay down flat on the ground.
He raised his head, sniffed again what it smelled like ahead, and, stealthily, climbed to where he smelled something. It spread straight along the ground, crawling “silently, like a snake.” He crawled to the edge of the pit, and there the tiger was feasting, completely indifferent to various stray bears. The bear slowly, slowly raised his head above the hole and looked down. He lowered it just as slowly. He tucked his paws under himself and suddenly rushed down with a loud roar.
The bear wanted to scare the tiger, but the tiger was not the timid one. With a roar, choking with rage, he rushed at the bear, and such a fight began that the fur flew in clumps. They fought for about three minutes, maybe more. But suddenly the tiger, deciding that he had had enough of bear hugs... chickened out. He galloped across the open area, with the bear at his heels. With a roar, “like a hurricane,” he jumped over the ravine. But the tiger flew even faster.
This is the ending of this fight and this is the solution to the question that is often asked, especially by children: who is stronger, the tiger or the bear?
Despite its small height and weight for a bear (up to eight pounds), the Himalayan bear is courageous and aggressive: it sometimes attacks tigers, which brown, larger bears are afraid of. However, this is not the only solution; there are other endings. Some of our zoologists say: they are afraid, and that’s great, clubfooted tigers. As soon as the bear smells the scent of a tabby cat, he quickly runs or climbs a tree. And the tiger sometimes waits, walking under a tree or hiding in ambush, when he gets tired of sitting on a branch.

Zoologist L. G. Kaplanov studied the life of tigers in the wild, in Ussuri taiga, methods that Jane Goodall, George Schaller and many other ethologists are now using and which they helped to learn in lately so many new and unexpected things about the customs and habits of wild animals.
L, G. Kaplanov was skiing in the tracks of tigers in winter. One day he found a ruined bear's den. From the footprints I realized what happened. The tigress was walking through the forest and smelled a bear about fifty meters away. She immediately turned off the path and went to the den. I dug up the den from behind. There lay a mother bear with her cubs. The tigress contrived and hooked her claws on her front paw, with which the bear was probably fighting back.
Well, who is stronger, the tiger or the bear? The tiger and the bear are almost equal in strength. (Even if a lion is included in this competition, the balance of the triangle of forces will not change.) The one who is braver, who is older and meaner, who weighs more will win. Young tigers and bears fight, of course, worse than seasoned males, full of strength and courage. It is also important who attacked first, who is full and who is hungry: a well-fed animal is not as bold and angry as a hungry one. It is important on whose land the fighters met: whoever is closer to home usually fights more fiercely. And rage is often stronger than strength.
There are many reasons, it is not easy to decide why our bears are afraid of tigers, but in India they are not. People are just beginning to really learn about the habits of animals. Previously, animals were studied more and more from skins and bones. Now many scientists with binoculars and movie cameras in their hands are observing how living animals behave in the wild. Let's wait to see what new they see and tell about the tiger and the bear.

Where a tiger and a bear met and, having inherited the ancient enmity from cats and dogs, do not live peacefully, another “kitty” claims primacy in savagery, strength and courage - the leopard. And again a question from a series of children's: who is stronger, a leopard or a bear?
The answers are also different: Jim Corbett says that he himself has seen more than once how confidently and fearlessly Himalayan bears chased away leopards at the most crucial moment, when they were settling down to have a hearty lunch. Having driven them away, they took away the “lunch” to eat.
But another famous hunter in India, Kenneth Anderson, tells a different story: one bear family - mother, father and cub - decided to settle in a cave. And in that cave there already lived a leopard. When he returned, the bear cub was the first to run away, of course. Mother and father tried to defend the cozy home, but the onslaught of the panther was so fierce that the bears decided to retreat, and immediately. “The head of the family fled in such haste that he fell off a cliff and broke his front legs.”
Some say that the Himalayan bear is brave, others say that it is not at all. He is just excitable, irritable and often goes into a rage for little or no reason. He attacks people only when all routes to escape are cut off (or so it seems to him). And then, more out of fear than with courage, he attacks and hits him in the face with blunt, but long, “eight-inch” claws.

Statistics of the confrontation between a tiger and a bear

S.P. Kucherenko notes that medium tiger always stronger than the average bear. Of the 17 cases reliably known to him of fights between a tiger and a brown bear in Sikhote-Alin in 1965-1976. in 8 cases the animals separated, in 6 cases the tiger won, in 3 cases the bear won. In addition, 9 cases of tiger attacks on bears in dens were recorded (the tiger crushed and ate 7 adult animals and 9 cubs). But a careful analysis of the relationships between these predators leads the author to the conclusion that the brown bear is more aggressive (especially in times of famine). The tiger tries to attack small bears. The tigress, protecting the cubs, fights with any bear and more often dies. Based on materials from zoologist V.E. Kostogloda, out of 28 cases of fights between these two predators he studied, priority in attack was on the side of the brown bear. V.E. The bone picker recorded 7 attacks by brown bears on tigers and 6 attacks by tigers on bears. Of the already mentioned 28 fights between a tiger and a bear, in 11 cases the tiger won, in 9 cases the bear won, in 8 cases the animals separated. Among the 9 dead tigers, 5 were adults, the rest were cubs. Data from V.E. Kostogloda about the greater initiative of bears in resolving conflicts with the tiger by force, were later confirmed by the same S.P. Kucherenko, who pointed out that out of 44 reliably recorded cases of fights, the initiative in the attack belonged to the bear in 13, and to the tiger in nine (in 22 cases the instigator could not be determined). During these fights, 14 bears and 8 tigers died (in 22 cases the animals dispersed, receiving quite severe wounds). V. Sysoev reports on 4 battles between a tiger and a bear (two ended in favor of the bear, in one the tiger won and in another the animals separated). Game expert G. Gorokhov pointed out that out of 10 clashes between adult tigers and brown bears, in 5 cases the predators separated, in 3 cases the tiger won, in 2 cases the bear won. V.S. Khramtsov in his work “On the relationship between bears and tigers in the spurs of the Reserved Range” wrote that in 1989-1990. V Lazovsky Reserve 8 cases of death of white-breasted bears from tigers were established, and only one case of death of a brown bear from the “master of the jungle” was recorded. There were no cases of tigers being killed by bears. A.G. Yudakov and I.G. Over the course of three seasons of winter stationary observations, Nikolaev only encountered cases of tigers eating bears only twice. And then, we were talking about white-breasted bears. At the same time, according to K.N. Tkachenko, in the tiger excrement he studied, the brown bear accounted for 18.5%, while the white-breasted bear accounted for only 14.8%. In general, in the tiger’s diet, the brown bear firmly held an honorable third place, behind only the wild boar (37%) and wapiti (29.6%). Biologist N.N. To clarify the relationship between a tiger and a bear, Rukovsky interviewed 42 hunter-guards of the Primorsky Territory. Of these, 7 people answered that the tiger specifically hunts the bear; 6 people said that the bear follows the tracks of the tiger, collecting leftover food; 14 – talked about fights between a tiger and a bear without a tragic outcome; two recalled cases where a bear strangled a tiger; 11 claimed that the tiger killed the bear. N. Rukovsky himself, as well as most other authors, believes that fights between predators occur most often in hungry years (for bears), when connecting rods collide with tigers near killed animals. And only in rare cases can a tiger (usually a young one) become a victim. The tiger prefers to hunt not brown, but Himalayan bears. N. Rukovsky himself once determined from the tracks that a brown bear had killed a tiger. The bear was very large (this was evident from the tracks), and the tiger was young - about 4 years old (this was evident from the skull). The battlefield itself (broken fir trunks as thick as an arm, scattered shreds of wool, blood) testified to a long and brutal struggle.

This is a very ancient question - who is stronger - a tiger or a bear?

Even in those southern countries Where the person originally came from has not been precisely determined. The bear, even being not a very large animal, is always an extremely strong, inconvenient, and persistent fighter for any opponent. And not only the large brown bear, but also the Himalayan and small European brown bear are worthy opponents for any feline.

Basic information about opponents.

The Ussuri tiger is one of the largest cats today, second in size only to the Bengal tiger from Northern India. In historical retrospect, this subspecies could reach similar sizes to the Bengal tiger. The length of the largest individuals could reach 3.5 meters with tail, and weight - 300 kg or more!

In general, the Ussuri tiger can be described as a very well-armed and quite technical fighter. In terms of technicality, he is superior to his opponent - any bears. In terms of weapons - at least comparable. The bear's attack and fighting technique is quite monotonous. The tiger, to a certain extent, is a flexible fighter, because quite often he is simply physically weaker than his victims, and cannot, stupidly, assemble them and break them.
The tiger deals with buffaloes, at least evolutionarily designed for this. The Tiger was created as an ideal compromise between speed and strength. Being physically weaker than some of his victims, he can still kill them. The tiger has a phenomenal reaction, excellent coordination, and lethal weapons (fangs up to 8 cm, and claws up to 10 cm - larger and sharper than those of a lion).
His goal is not to overcome the victim, not to fight with him, but immediately to KILL.
How exactly does a tiger kill its prey? There are rumors about the monstrous power of the tiger's paw strike. And, indeed, with one blow, a tiger can crush a person’s skull. But, when attacking larger prey, the paw strike is no longer effective. With a blow of its paw, a tiger can kill mainly small prey, such as a baby deer or a hare. Sometimes, it can break the back of a larger animal, for example, an adult deer, but, more often than not, when attacking prey comparable in weight to itself, the tiger cannot rely on a blow from its paw. This is a very unreliable weapon. If he hits the ribs instead of the spine, the deer will run away. Therefore, instead of hitting with his paws, he uses grabbing. It grabs the prey with them, and then bites the scruff of the neck, biting through the spine and spinal cord. Thus, a tiger can kill prey the size of an axis deer, for example, or a sika deer. This is usually the largest prey in a tiger's diet. But, evolutionarily, the tiger is designed for an even greater load. The usual maximum for a tiger is a prey the size of an ox or buffalo. You can’t break the spine of such prey with a blow, and you can’t even bite through it. The tiger kills its prey, which is the size of a bull, by strangulation. Strangulation is actually the only chance to kill such prey. A tiger can strangle a bull by grabbing its throat or nose. Moreover, if he grabs the throat, the victim quickly stops resisting, since the fangs compress her trachea, and large blood vessels enter the toothless space between the fangs and premolars, and are pinched there, stopping the supply of blood to the brain.
A fairly common myth says that a tiger never kills adult buffaloes and gaurs. No, that's not true. The tiger is capable of doing this, and actually kills large bulls. Sometimes, while showing technical skill, for example, sometimes they pre-cut large tendons on the legs of ungulates with their claws. A similar case was described by J. Corbett. By the way, quite a significant case

"In early March, a tiger killed a full-grown buffalo. I was in the foothills when the dying lowing of the buffalo and the furious growl of the tiger echoed through the forest. I determined that the sounds came from a ravine about six hundred yards away. The walking was difficult, over steep rocks and thorny bushes. When I climbed the steep cliff from which I could see the ravine, the buffalo’s struggle for life was over, but the tiger was not visible. At dawn the next day I again visited the ravine and found that the buffalo was in the same place. trampled with traces of hooves and tiger paws, showed that the struggle was desperate. Only after the buffalo’s Achilles tendons were bitten, the tiger knocked him down; the struggle continued for ten to fifteen minutes. The tiger’s tracks led through the ravine, and, walking along them. , I found a long trail of blood on the rock, and a hundred yards from the fallen tree, another. The buffalo wounded the tiger in the head with its horns, and these injuries were enough for the tiger to completely lose interest in the prey, and he did not return to it." (C) Jim Corbett

As you can see, the tiger is a very effective killer of large and strong prey. It is very important for a tiger to perform, so to speak, a perfect kill - instantaneous and with minimal losses to himself. And in this case, as we see, even being the winner, the tiger left the defeated prey because it was wounded. Any strong resistance from the prey is partly a failure of the tiger's plan. The tiger, as a fighter, seems to be distinguished by the fact that it can attack prey fiercely and fearlessly, but at the same time is prone to sudden loss of courage and panic. (1)

The Tiger has the advantage of his technical skills, speed, and weapons, but the disadvantage is his alarmism and not his inclination to engage in a long, tactical duel. If the prey resists, strikes and bites back, the tiger may retreat, even if it actually won on points. That's his nature. IN wildlife, the tiger is often a source of constant “upsets” - unexpected outcomes of the fight. He may kill an Indian elephant (3 tons), or he may lose to a Himalayan bear (up to 150 kg in weight). The fury of a tiger is enormous, but it can be turned into cowardice. Even the fact that young (up to 3 years old) tigers were previously caught almost with bare hands, this tells us a lot - after all, no one would come up with the idea of ​​catching bears with their hands (even very young ones). The caught tiger often experienced such stress that it died in the first minutes.

In any case, the TIGER HAS PROBLEMS WITH ANY PREY THAT IS DIFFICULT TO KILL INSTANTLY.

Fights between tigers and large cleavers are very dramatic, often ending in the death of both animals.

The tiger's desire to instantly kill its prey often turns against it if the prey resists for a long time. At the same time, thanks to weapons, reaction, flexible strength, the tiger sometimes achieves brilliant success.

The largest recorded kill of a tiger was Indian elephant. In this case, obviously, strangulation was useless, because it is impossible to grab an elephant’s throat. Many people doubt the reality of this incident (described by Kesri Singh), but, nevertheless, it does not go much beyond our ideas about tigers. The elephant is an animal quite sensitive to pain and blood loss. And he is virtually defenseless against the tiger, which, as described by Singh, jumped onto the elephant’s back and gnawed at it. That's all that was required of him - no tactics and no special resistance from the elephant. Even though the battle lasted all night, the tiger could even rest while hanging on the elephant. The elephant was killed, but to this day this incident remains an “upset” - the nonsense of the century. Obviously, the elephant's tusks and its trunk could do almost no harm to the tiger, and the tiger could only hang on the elephant and eat it. But if elephants are so defenseless, then why do tigas ALMOST NEVER kill them? Perhaps it is simple, very energy-consuming, because even killing this animal took the whole night. In the end, the tiger left, apparently as distraught as in many other cases described, although, in this case, it is unlikely that the elephant inflicted any wounds on it with its tusks or trunk. In another case, a tigress inflicted mortal wounds on an elephant by damaging its trunk with her claws.

But, on the other hand, this same tigress, will she even defeat the Himalayan bear? When will every bite of yours be answered with a bite, and every blow with a blow?

If even an elephant, an animal undoubtedly stronger than a bear, can be defeated by a tiger, then maybe he can kill any bear?

How are things going with the bear himself?

The brown bear deservedly bears the title of Master of the taiga. No animal in most of its habitats can compare with it in strength. The tiger is having difficulty with the cleaver. But the bear quite confidently defeats him!

The Ussuri brown bear is large, but not the most large variety. On average, adult males weigh about 250 kg, which is noticeably more than the average weight of tigers. Some individuals can weigh 400 kg or more. If you believe some hunters, then in the Ussuri taiga there are giants weighing up to 800 kg. But so far no one has had to kill such people. We must take into account that, in any case, on average, the Ussuri bear is significantly smaller than the Kamchatka bear, and, of course, the giants from Kodiak Island.

The Ussuri brown bear surpasses the Amur tiger in mass, and is a much more powerfully built animal (per unit of length is more weight). The back is much wider, the legs are longer, the body is like a barrel. The Ussuri bear has a noticeably smaller zygomatic width than a tiger, and smaller teeth, which means its bite is noticeably weaker.

But at the same time, the bear can be described as a very stubborn fighter. Unlike a tiger, he will not be afraid to fight an equal opponent, and is well adapted to this. A bear is an omnivorous animal and therefore is less “afraid” of being injured than a tiger.

A bear is also, strictly speaking, a coward, but a rational coward. He can crap from a shot, he can run away from huskies, flashing his fat butt, but in all this there is a sense of expediency (unlike running away from dead buffaloes). Behind the shot lies the hunter - mortal danger, he is also behind the dogs. It’s just that a tiger is prone to panic (even out of nowhere), and a bear simply values ​​its skin more than its reputation as the Master of the forest, and therefore can shamefully run away from huskies. The tiger, more often than not, tries to catch huskies, rather than incur a hunter's shot.(1)

By the way, according to hunters, a tiger is easier to kill than a bear or wild boar (but also much more dangerous than them).

Thus, the bear is not inclined to risk its skin, why in vain. But, in case of a fight, he is ready for a LONG fight, and no cat has such endurance as to tire a bear!

There is an opinion (possibly subjective) that the bear has a higher will to win (Sysoev).

But these animals actually met in a fight, so what were the results?

There are results, but they don’t clarify the matter too much.

“It is known that out of 44 cases of collision between a tiger and a brown bear
(Kaplanov, 1948; Sysoev, 1950; Sysoev, 1960; Abramov, 1962; Bromley, 1965; Rakov, 1970;
Kucherenko, 1972; Gorokhov, 1973; Kostoglod, 1981; Khramtsov, 1993; our data) there was a tiger
the initiator 12 times, the bear - 8 times, in other cases the attacker was not identified. 50%
cases ended in the death of the bear, 27.3% in the death of the tiger, and in 22.7% of cases the animals dispersed."

It would seem that the tiger wins more often, which means he is stronger. But, on the other hand, the tiger is an active predator, and it is the aggressive, attacking side. At the same time, he has the advantage of choosing an opponent.

"In December 1959, on the Svetlaya River, a tiger killed
a large brown bear and lived near him for about 10 days until he ate him (Rakov, 1965)."

With the exception of one case (described by Rakov), a tiger has never been observed killing large brown bears.
However, "large bear" is a very vague concept. It could be an animal weighing from 250 kg, that is, comparable to the weight of the tiger itself. However, most likely, it was meant that the bear was somewhat larger than the tiger in mass. But, in any case, the weight is not even approximately indicated by the author. And this case can be attributed to the “upsets” of the century, along with the killing of an elephant in India.

This upset looks especially bad against the backdrop of more detailed cases of confrontation between large male tigers and female bears:

"In July 1997 in
river basin A swampy adult male tiger (M20), who attacked a female bear, fought with her, in
as a result, on a forest plot with an area of ​​10?2 m, the soil was loosened and most of the
bushes. In this place there were many tufts of bear fur, but there was also tiger fur. All
the battle zone with the ground and trees spattered with blood was 30 m long. In another case (12
August 2001) a tiger, after being chased on a slope, attacked a female bear of 8-10 years of age
weighing 150-200 kg. The animals rolled down for several meters, clinging together. Knocked out at the scene of the fight
area 10?8 m. After the victory, the tiger moved 15 m to the side, where it lay down. He has
the wound was bleeding. Presumably, the bear had cubs that managed to escape." -//-

M 20 (Dima) is a large male tiger, weighing approximately 205 kg. As you can see, he had difficult fights with she-bears weighing a maximum of 200 kg. Even such animals, smaller than the tiger itself, managed to drag their feet and turn an instant kill into an endless fuss that so tired the tiger. At the same time, the fact that the bear did not kill the tiger is obvious - her grip with her jaws, claws, simply, her weapons were not physically enough for this. Thus, if a bear weighing 350-400 kg were in the mother bear’s place, would the tiger have a chance? Maybe, but only as an upset.

The larger the bear, the more difficult it is for the tiger to kill it. A bear is not an elephant. There are no places on his body where a tiger could cling and at the same time remain out of reach, therefore, in any case, the tactic of devouring him alive will not work with a bear. A bear is also not a buffalo, and it will not easily grab your throat, covering it with its paws. And even if the tiger grabs it, the bear still has paws left to break its backbone.

A tiger is not an animal too large for a bear to break its spine.

The bear's paws, much more powerful than those of the tiger, are designed to break spines. He can break the back of an elk, or a wild boar, therefore - a good hit on the back from above, or a backbreaker in a fight - and there is no tiger. There is not enough strength in a tiger's body to withstand a bear on its feet. On its hind legs, the bear is in any case more stable.

The larger the bear, the more slim the tiger's chances. The neck of large individuals is well protected. Bears are a kind of Terminator of the animal world. Their neck is protected by very strong muscles and all the arteries and trachea lie very deep. In a fight, a tiger can easily break a fang in an attempt to get to the bear's trachea.

The bear has monotonous tactics. He is smarter than a tiger, but much less technical. Ancient people used this. The bear, stupidly, rushes and crushes the victim under itself. It breaks the spine of an elk, and bites a walrus (in the case of a polar bear) in the scruff of the neck. And, the most interesting thing is that the tiger most likely will not resist this primitive tactic, based on strength and mass alone.

Simply because a long-term tactical duel with a bear is useless. He is more resistant to blood loss and pain shock than a tiger, his paws are more powerful, his bones are stronger.

The tiger's only chance is to KILL the bear ASAP! Yes, only the perfect murder... The only place is the throat. If the tiger managed to grab it and at the same time, widely enough, along the entire circumference, capturing both the arteries and squeezing, then the bear’s resistance would soon begin to fade away - the carotid artery would be compressed. But what are the chances of this? The bear actively resists and can grab the throat itself.

I believe that a tiger against a bear is stronger than a lion against a bear (2). Since fighting, building tactics against a bear is pointless! What is needed here is the ability to kill QUICKLY. Kill - and not drag your feet.

At the same time, if one can still imagine the victory of a tiger over a bear of equal weight, then the chances against the largest bears seem to be reduced to nothing. Will we take Kodiak, or Kamchatka giants, or grizzlies, or polar bear. The tiger's only chance is a bite in the throat, which seems illusory. You need to grab such a huge neck... And with such a difference in mass. The largest brown bears can reach a weight of more than 700 kg, and this mass, and their blunt strength and endurance, invulnerability, beats all the tiger's trump cards. A bear is not a buffalo, you can’t cut the tendons; If you're not an elephant, you can't eat him alive. Is it really possible to kill such a colossus in the first 5 minutes, if it’s with buffalos, then it’s not always possible?

On the one hand, I would like to say, yes, you can’t argue with logic. The tiger had problematic fights with female bears weighing 200 kg and with Himalayan bears at 120-150 kg, what kind of Kodiaks does he need? But, on the other hand, the tiger is a constant source of upsets, and suddenly, maybe, he also has some chance? At least 1 in 100? Even against Kodiak! After all, in fact, bears are also mortal, and even the Terminator can be destroyed.

And then, who is the king of the Far Eastern taiga? Both animals are equally deserving of this title. But, it still seems to me that since bear blood is more often shed from tiger teeth than vice versa, then the tiger is the king of the Amur taiga. If we take into account the respect that the ancient peoples had for the tiger - the Golds and Udeges, as well as a peculiar symbol from stripes on his forehead, meaning "Wang" ("Chief") in Korean. In addition, it looks much more majestic. And the tiger’s manners are more neat and regal than those of the bear, which feasts on its cubs and shits itself from the smell of gunpowder.

Notes.

(1) So, if you fantasize, the character, essence, of the tiger is somewhat reminiscent of Mike Tyson, who was prone to unexpected outbursts of both rage and panic, and sometimes lost his presence of mind if the opponent did not fall in the 1st round. However, this shortcoming of his was mostly corrected by Cus D Amato, but was released later. But that's another story.
The bear, as a fighter, to me personally, more closely resembles the rational and monotonous Vladimir Klitschko. His boring tactics ruined many of his opponents' sophisticated plans.
However, this does not mean that I believe that Tyson would have the same chances against Vladimir as a tiger against a bear!
Leo personally, as a fighter, reminds me of the calculating and phlegmatic Fedor Emelianenko, or Lennox Lewis - a Jamaican, very technical, but prone to leonine laziness. By the way, Lennox has a corresponding nickname - Leo.

(2) Perhaps a lion would have a better result against bears, since in ancient Rome The most spectacular fights were considered to be between lions and European brown bears, not between tigers and them. Both animals did not exhaust themselves immediately. Besides, being a tactician and having experience against small bears, who knows, maybe this genius of strategy would have found his key to Kodiak? But, to me personally, this seems doubtful for the above reasons.

The bear is an incredibly strong animal. Its height is about 2-3 meters. Weight reaches 450 kg, who can compare with such a huge animal? In addition to its size, the bear has a cunning mind and quick reaction. The complex is a terrible animal. So who can compare with him?

Looking for

There are a huge number of living beings on the planet. Some of them are herbivores, and some are predators. But one thing is for sure, one of the first predators is a strong bear. And it doesn’t matter what kind of animal it is, brown or white, almost all of them are angry animals driven by instincts and their derivatives. Is there a rival for the bear? Maybe. After all, there are other predators who are just as passionate about hunting and obtaining food. What if you look for someone who is stronger than a bear? It’s worth thinking about who is similar, first in size. Consider the tiger. His external characteristics, for the most part, depend on the type of animal. So, let's take the strongest representatives. Let there be an Amur tiger and a polar bear.

Advantages of a polar bear: it is very big, it has strong bones. In addition, he has sufficient impact force, which indicates good muscle mass. The sharpness of the blow is also there, as is the speed. The average height of a polar bear is 3.5 meters, its weight reaches 800 kg. Amur tiger: weight about 400 kg and length 4 m.

Who will win?

Now let’s try to figure out who is stronger, a tiger or a bear. Scientists conducted numerous studies, studied animals, the capabilities of each. It was found that the force of the bear's blow is so crushing that it can take a life instantly.

As is known, the impact force of such a predator is about 1.5 tons. The approximate value of the impact force of the Amur tiger has also been established. It is about 500 kg, which is also not small. In this situation, many bet on the bear.

A tiger can survive a fight with a bear if the tiger's family is in danger. This instinct, the instinct of protecting and preserving the family motivates the tiger, and it will do everything possible and impossible to ensure that the family continues its existence.

Whatever one may say, in the end it turns out that the bear is stronger, since he is very big.

Children's questions sometimes baffle even the most educated adults, and one of them is: who is stronger, a tiger or a bear? It is definitely difficult to answer, because in the wild these animals are rarely seen in fights, and besides, the outcome of the fight depends on many secondary factors, such as the age of the fighters, experience in battles and state of health. It is even more difficult to say who is stronger, a lion or a bear, because these animals are not found in the wild at all and live in different habitats. To get even a little closer to the answer, it is necessary to consider each type of animal and compare their abilities.

Tiger

Today, there are 6 subspecies of tigers living on the planet with a total number of 5000-6500 individuals. Easiest to meet bengal tiger , since it alone occupies almost half of the entire population. The historical habitat of big striped cats is Asia:

• Iran;
• Far East;
• China;
• India;
• Afghanistan.

Absolutely all tigers territorial predators leading a solitary lifestyle and fiercely defending their hunting grounds from the encroachments of other mammals. The weight of an adult individual can reach 250 kg, while the tiger is very dexterous and fast, but this is not enough for a long fight or hunt. The predator's fatigue and fear of injury lead to the fact that the animal will not oppose the opponent if he gives such an opportunity.

Lion

These predators mainly live in Africa and India and are the only representatives of felines living in prides. Lions are also not hardy, like tigers, so after each attack they need a long rest. The weight of males is 20% greater than that of females and reaches the same 250 kg. The main weapon of felines are their sharp claws and teeth, capable of compressing up to 160 atmospheres. If a lion or tiger clings to the victim, it will be almost impossible to free itself.

Bear

The main strength of a bear is its endurance and stubbornness. If he has identified a victim for himself, he will chase it for several kilometers at a speed of up to 50 km/h. The owners of the taiga are skilled swimmers and one of the largest predators on the planet. The weight of a brown male can reach 200-250 kg, despite the fact that its thick skin is very difficult to penetrate. Today brown bears are common:

• in Siberia;
• a little in China;
• North America.

The animals are solitary and omnivorous, which allows them not to waste time and energy on hunting, but to calmly eat plant foods. This gives brown an advantage in that that, if necessary, to heal wounds after a fight, you can safely eat berries.

Who is stronger: tiger and bear

A bear and a tiger are more likely to be found in nature, since tabby cats are widespread in the same area as the clubfoot (meaning Amur tigers), so their possible fight should be considered first.

The main prey of the striped taiga hunter are wild boars and wapiti, but having successfully chosen the size of a small clubfooted tiger, it is capable of attacking a bear. Small females or cubs may well be part of a cat’s diet, which cannot be said about large representatives of the species.

The bear itself is rare attacks others, but is capable of breaking the spine of a cow or elk with one blow, so he cannot be considered a bad fighter. In addition, its claws are not retractable and are much larger than those of a tiger. The striped one will not be able to pierce the thick skin of the furry one with its claws and the bet on victory will be only due to its dexterity and sharp teeth.

If we take others into account, more large bears, for example, white, then the outcome will be obvious. The polar bear today is the most large predators. Its weight can reach a whole ton, and its impact force is twice that of any brown bear. A cat simply cannot significantly injure a white one through its thick skin, and he, in turn, can send a tiger to the next world with one blow. If we consider the fight of a tiger against an ordinary brown one, then out of 10 fights the cat will win in 6, but much depends on secondary circumstances.

Who is stronger: lion and bear

Leo build in its own way it is not very different from a tiger, but if you consider that they hunt in prides, then the numerical superiority of cats will clearly not be on the side of the bear. If the king of beasts comes out against the brown one alone, then the circumstances of the meeting will be decisive for the battle. Definitely, if you take into account only strength, the bear will win, but if you take into account the dexterity and cunning of cats during the hunt, then the lion has every chance of emerging victorious.

Because bear skin is impenetrable to claws predatory cats, then the lion will have to hit the same place several times, and this will tire him very much and, possibly, force him to give up his position.

Conclusion

Say exactly who will win in an unequal fight between two completely different opponents, it is impossible. Bears are very strong and resilient, and cats are dexterous and smart. These qualities give them their superiority over their opponents and make them the real masters of their habitats. There are simply no practical examples of such fights, and people only have to guess about their outcomes.