An angry mother bear faced off against a huge tigress as her cubs clung onto her back for dear life – after she unknowingly disturbed the big cat while it was mating in India.
The jungle beasts came nose-to-nose with one another, with the female sloth bear rearing up on her hind legs to show the tigress who’s boss.
Caught in the act of mating on a rocky plateau at India’s Ranthambore National Park, the two Bengal tigers appeared to have the advantage over the smaller black-furred bear that came across them by accident.
But instead of running, the surprised bear decided that attack was the best form of defence, and blocked the tiger’s path while ‘screaming’ at the pair as they got closer, her black hair bristling.
Then, with her cubs lying flat on her back and clinging on for safety, the bear charged at the tigress clawing at the big cat who herself itself appeared taken by surprise by the act of aggression.
Pictured: The mother bear (right) and huge tigress fight in India after the bear unknowingly came across her advisory mating
The dramatic photos show the two jungle beasts coming nose-to-nose with one another, with the large female sloth bear rearing up on her hind legs(pictured left) to show the tigress who’s boss
Caught in the act: Mating on a rocky plateau at India’s Ranthambore National Park, the two tigers appeared to have the advantage over the smaller black-furred bear that came across them by accident
Pictured: The bear and her cubs walk across the rocky plateau. Instead of running, the surprised bear decided that attack was the best form of defence, and blocked the tiger’s path while ‘screaming’ at the pair as they got closer, her black hair bristling
In the pictures, the roaring bear is shown throwing her giant paws and knife-like claws at the tigress and her mate, who both soon decided were involved a fight not worth having, before retreating away from the bear.
The violent scenes were captured by wildlife photographer Aditya Dicky Singh who said within two minutes, the smaller bear had scared off both tigers and defended her cubs.
‘A mother bear with two small cubs riding on her back was walking towards the mating pair of tigers and the tigress had gone to confront them,’ Singh said.
Then, with her cubs lying flat on her back and clinging on for safety, the bear charged at the tigress clawing at the big cat which itself appeared taken by surprise by the act of aggression. Pictured: The bear advances on the tiger that’s backing away
Despite being smaller than the tigers, the bear was able to to take control of the situation. With her cubs lying on her back, she charged at the tigers, and according the photographer took just over two minutes to scare the tigers away
Face off: In the pictures, the roaring bear is shown throwing its giant paws and knife-like claws at the tigers, who both soon decided were involved a fight not worth having before retreating away from the bear
‘By the time the bear realised that there were tigers close by, the tigress had got very close to them. That’s when the mother became aware of the tiger’s presence.’
‘The bear appeared to be in serious trouble and we expected the bear to bolt away but the bear had other plans. The bear cubs flattened themselves on the mother’s back while the mother charged at the approaching tigress.’
As the bear charged at the tigress, the male tiger who was observing the drama from a little distance decided to get involved, outnumbering the mother bear.
The violent scenes were captured by wildlife photographer Aditya Dicky Singh who said within two minutes, the smaller bear had scared off both tigers and defended her cubs. Pictured: Fur flowing, the bear charges at the huge cat
As the bear charged at the tigress, the male tiger who was observing the drama from a little distance decided to get involved, outnumbering the mother bear, but she was able to fend them both off by going ob the attack
You better run: The bear chases one of the tigers down the slope of the rocky peninsula. After their clash, the mother bear was able to escape with her cubs unharmed, with the two tigers slinking off sheepishly into the bush, their egos bruised
‘We were worried for the bear,’ Aditya said. ‘We had seriously underestimated the power of an angry mother but the young male star of southern Ranthambhore could not even budge the bear. These two had another loud slanging match that went in the bear’s favour.’
‘All this happened in exactly two minutes and 10 seconds. When the clock started it seemed that the mother bear had got herself into a very dangerous spot.
‘In ten seconds she had taken control and two minutes later she had forced two tigers to back off. The victor walked off leaving behind two sheepish cats.’
Sloth bears are native to the Indian sub-continent, and are listed as vulnerable on the The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. The feed on fruits, ants and termites.
Bengal Tigers, meanwhile, rank among the biggest wild cats in the world, and are also native to India with an estimated 2,500 to 3,300 left in the wild. Despite poaching and a loss of habitat, their numbers are recovering.
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