In the taiga, broadleaf and deciduous forests in the far southeastern region of Russia live a species unique to the forest ecosystem - the "Siberian tiger", also known as the "Siberian tiger" or "Amur tiger" "There are two kinds of bears living in the habitat of the Siberian tiger, namely the Ussuri brown bear and the Asiatic black bear. Because these three species share the same habitat, tigers and bears come into contact with each other, forming a complex relationship between these species.
▲Image of three animals under the same tree
Next, this article will focus on answering questions that are often distorted in the relationship between bears and tigers: 1. Can bears be killed? tiger? 2. In the relationship between bears and tigers, does the bear have the initiative? 3. Is tiger in the bear’s diet? 4. Can a tiger hunt a hibernating adult male brown bear? 5. The truth about Tiger Dale’s deeds! 6. Why do brown bears kill less tigers than tigers kill bears?
The content quoted in this article all comes from scientific research papers. Its authenticity and reliability are by no means comparable to the social account tweets, media online articles, street stall articles, and pinyin readings admired by a certain group. 1. Can a bear kill a tiger?
The Amur Tiger Project monograph "Chapter 11: Survival rates and causes of death of Amur tigers in and near the Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve" states: Black bears are also potential predators of tiger cubs one. But black bears are usually a much weaker species than tigers and do not have the ability to kill adult tigers. Black bears have never been reported to kill tigers, and black bears may eat dead tiger carcasses.
▲Potential predators of tigers and their cubs include black bears
The scientific paper only records that brown bears have the ability to kill adult tigers. In the 2010 scientific research paper "Basic Types of Interspecies Relationships between Brown Bears in the Sikhote-Alin Region", he wrote:
"Mammals are often hunted by brown bears. This predator can capture its survival Any animal within the range, even a tiger.”
▲The prey killed by brown bears includes Siberian tigers
The paper also includes a tiger skeleton that was eaten by brown bears (pictured below). ). This is the conclusion given by the scientific research paper. Its authenticity and reliability cannot be compared with the random tweets posted by the Amur Tiger Center on its social account.
▲Tiger bones eaten by brown bears
Speaking of the media account tweet of the Amur Tiger Center, domestic groups transformed it into "Tiger can defeat any bear". In the reading "Amur Tiger: The Uncrowned King of the Taiga" later published by the Amur Tiger Center, the statement is only: "When meeting a large adult tiger, the bear already has fewer chances." There is no such thing as "a tiger can defeat any bear" "The meaning is completely the result of a certain group of people's imagination. After talking about the tweets, let’s continue to look at the truth presented in the scientific research papers.
In the 2005 thesis "Chapter 19: The Relationship between the Amur Tiger and Brown Bears and Black Bears" in the Amur Tiger Project, and the 2006 thesis "Brown Bears in Sikhote-Alin: Ecology, Behavior, Conservation and Economy" Utilization" and the 2017 paper "Interspecific Relationship between Amur Tigers, Brown Bears, and Asian Black Bears" both pointed out:
"Tiger will become food for bears. There are 12 cases of brown bears killing tigers, 6 of which One case was an adult tiger, four cases were cubs, and the other two cases did not indicate their age."
▲2005 Amur Tiger Project Monograph Chapter 19
Brown bears have the ability to kill adult tigers. It is fully confirmed by scientific research literature and supported by specific examples. The answer is yes, without a doubt. There will also be an impact on tiger numbers if there are fewer tigers in total, but brown bears will help eliminate tigers that are potentially dangerous to humans.
▲2017 "Species of Amur Tigers, Brown Bears, and Asian Black Bears"
Paper content: "When the total number of tigers is relatively small, the death of some individuals will significantly affect the population status. However, fights with brown bears are more likely to result in the death of some old, injured, or weak individuals; therefore, brown bears will contribute to the elimination of tigers that are potentially dangerous to humans (Kostoglod, 1981).
Predation by brown bears is one of the causes of death of tiger cubs. Gorokhov (1977) counted 14 tiger cubs that died from 1951 to 1972, and 3 of them were killed by brown bears. "2. In the relationship between bears and tigers, does the bear have the initiative?
A widely circulated opinion on the Internet is that: "In the battle between bears and tigers, the tiger can completely rely on its speed advantage to take the initiative in the battle. , to put it simply, fight if you can, run away if you can't, advance and retreat freely, and be invincible by nature. ”
In fact, this view is taken for granted and is divorced from reality. After all, there is no escape from the tiger speed theory, tiger agility theory and tiger skill theory.
These views believe that tigers are fast and have absolute control of the battlefield. They can fight if they can beat them, but they can run if they can't. Is this really the case?
In fact, in scientific research papers? The real answer has already been given. The truth is far scarier than the conclusion drawn from the head slap.
Thesis content: "In some cases, brown bears can hunt tigers for a long time and be successful." ”
Brown bears can hunt tigers for a long time and succeed, and the following paper gives two specific examples.
▲Brown bears chase tigers for long distances and will Tiger torn into pieces
Paper content: "Kostoglod (1981) described an incident in which a large brown bear chased a male tiger (the tiger's front pad width was 10.5 cm, which should belong to a young male tiger). The bear continued to stalk Tiger exceeds 14 kilometers. Finally, the tiger crossed an icy river with many human footprints on it, and the bear stopped pursuing it. In another incident, the remains of a tiger that had been eaten by a bear were found (Kostoglod, 1981). Several miles of river beach were covered with predator tracks. The tiger circled and turned in a circle, trying to escape capture, but in the end Still caught and torn apart. ”
These two examples vividly demonstrate the terror of brown bears. They have the initiative when facing tigers. One example shows that brown bears chased tigers for a distance of 14 kilometers. It can be seen that brown bears Strong endurance and persistence.
The proportion of brown bears eating meat during their entire active period is 21.6, and the proportion of vegetarian food is 78.4. However, when the famine years come, the brown bears’ favorite nuts and acorns fail, and the ungulates eat 21.6%. The number of animals has decreased, and the survival crisis is imminent. Hunger forces the "Siberian hamster" to transform into the "big devil in the taiga". At this time, they will also unceremoniously attack the "uncrowned king of the taiga" - the tiger. Killer with pain. Although tiger is the supreme belief of a certain group, nothing is offended in front of hungry brown bears. 3. Is tiger in the diet of bears?
You can often hear it on the Internet. There are statements like: "Brown bears are in the tiger's diet", "Brown bears are just the tiger's food", etc. The central idea is "the tiger eats the brown bear, so the tiger is invincible". According to scientific research, bears are indeed in the tiger's diet. It occupies a certain proportion, but its appearance in the recipe does not mean that the tiger has killed the bear it eats, nor can it be concluded that one is better than the other! Note that scavenging is a wider source of food. It does not mean killing.
▲ "Comparative Study on the Dietary Composition of Brown Bears and Asian Black Bears in the Central Sikhote-Alin Region"
If eating it means it is in the diet, then Tiger is definitely in the brown bear's diet. Not only that, according to research in scientific research papers, tigers also occupy a certain proportion in the brown bear's diet. In the same way, tigers are also in the brown bear's diet, but it does not mean that the brown bear killed it. The tigers eaten!
▲The components of the diet of bears (Part 2)
According to the 2015 paper "Comparative study of the diet composition of brown bears and Asian black bears in the Sikhote-Alin area" ", tiger accounts for 1.7 of the brown bear's spring diet, and the brown bear's meat ratio at this time is 32.4. Tiger accounts for 0.4 of the brown bear's entire active period diet, and the brown bear's meat ratio during the entire active period is 21.6. 4. Tigers can kill. Hibernating adult male brown bears?
There is a view that tigers can hunt adult male brown bears in hibernation. In fact, this is another assumption and has no basis.
The hibernation of bears is completely different from that of cold-blooded animals. Bears can wake up at any time during hibernation. Tigers actually hunt hibernating bears, but not all hibernating bears.
▲2017 paper
Paper content: "When tigers encounter hibernating bears, they do not always dare to attack. Such an incident was observed in the border area: an adult female tiger I found a big male bear sleeping in the cave. Instead of trying to attack, I retreated. A tiger passed by and saw the big male bear hibernating in the open cave. The tiger suddenly turned around 25 meters away from the cave and followed himself. The tracks left in the opposite direction (Yudakov, Nikolaev, 1987)."
The above describes two cases of tigers encountering hibernating adult male brown bears. The key to a tiger hunting a hibernating bear lies in the size of the bear. Even if a very large adult male brown bear is hibernating, the tiger will not dare to attack.
▲No adult male brown bears were killed by tigers
In the Amur Tiger Project monograph "Chapter 19: The Relationship between Amur Tigers and Brown Bears and Black Bears", "Sikhot-Alin" "Brown Bears: Ecology, Behavior, Conservation and Economic Utilization" all pointed out:
"Only female brown bears and cubs were killed by tigers, and no adult male brown bears were killed." 5. The truth about Tiger Dell!
A very powerful tiger was observed during the Amur Tiger Project that began in 1992. It was named Dale and numbered M20. M20 was named Dale to commemorate Dale Mikwe, the team leader of the Amur Tiger Project. Dale Miquelle. Dyer weighs around 202 kilograms, making him almost the largest tiger discovered during the Amur Tiger Project.
▲Dale Miquel
During the life of Tiger Dale, he killed 5 bears (3 adult female brown bears, 1 2-year-old brown bear and 1 black bear) . Moreover, black bears and adult female brown bears are usually smaller than adult male tigers. In Dale's life, there was no exact record of killing a bear of the same weight, nor of a bear exceeding his own weight.
Dell is a tiger wearing a radio collar. Researchers have a very detailed understanding of its life. The number of 5 bears it holds has been called "very powerful" and it has become the Amur tiger. Engineering's most iconic and iconic tiger.
As for the bloody plot of "Dell killed the bear to avenge the tigress" fabricated by the marketing account, it is purely a fabrication and has never been recorded in the scientific examination. Dell's process of killing bears is described in detail in two cases in the 2005 Amur Tiger Project monograph "Chapter 19: The Relationship between Amur Tigers and Brown Bears and Black Bears"
The content of the paper: "July 1997, The adult male tiger M20 attacked a female brown bear and a fierce fight ensued, resulting in the destruction of most shrubs within a 10×2 meter area in the forest. There were a large number of bear hair fragments dropped at the scene of the fight, as well as many tiger hair fragments. There was blood on the ground and trees within a 30-meter area of ??the fight scene.
Thesis content: "No bears were found killed by tigers in their hibernation dens. However, on December 5, 1998, a male tiger (M20) killed an adult male black bear next to a birch tree. The bear was still weak at the time of the attack and had only temporarily left its den. The bear tried to escape by climbing a poplar tree, but the tiger jumped up and dragged him down. The tiger dragged the bear carcass 40 meters away from the original place and ate it for five days. "
After sorting through Tiger Dell's strong record, it is not difficult to find that even though he is as strong as Dell, he has never challenged an adult male brown bear, let alone defeated a brown bear of the same weight or larger than himself.
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It is said that Tiger Dale fell into the glacier and drowned in March 2000. The legendary tiger king of a generation left the world with such an ending. It makes people sigh and sigh. 6. Why do brown bears kill so many tigers? Less than a tiger kills a bear?
The root cause of this problem is the difference in the feeding habits of tigers and bears, not who is stronger!
The competition for survival is not a mechanical beast. A pure carnivorous active predator, when a tiger encounters a bear that is weaker than itself, it will seize this precious hunting opportunity, and the tiger will usually take the initiative to attack.
However, both brown bears and Asiatic black bears are mainly vegetarian, with the vegetarian ratios of the two bears reaching 78.4 and 94.1 respectively. Bears’ favorite food is nuts and acorns, not tigers. In normal years, bears will follow tigers, ready to scavenge and steal tiger prey. But in years of famine, brown bears will become aggressive and aggressive, resulting in brown bears actively attacking tigers.
Thesis content: "Among the 45 cases of conflict between brown bears and tigers, the tiger took the initiative to attack in 13 cases, and the brown bear took the initiative to attack in 8 cases. In 51.1 cases, the tiger won, and in 26.7 cases, the tiger won. The bear won, and in the 22.2 case, there was no winner."
At this time, someone pointed out that among the 45 cases of conflict between brown bears and tigers, the tiger had a higher winning rate and the number of tigers killing brown bears was higher. So the tiger is stronger than the brown bear. However, tigers are active predators that eat pure carnivores, while brown bears are scavenger robbers with a vegetarian diet of 78.4%. Brown bears are much less active in predators than tigers. The fact that a highly vegetarian brown bear actively attacked tigers eight times is already quite high.
▲What threats does the baby bear pose?
It should be noted that these examples do not indicate the physical data and age data of both parties. Without the physical data of both parties, simply comparing numbers is an attempt to change the concept. Take a 10-kilogram brown bear baby as an example. No matter how many there are, it will not be an opponent for an adult, let alone a tiger.
The upper limit of the weight of the Ussuri brown bear is higher, but there are few extremely heavy individuals. Compared with the Kodiak brown bear, Katmai brown bear, and Kamchatka brown bear, the Ussuri brown bear is considered to be smaller in size. A relatively small subspecies. The weight of polar bears is even more spectacular. In some areas, the average weight of an adult male polar bear can exceed half a ton.
So, the Siberian tiger, the largest tiger subspecies, is still insurmountable when facing the medium-sized Ussuri brown bear, let alone the larger brown bear subspecies, or even larger polar bear.