Watch This Intense Battle Between Tiger And Mama Bear Protecting Her Cub

This amazing video shot in Taboda National Park in the Indian state of Maharashtra managed to capture a violent battle between an adult tiger and a sloth bear. The video which was shot by a tourist group leader on safari and begins with the tiger initially chasing the bear away. At first the bear retreats and then launches its own counter attack, charging back at the tiger. This is certainly not a play fight. As the video continues, it shows the tiger attempting to pin down the bear, with the bear valiantly trying to escape its grip.

Mother’s instinct

The next few minutes are quite intense as both bear and tiger viciously charge at one another. Nature expert Akshay Kumar says the tiger is a 7-year-old named Matkasur and is the dominant male in the park and has clearly marked his territory which includes a body of water. The female sloth bear can be seen heading towards the water with her cub in tow when the tiger who was cooling off in the water launched his attack. As you would expect, the mother bear was simply trying to protect her cub so fought back with equal intensity. Sloth bears are not a territorial species so it was clearly a motherly instinct to defend her cub.

The bear’s fur saved her

The young cub fled the scene during the fight, whilst both bear and tiger sustained injuries. Mr Kumar who actually shot the video was leading a safari tour when they chanced upon the encounter between the two predators. As you would expect the video has gone viral. Experts say sloth bears are easy prey because they tire easily and cannot outrun a tiger. Whilst the bear clearly was injured her saving grace was her fur. This is because the hair on the body of a bear does not allow tigers to get a firm grip