[애갤] 시베이라 호랑이vs 아무르 불곰

Before reading, there are a few things you need to know. 1. There's almost zero research on Siberian tigers, so most of this is compared against data from other big cat species. 2. Female Siberian tigers rarely hunt bears; it's mostly the males that do it. 3. There's info floating around that brown bears steal about 35% of tiger kills, but the English Wikipedia cites a 'Tiger + Lynx' stat, so we don't know the exact percentage for just tigers. 4. All brown bears confirmed to be hunted were either females or cubs (under 150kg).

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The individuals in the photos are all above-average specimens. First, you have to understand the physical builds of tigers vs. brown bears.

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To sum it up, for big cats over 200kg, muscle accounts for about 57% of their total body weight. Since most data is based on lions + Bengal tigers + Panthera species (including cave lions and American lions), it's not exact, but tigers are expected to be similar. The key metric here is that big cats have a much higher ratio of fast-twitch muscle fibers compared to slow-twitch. To simplify: Slow-twitch = great efficiency, good for the long haul, but hard to generate explosive power. Fast-twitch = insane explosive power compared to slow-twitch, but you gas out fast and it's hard to use long-term.

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According to a 2011 study on lions, up to 80% or more of their muscle mass is made of fast-twitch fibers, giving them that explosive ability to pounce and kill. This is why lions can occasionally take down hippos, rhinos, or young elephants much larger than themselves. Siberian tigers over 200kg are likely the same. However, we don't know the exact percentage for Siberians. On the other hand, a 2009 study on brown bears showed their fast-twitch ratio tops out at around 45%—half that of a tiger or lion (too much fast-twitch is bad for omnivores). But the bear's advantage is longevity and diet; 70-90% of their diet is plants, and they live longer, allowing them to grow much larger than tigers. Big cats mostly stop growing once they hit breeding age, but bears live 25-30 years and keep growing even after they can reproduce. (Females breed at 5, males at 7-9). This means a massive male bear can end up 70% larger than a max-sized tiger (200kg). Even with fewer fast-twitch fibers, male brown bears can reach 220-363kg, maxing out at 380kg. 20-year-old males frequently hit 270kg. That's why most male tigers target females or cubs under 150kg.

In the famous Sloth Bear vs. Tiger video, around the 30-second mark, the tiger fails an ambush and tries to fight the bear head-on. Eventually, the tiger gets pushed back and fails the hunt. Even though a female sloth bear is tiny (50-90kg, average 70kg), a tiger built on fast-twitch fibers is at a massive disadvantage if the fight drags on. In the video, the bear is small so it's whatever, but an old male brown bear can top 270kg, meaning the tiger could actually die. So how often do tigers hunt bears? The average rate is estimated at 8.8% (including black and brown bears), but it varies wildly from 2% to 21%, even up to 31% in extreme cases. Because of these variations, it's hard to be certain. So, if a male tiger wants to take a brown bear...

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As shown in this illustration, they ambush from behind, aiming for the back of the head or the neck vertebrae. People ask if a tiger can crush a brown bear's thick hide and bone—the answer is yes; almost all large apex predators, including big cats, have bone-crushing capabilities.

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This is an old photo of a 90kg black bear skull (gender unknown). Even for a brown bear, a tiger could at least deliver a massive shock to the neck vertebrae, even if it's difficult. Conclusion: To kill a brown bear, a tiger must use a rear ambush; it's much easier than a head-on fight. However, most prey are females or cubs, and in reality, adult male bears and adult male tigers tend to avoid each other to stay out of a fight. Source: Animal Fight Gallery