Watch: Tiger, bear square off in tense jungle encounter
Last month we shared rare footage showing a tiger chasing a sloth bear through an Indian jungle.
Tigers sometimes prey on sloth bears, but predation attempts are rarely witnessed.
The footage, credited to Siddharth Singh, was posted to X by Ramesh Pandey of the Indian Forest Service, who remarked: “Jungles never cease to amaze us.”
On Wednesday, Pandey shared the accompanying footage (also captured by Singh) showing a tiger and sloth bear squaring off on a remote path in a lowland jungle, as tourists in vehicles watched from opposite locations.
When a tiger and a sloth bear come across in a terai jungle.
Via: Siddharth Singh pic.twitter.com/tvynvwsDeG
— Ramesh Pandey (@rameshpandeyifs) May 2, 2024
This time, the tiger is wary and simply follows the bear, which at one point charges the tiger. The outcome of their encounter is unclear.
Although tigers occasionally prey on sloth bears, the two species typically thrive together in shared protected habitat, according to Wildlife SOS.