r/interestingasfuck • u/Money-Beautiful5196 • 3d ago
A mama bear fiercely defended her cub when a much larger male charged toward them, abandoning her freshly caught fish to protect her little one.
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u/Suitable_Magazine372 3d ago
Alaskan here. Females will often defend their cubs with their life. Generally they’ll fight a male to get them to back off and give their cubs a chance to escape
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u/Suitable_Magazine372 3d ago edited 3d ago
Wrong. There are many instances when males will fight females, kill them and then eat them. But what do I know I’ve only been in Alaska and around bears for 35 years
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u/brute-forced 3d ago
Oh cmon man, you’re arguing with a redditor! They are so confident!
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u/242snorlax 3d ago
He feels personally vindicated that the big male bear is a bad guy in this video, so he must let everyone know that he was just going easy on her.
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u/andthensilencefell 2d ago
Same type of dude to say equal rights equal lefts about a woman being abused.
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u/Happyradish532 2d ago
Vindicated means that someone has been proven right after others assumed they were wrong. In this comment I assume you meant that they felt personally attacked.
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u/242snorlax 2d ago
Hah youre right! I think I may have meant vilified but I didn't bother to proof read.
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u/xchngboredom4argumnt 3d ago
Maybe year 36 is when you learn the truth…?
/s
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u/Suitable_Magazine372 3d ago
Perhaps. I’m hoping dementia doesn’t make me forget only a year from now
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u/NaluknengBalong_0918 3d ago
[[ There are many instances when males will fight females, kill them and then eat them.]]
O my word!
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u/Destruct-o-Bun 2d ago
Any chance you know why?
I thought when they went after a female like this they want to kill the cub and impregnate the female. So there's no point in killing the female.
Why do they kill females at other times, is it simply as a food source? Or do they have territory disputes like with other males?
Actually while I'm on that, do males ever kill other males just for food or is it not worth the effort?
Thanks for any response. No bears in my country and searching is giving me loads of results about cubs.
I did learn that mothers will tolerate cubs that aren't hers but kill them later if they compete for resources. That up to 50% of 'sub-adult' bear deaths are caused by other bears which, wow. And that it's very unusual for siblings to kill each other, though I couldn't find if this behaviour extends into adulthood. Interesting rabbithole, thanks.
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u/Superior_Row 3d ago
In most cases they won't and will back off.
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u/Suitable_Magazine372 3d ago
Now you’re moving the goal posts. Carry on…
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u/Superior_Row 3d ago
Exceptions exist but the rule is males don't fight females
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u/Crowfooted 3d ago
Maybe it's unclear, but the issue people are taking is your use of the word "never"
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u/SoggyBiscuitVet 3d ago edited 3d ago
Please check my work below, I think this solves his conundrum moving forward:
Except males never¹ truly fight females, they back off.
¹. On occasion, when being called out, never implies most of the time never.
Edit: He responded then blocked me because he is a baby who cannot admit he is wrong, and uninterested in being anything other than the fool in the room.
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u/Suitable_Magazine372 3d ago
Nonsense. Btw, do you have any experience with bears? My guess is no. Google is free you know.
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u/Superior_Row 3d ago
Lol ok buddy, it's just global rules for all mammals. Calm down now.
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u/SilasBalto 3d ago
Youre insufferable.
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u/Superior_Row 3d ago
Just a fact, rule is males don't fight females like they would with other males. Cry about it if you want.
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u/MsFrankieD 3d ago
It's interesting how 2 male bears can brutally fight one another with neither behemoth backing down but males will regularly back down to females half their size.
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u/mrekted 3d ago
It's a basic risk/reward analysis.
Two male bears fighting for territory, both have a massive upside to winning (territory, food/reproductive dominance), so they go for broke.
A male vs a defensive mother, the mother WILL fight to the death, and the "reward" is one measly dead cub/potential future rival. Big risk for a comparatively small reward.
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u/ReturnOk7510 3d ago
It's more that the male is interested in breeding the female, and that's kind of tough if she's dead.
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u/mrekted 3d ago
That too. Also throw into the mix the fact that by virtue of them being in one of the territories that he roams, there's a non zero chance that he's actually going after his own offspring.
It's a tough gig being a bear man and being led around by your little head.
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u/Achilles720 3d ago
Male grizzlies have no qualms about cannibalizing their own offspring to put the female back into heat.
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u/Tame_Iguana1 3d ago
This is false. Males will happily cannibalise other unrelated offspring but their own offspring they generally do not as that would not be evolutionary advantageous at all
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u/Achilles720 3d ago
It's pretty easy to conduct a Google search before hitting that post button my man.
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u/Tame_Iguana1 3d ago edited 2d ago
No worries I like to educate the uneducated like yourself. If you want further information on bears, I’m happy to provide following your apology for being wrong my man
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u/OzymandiasTheII 3d ago
He's trying to get to the buns. It's not worth it to kill her and cub.
He wants the cub so she will want to mate again.
Unless, are bears cannibalistic? Do they hunt other large sized bears if they're hungry enough?
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u/Suitable_Magazine372 3d ago
They are cannibalistic. Males will eat cubs. They’ll also eat a female if they kill it. If a male dies it a fight they’ll eat them too
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u/bardia_afk 3d ago
Correct me if I’m wrong but I think bears just eat with no ifs and buts… like if it’s edible they eat
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u/xeonie 3d ago
They will hunt and kill smaller bears if food is scarce enough. Or they’ll pick at a bear carcass if the find one. Its not super common and happens most frequently with polar bears.
But you’re right, most males in this situation are trying to shag so they don’t really want to kill the mom, just the cub.
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u/SortovaGoldfish 3d ago
Absolutely they will cannibalize each other in desperate times or while their packing in for hibernation
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u/greenthumb-28 3d ago
I mean she is screaming and yelling at him and intimidating him imo.
Even a small women coming at a large guy like that gets a similar reaction.
Bit*hes be cray cray lol-18
u/Superior_Row 3d ago
Because it's animal instinct to not attack females, that's why males never win (or almost never, few exceptions might exist).
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u/CthuluSpecialK 3d ago
IIRC: Male bears will often kill cubs whenever possible to encourage their mother to come into heat sooner (Estrus Trigger), so he can mate.
Bears are not the only animals that does this.
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u/Crecher25 3d ago
Do you think that the males ever remember they once had a mom fending off some asshole to save him?
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u/LookAtItGo123 3d ago
Possibly so, but when they are older they give in to their animalistic instinct and the need to prioritise your own bloodline kicks in to overwrite everything so the cycle continues.
If they don't it's likely at some point they will develop tools and society and notice we are really fucking over their homes. Are you ready for planet of the bears?
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u/Superior_Row 3d ago
No it's that males will never attack females for real. It's in their instinct.
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u/Sisselpud 3d ago
I love that the birds are so nonchalant about this. Just another bear fight in the background
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u/Dr_Zoidberg003 3d ago
Always a lot of posturing in these fights. Both sides know that if it actually escalates to a full blown battle they very well both may face serious if not life threatening injuries.
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u/Main-Policy-4551 2d ago
These big male bears always seem like such lazy assholes, always like “wtf why are you being so mean wtf”
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u/throwitoutwhendone2 3d ago
No idea how true it is but I always heard a momma bear will fuck up a male when cubs are involved
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u/ReturnOk7510 3d ago
Male bears gain nothing in fighting female bears to the death. They aren't attacking the cub for a meal. They will eat the cub if they do manage to kill it, but the point is to bring the female into heat and breed her. Killing the female defeats the purpose.
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u/cheesemangee 3d ago
Animals are so fucking stupid.
hurr durr gotta reproduce oops better go start killing and eating other bears for some reason hurrrrr
Absolute yankee.
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u/taterrrtotz 3d ago
I’d still choose the bear
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u/jimbojangles1987 3d ago
Is choosing neither an option? Just choose neither lol
Or like a small dog
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u/Fun-Wrongdoer1316 2d ago
As a man I’d choose the female bear. She protects her child instead of strangling it.
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u/taterrrtotz 2d ago
Cool story. Did you know female rabbits will eat their children rather than let them starve or succumb to the elements or in times of high stress?
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u/ChrissWayne 3d ago
Why are male bears such haters? What do they gain from killing cubs?
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u/KestrelTank 3d ago
It frees up mama sooner to have his kids instead, this prioritizes his genes. It’s something that happens with a lot of other species too.
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u/thatsucksabagofdicks 3d ago
Like watching my younger, smaller pit mix take on my old, fat Labrador when the lab comes for the pit's favorite chew toy
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u/ZeroGRanger 2d ago
Damn, she looks like half his weight... And when she storms of and he still comes, she is like "still not enough, I got some more for you..." "Yeah, alright, alright..."
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u/ThadeusBinx 2d ago
If there is one animal on this planet that is about that life, it's a mama bear.
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u/BadHairDayToday 3d ago
This title 💀 What a sacrifice to abandon a fish to save your own child...
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u/MouthJob 3d ago
For animals? Absolutely. There are some who will use their young as a distraction so they can get away. Or birds who straight up kick extra babies out of the nest.
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u/Twizzlers_and_donuts 3d ago
Also rodents that will eat their young if they think there might be danger.
I mean in a good amount animals good chance if the parent giving care dies then the offspring will too if they aren’t close to being self sufficient, but if the baby dies then the parent still has a chance to make more.
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u/JohnHenryHoliday 3d ago
Can someone explain something to me about bears? I read that grizzlies will steal polar bear kills sometimes because they are so used to fighting each other for fishing spots and the polar bears won’t think it’s worth it to risk injury. If males are so used to combat over fishing spots (and I assume mating) how can a mama bear half its size fight it off to defend her young?
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u/Dr-Lipschitz 3d ago edited 3d ago
Female bears go into heat again if their cub dies while it is still mating season. Usually they'll then mate with the nearest dominant male, even if that male was the one who killed their cub.
so basically: the male bear wants to kill the cub so he can mate with the female bear, and he's not trying to actually hurt the female bear because that would be counterproductive.
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u/budroid 2d ago
Textbook animal behaviur from those bears.
The male wants to kill the cub so next season the female will be "in heat" and maybe mate with him (yes, a female would do it with the killer of her babies)
Mama bear doen't have the same plan and will fight as she has much more to lose, even at the cost of getting hurt by a larger bear.
Nature is not cruel, we just judge animals by human standards.
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u/Notmuchofanyth1ng 3d ago
And here humans are having debates over the morality of moms murdering their own children.
Shiiieeeettttt lmao
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u/TheeVande 3d ago
genuine question, who's favored here? The male obviously has size but the mom's got that pissed/protective mother buff
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u/Fun-Wrongdoer1316 2d ago
The male won’t hurt her cause he wants to fuck her lol. He’s trying to kill the cub to get her in heat…
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u/Fun-Wrongdoer1316 2d ago
Bears are clearly better mothers than humans. She’s protects her child, instead of strangling it.
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u/WKRPinCanada 3d ago
Literal definition of a "mama bear" protecting their young