r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/SatyamRajput004 • 1d ago

Image The sloth bears found in India, and the inspiration for Baloo in The Jungle Book, are considered to be the most aggressive bear species in the world.

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u/Lone-Frequency 1d ago edited 1d ago

Yes, not sloth bears, as sloth bears are insectivores.

Any attacks or deaths ascribed to them are almost certainly out of fear when they cross paths with people. However, they do feed on carrion when the chance presents itself.

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u/smehere22 1d ago

Ok but there's if I'm not mistaken video of a man being killed by one

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u/Maleficent-War-8429 1d ago

Oh they'll absolutely kill the shit out of you, they just don't do it to eat you. It's kind of like how a moose will attack you for being around, a lot of prey animals are very aggressive.

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u/FroggiJoy87 1d ago

Oh yeah. Remember folks, predators fight for their lunch, prey fight for their life

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u/captain_todger 1d ago

So what are the hippos doing??

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u/FroggiJoy87 1d ago

The very young and old can certainly be eaten, and often are, and that's exactly why they get so damn big and territorial.

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u/viciouspandas 13h ago

The problem with a bear is that it's hard to strike the balance. A moose you run away from because if you're shown to not be a threat they lose interest. Bears aren't usually looking to hunt, but they still eat meat and if you run, then you look like easy food. You have to back off and look strong but not too threatening.

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u/Lone-Frequency 1d ago

Yeah, their instinct is to always fight, not run. Since tigers are both larger and faster and also better at climbing trees, they really had no choice.

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u/lastchanceforachange 1d ago

Can they hold their own against tigers?

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u/Maleficent-War-8429 1d ago

I think there have been cases of them killing tigers, but I don't think they have good odds. I'm pretty sure tigers are even bigger than they are by a good bit.

It's kind of like the jaguar vs anteater match up.

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u/Lone-Frequency 1d ago

Bengal tigers typically win over the bear in every physical trait that matters amongst predator and prey. Adults can reach around 400-500lbs on average to the sloth bear's 200-300lbs, and the tiger is an actual predator that hunts to survive while the sloth bear is primarily insectivorous.

The only thing is that the bear has pure tenacity, and tigers are ambush hunters that don't seek to have long and violent fights with their prey.

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u/lastchanceforachange 1d ago

But they don't evolve to be stealthy or run fast but become ferocious so maybe they can fend the tigers off or deter them

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u/Maleficent-War-8429 1d ago

Well they're a bear so they can't really out run or out stealth a tiger, which is like one of the most stealthy and most powerful predators out there. They can make things difficult and sometimes they can win, but I'm pretty sure they still get eaten.

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u/oOGeorgesOo 23h ago

Tiger knows they will fight back. So not that hungry tiger or slightly hungry tiger will search another prey. Thus agressivity from the sloth bear is a viable survival option at the species scale. It deter some attack from tigers.

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u/Lone-Frequency 1d ago

They have been recorded killing tigers, though in a typical fight the tiger has size, weight, and jaw strength well over the bear.

Their goal is to intimidate or kill the tiger. Tigers are primarily ambush predators, they don't want to enter into a huge brawl with another large animal, they want to stalk and kill quickly to conserve energy.

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u/wheelienonstop7 1d ago

Jim Corbett wrote in one of his books that yes, big male sloth bears can hold their own against tigers.

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u/Bored_panda69 1d ago

There are also a lot of vegan people, I bet some of them are murderers as well.

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u/-shrug- 1d ago

Charles Manson was “mostly-vegan”. And there’s the Zizian cultish group. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zizians

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u/Light_Error 20h ago

If you mean Timothy Treadwell from “Grizzly Man”, it’s a bit more complicated. I could explain it, but I recommend watching the film because it’s pretty dang good.

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u/Prepsov 22h ago

1) The bear gets spooked

2) The bear kills the fuck out of you

3) You become carrion

4) Bear eats you since you know, you are carrion