Bears are smart.
Like you, they prefer to avoid peril and injury. That's why the massive brown bears in Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve, of Fat Bear Week internet-fame, usually settle conflicts without brawling. Already on the livestreamed explore.org web cams this season, viewers have witnessed quite a few bear disagreements. But no brutal fights.
Instead, the bears fight through intimidating behavior. To us, these encounters might look like aggressive stand-offs.
"Although they will fight over food, dominance, and mating opportunities (the latter being restricted to males), most conflicts between bears are resolved without a physical fight but through a show of body size, body posture, and vocalizations," explained Mike Fitz, a former park ranger at Katmai and now a resident naturalist for explore.org. Fitz has written a new book about Katmai's fat bears.
The recent bear disagreement below, between the large male bears Popeye (right) and Walker (left), is a good example.
Who do you think won this conflict between the two similarly-sized bears, and thus asserted his dominance over the other bear?
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The winner: Walker.
Walker vocalized and postured at Popeye, forcing Popeye toward the edge of the waterfall. In doing so, Walker established his dominance over Popeye, granting Walker access to better fishing spots and mating opportunities.
"Posturing is an important way for bears to establish dominance," said Fitz. "An assertive, dominant bear approaches an opponent directly, often with a focused look and forward-facing ears. These bears will sometimes charge or run at their opponent."
Aggressive posturing can even alter the fat bear hierarchy. In late June, giant bear 747 (the winner of last year's Fat Bear Week) used intimidation to displace bear 856 from a prime fishing spot. This was no small victory. For most of the last decade, bear 856 has been the most dominant bear of the Brooks River, where the bears catch and devour 4,500-calorie salmon throughout the summer. "Bear 856 is so dominant that he rarely needs to fight," Mashable wrote last fall.
But bear 747 recently changed that. As seen below, bear 747 (left) approaches bear 856 and displaces him, without a physical brawl.
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Of course, sometimes physical fights happen — and these encounters can be violent. In 2019, bear 747 got walloped by bear 68. They vied for the best fishing spot, and their conflict escalated. Bear 68 held bear 747 down in the river, and left 747 bloodied.
But now two years later, bear 747 has established dominance over the river, likely without much, if any, physical conflict. His size certainly plays a role. "Body size helps bears determine dominance perhaps more than any other factor," said Fitz.
Fat bear season is just ramping up, so expect more disagreements, intimidation, and posturing. You, like us, can watch these challenges live.
[Note: The livestreamed cams were temporarily down as of July 9, 2021. Overall, the livestream from extremely remote Alaska is remarkably reliable.]
Topics Animals
