Bear and wolf attack mother and baby elk at the same time

Rare footage shows a brown bear charging at a mother elk, while a wolf takes the opportunity to chase the cub.

Bear and wolf attack mother and baby elk at the same time

Mother moose and her calf encounter brown bear and gray wolf in the Alaskan wilderness. Video : Alaska Department of Fish and Wildlife

The Alaska Department of Fish and Wildlife shared rare footage captured by a camera trap in Glacier Bay National Park, which preserves more than 4,500 square miles of forests, mountains and coastline in southeastern Alaska, US, Live Science reported on September 9.

At the beginning of the film, a female Eurasian moose and her calf are leisurely strolling through the night. But the next day, two creatures with glowing eyes charge into the tall grass nearby. Slowing down, it becomes clear that one of the eyes belongs to a brown bear ( Ursus arctos ), which leaps up and attacks the mother moose. As this struggle takes place, the “owner” of the second eye – a grey wolf ( Canis lupus ) – chases the moose calf off-screen.

In the wild, brown bears and gray wolves will sometimes chase moose calves in an attempt to eat them. In this case, the two predators likely weren’t working together, but they were aware of each other’s presence, said Rick Steiner, a conservationist and environmental consultant who has worked in Alaska for decades.

Steiner said the gray wolf may have been tracking the brown bear, and there were other wolves nearby but out of the frame. As the mother moose fought off the brown bear, the wolf took advantage of the unprotected calf and pounced.

The footage ends a few seconds later, and it’s unclear which animal won. However, Steiner believes that an adult moose – which can grow to around 6 feet tall and has a powerful kick – would have the upper hand over a brown bear, especially since the bear appears to be immature.

The mother moose will then likely run after her calf and fight off one or more wolves. She may also gain the upper hand again in this fight. "An adult moose is a formidable opponent for any animal," Steiner says.

Both brown bears and gray wolves once had very wide ranges in North America, Europe, and Asia, but today they live mainly in more northerly and isolated areas. Elsewhere, they have been hunted to extinction.

"The film reminds us that wild Alaska is a wonderful place and that there are many interactions between wild animals here. These lands are national treasures that need to be protected, nurtured and kept wild," Steiner said.

Thu Thao (According to Live Science )

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