This Odd Interaction Between A Tiger And A Bear Needs Your Attention – News18

Language and communication can be termed as the most distinguished human traits. However, when it comes to animals, researchers believe that they communicate with each other through specialised signals like gestures, sounds, and chemicals, involving pheromones. While it is true that animals of the same species are capable of interacting with each other, it is rare to spot cross-species communication. Recently, a video that has left social media users stunned revealed an unusual interaction between a tiger and a bear.

The amazing visual footage was dropped on X (formerly known as Twitter) by Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Susanta Nanda on September 3. And it has rightfully grabbed the eyeballs of X users in no time. The tweet accompanying the post indicates that the clip was recorded during a wildlife safari at an undisclosed location. The video opens with a tiger walking along a jungle trail in a dense, forested region. Soon a black, grizzly bear joins the frame and appears to be following the tiger.

The tiger upon realising the bear is behind, turns around. Initially, the grizzly started expressing aggression, standing on its hind legs, as if ready to attack. But surprisingly, the tiger does not show any signs of hostility. Instead, it crouches on the grass-laden floor and continues wagging its tail. The bear once again gets up on its hind legs, but this time too it falls back, sensing that the tiger does not pose a threat to it. Soon after, the bear turns around and spots the humans on the safari. Presumably getting scared it disappears into the forest while the tiger sits majestically on the ground.

Soon after the video was uploaded on X, IFS officer Ramesh Pandey reposted the clip and shared some insights about the tiger and bear’s behaviour. “The hypotheses to put forth: 1. Tiger is a striped monk. 2. Bears do have poor eyesight as believed. Worth observing the animal behaviour including of humans,” he wrote.

Social media users rallied to the comment section to share their reactions. While one of them noted, “So lovely. They are after all friendly forest friends,” another quipped, “Highly impressive gesture by both the tiger and the bear. These qualities unveil their sense of considerateness and sensitivity towards each other.” A third individual called the animals to be “Sher Khan and Ballu (from The Jungle Book) in the alternative universe.”

So far, the video has received over 66k views on the microblogging platform.