CW: Discussion of Bear Violence
Last night, 164 Bucky Dent surprise-attacked 148, a smaller sow. Everyone is okay and neither bear is seriously injured, but it was surprising and upsetting to some cam viewers.
There have been a lot of questions about it from within the community, and since there is a text-based Q&A today, Mike Fitz provided his thoughts. As they are very similar to my own and written better than I would have written them, I'm going to quote him instead of trying to write up my own thing.
link to his comment here -- note that this quote is an excerpt from a longer comment, and that the original comment includes a link to video of the incident at the bottom.
Mike Fitz:
Lots of people have been wondering about 164’s surprise attack on a smaller bear—a female numbered 148. Although that behavior from 164 might appear to contrast with his more easy-going nature, it is in line with the behavior displayed by many large dominant male bears. The disposition and personalities of bears change as they mature. We’re seeing that with 164. Male bears are much less likely to play as they grow into large adults, for example, and more likely to assert their strength and power. 164 has become a very large male during the last two years. He's expressing behaviors associated with large, dominant males. Bears are typically risk averse, so they avoid positioning themselves in ways that expose them to attack. The smaller bear didn't see 164's approach or she would've fled or turned to face him sooner. 164 saw a bear in a vulnerable spot. We don't know what he was thinking or feeling, but he saw a bear in a vulnerable position and chose to express his dominance. Bears interact like this all the time. Usually there's no physical violence. The difference this time was that the smaller bear didn't see 164 before it was too late. I think that we might expect to see 164 express more assertive and aggressive behavior as he continues to grow, change, and push the limits of his dominance. Consider how much human personalities change as we mature. I know I am very different than when I was younger. Bears are like that too. 164 story will help us better understand the changes experienced by maturing male bears.
