Fighting bears fall from sheer mountain cliff, Spanish video shows. Only one survived
Two brown bears locked in battle tumbled off of a sheer cliff in the mountains of northern Spain, video shared June 7 by Spanish wildlife officials shows, but only one walked away from the long fall.
In the video, captured by wildlife enthusiasts in the region of Castile and Leon, a mother bear is seen defending herself, and her cub, from an aggressive male, according to officials.
But during the struggle, both bears fall “several tens of meters” onto the rocky ground below, according to a June 6 release.
Upon impact, the smaller female bear slides and rolls down the terrain for close to 10 seconds before coming to a stop, and slowly standing back up. Uphill, the male has already regained his footing, but is rooted in place, seemingly dazed.
Neither shows any interest in continuing the fight.
The mother bear survived the fall, but the male — which rangers say weighed 478 pounds — died shortly after, a release said.
After seeing the video, rangers began searching the area for the bears and confirmed the male’s death.
They followed a trail of blood leading to a cave where the injured mother bear had taken refuge, the release said. The cave is being monitored, in order to determine the extent and severity of the bear’s injuries.
Her cub was found nearby and captured by a team of rangers, veterinarians and others equipped with tranquilizer rifles, according to officials. It will be cared for until it is old enough and large enough to be released back into the wild.
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