Bear Cub Gets a Rude Awakening When a Mother Moose Charges At Him

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The only way that bear cubs can learn to hunt effectively is by practicing their skills. Finding some baby prey that you can overpower is a great opportunity for bear cubs. The problem with baby prey is that they have Moms! You won’t want to miss what happened when a mama moose discovered her baby being attacked by a young bear in the video above.

Baby Bear Attacks Baby Moose

The short YouTube video clip at the top of this blog post shows two young animals who are locked in a vicious fight. It was shared by the Nature is Metal channel and has already been viewed over 2.5 million times and received 53,000 likes. The channel describes itself as “a love letter to mother nature’s bloodthirsty predisposition”. It focuses on the predator-prey relationship.

Mama Moose to the Rescue!

At the start of the clip, it looks as if the baby bear is going to overpower the moose calf successfully. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, black bears are one of the most important predators of moose calves in some parts of Alaska. These are areas where grizzly bears are not so common. In these areas, black bears can kill about 40 percent of all moose calves. Whilst most of the kills are carried out by adult male black bears, the above clip shows us that bear cubs are willing to have a go too!

Black bears are taking a risk by attacking moose calves because moose mothers are no pushovers. In the clip above, we see her racing towards the young animals, probably alerted by the cries of her calf. The bear is startled enough to release its grip. Then the moose calf manages to get to its feet and escape. A little later we see the baby bear on its own so it’s safe to assume the rescue was successful!

Are Mother Moose Scary?

Yes, they are! And they don’t just present a threat to cheeky bear cubs, they can also injure humans. According to the Utah Division of Wildlife, there are some things that you can do to keep yourself safe around moose. The first piece of advice is to give moose a lot of space. Do not try to approach or feed them. If they charge at you, try to hide behind something large and solid. However, if you are out in the open and a moose knocks you down, the best thing to do is curl into a ball. Protect your head until they lose interest and walk away.