By Alex Jones
WINCE-INDUCING pictures show two brother bears coming to blows in an epic TWENTY-MINUTE brawl on an Alaskan shore.
The fight, between two sub-adult Kodiak bears, show the brothers exposing their huge fangs; swiping each other with hefty slashes with their claws; and pushing each other down into the icy waters.
The captivating shots were snapped by wildlife photographer and limo driver, Danny Sullivan (58) from Los Angeles, California, USA, on one of his regular visits to remote Alaska to capture the wildlife on camera. This epic sighting took place on the banks of Kodiak Island, home to the largest brown bears on Earth.
“The bears were just doing what bears do,” he said.
“The young bears are either fishing, fighting or resting. They didn’t pull any punches though, their teeth were bared, the claws were scraping down each other’s back… If they had attacked a human they’d be dead, no doubt about it. Our skin can be cut by a piece of paper, but these guys are just something else, they just don’t seem to be effected by these big and powerful blows raining down on them.”
Brown bears can reach a staggering eight feet tall and weigh up to a whopping 50 stone. They can reach speeds of 30 miles per hour despite their vast bulk. These juvenile cubs were still with their mother but expected to head out into the world on their own in the near future. Playfighting and scrapping allows the bears to train for any fights they may face in the coming years, where asserting dominance is essential if a male bear is to mate or feed.
“They were testing their strength,” Sullivan added, who uses the Instagram handle @sullyimages.
“Odds are that’ll they’ll face a lot more fights soon enough and they have to be prepared for that. This fight went on for a good 15-20 minutes with only a few short pauses. It was an incredible thing to see, if not a little intimidating.”
