Cari McGillivray may be used to seeing wildlife in her hometown of Stewart, British Columbia. But even she was amazed by the wildlife moment she witnessed recently on the highway. There, in front of her, were two large grizzly bears fighting.
Facebook / Cari McGillivray
Fortunately, McGillivray had her camera ready and posted the two-minute video of what she saw to Facebook on Friday (September 20, 2019). The two bears growl and charge each other and stand on their hind legs.
“Don’t normally post on here but thought I’d share this incredibly rare and amazing moment with all you guys of these grizzlies fighting!” McGillvray wrote. (Video below.)
The bears tussled on the Stewart Cassiar Highway between Stewart and Meziadin Junction. Stewart is a small town close to the Alaska border. McGillivray wasn’t the only one watching the fierce wrestling match. A wolf also watched the bear encounter from a safe distance down the road.
Facebook / Cari McGillivray
“Keep a sharp eye out for the little wolf that is observing them in the distance,” said McGillvray. In the video, it seems one bear has the advantage in the fight and after a few minutes the video ends with the larger bear chasing the other into the bushes.
Although male bears will fight each other for the chance to mate with a receptive female, this usually occurs during mating season (spring/early summer). So, it could be that these two bears were fighting over territory. Or perhaps it was a female (smaller bear) defending her cubs from a male bear.
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