Momma Bear Fiercely Defends Cubs Against Giant Grizzly in Alaska

Wildlife biologist and wilderness guide Brad Josephs shared an epic battle between two male grizzly bears with Outside in 2023. This year, he captured an equally intense skirmish between grizzlies while guiding at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska.

For this round, a much smaller mother bear fiercely defends her two cubs from an aggressive male brute. In this spellbinding video, the female stands up to the male and fends him off. In the melee, her two cubs dramatically topple off opposite sides of the slope. The footage is breathtaking. At one point, the male is inches from snatching up one of the cubs, only to be rebuffed by the determined female.

Momma Bear Fights Invading Male

In a follow-up video, Josephs explains that the fate of the mom and cubs remains unknown but that the male was seen again wandering in an open field. While a somewhat rare occurrence, males will occasionally hunt cubs for the simple reason that they present an easy meal—in theory. Momma bears don’t take kindly to their cubs being threatened. This video shows just how courageous a female grizzly bear can be when protecting her young.

Brad generously shared images of the belligerent male and the female bear family with Outside.

The female and her cubs were on high alert before the male intruder made his move.