This incredible sighting began with an unfortunate bison, which had drowned in the Yellowstone river during winter. Deaths like these aren’t uncommon, and they make up a vital source of food for animals living in the area.
Its cold and lonely death is sad, but it’s also the catalyst for three bears, a soar of eagles, and even an unkindness of ravens, to show how to live together, mostly peacefully, in freezing conditions.
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This peace comes with a strict hierarchy determined by strength and dominance, with the various animals taking their turn to feed on the corpse, preserved by the low temperature of the water.
A Hungry Bear
The first to approach the bison carcass, and feed from it, is a large bear likely fresh out of hibernation, that probably can’t believe its luck at finding a meal readily waiting for it.
A large frozen ready meal like this is a vital source of nutrition to a bear which needs it urgently after emerging from hibernation. After spending several months surviving off of stores built up before hibernating, bears are often ravenous after they emerge.
This large grizzly, a mature male, takes a quick drink from the river before padding over to the carcass to enjoy a leisurely, unchallenged meal.
An Orderly Queue
The frozen conditions that have preserved the body of the bison render the meat tough, but this bear has sharp teeth and claws which make tearing into it an easy affair.
The bear used its own weight to break through what appears to be bone, and pulled at the tough meat until he’d eaten his fill. Another quickly replaced him once he vacates the area.
In between the two bears, the ravens jumped the queue and swarmed the carcass, no doubt eager to benefit from the first bear opening up the body of the bison, but the second bear restored order by shooing them away.
All You Can Eat Buffet
Like many other animals, grizzly bears can often clash over sources of food, but the territories of male bears often have a considerable overlap and they can exist peacefully alongside each other, as this footage shows.
There’s likely an established hierarchy in place, with the largest and strongest bear holding a more privileged position, while the others wait their turn.
This second bear looks to be a similar size to the first, but he takes the second place in the queue, dragging the bison onto firmer land where he can take his time with consuming as much of the meat as he needs.
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And The Scraps Go To…
While the first two bears shared the bison in an orderly fashion, the birds seem to have more of a problem establishing their hierarchy. The bald eagles squabble with each other, and the ravens mischievously take what they can while they’re distracted.
They manage to achieve an equilibrium where they can all eat without being actively attacked, and then the last to arrive at the feast is the third grizzly bear, younger, and noticeably smaller than the first two.
The calm and orderly manner of the bears is amazing to watch, and contrasts strongly with the more chaotic birds, but nature has its way of sorting these problems out, and the end result is animals sharing together so that everyone gets a slice.