yeah the instinct to protect one's young is strong, but even still, they are most likely to avoid a fight than get in one, as if they get injured , it won't help there young, so, nature makes them typically flee, over fight 99% of the time, when given the chance!Four, a mother protecting her cub/cubs.
but they sure can put up a fight when needed too! HAHA!
I have seen many females run off males 2-3 times there size, that didn;t want to find out how how much fight was in a mother, the bluffs were enough to make them move on!
I'll share a short story, for those that may enjoy it(sorry iof folks find it long winded)
I have been able to follow the life's of many bears here for decades, I had one female bear that just HATED one male bear here, he was 4 yrs older than she and twice her size from the get go, and she was NO small female, actually one of the largest one I have had here(when we ear tagged and weighted her she was 4 yrs old and a little over 350 lbs in spring time, coming out of winter, so a huge female bear)
yet every time he would show up when she was here, it would **** her off, and before long she would be head strong charging the poor guy, even when he would be 150+ yards away, no threat to her at all, or even looking at her, if she seen him, it bothered her
this went on for 7 yrs, he was now a HUGE male, over a 600 lbs( I helped the state trap and ear tagged him, and weighted him, so I know the weight notr guessing here)
any how, she finally started to look at him differently, now he was FAT as he was!,
and then the following spring, the two of them mated in backyard, 3 different times, I Guessed the hate for him was finally over!,
and , I joked, he finally got his pay back for all them attacks she put on him, and it never mattered if she had cubs or not, she just never liked him till, he broke the 600 lb mark!
she always mated with the largest bears in my area(or the one's I seen with her)
she had 3 cubs the following yr, and , went right back to Hating the poor guy again!
that 600+ lb male would run for dear life when ever he seen her here!
and big fat bears don't run far or fast!, no really climb tree's
she would run him off till out of sight from me, and all I would hear is tree's and branches a breaking, then she would walk back all proud of her self
they did mate again her next season, , only 2 cubs this time, and then she went MIA, I gather a hunter finally got her( ironically he also went Missing the same yr, but was een aftyer hunting season, so, maybe a vehicle got him, or a cheater poachers get there share in my area)
But it was very entertaining to watch her all them yrs and see the things she did!
and how she just hated that one male bear, she tolerated other males and bears , just NOT him, HAHA!
a few pictures of her, one right before going in trap to get tagged!, and then two of here lovers! a few yrs apart, but as you can she she always dragged the big boys in, the one by the pink container, was trapped in June and was 6 00+ forget exact amount but was close to 650lbs , same bear at water bowl) and that's coming out of winter , was a true HUGE male bear! and the other one was trapped and ear tagged in July and was 599 lbs,
I again been blessed to have the time spent about bears for so many yrs, and getting to work with them , (and FYI< having fresh clean water works great for getting pictuires of passing thru critters in HOT weather, pools and unbreakable bowls been working for me for yrs now)
and I can say for 100% certainty, that after all my time about bears and seeing what I have and learning what I have, the things originally I once thought about bears is NO where near what I learned about them!
I find them to be anything but aggressive animals, mostly the opposite, there just big strong and capable of doing damaged if they had too, but over all, there goal is far from being dangerous to humans, they do all they can to avoid us!
they shouldnl;t be feared, they should be respected and, as said before, knowledge is power, the more you learn about something, the less you will fear it, and it will keep you safer when about them and prevent over reacting as well!