If you ever wondered, “Who would win in a fight between a house cat and a black bear?” there’s now an answer.
Around noon on Tuesday (June 21), a two-year-told Bengal cat named Tigger came face-to-face with a black bear in front of his owner’s home in North Vancouver.
Tigger's owner, Gavin Sturrock, posted a video of the encounter to TikTok, which has since gone viral, garnering more than 30,000 views by Wednesday morning.
Not one to back down, Tigger arched his back and took a few steps towards the bear. That was enough to send the smallish black bear right back the way it came.
Sturrock tried to call his cat back to him before it became obvious Tigger had the upper hand.
Sturrock lives in Canyon Heights, and says bear sightings in the area are rare. "I've never seen such a thing," he said, explaining that the bear had been knocking over garbage bins the day before.
Sturrock was packing to go camping when he opened the front door of his house. The bear was standing a few feet in front of him, and so was Tigger.
He recalled thinking: "Oh my god this bear is going to eat my cat." But when it looked like his cat had the situation taken care of, Sturrock said he took his phone out and started recording.
Apparently, Tigger has displayed this kind of alpha energy before.
"I’ve seen him do this sort of thing with big dogs – chase them away from our house."
On New Year's Eve in 2020, Tigger's brother Taz was rescued by District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services after getting stuck in a tree.
