The violent fight, which was filmed by Akshay Kumar, chief naturalist at Bamboo Forest Safari Lodge, took place after the female sloth bear and her cub headed to a nearby watering hole, Jamun Bodi, which had been previously claimed by the tiger.
With the tiger launching his attack after spotting the two in his territory, Kumar told NDTV that it left the mother bear with no choice but to respond with her own dose of aggression.
"The tiger attacked the bear more than five minutes. It went after the sloth bear but she kept charging in order to protect her cub," Kumar told the outlet. "It went on for 15 minutes. The tiger was roaring. It was a severe fight."
The cub is heard crying out in the background as mom tries to take care of business. He later runs away from the altercation.
According to experts, though it might've appeared as if the mom was going to lose the fight, it was ultimately her thick fur that saved her.
"Sloth bears are easy game," Anish Andheria, president of the Wildlife Conservation Trust, told the publication. "The only thing that saves the bear is the hair on the body because the tiger doesn't get a grip."
While neither the tiger nor the sloth bear technically lost the fight, it's safe to say these two won't be talking it up at the next watering hole get-together.
