Amanda was wading through the water, her mind was determined,her gaze focused,ready to go in for the kill.
In a brief stroke, she dived into the water cover and emerged, two medium sized salmon tightly clenched between her teeth.
She slowly swam back, the food wasn't for her, there was someone expectantly waiting for her on the banks.
The Katmai National Park and Preserve is a United States National Park in southern Alaska, notable for the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and for its grizzly bears.
Amanda was a 200 kilogram female grizzly, she could stand upright at a height of 14 feet, the tallest ever in the valley. In her lifetime she had raised five cubs, Kevin being her last. She no longer looked in shape to raise another.
Kevin, the two and a half year old male grizzly waited patiently for his Mamma.
As soon as she laid the fish in front of him, he ravaged at them, Salmon was his favorite.
Amanda was worried about Kevin, normally grizzlies used to mature within two years of their birth and leave to find their own place in the land.
But Kevin had shown no intent of leaving his Mamma, he was even afraid to step into the waters and hunt for food.
She was worried how much longer she would be able to take care of him, she was nearing her age, becoming slow, her arms no longer had the strength to even climb trees.
How Kevin would manage without her, that was a question she had no answer to.
It was getting dark, they had to get back to their cave and cuddle in for the night.
It was early spring, and they hadn't gotten over the sleeping they had done all winter.
Normally the valley had been a safe place for the bears, threats like Wolves,Lions and Tigers were a rare breed in the valley, yet over the past years Amanda had close encounters with two young tigers , managing to scare them off.
Adult grizzlies are too large to escape danger by climbing trees, so they respond to danger by standing their ground and warding off their attackers.
Each passing night, Amanda was scared for life and for Kevin,how he would manage in such tedious situations scared her even more.
CREAK!
Amanda was awaken by a small creaking sound, it was the break of dawn and she could see movement in the distance.
She moved out, her eyes thoroughly scanning the clearing in front of the cave.
Grizzly bears have good eyesight and an even excellent sense of hearing and smell,even better than that of a dog.
And it was the smell that told her, that danger was near. She could identify two different smells, and yet alike.
In the next brief second she understood why.
Two fully grown tigers were charging at her, one from the right and the other from the left.
They were moving in very fast, Tigers were known to reach speeds of upto 65 Kilometers an hour.
Amanda had very little time to react, yet as the first tiger leaped at her from the right, she slammed it to the ground with one huge heave from her 4 inch long left claw.
The hit was straight onto the tigers face, a loud YELP! told Amanda that she had hit a bulls eye.
The Tiger slammed to the ground, motionless.
Most adult female grizzlies weigh 130–200 kilograms, and in combat they would use this body mass to knock out their competitors, and Amanda did exactly that.
Quickly she turned to her left to fend off the other one, but he was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he had fled she thought, yet she was continuously getting two distinct odors.
And in that second she knew why, a piercing pain spread through her neck, as the tigers long jaws dug into them.She could feel all four of the paws upon her back.
She tried to shake it off, but the strike had been too perfect,the grip was too tight.
She slowly succumbed to the floor,her eyesight was dimming out, she was about to lose consciousness.
All her heart was doing, was hoping that they would have their fill on her and leave Kevin alone.
After being certain that the bear was down, the male tiger moved to his partner, who by now had gotten on his feet.
It was very rare for tigers to hunt in pairs or packs, as they are independent and solitary by nature.
But when the time comes for survival, every living soul evolves.
The two of them hadn't killed or eaten since the past 3 days, life on the valley had been hard since the beginning.
The second tiger was the first to notice the younger grizzly staring at them from the mouth of the cave, the older one was on the floor, slowly dying.
The other tiger bowed his head in acknowledgement, as his partner started his charge once more, this time at the younger grizzly.
It was going to be a feast.
Kevin gazed silently as he saw the tiger approach him.
He had been silent all this time, watching intently as his Mamma had slammed down the first but failed to notice the second one get behind her.
Fear had gripped him, freezing him in his stand, as his Mamma suffered the blow and fell to the ground.
And as the tiger drew near, Fear gripped him yet again.
Maybe it was the moment of realization that he needed to live, or the sight of his Mamma dying, whatever it was made Kevin to raise up his front paws and stand upright.
He took the tigers hit on his chest, well protected by a layer of thick fur.
Without loosing another second, Kevin slammed the tigers head, off his chest and onto the rock wall of the cave using his front paw.
A CRACK! echoed through the cave, as the hit from the 360 kilogram male grizzly slammed the Tigers head onto the rock, crushing its skull. The Tiger was dead within seconds.
Outside the cave, the other tiger was waiting for his partner. Unsure of what was happening inside the cave, he decided to move in.
Amanda was still barely conscious, her eyes could still make out the happenings in front of her.
She had been hoping Kevin was alright, and as the second tiger moved closer to the cave, Kevin emerged from within.
This time it was his time for the charge, Amanda watched as Kevin rammed into the tiger on all fours and threw him off.
The tiger landed on its back, a few yards away and by the time he looked up,all he could make out was the male grizzly on top of him with both his front paws upright.
Grizzly bears could also charge up to speeds of 60 kilometers an hour,And with the weight twice that of a tiger, they could make impacts with twice as much force.
With all the strength he could muster, Kevin slammed both his paws on the tigers head from either side and another CRACK! echoed, this time through the Valley.
He got off the motionless body and checked twice, just to make sure his kill was over.
Amanda's eyesight slowly fuzzed out again,her eyelids were closing,now at this moment she wasn't afraid to die,her hope had finally paid off.
And as the female grizzly bear shut her eyes forever, her wide lips oddly positioned themselves, as if she was smiling.
"When the time comes for survival, every living soul evolves. "