A man filmed two grizzly bears in an epic showdown over a bull elk carcass in Yellowstone National Park.
Dave Angelescu posted the 10-minute video to his YouTube channel Saturday, the same day the fight occurred, writing: "I was able to film 2 Grizzlies fighting over the carcass early this morning. National Geographic, eat your heart out."
The video, which has nearly 30,000 views, begins with one grizzly bear digging at a mound of dirt. Then, the second bear comes into the frame, swimming in the Yellowstone River close to where the first bear is.
The second bear appears to be guarding the elk's carcass, which is on the river's shoreline. Suddenly, the first bear charges the second, running into the water as the two begin to tussle, both letting out loud growls.
The brawl ends almost as quickly as it began, when the first bear gets out of the water and walks back up the hill, leaving the second grizzly to freely poke around at the elk carcass. The first bear comes back into the picture for a few seconds, with the two animals growling at one another over the carcass, but then it decides to leave the second bear alone.
The second bear grabs a piece of the elk's carcass with its mouth, walking further into the water to eat it. The video ends with both grizzlies going their separate ways.
The fight, which occurred September 26, was reportedly over the carcass of a bull elk that the second grizzly killed September 18. The grizzly that was guarding the carcass in the river was the one that had killed the bull elk the week prior, according to Big Horn Radio Network.
YouTube user "BE Judson" commented on Angelescu's video, writing that he was the one who had filmed the original attack on the bull elk. "I had the 'amazing' opportunity to take the attack video and your video plays out scenes I pictured taking place in the dark of night in the days following," Judson wrote.
Angelescu responded, writing that Judson's video was the reason he got "off the couch to go and check it out early Saturday morning."
There are about 150 grizzly bears with a range either entirely or partially within Yellowstone. They come out of hibernation between March and May, and their diets can vary by month. Around this time of year, it's common for grizzlies to feed on elk, bison and other ungulates in the park.
While Angelescu watched the encounter from a safe distance, two bowhunters in Northwest Wyoming had terrifying experiences with grizzlies within days of one another.
A man was hunting elk in the Thorofare in the Teton Wilderness on Thursday when he came face-to-face with a grizzly. The bear attacked before the man managed to kill it, and he had to be airlifted to a local hospital for treatment, Big Horn reported.
Then, on Saturday, a different bowhunter encountered a grizzly on Rattlesnake Mountain in Cody when it charged at him, but the man killed the bear before it could cause any injury, according to the Big Horn.
Grizzlies are listed as a "threatened" species under the Endangered Species Act, and both incidents are being investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services in collaboration with Wyoming Game and Fish, Big Horn reported.
