Near the town of Kuhmo, Finland close to the border of Russia, Norwegian wildlife photographer Linda Fjeldavli captured an incredible interaction between wolves and a brown bear. Baited for photographic purposes, the wolves and bears had arrived for an easy, free meal. But neither wolves nor bear wanted to share, so they had to duke it out.

Photo by Linda Fjeldavli.

This is not a unique inter-species interaction. Wolves and brown bears are mortal enemies, and they often fight over kills and carcasses and kill each other’s young. Usually, wolves will make the kill, and the bears will steal it because they’re much bigger and more powerful than the wolves. If the wolves overpower the bear, they will eat the bear, but if the bear overpowers the wolves, it will generally only kill and eat young wolves.

Here are a couple videos that portray the classic clash between the two feared predators. This first one takes place in Scandinavia. In this video, the wolves win. But…

…in this second video, which is one of our own and takes place in North America, the bear wins. Outmatched by the bear’s size and aggression, the wise wolves allow the hungry bear to join them at the dinner table.