Terrifying Encounter: Mother Bear Engages in Fight to Death with 500lb Male, Resulting in Tragic Cliff Plunge for Both

This is the incredible moment a female bear survived falling down a cliff after she was attacked by a male bear while protecting her cub.

Filmed in the Montaña Palentina Natural Park in the northern Spanish region of Palencia on 6 June, the female bear was seen fighting with the male bear near the Peña de Santa Lucía rock formations.

The male bear began to attack her as she defended her cub, but within seconds they both dropped down the cliffside from a great height.

The pair land with a thump on the ground, and while the male bear remains close to where he fell, the female bear continues to fall down further into the depths of the vertical rock face.

During the scuffle, which happened during mating season, the cub climbs down a few rocks to get out of eyesight of the male bear, clambering on to the steep rocks.

Spanish officials have since confirmed that the female bear is still alive after she was filmed being attacked.

She was found deep in a narrow cave – but experts could not access her position as she was so far in. They used endoscopic cameras to confirm that she is moving inside the tight space.

During mating season, which is usually from late spring to early summer for brown bears, it is not uncommon for male bears to attack females with cubs.

This is the incredible moment a female bear survived falling down a cliff after she was attacked by a male bear while protecting her cub in Montaña Palentina Natural Park in Palencia, Spain. The cub is pictured at the bottom, clambering on to the steep rocks

Filmed in the Montaña Palentina Natural Park in the northern Spanish region of Palencia on 6 June, the female bear was seen fighting with the male bear near the Peña de Santa Lucía rock formations between the Pineda Valley and the Curavacas Peak

The male bear began to attack her as she defended her calf, but within seconds they both dropped down the cliffside from a great height

This is because they are often trying to get to the cub, who they aim to kill as they look to sexually excite the female, who can’t do so when taking care of young offspring.

The pair land with a thump on the ground, and while the male bear remains close to where he fell to (left), the female bear (right) continues to fall down further into the depths of the vertical rock face

Spanish officials have since confirmed that the female bear is still alive after she was filmed being attacked (pictured after the fall)

‘However, it has not been possible to assess the extent of the injuries due to the impossibility of accessing the area of the cave where she is taking refuge, since, as confirmed yesterday afternoon, the length of the space is more than 15 metres, with a narrowing of less than 80 centimetres in places, and numerous vertical wells with a diameter of less than 50 centimetres.