As mentioned in the Reproductive Behaviour section, adult bears, usually as a mating pair, may live together for two to three weeks during the breeding season. Also, abundant food sources such as large carcasses, fish-spawning streams or uncontrolled garbage dumps existing within a confined geographic area may result in bears living and feeding in close proximity for periods of time. Also, environmental conditions may result in concentrations of bears within a geographic region. A dominance hierarchy is a survival mechanism designed to prevent violent encounters that could lead to serious injury of one or both animals of the same species. In bears, dominance is usually a matter of size and sex.
Males are dominant over females, except females with cubs.
With cubs at her side, a female will, if necessary, fight to the death with a normally dominant male. When two bears of relatively close dominance meet or contest a favoured habitat location or food source, ritualized threat displays or possibly even short fights may occur before one of the animals gives way to the dominance of the other. The less dominant bear will normally acknowledge their position by physically moving away or sitting a sufficient distance away as to not disturb the more dominant bear. After a dominance hierarchy has been established, the order is usually maintained solely by posturing and head movements. In preparing this summary of information, I have made a serious attempt to be scientifically accurate while still relatively brief.