VIDEO: Yellowstone Bear Guards Her Cubs As They Eat Elk Calf

A pair of men on a sight-seeing trip through Yellowstone managed to capture some startling footage when they saw a bear and her two cubs near an injured elk calf next to the road. The sight was so incredible that they had to start filming.  

It's one of those nature videos that toes the line between heart-warming and horrible.  On the one hand, there's how dutifully the mama bear makes sure that her cubs are safe and that nothing approaches.  On the other, the poor baby elk is still alive, bleating in pain as the green cubs (that's green in terms of their facility with killing prey, not in terms of their color, of course) try to find the most accessible meat to remove.  

It's a video that demonstrates one of the most fearsome aspects of how many bears eat their prey.  For instance, a lion won't hesitate to eat you if he's hungry, but he (or she) will typically suffocate their prey with their jaws before trying to strip flesh from bone.  The same goes for alligators, who famously grab their pray, take them underwater, and then thrash until the animal drowns or suffers a broken neck.  However, bears don't give a good gosh darn if you're alive or dead; as long as their victim isn't still running around, it's grub time.

So the poor little elk cries as the bear cubs do their work.  It's hard to listen to, but it's nature.  

Watch the whole video below, but be warned: it is graphic, and does contain brief profanity at the beginning.