- Italian Alessandro Bormida, 29, took the photos at Kurile Lake in Kamchatka
- The brothers posed like professional boxers as they faced off against each other
- ‘Play fights are not just a game as they practise for future real battles,’ he said
The gloves were off – and the claws were definitely out – as the fur flew between these feisty brown bear cubs.
As our picture sequence shows, the brothers struck poses uncannily similar to professional boxers as they stood on hind legs with their paws clenched and displayed nifty footwork to dodge each other’s jabs.
With the bout on the shore of a remote Russian lake seemingly destined for a stalemate, one of the cubs delivered a knockout blow – turning southpaw on his flailing brother.
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The brothers face off while their mother fishes in Kurile Lake in the eastern Russian region of Makchatka
After he fell to the ground, his brother appeared to take pity and embraced him with a bear hug.
The amazing pictures were captured by Italian photographer Alessandro Bormida, 29, at Kurile Lake in the eastern Russian region of Kamchatka, while the mother bear was fishing nearby.
Ouch! I didn’t know you were a southpaw
That’s enough! It’s time for a bear hug
‘When adult bears are fishing, the young ones wait on the sandy beaches of the lake, as they prefer to play,’ he said. ‘Play fights are not just a game, though, as they practise for future real battles.
‘The baby bears were full of energy for their young age, which might be because they have a lot of food in this particular place.
‘There are tender elements to these shots but there is also a trace of the tough life they have in front of them.’