  We study the elasticity of random stiff fiber networks. The elastic response
of the fibers is characterized by a central force stretching stiffness as well
as a bending stiffness that acts transverse to the fiber contour. Previous
studies have shown that this model displays an anomalous elastic regime where
the stretching mode is fully frozen out and the elastic energy is completely
dominated by the bending mode. We demonstrate by simulations and scaling
arguments that, in contrast to the bending dominated \emph{elastic energy}, the
equally important \emph{elastic forces} are to a large extent stretching
dominated. By characterizing these forces on microscopic, mesoscopic and
macroscopic scales we find two mechanisms of how forces are transmitted in the
network. While forces smaller than a threshold $F_c$ are effectively balanced
by a homogeneous background medium, forces larger than $F_c$ are found to be
heterogeneously distributed throughout the sample, giving rise to highly
localized force-chains known from granular media.
