by Leonardo
(South Africa)
Who's the king of the jungle? Who would win the lion versus tiger fight? An old question about inter-species conflict has, unfortunately, been answered in reality, on the ground (see an earlier post too - why a lion would lose in a lion versus fight).
A tiger killed a lion at a zoo in Turkey after finding a gap in the fence that separated them, the BBC reports. Zoo officials say the tiger killed the lion by severing its jugular vein with a single swipe of his paw. The zoo has six tigers and two remaining lions, and insists it is still safe to visit.
Tiger kills lion in zoo and the BBC report here.
Tiger vs Lion Accounts
1) - "In the records of the Roman arena we found that the tiger was usually victorious in such a combat." - Wild Animals in and out of the Zoo by William M. Mann, Director, National Zoological Park, Vol. 6 of the Smithsonian Scientific Series, 1930, p. 82
2) http://www.rudimentsofwisdom.com/pages/tigers.htm } "In fights between a tiger and a lion in the wild, the tiger is usually the winner." - The Rudiments of Wisdom Encyclopedia by Tim Hunkin
3) - "The question is often raised whether the lion or the tiger is the more formidable beast. The evidence seems to be in favor of the latter, for cases are on record of tigers in captivity killing lions, but there appears to be no known instance of a lion killing a full-grown tiger." see:
4) 60 lions where killed by tigers, so this Is equal to 60 accounts
5) “In 1857 a tiger at Bromwich broke into the cage of a lion and a fearful scene ensued: ‘the lions mane saved his head and neck from being much injured, but the tiger at last succeeded in ripping up his belly, and in a few minutes he was dead. - The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex. Charles Darwin”
6) 4 Lions where killed.
"George Stubbs, the most famous and original animal painter of his time who was just reaching his peak in 1759, liked to display combats of lion versus tiger, though he did not commit the egregious mistake made in James Ward’s animal pictures painted later in the century where the lion symbolizes Britain and the tiger India; in reality, as we know very clearly from the obscene animal fights staged by the Ancient Romans in the arena, the tiger would win in such a sight every time.” (pg. 163) - 1759: The Year Britain Became Master of the World
These are just some of the few hundreds accounts of Tiger vs Lion.
Leonardo - date of post 26th January 2012.
In this Turkish Zoo incident some more details have to be said. It was a young 12 months white male Lion who was passing point A to point B. On is way he was surprise by the tiger’s single swipe between two bares that unfortunately cut its jugular vein. It’s very hard to make a powerful swipe between two bares, but it don’t take mush power to make a severe cut with very sharp claws.
Thanks DD for adding that important fact. That does make a big difference.