by Raphael
(Singapore)
Hey there people, we can debate all day long, but the truth hurts.. for lion fans.
I have emailed various experts, wildlife research institutes, zoos, reserve managers etc.
And their reply are consistent, almost 80 – 85% favor the tiger. With the others mostly saying anyone could win, a handful favors the lion. Please take note, I have over 200 replies including from the following:
Bronx Zoo, Miami Metro Zoo, Valmik Thapar, John Varty, Randy Miller, Predators in Action, Sriracha Tiger Zoo, San Diego Zoo, San Francisco zoo, Singapore Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Tiger Creek sanctuary, Break creek Foundation, Save China’s Tigers, Lionresearch.org, Craig Packer, Big Cat Rescue, Turpentine Creek Wildlife etc etc… much more, feel free to Google these names, and find their email address and email them. Seriously they all favor the tiger.Let’s have some quotes shall we?
“People always ask me which one is bigger? If a tiger and a lion had a fight, which one would win? Well, I’ve seen tigers crunch up a full-grown leopard tortoise like it was nothing. And lions try, but they just don’t get it right. If there’s a fight, the tiger will win, every time.” – John Varty, filmmaker.
“While we would much prefer that people focus their thoughts on saving these magnificent animals than on who would win if a lion and tiger fight, the power of these two largest cats seems to raise this question in people’s minds. While it would depend on the size, age and aggressiveness of the specific animals involved, generally tigers have a significant advantage” – Big Cat Rescue (Source)
Are tigers stronger than lions? And if they fight, who will win?
Recent research indicates that the tiger is indeed stronger than the lion in terms of physical strength. Lions hunts in prides, so it would be in a group and the tigers as a solitary creature so it would be on its own. A Tiger is generally physically larger than a Lion. Most Experts would favour a Siberian and Bengal Tiger over an African Lion. – Save China’s Tigers
National Geographic also favors the tiger:
Bite force charts, stamina charts, strength, hrr chart…from various institutes all favor tiger as the stronger and the more athletic feline.
You are pitting a larger, stronger, faster, feline with longer canines (along with higher bite force) and larger paws and claws against a smaller, weaker cat.
This is not even debate.
Raphael
The experts say the tiger wins a tiger vs lion fight to Lion vs Tiger
Thanks I’m fine. Nothing much happens here in Pakistan. The bad things are usually confined to specific areas, and obviously people don’t go to such areas (slum areas).
Where I am working, we were just visited by a delegation from WWF who commented upon the same thing, and as he had toured nearly the whole city (main areas) and was surprised as he didn’t see anything of the like.
So usually problems are caused by foreign agents working for different agendas.
There are about 3 persons who own lions here in the city, one person does it for his own interest, and the other two for show purpose.
Tigers do not enjoy much popularity here in Pakistan, because of the old adage “the lion is the king of the jungle”.
We have got some seriously big tigers in the Safari Park in Lahore, and you can match their size with the lions also available here.
About 1 year back I had visited the Safari Park and there was an enclosure, the height of which was just 12 ft from the ground and 2 boys were teasing the tigers ( a white tiger and a bengal), would you believe that my blood “froze” when I gazed upwards and found the height to be just around 11-12 ft? I bundled my family as urgently as I could and left that area.
I warned the boys but as they didn’t pay any heed to my warning (plus they also looked like local toughs ) I just left them to their luck, but I hightailed from that area.
I know for sure that a 12 ft high enclosure is not much of a problem for a tiger (maybe for a lion but not a tiger).
Regards
Thanks Sethi for the link. The picture you refer to that is next to your comment is an avatar that was created for you. You have probably used it somewhere like Google+ and it has somehow been incorporated as what is called a “gravatar”.
Hope you are OK in Pakistan. In the West we hear lots of bad things about Pakistan. I am sure not all of it is true. What is it like for domestic cats in Pakistan?
I drove through Pakistan in 1971. I am sure it has changed.
Hey everyone have a look at this site
Hello Michael, nice talking with you.
No I am in Pakistan. How did my picture get up there? I didn’t attach it?
I have been following lions and tigers all my life (on tv and internet), and the internet has been a big help to me in this regard.
You can see lots of clips on youtube also.
I am not sure why people are biased towards lions. Tigers are clearly the stronger feline.
Regards
Thanks a lot for taking the time to put your point of view. Great comment Sethi. Stick around. Are you in India? If you please write some more for PoC. I love to hear from people who live in Asia.
Hello,
There are some facts which cannot be changed.
1.Lions are taller compared to tigers 4 ft at shoulder.
2.Tigers are longer than lions.
3.Tigers forearms are thickers than lions (which also translates to clobbering power).
4. Tigers in a fight can easily jump over the lion, no problem especially due to their hind quarters being bigger than the lion’s.
Now I would call a fair fight in which both the opponents are of nearly equal weight. In most of the fights the tiger is usually the smaller one.
The tigress is especially small due to sexual dimorphism in this species, so comparing fights of lions with tigress is a bit silly.
As far as the bear goes, it has the most bone density compared to other animals and I saw a normal sized bear trying to be tranquilized and he easily swatted (love swat) the rod and be broke it.
Tigers are no fools to tackle bears weighing 800-1200 pounds and they usually go for lighter sized adversaries.
A kodiak in this weight range would make short work of either lions or tigers and will kill them just by swatting them .
Now lions are always ready to fight not caring about anything else but tigers as they don’t live in groups, mostly avoid fights (but not when it comes to mating time). A wounded tiger will most certainly die but not so with the lion.
So it is basically difficult to compare tigers with lions. But pound for pound, the tiger is stronger, has more jumping ability, trees are no obstacle (I saw a tv show on animal planet where a lioness has gone up a tree to save her cub, the cub got down okay but she died on a limb trying to get down), and ponds and rivers are not obstacles for him as he can attack canoers even in the water.