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
Hi Sethi, thanks for the response. You write as if you have lived in England for a good number of years. I don’t like to think of tigers being starved in zoos. I wonder if they keep them half starved to make them look more mean and therefore a better attraction for zoo visitors. Whatever the reason, I hate it – the whole thing.
It would be very interesting to see photos. In fact, any photos of any cats, domestic, stray, feral or wild, in Pakistan would be good because I like to explore places and see the cats of those places other than Europe and America.
By the way I went to Lahore in 1971 on a bus! I was passing through on the way to Sri Lanka. I was one of the bus drivers.
I remember visiting the Lahore Zoo about 7-8 years back and the minute I entered the main gate of the Zoo, I heard the lion roar and the roar was soo loud that I thought that the lion had somehow got out and I stopped my wife from going further.
The Lion enclosure is about 800 metres from the main gate and still the roar felt as if the lion was just 50 metres away from me.
By the way I haven’t as yet heard the tigers roar.
No I am not westernized at all. And keeping beards is certainly not a sign of masculinity, it is indicated by religion basically. Here where I am staying, people keep mustache and consider it a sign of masculinity, even the women prefer it.
My mother was taught by nuns in Saint Joseph Convent where she completed her senior Cambridge before marrying to my father.I am talking about late 1930’s and 40’s.
So in a way you just could say that I am a bit westernized because of my mother who had very broad views on everything and she taught us to respect our own wishes and developed in us tolerance for everything and also taught us not to follow anything blindly and to use good common sense.
I also have a mustache even though I would very much prefer to be without it. by the way it is not for attracting females as I am married with kids also.
But I really don’t know whats going on. Where I lived for 25 years before coming to Lahore (in Karachi population around 10 million ) people did not prefer either beards or mustaches, and even the women did not prefer the mustache. But in Lahore (population around 16 million) everyone does. So I have kept one too even though I look horrible in it, as they say “when in Rome…….
Coming back to the topic, where tigers are concerned, I remember reading in the net that a tiger had jumped over an electrified fence 15 ft tall and killed and seriously injured some persons.
So I think that the minimum height should be at least 25 ft (if not electrified) and constructed of such a material which does not lend support to either claws or the pads of the tiger.
I went to the Zoo in Lahore, and the same case was noticeable there too. I mean here not the height of their enclosure which was fine but that that the lions were well fed and resting with swollen stomach’s and the tigers looked mean and hungry prowling around their cages and with empty hanging stomach’s. The look in their eyes when they looked at you is enough to give you shivers. It is very clear that they are looking at you the same way a hungry person may look at roast beef
So basically to sum it all up I would say that the tigers are suffering from near starvation here in Pakistan while the lions are well fed and content, but the poor tigers pass their time with half empty bellies.
I wonder if WWF can do anything about it. But they will have to visit both the Safari Park and our Lahore Zoo first ( the Lahore Zoo incidentally is the largest in South Asia).
At near the end of december, I plan to visit the zoo with my family and then I will post here the pictures of both tigers and the lions and then you can judge too.
Regards
That makes a 16 foot fence unsafe! I may have got that wrong or perhaps there was some other structure near the fence that the tiger jumped on first. Personally, I’d get rid of all zoos and create well managed reserves that were much larger than the existing ones. But there is no space for them. Too many people.
As you know beards are rare in the West. In the UK certainly. I guess they like beards in Pakistan as it is a sign of masculinity. Sethi, it seems you are Westernised. You must have lived in the West at some stage.
Tigers can jump 15 ft.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/32793154/
Where alqaida is concerned, they may be found in the extreme northern parts of Pakistan (bordering Afghanistan), but not in the main cities.
But you can’t distinguish between them and the local people because all of them keep beards.
Where beards are concerned, I would like to keep one (french type) or small beard, but my beard is nearly all white and this would result in people calling my “uncle”. Whenever I shave, I develop barber blisters in about 2 hours (small pus type pimples).
Right now I am using a fine electric trimmer.But I did at one time keep a beard but I got tired of scratching (as it was itching a lot).
In our Safari Park, the tigers look lean and hungry while the lions look fat and well fed. So they are differentiating between the carnivores, something which they shouldn’t.
The tiger is more regal than the lion.
Hi Sethi, yes, there was a case about a year ago of a tiger jumping a 12 foot zoo fence. I think 15 feet is the legal requirement in the US but that is from memory and I could be wrong. Tigers are awesome jumpers and more athletic than lions.
As I expected there is a lot of hype in the Western press about Pakistan. We get the impression it is the wild west and lawless with large areas governed by Al Qaeda.