Lion Vs Tiger: Who will win in a fight?... An analysis.

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Vij

Forerunner
RELATIVE STRENGTHS

There are various myths about the relative strength of each of these big cats. Lets have a look at the more realistic strengths that are supported by studies and/or tests.

Lion:

1. Thick protective mane. It also makes a lion look much bigger, heavier and taller than it really is. This is of immediate psychological disadvantage to any animal fighting a lion. It’s downright scary to see a lion coming towards you roaring. A lioness, even if it were of similar size, wouldn’t inspire as much awe. From the fight videos, it does seem that the mane is of huge advantage to the lion. In the only fight-video of a maneless (shaved) lion, the lion seemed too easy to beat for the tiger. The mane is the biggest weapon for a lion - both for defence and for scaring off the opponent.

2. More massively built shoulders. Both the cats have extremely powerful and muscular ’shoulders’. But a lion has it more developed and stronger than a similar-sized tiger. Again, this is an advantage for the lion.

3. Role played as a fighter. This is the most important point cited by the ones who pick a lion to win. A lion is built to be a fighter - super-strong forequarters, protective mane, shorter ears, large head (compared to its body), a big muzzle and strong jaws. In every respect, it seems to have been built for pit fights. And lions do fight over territory and mating fairly often.



4. Taller structure. This makes the lion more intimidating. Also, this somewhat compensates for the weaker hindquarters.

Tiger:

1. Longer and often larger size. Yes, its the largest of all cats. Now this is often posed by the people who pick a tiger to win, as a serious threat to a lion. A larger yet more agile body of a tiger is really a serious threat to a lion. But this alone can not be a decisive factor.

2. More powerful back legs. This helps a tiger to leap more, to spring from a disadvantageous position and to make sudden moves. This is of tremendous advantage to the tiger. This gives the tiger the ability to rest its weight on the hind legs and make swipes with both of the front legs. When you look at the tiger vs lion fight videos, you may notice that this is a huge advantage to the tiger. Plus, the strong hindquarters allow them to attack from the side and spring from unexpected/disadvantageous corners. Moreover, a tiger makes faster swipes than a lion. Tigers are more agile than lions.

3. Skills of ambush attacking, tree-climbing, swimming etc are handy if the going gets tough. Plus, tigers are faster runners. These are all defence mechanisms for a tiger just as the mane is for a lion.



4. More stamina and power, and a more muscular built. More stamina of a tiger may be a debatable thing, though. The ‘power’/strength of a cat is generally proportional to it’s size.



5. Longer canines and larger paws. These are the ultimate weapons of a cat. Tigers have considerable advantage here.

So, who would win if the two fight?

Thats a big Q...More so because it would be very unlikely for one to take on the other...

Lets pick a few scenarios.

In small pit/cage:

Lion will have a slender advantage if the fight is in a small closed area since it may get the benefit of stronger shoulders & the mane and the tiger may feel the lack of space. Agility may not be a big factor. The lion’s head-on attacking technique and taller structure should prove decisive. But it may really depend on the size of the respective animal. If the tiger is significantly larger than the lion, the lion may not get a chance to do much harm to the tiger.

In a large area (forest/grassland or even a large ‘cage’):

Tiger may win easily. The stronger hindquarters come into play here. It helps to keep balance and make fast movements. The fight may or may not be a first-round knock-out, but a tiger may escape and strike back if needed since it has more stamina and higher speed.

If the two animals are ignorant of each other’s presence at the begining, it will really be a tiger’s game. Siberian tigers are sometimes reported to predate on female/young brown bears. The female bears may be larger than the tigers and as aggressive as the male ones. But the tiger stalks the bears and then and hunts them. In a similar way, if a tiger and a lion are released in a forest/grassland, a tiger’s stealth-attacks may be decisive.

Why The Tiger Has a Better Chance of Winning:

There is a popular notion that a lion is meant for fighting whereas a tiger is meant for hunting and hence a lion will win in a tiger-lion fight. Some people mention that like a pitbull can own larger dogs, a lion can defeat a tiger since, like the pitbull, the lion is meant to be a fighter. This is a bad comparison. That a lion plays the role of a fighter in a pride doesn’t make the tiger a worse fighter. The tiger is probably a more fierce predator.

The ’strength’ analysis is of course an ideal one. A lot of them may prove to be invalid in real fights. Most of the ‘documents’, ‘eye-witness accounts’ and vidoes (though most of them are manipulated to suit the story of movies) show that there is more chance of a tiger winning the fight than a lion winning it. It seems that a tiger might be reluctant to fight at first. But if compelled to, it’s a much better and more powerful fighter than a lion.

Size does matter. An average Bengal/Siberian tiger measures 10 feet and 500 lbs. Can measure up to 11 feet and ~620 lbs. Lions average 9 feet and 410 lbs. Can grow as large as 10 feet and 530 lbs. (Not considering the more extreme cases for either cat). Clearly, tigers have an advantage. Additionally, the build of a tiger provides much more balance and agility. The weight of a tiger is more evenly distributed over its body-length than that of a lion. A tiger’s tail, being heavier compared to a lion’s, makes it easier for the tiger to turn. And if the animal with larger size also has greater agility, it’s the one that should win more fights. Add to that the advantages of bigger paws, faster swipes and longer canines!

An African lion, hailing from a place where it doesn’t get much competition from other animals, attacks from the word ‘go’. On the other hand, a tiger, coming from places where it fights bears, wild dogs etc, assesses the situation first and then goes for the kill. (Ok, lions, too, live alongside wild dogs. But they don’t clash much since lions live in prides. For the same reason, lions rarely fight leopards). For this reason, some animal trainers and experts have mentioned the tiger as an intelligent boxer. Additionally, the Bengal tigers are widely considered as being extremely aggressive when drawn into a fight.

In 10 fights between the two in any natural setting and in non-extreme climate, I’d bet a Bengal tiger will own an African lion 9 times provided there is no bias in choosing the animals. I’d expect an average Bengal tiger of the Terrai (see above) with 530 lbs and 10′, to make a short work of an average South African lion (~410 lbs and 8.5′). Even pound for pound, a tiger is stronger. If it’s a smaller-than-average Bengal tiger, with size and wight similar to the lion’s, it should be 7-3 in favor of the tiger.

Overall, there may be very few really big and aggressive lions that may defeat a Bengal/Siberian tiger, but on an average a tiger will win against a lion almost everytime.

Source: LION VS TIGER: Who Will Win In A Fight? « . Informed . Opinions .
 
The D3d specs would be available in the manual, tell nukeu to check and see who will in 10 rolls...

hehe
 
Was interesting to read:

An average tiger is heavier and larger than a lion and not by a small margin...

Largest Siberian Tiger found in the wild : 384 kg.

Largest Lion found in the wild: 318 kg and 3.35 m

Average size (mode) of Siberian Tigers living in the wild: 250 kg and 3.35 m

Average size (mode) of African Lion: 186 kg and 2.7 m

Lions stand around 1.2m (including mane) at shoulder as opposed to 1m of a tiger.

Ofcourse these are average of the largest breeds of lions and tigers.

So, not every tiger and lion are that big...The Siberian tigers and African Lions are the largest...

Gosh, imagine these animals measuring over 3metres in length...
 
kippu said:
wat happens if either of them comes across a Liger

hehe...:P

but seriously....the lions mane is such a defense....it would be very difficult for the tiger to sink its teeth in a lions neck, one wud imagine...

Feel free to comment guys....the points raised in the thread are not from any reliable source...but I liked the presentation... so posted...

Discovery though feels lion will win more often than not...but many other sources count the tiger as the potential winner.
 
nice interesting read.

Tiger is a predator while a Lion is royal cat.

You can trust Lion not to attack humans unless interfered with while same cant be said of Tigers.

I have been to Gir forest (multiple times) and to Corbett and have seen both cats in wild.

Tigers are definitely larger that Asiatic Lions which are slightly smaller than their African counterparts.

Considering the situation.

If the fight is for hunting highly likely that Tiger will win because of strength, size, speed, stealth attacking.

If the fight is for survival or keeping the prey and head on collision because the agility factor gets nullified because of Lion being aware of attack and its tendency to attack at the neck of the opponent so in this situation Lion may win.

my 2 cents.

more interesting would be comparison between Lioness and a Tigress.
 
Tigers r bigger and all that jazz...but Lions r better at killing they r more aggressive + r battle Hardened.

Lions - Afghan Muhajedeen [The ones who bumb 'ed USSR]

Tigers - Mughals

[This is just how i seen them]
 
liono1jr6.jpg


/thread
 
As the wise Bartimaeus has pointed out, the lion's mane can also be a disadvantage. It blocks the side view, from where the tiger might make a sudden attack.
 
S@ndeep said:
Awesome find!! Reppd! :D

The Article goes to FE! :P

Yep, will fit FE nicely...:)
btw in one real faceoff video btw the lion and tiger inside a cage...
Lion vs Tiger fight video-Tiger,Animals Video Search - The Best Tiger,Animals video search engineer, you can search and download the hottest Tiger,Animals videos through leechvideo.com

The lion seems to have shoulder strength...but the tiger manages to wriggle itself out and strike repeatedly...
Lion seems to be a better Sumo Wrestler :rofl:
 
Thats a Freakin Movie...there r some on Utube of a park in china where there r Lions and Tigers side by side.

will try n find them.
 
kippu said:
wat happens if either of them comes across a Liger

This is actually covered in the Liger documentary that was shown in National Geographic. If a Lion or Tiger encounters a Liger, they may not challenge Liger because of the size. But if somehow a Lion or Tiger gets engaged in a fight with a Liger, The Lion or Tiger will win hands down!!!! Why? Because Liger is created by man, and domesticated, they dunno how to fight and Tiger or Lion which is born by natural means are much better fighters than Ligers. Infact a wild tiger can tear apart a liger even though it may be half the size of a Liger

On another note, I saw this Lion vs tiger video in Youtube worth sharing

YouTube - Tiger vs Lion
 
check Liger video.

Liger Video

but...

From Wikipedia:

Male ligers are sterile, but female ligers are fertile and can breed with tigers (resulting in ti-ligers) or to lions (resulting in li-ligers). Ti-ligers are more tiger-like, having a greater percentage of tiger genes. Li-ligers are more lion-like, having a greater percentage of lion genes. The fertility of hybrid big cat females is well-documented across a number of different hybrids.
 
Second half of this video onwards proves male lions are the one and only king of the wild.

YouTube - Tiger Vs. Lion

Tigers are predators, but Lions engage in fights often with each other for their territory, they control the hunting strategy. Fights, at worse will be equal sided, and at best, the tiger ending up as the ****h.
 
That video shows strength in numbers. Not conclusive...

But yeah even Discovery thinks lions wud own a tiger in one-one fight...

Strange, coz tigers are larger, heavier with better reflexes and has sharper canines. One would think it has the important attributes loaded in its favor.
 
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