Lion VS Tiger – Who would win ?
Tigers are the kings of the jungle. Lions rule the plains. But face to face, who would win? We asked ourselves that question and we’ll answer it.
Article written by Stylish Lion®.
In the circuses of ancient Rome, exotic beasts often competed against each other. The lion versus tiger contest was a classic match-up and the wager usually favored the tiger. In the late 19th century, the Gaekwad of Baroda organized a fight between a lion and a tiger before thousands of spectators. The Gaekwad favored the lion, and as a result had to pay 37,000 rupees as the lion was mauled by the tiger ❌
If a Tiger Were to Fight a Lion, Which Beast Would Win ?
LION VS TIGER : THE FELINES SIZE.
The Siberian Tiger is the biggest subspecies of the genus Panthera, which can weigh up to 360 kg. While large lions in africa “only” weigh up to 250 kg ⚖️. The average weight of lion males is 181 kg for the African beast, 230 kg for the Siberian tiger and 220 kg for the Bengal tiger.
However, the Tiger is not significantly larger than a lion despite weighing perhaps several tens of kilos more… This is significant as it indicates that the tiger’s force is far superior due to a greater muscle mass. A denser mass of muscles is more powerful.. Also note the width of the tiger’s legs and its lower center of gravity. This makes it easier for the Tiger to stay low and avoid attacks 💪🏻
Although it is lower when it enters for a leap attack or rises on its hind legs, it can reach a greater distance and slide with a larger, heavier paw before the lion can even reach it. On the hind legs, the tiger has more leverage than the lion, and in a fight, both will have to stand up to both block and strike 🐯.
Lions are not as good at education and rely on their teeth and mouth as their primary weapon, then make attacks of opportunity with their claws. A lion’s neck tufts protect its neck 🦁 from most attacks, but the tiger has powerful rear claws that it can use to dig into the lion’s belly if it can catch it on the ground and can easily make powerful strikes with its front paws and three-inch long claws. Lions just don’t have as much leverage for such a blow.
LION VS. TIGER : THEIR FIGHTING TEMPERAMENT.
The tiger is a solitary hunter whereas the lion is a social animal, which lives and hunts in packs called “prides”. While lions cooperate in the hunt, the pride is very aggressive in the feeding. Weaker animals are pushed aside or hunted. The competitive nature of this social structure makes the lion more likely to fight, especially the males whose very lives depend (since the male is not as specialized in hunting on the open plains) on the pride he gets.
The tiger is very fast ⚡️and so keepers of captive tigers must be careful to avoid a sudden attack.
The tiger is more used to fighting alone than the lion. This could be a huge advantage. In addition, the Tiger is a brutal and fast fighter. The Tiger regularly takes on much bigger and stronger game than the Lion and does so alone. The Lion requires the support of pride to defeat a large animal.
When a Tiger fights, it fights to kill, 🔞not just to get someone out of the way and get better food. The Tiger does not win through intimidation and social challenge, it engages in an all or nothing fight. The lion, being social, tries to win without fighting if he can and resorts to intimidation, fighting and rolling first. He doesn’t get serious from the start.
LION VS. TIGER : ACCIDENTAL FIGHTS IN CAPTIVITY
In historical accounts of lions and tigers fighting in captivity, the tiger often came out on top. The most recent story came in March 2011, when a tiger at the Ankara Zoo attacked a lion through its enclosure and killed it with a single paw strike. “The tiger cut the lion’s jugular vein with a single paw strike, leaving the animal to die in a pool of blood,” authorities said.
In 1857, a tiger at Bromwich Zoo 🐅 stepped into a lion’s cage and a frightening scene ensued: the lion’s mane saved its head and neck from injury, but the tiger managed to rip out its belly, and within minutes it died. At the Coney Island Zoo in 1909, a male tiger killed a male lion.
Tiger Vs Lion : Expert Opinions.
We asked them the question. If a tiger and a lion were to fight, who wins ?
We’d rather everyone focus on preserving these beautiful animals than on who would win if a lion and tiger fight, the power of these two larger cats seems to raise this question in people’s minds.
Although it varies according to the size, age and hostility of the animals concerned, tigers generally have a large advantage. On balance, tigers are physically bigger, but above all, they can fight while standing on their hind legs. Some claim that the male lion’s mane provides some protection for the neck, but this is contested.
Some records state that when lions and tigers fought in the Roman Colosseum, the tigers always wins. In recent centuries, tigers and lions have had almost no opportunity to cross paths in the wild, as tigers are found in Asia and lions in Africa, with the exception of a very small population in one area of Asia.
“The outcome of any given fight depends entirely on the individuals: their history, their fighting style and their physiology.”
Said Craig Saffoe, biologist and curator of big cats at the Smithsonian Zoo in Washington, DC.
“But if I had to put my money on it, I’d give the edge to the tiger.”
“What I’ve seen from the tigers is that they seem to be more aggressive; they go for the throat, they go for the animal to kill it.” Said Saffoe.
I’m going to answer this question specifically by talking about a male tiger versus a male lion. While female lions hunt, male lions usually spend the majority of their time living alone. They are kicked out of the clan when they reach the age of two. If they succeed in taking ownership of their own pride, they will generally only be able to maintain it for a couple of years.
Although they have pride, they devote most of their time to combating possible usurpers 👀. When they don’t have pride, they often fight with other lone males they come across, and of course, they pride males in their attempts to take over a pride.
So, a male lion devote his life fighting. In fact, they spend so much time fighting and not eating well that they only live about ten years while females usually live up to fifteen. If the male lion has a mane, it is to protect himself in combat. They fight like wrestlers, sparring with each other, hugging each other and trying to dominate each other 📛. I have seen them fight many times and have met two dead men over the years. Both were bitten in the spine. Based on what I’ve been reading, this is approximately the norm.
Therefore, the mane is a fairly efficient defense in a feline fight. To get around it requires serious dominance in the fight, as it means fighting the opponent until they are able to bite through the spine. Tigers have no such protection. They don’t have it because they rarely fight. Tigers are lonely beasts and, while weighing more than lions, their shoulders are much shorter than those of lions. The weight difference is about 150 kilos, which is significant, but not enough, in my opinion, to give the tiger an overwhelming advantage, especially since it has a size disadvantage.
Note that the Lion and the Tiger can also be best friends!
LION VS. TIGER : SUMMARY.
The Tiger often wins. The Lion sometimes wins these battles, but rarely. It would be neither (who could make such a claim?), but all indications are that the Tiger is the one most likely to win, not the Lion 🥊. It doesn’t matter if it’s a captive tiger and lion or wild tigers and lions. When both are captive, they suffer and benefit from the exact same social pressures.
A captive lion may not be able to train with its brothers, but neither will a captive tiger be able to train to hunt and shoot game. They both have an equal handicap in captivity, yet the Tiger almost always wins. This would not significantly affect the results 🔱
A stronger, faster, fiercer opponent is a stronger opponent, no matter if they are both in a zoo or in the wild. The Romans would trap and fight wild tigers and lions together and the lion rarely won 🤷🏼♂️
Lion Vs Tiger : Who Would Win ?
In the vast majority of cases, THE TIGER 🐅 !
