Lion versus tiger- who is the real king?
Lions and tigers are the best predators in the jungle.
But who is the real king?
In this video, we will show you the strength and weaknesses of the two, and who will possibly
emerge victorious in a fatal one-on-one battle.
A fight between these two mighty beasts ends with severe life-threatening injuries and occasionally in death.
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This is perhaps the most debated question of all time.
This breathtaking fight has happened more times than you would ever imagine.
Both the lion and the tiger have fearsome reputations in their native areas in relation
to prey, sympatric predators, and people.
Both may prey on humans, though rates of man-eating tend to be higher for the tiger.
In the circuses of Ancient Rome, the Roman’s pitted the Barbary Lions against Asian tigers in the Colosseum.
Clashes between lions and tigers were reported or even caught on-camera although it was not
always clear which species regularly beat the other.
Lions are famous but for good reasons.
The lion is called the king of the jungle because of its fierce majestic mane which
gives it a terrifying appearance.
Many people believe that the African lion is a symbol for courage and strength.
Tigers are the largest extant cat species.
Their distinctive orange coat, black stripes and white markings gives them a significant look.
The Siberian tiger is the largest in all tiger species.
Many cultures considered the tiger to be a symbol of courage , dignity and strength.
Keys to identification
The lion is the only member of the cat family
that displays obvious sexual dimorphism which means the males, and females differ greatly
in terms of appearance and size.
Male lions are larger than females, and their majestic manes differentiate the two completely.
Of the living felid species, the lion is rivaled only by the tiger in length, weight and height at the shoulder.
A lion’s body ranges in length from 6 to 7 feet (1.8 -2.1 meters) and with a 26-40 inch tail (0.6-1 meter) long.
A fully-grown lion weighs up to 450 pounds, which is 200 kilograms.
Adult lions may also differ in color from gray to various shades of brown.
Both male and female lions are muscular cats.
Only male lions have manes which are typically brownish and tinged with yellow, rust, and
black hairs which extends down the neck and chest.
Tigers are well known with their distinctive orange coat and black strips with white under-belly.
A fully-grown Bengal tiger weighs up to 490 pounds, (220 kilograms) and with a body length
of 6 – 7 feet, (1.8 – 2.1 meters) long.
A Bengal tiger has a tail length of 3 feet (1 meter).
A Siberian tiger is the largest of all known tigers.
It is lighter in color and has a thicker coat which enables it to stand the cold weather temperatures.
Siberian tigers can grow up to 10.5 feet (3.3 meters) from head to tail and weigh up to 660 pounds (330 kg).
Range and Habitat
Lions spend much of their time resting; they are inactive for about 20 hours per day.
Preferably, Lions are located in grassland and Savannah regions in proximity to water
sources such as rivers which are a good position for stalking their prey.
Lions prefer open areas rather than densely packed forest regions.
Lions are known to be absent in all rainforests.
In the early days of the world, lions could be found in the vast majority of Africa but
due to forest encroaching, their range has been limited to the central and southern part of Africa.
Outside Africa, only a few Asiatic lions can be found in the Gir Forest National Park In western India.
Historically, tigers occupied the range that stretched the eastern part of Turkey.
Today, tigers only occupy about 7% of their formal range.
More than half of the remaining tigers live in forests of India.
However, a small population remain in China, Russia and South East Asia.
Tigers are considered as all-terrain animals since they are found in a wide range of habitats
such as lowland and evergreen forest, grassland, tropical forests and mangrove swamps.
Tigers generally require a habitat with vegetation cover such as forests to provide them with
enough shade from the sun, water resources and enough territory to support their prey.
Hunting Technique and Diet
Lions are hypercanivores which means their
diet consist of more than 70% meat.
African lions prefer to hunt large prey such as zebra, African buffalo, giraffe and wilder beast.
Lions avoid very large and very small prey such as elephant and rabbits respectively.
But hunt these animals only in rare cases where food is very scarce.
Lions are known to be able to take down a prey twice its size.
Lions are known to hunt cooperatively, which is the main reason for their success in the hunt.
Lions kill either by strangling or by suffocating their prey.
Tigers generally hunt using ambush and will stalk their prey to get close enough to capture it.
Successful hunting always req uires experience, skill and precision.
Tigers prefer medium to large animals particularly ungulates such as deer and antelope.
Tigers are capable of taking down larger prey like adult gaur but will also opportunistically
eat much smaller prey, such as monkeys, peafowl
and other ground-based birds, hares, porcupines, and fish.
Tigers are thought to be mainly nocturnal predators, but occasionally hunt in daylight.
Now the big question, who will win in a head-to-head fight?
Lions enjoy the title “The King Of The Jungle.”
However, many tiger species habitats is the jungle.
If any animal should be crowned the king of the jungle, the tiger deserved it better.
Before we can decide who will emerge victorious in a fatal lion vs tiger fight, we must lay
emphasis on their respective strength and weaknesses.
In order to make this fight fair, let’s assume these combatants for this battle are
all males with the same weight and size.
Naturally made to stalk and strive acros all terrains, the tiger could be probably always ready for a fight.
The lions short supply of stamina means it will have to knock out its opponent in the shortest possible time.
Should the battle take few to more hours, the lion would be in no position to win.
Lions could withstand the sun, and hot weather conditions, so maybe if the bout takes place
in the mid-day heat in a hot climatic region, the lion would have a high advantage.
In a one-on-one fight between a lion and a tiger, the social nature of lions to hunt
prey together may ultimately be its biggest weakness.
According to the lion research center at the University of Minnesota, coalitions of two
or three male lions mostly fight as a group against territorial rivals, but the tiger is always alone.
The University of Minnesota’s Lion Research Project describes the fear that tigers would
kill lions in a one-on-one encounter, it is believed that a Bengal tiger could beat an
Indian lion, given its weight advantage.
Considering this, the tiger has a high chance of success in a one-on-one fight with a lion.
Tigers are known to have a higher bite force of (1050 PSI) than lions (650 PSI).
Tigers have bigger brains than lions relative to their body size.
It is believed that the tiger played a role in the near extinction of the Indian lion.
Historic records show that usually tigers emerged champions in ancient Rome and also
in modern fights in captivity but not all the time.
The lion and tiger all have their strength, weaknesses, and the outcome of a fight solely
depends on the individuals involved.
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