In June 2021, in a wild reserve in India, a tiger climbed a 3-meter-high tree and dragged the leopard to the ground and killed it. The scene was thrilling. But what is strange is that after the tiger killed the leopard, it did not eat the leopard, but swaggered through the market with the leopard in its mouth, as if to show off its divine might.
Coincidentally, in March 2021, staff found the body of a Bengal tiger by a pool in a forest park in Bandagarh, India. Not far away, a leopard also died of breathlessness. The Bengal tiger was covered with scars, and the leopard's mouth also contained some tiger hair. The staff speculated that the tiger and the leopard must have experienced a fierce battle. The process should be that the tiger killed the leopard first, but he was also seriously injured. Due to the wound infection, he died when he went to the river to drink water.
How much hatred do tigers and leopards have to fight so hard?
As the saying goes, there is no room for two tigers in one mountain, let alone a leopard and a tiger? A species can't be integrated yet, and it is even more difficult to reconcile those who are not of the same race! In terms of habitat, tigers and leopards are animals that like to live in the jungle, and they all use animals in the mountains as food sources, such as deer, pigs, and spores. Therefore, disputes over the source of food are inevitable.
Besides competition for food, competition for territory is also an important factor in their frequent disputes. The two "big cats" are very territorial, and they usually leave their urine or saliva on the surrounding grass or trees as a mark to warn each other that this is their own territory, see as soon as possible. Leave. If they don't leave, they evict and hunt. If it is a female tiger, it is better. They generally do not have a strong sense of expanding their territory. If they encounter a male tiger, it will be bad, because they pursue a policy of killing, either you die or I die.
In addition, tigers and leopards are solitary and nocturnal animals.They often prefer to be alone or foraging at night. This also means that when two animals meet, it is inevitable that they will meet in a narrow way and fight to the death.
Who is better than a leopard against a tiger?
As mentioned in the two examples above, one is a leopard killed by a tiger without any suspense; the other is a loser, but the tiger is slightly better. Some people even think that if the two meet, the tiger will win the leopard. Why is this?
Tiger has been known as the king of the forest since ancient times. In addition to its fierce reputation, its strength is indeed worthy of this reputation.
First is the weight. Take Siberian tiger for example, their weight can usually reach 180-350 kg, while the weight of leopard can only reach 50-100 kg. It would be better if the male leopard encounters the female tiger in Sumatran tiger , because the Sumatran tiger is known as the smallest tiger, and the female tiger weighs about 91 kg. It looks like leopard still has some odds. However, if the male leopard wanted to fight the male tiger, even if he didn't die, he would probably be half disabled.
In terms of body structure, leopards are not as good as tigers. The leopard's body is short, with medium-length limbs, no powerful forelimbs, and a short stature, which makes it a lot worse than its opponents in terms of imposing manner. But the tiger is different. Although the neck of the tiger is short and thick, this structure is more conducive to its ambush.
Secondly, the tiger's forelimbs are also extremely developed, which can easily knock down the prey and engage in close combat with the prey. The canine teeth of tigers are extremely sharp, and the sharp hooks on the tongue can directly separate the flesh and bones of the prey. The sagittal crown of the tiger and the coronoid process of are well developed, which is conducive to the formation of strong occlusal force. Looking at it this way, the tiger can be called the pride of the sky, and its performance is stronger than the leopard in all aspects.Faced with such a formidable opponent, the leopard frequently lost.
Tiger attacks are often purposeful. It is generally determined that the prey can be 100% available before attacking. Tigers know how to preserve their strength.
In terms of the hardware of the body, the Tiger Palm also has a thick pad, which is equivalent to the silencer of the tiger, which can well hide the sound of their marching, so as to better conceal themselves and facilitate killing in one fell swoop. Compared with leopards, tigers also have some special means of attack. When it finds its prey, it will hide in the grass in advance, sneak attack from behind, overwhelm the prey with its weight advantage, and then bite the opponent's throat or spine with its sharp canine teeth.
In addition, the leopard has some weaknesses. For example, they are not good at swimming, but tigers love swimming very much. Because tigers lack sweat glands, the strong sunlight makes them extremely uncomfortable. Therefore, in order to avoid the annoying sun, they prefer to enjoy time in the water, and over time, they will develop superb swimming skills. If the leopard and the tiger fight in the pool, it will undoubtedly make things worse for the leopard. Therefore, "water" has become a natural advantage for tigers to attack leopards.
Of course, if you say that no leopard can beat a tiger, that would be too absolute. Leopards also have some abilities that tigers do not have. Just as things often have pros and cons, some things that we think are disadvantages can sometimes become natural advantages of leopards.
Although the leopard is small in size, in terms of weight and strength, it is indeed no match for the tiger. But their petite weight also gives them greater agility than tigers. They often traverse the jungle with ease, and travel long distances is not a problem.
The leopard that grows in the Kalahari Desert of Africa can travel an average of 16-17 kilometers a day, even more than 30 kilometers. Although finding food is the first driving force that drives them forward, they have to admire their firm will. But in comparison, tigers are lazy. According to the predation characteristics of tigers, it can be found that they are good at calculating their physical strength, for fear of consuming a little more fat. Therefore, the agility of the tiger is obviously not as good as that of the leopard.
The leopard is particularly capable of climbing trees.This is also the natural advantage provided by the small size of the leopard. Whether monkeys or kittens, they will find that they all have a common feature, that is, they are small in size and light in body. If the body is not light, the result may be that the prey not only fails to grasp, but may also crush the branches and fall off.
According to statistics, a leopard can reach a height of 6 meters and a distance of 12 meters. Therefore, as long as the leopard is vigilant enough, when it finds the tiger, it will climb the tree as soon as possible. The incident mentioned earlier may be because the leopard was not vigilant enough. When the tiger was found, it was too late. As a result, the leopard did not climb high enough, and was finally caught and killed by the tiger.
In fact, in addition to nature, the leopard and tiger fight so cruelly, there are also some human factors. In order to seek profits, people cut down virgin forests and turned them into arable land and industrial land. The living space of tigers and leopards is becoming less and less, and they can only gain territory by adopting cruel methods of struggle.
Today, leopards and tigers are listed as endangered species, in addition to their own reasons, human hunting is also a major factor. Some incorrect consumer concepts believe that tiger and leopard skins represent fashion and money. Therefore, people are rushing to buy, and there is no harm if there is no buying and selling. The improper consumption concept naturally leads to a series of black industry chains. Many smugglers still operate for profit.
Today, Caspian tiger , Bali tiger are all extinct, and we can never see them for what they really are. Therefore, everyone must establish a correct concept of consumption, and do not let animals go extinct because of a wrong concept of consumption!
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