Which is better, the lion or the tiger, is a century-old problem. Fans on both sides are arguing endlessly, and no one can convince anyone.
However, as the two most powerful species among the felines, they are both kings of their respective habitats, both feed on large herbivorous mammals within their territory, and their prey has many similarities.
For example, whether it is the African savanna where lions live or India where Bengal tigers live, there is a herbivore with a huge body and ferocious temperament, that is, the "buffalo". You may notice that the word "bison" has quotes because the bison they prey on is not the same.
1, brutal prey
The "buffalo" living in sub-Saharan in Africa is actually African wild buffalo , an animal of the genus Bovine family , with a total of 5 subspecies. The "bison" that has intersections with tigers is mainly Indian bison, also known as Asian bison or white-limbed bison , which is an animal in the family genus .
That is to say, the "buffalo" preyed by lions and tigers are different genera, and they are two different animals. However, these two types of bison have something in common, that is, they are both large in size and fierce in temperament, and are a very cruel and difficult to capture prey.
In terms of body size, the average weight of adult African wild buffalo is about 650 kg (female weighs about 450 kg), male Indian bison weighs about 800 kg and female about 550 kg. From this point of view, Indian bison is larger than African bison.
Both kinds of bison have a rather irritable temperament, especially when they are injured or are in breastfeeding, they will attack everything close to them. In addition to having a strong body, the buffalo's sharp horns and strong stubborn hooves are all weapons for their combat.
Whether it is a lion or a tiger, once it is pushed to the weight of a bison's horn or hooves, it will either die or be injured. For wild carnivores, serious injury means death. Therefore, preying on bison requires risking your life.
2, Predation Bison
Although the buffalo is huge, has a fierce temperament and strong attack power, they account for a high proportion of the recipes of lions and tigers. Especially for lions, bison accounts for 40% of their prey, which is mainly related to the size of the bison.
Lions are the only large cats living in groups. The group members have a high overall demand for prey meat. On the open grasslands in Africa, the energy consumed by preying on small prey is no less than that of preying on large prey. Therefore, the lion group is more willing to prey on huge bisons. It can meet the food needs of the entire lion group in one success.
For tigers, bisons are also high-quality prey. Tigers usually don’t let go when they encounter bison. Although tigers cannot eat the whole cow in one meal, tigers know how to hide the remaining food and keep it for eating slowly. Therefore, catching a bison can meet the tiger’s food needs for a long time.
If you have a demand for bison, then start hunting.
The lion group with strong group power, of course, predating bison will go up together. The group members chase the bison together, siege the lonely ones, and then constantly try to jump onto the bison, trying to put them down. But during the hunting process, the lion is sometimes kicked by the bison's hooves, or even pushed through the belly by the horns, causing fatal damage to the lion.
In fact, the proportion of deaths caused by bison to lions is higher than that of any other animal. On the one hand, it is because preying on bison is indeed dangerous, and on the other hand, it is because lions prey on bison more frequently, so there will be more injuries or deaths.
Tiger is a guy who likes to be alone. He lives alone most of the rest except for spending a short time with his spouse during the breeding season and does not allow other predators except the tigress to enter its territory. Therefore, tigers can only rely on their own strength to prey on their own.
It has to be said that tigers are one of the few predators that can capture prey several times larger than their body size alone. A Bengal tiger looks very small for an adult male Indian bison, but it can still use its powerful explosive power, as well as sharp claws and canine teeth to knock down the buffalo and lock the throat.
Similarly, tigers also have the risk of being injured during preying on bison, but the chance of being injured is relatively small, because tigers are much more cautious than lions, and are not sure, and will not attack easily. At the same time, it is also related to the small number of tigers. Even if a tiger is injured or killed by a bison, it will rarely be discovered by people.
In short, whether it is a lion or a tiger, bison is their favorite prey, but it is also a prey that causes them to get hurt more. However, it is worth taking some risks to fill your stomach.
3. A tiger kills a bison alone, but a lion cannot?
We have seen a lot about lions fighting bison in animal columns. Three or five female lions or male lions constantly attacking the bison and trying to throw the bison down, but we often see some lions injured.
But some readers are actually skeptical about whether tigers can kill bison alone, but biologists have analyzed the feces of Bengal tigers in the tiger reserve in India and found that their excrement contains a large amount of hair and bone fragments of Indian bison.
Not only that, zoologists have also observed dozens of cases of Bengal tiger hunting and killing adult Indian bison in the habitat of Bengal tigers, including even successful cases of adult female tiger hunting. In other words, it is absolutely fine for tigers to kill adult Indian bison alone.
So why can tigers kill bison alone, while lions can't fight together? This is actually related to the different hunting methods of the two.
Tigers are well aware of the hardships of hunting alone, especially when they face large preys, if they are not careful, they will fail to hunt and even be injured by their prey. Therefore, tigers prefer ambushing. They will first slowly lurk near their prey and launch a sudden attack after entering the hunting range.
Not only that, tigers tend to launch fatal attacks. They will jump directly onto the bison, grab the buffalo's fur with their sharp claws, and use their powerful explosive power to bring down the buffalo's throat. At the same time, they will bite the buffalo's throat with their powerful canine teeth. They will then keep the throat locked for several minutes until the buffalo is completely dead before letting go.
The hunting methods of lions are different. Although they can also ambush, they find it difficult to get too close to the bison on the open prairie, so the lions need to run a distance to chase the bison and try to put the bison down during the pursuit. And when the lion jumps up and pounces on the bison, it is likely to be kicked and injured by the bison.
In addition, lions understand the benefits of collective hunting, and therefore are more aggressive than tigers. Sometimes they try to launch fierce attacks before the buffalo's physical strength is exhausted, which will inevitably be fiercely resisted by the buffalo, and the probability of the lion being injured will be greater.
If a lion preys on a bison, they will maintain the above hunting habits, then it is difficult to pounce on a physically and in terms of strength. Sometimes, lions will be "counter-killed" by a group of bisons, and may even be forced by bisons to climb trees to save their lives.
In short, lions are indeed not as good as tigers in preying on bison. Tigers can kill bison alone, but lions rarely handle it alone. A lion attacks a herd of bison and is likely to be killed.
4. Which one is stronger, lion or tiger?
Under natural conditions, lions and tigers have no chance to meet, so there will be no direct result of the two. The question of which one is stronger and which one is weaker can only be compared from other aspects.
You may say that just from the matter of preying on bison, you can know that tigers are better than lions. After all, tigers can kill bisons alone, but lions can't do it.
In fact, in the few direct competition between lions and tigers that were intervened by humans, almost all ended with the tiger's victory, and even smaller tigers can defeat larger lions. Therefore, from the perspective of fighting alone, lions are not as good as tigers.
But the two types of top predators created in two completely different habitats cannot be compared simply from the perspective of combat effectiveness. Just imagine, if you put a tiger on the African savanna, can it still survive well with its own strength?
To be honest, on the African savanna, tigers may not even protect their cubs well. You should know that when young lions are protected by lions, the proportion of adults in adulthood is less than 20%, and the survival rate of small lions is as low as below 10%.
In addition, in the December 2016 issue of " Scientific American ", scientists used experiments to verify the ability of lions and tigers in "learning". The results showed that lions are much "smarter" than tigers and have stronger learning abilities.
In fact, lions chose to live in groups not because they had weak combat power, but instead meant that they were more able to adapt to the open habitat of African grasslands. You should know that among the many cats, only lions chose to live in groups, and the facts proved that this choice was correct.
As for which is stronger, lion or tiger, friends, let’s discuss it in the comment section!
