Tiger versus lion
Encyclopedia
Historically, the comparative merits of the tiger
versus the lion
was a popular topic of discussion by hunters, naturalists, artists, and poets, and it continues to inspire the popular imagination in the present day. Lions and tigers have competed in the wild where their ranges have overlapped. They have also been pitted against other in captivity, either as deliberate contests or as a result of accidental encounters.
of Ancient Rome
, exotic beasts were commonly pitted against each other. The contest of the lion
against the tiger
was a classic pairing and the betting usually favoured the tiger. A mosaic
in the House of the Faun
in Pompeii
shows a fight between a lion and a tiger. At the end of the 19th century, the Gaekwad of Baroda
arranged a fight between a lion and tiger before an audience of thousands. The Gaekwad favoured the lion but it lost, costing the Gaekwad his wager of 37,000 rupees. Video recordings of early 20th-century tiger-lion combats have been circulated via YouTube.
's Lion Research Project describes the resulting findings as unclear: the lions were hunted more than tigers due to them preferring plain land due to which they now only live in gir forest where no tiger lives. The possibility of conflicts between the two has been raised in relation to the Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project
, which would introduce Gir Lions (Asiatic lion
s) from Gir Forest National Park
to another preserve, the Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary
, that contains tigers. Concerns were raised that the co-presence of lions and tigers would "trigger frequent clashes", and that the tigers could overwhelm the introduced lions. A Lion Research Project website discusses several aspects of the confrontation. Lion advantages include their juvenile male members' combat experience over access to females and later tendency to engage in group combat, along with the protective advantage of their manes. According to the site, tigers generally possess an advantage in size and weight, although these metrics vary by tiger subspecies.
describes an encounter between a tiger and a lion in captivity: "In 1857 a tiger at Bromwich broke into the cage of a lion, and a fearful scene ensued; "the lion's mane saved his neck and head from being much injured, but the tiger at last succeeded in ripping up his belly, and in a few minutes he was dead." In September 2010 a tiger at Ankara Zoo got into the lion enclosure and killed a lion. "The tiger severed the lion's jugular vein in a single stroke with its paw, leaving the animal dying in a pool of blood", officials said. In 2004, a lion defeated a tiger in a contest over access to a pool in a Chinese zoo, but did not kill the tiger. In 1951 at a circus performance in Milwaukee, a male lion killed a tigress.
ranked the lion first among carnivorous mammals, followed by the tiger, which in his view "...seems to partake of all the noxious qualities of the lion, without sharing any of his good ones. To pride, courage, and strength, the lion joins greatness, clemency, and generosity; but the tiger is fierce without provocation, and cruel without necessity." Charles Knight
, writing in the The English Cyclopaedia
, disparages the opinions of naturalists Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
and Thomas Pennant
in this context, stating that "...the general herd of authors who eulogise the 'courage, greatness, clemency, and generosity' of the lion, contrasting it with the unprovoked ferocity, unnecessary cruelty, and poltroonery of the tiger, becomes ridiculous, though led by such names as Buffon and Pennant." Knight goes on to write that "The lion has owed a good deal to his mane and his noble and dignified aspect; but appearances are not always to be trusted."
However ancient Indian texts in Sanskrit call the lion, 'Vanraj' meaning King of Jungle.
, George Stubbs
, and James Ward
. Ward's paintings, which portrayed lion victories in accordance with the lion's symbolic value in Great Britain, have been described as less realistic than Stubbs'.
The British Seringapatam medal
shows a lion defeating a tiger in battle; an Arabic language banner on the medal displays the words "ASAD ALLAH AL-GHALIB" (the lion of God is the conqueror). The medal commemorated the British victory at the 1799 Battle of Seringapatam
(in the town now known as Srirangapatna
) over Tipu Sultan
—who used tigers as emblems, as opposed to the British emblematic use of lions.
, Allan Ramsey
, and Robert Southey
described lion victories. In the view of a 19th-century literary critic, these contests established "sovereignty of the animal world".
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
versus the lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
was a popular topic of discussion by hunters, naturalists, artists, and poets, and it continues to inspire the popular imagination in the present day. Lions and tigers have competed in the wild where their ranges have overlapped. They have also been pitted against other in captivity, either as deliberate contests or as a result of accidental encounters.
History
In the circusesCircus (building)
The Roman circus was a large open-air venue used for public events in the ancient Roman Empire. The circuses were similar to the ancient Greek hippodromes, although serving varying purposes. Along with theatres and amphitheatres, Circuses were one of the main entertainment sites of the time...
of Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, exotic beasts were commonly pitted against each other. The contest of the lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
against the tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
was a classic pairing and the betting usually favoured the tiger. A mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
in the House of the Faun
House of the Faun
The House of the Faun , built during the 2nd century BC, was one of the largest, and most impressive private residences in Pompeii, Italy, and housed many great pieces of art...
in Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
shows a fight between a lion and a tiger. At the end of the 19th century, the Gaekwad of Baroda
Gaekwad
The Gaekwad or Gaikwad was a Maratha dynasty that ruled the princely state of Baroda in western India from the mid-18th century until 1947...
arranged a fight between a lion and tiger before an audience of thousands. The Gaekwad favoured the lion but it lost, costing the Gaekwad his wager of 37,000 rupees. Video recordings of early 20th-century tiger-lion combats have been circulated via YouTube.
Competition in the wild
Lions and tigers coexisted in central India until the late 19th century and some accounts of contests were recorded. The University of MinnesotaUniversity of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
's Lion Research Project describes the resulting findings as unclear: the lions were hunted more than tigers due to them preferring plain land due to which they now only live in gir forest where no tiger lives. The possibility of conflicts between the two has been raised in relation to the Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project
Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project
The Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project is an effort to save the Asiatic lion from extinction in the wild. The last wild population in the Gir Forest region of the Indian state of Gujarat is threatened by epidemics, natural disasters and anthropogenic factors...
, which would introduce Gir Lions (Asiatic lion
Asiatic Lion
The Asiatic lion also known as the Indian lion, Persian lion and Eurasian Lion is a subspecies of lion. The only place in the wild where the lion is found is in the Gir Forest of Gujarat, India...
s) from Gir Forest National Park
Gir Forest National Park
The Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary is a forest and wildlife sanctuary in Gujarat, India...
to another preserve, the Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary
Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary
Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary or Palpur-Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary lies in the Sheopur district of north western Madhya Pradesh, a state in central India. It is about 120 kilometres from Gwalior....
, that contains tigers. Concerns were raised that the co-presence of lions and tigers would "trigger frequent clashes", and that the tigers could overwhelm the introduced lions. A Lion Research Project website discusses several aspects of the confrontation. Lion advantages include their juvenile male members' combat experience over access to females and later tendency to engage in group combat, along with the protective advantage of their manes. According to the site, tigers generally possess an advantage in size and weight, although these metrics vary by tiger subspecies.
Comparative size
The Amur, or Siberian Tiger,the bengal tiger is the largest subspecies of the Panthera genus, both known to weigh up to 660 lbs (300 kg), while large African Lions weigh up to 550 lbs (250 kg).Temperament
The tiger is a solitary hunter while the lion is a social animal, living and hunting in groups called prides. Though lions cooperate in hunting, the pride is very competitive during feeding. Weaker animals are pushed aside or chased off. The competitive nature of this social structure makes the lion more prone to fighting, especially males whose very lives depend (since the male isn't as specialized in hunting on the open plains) on getting a pride of their own. The tiger is significantly quicker than the lion and so keepers of captive tigers must take care to avoid a sudden attack.Accidental fights in captivity
In his book The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, Charles DarwinCharles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
describes an encounter between a tiger and a lion in captivity: "In 1857 a tiger at Bromwich broke into the cage of a lion, and a fearful scene ensued; "the lion's mane saved his neck and head from being much injured, but the tiger at last succeeded in ripping up his belly, and in a few minutes he was dead." In September 2010 a tiger at Ankara Zoo got into the lion enclosure and killed a lion. "The tiger severed the lion's jugular vein in a single stroke with its paw, leaving the animal dying in a pool of blood", officials said. In 2004, a lion defeated a tiger in a contest over access to a pool in a Chinese zoo, but did not kill the tiger. In 1951 at a circus performance in Milwaukee, a male lion killed a tigress.
Character comparison
18th century naturalists and authors were wont to compare the species' characters, generally in favor of the lion. Oliver GoldsmithOliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith was an Irish writer, poet and physician known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield , his pastoral poem The Deserted Village , and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man and She Stoops to Conquer...
ranked the lion first among carnivorous mammals, followed by the tiger, which in his view "...seems to partake of all the noxious qualities of the lion, without sharing any of his good ones. To pride, courage, and strength, the lion joins greatness, clemency, and generosity; but the tiger is fierce without provocation, and cruel without necessity." Charles Knight
Charles Knight (publisher)
Charles Knight was an English publisher and author.-Early life:The son of a bookseller and printer at Windsor, he was apprenticed to his father...
, writing in the The English Cyclopaedia
English Cyclopaedia
The English Cyclopaedia: A new dictionary of universal knowledge , was published by Charles Knight, based on the Penny Cyclopaedia, of which he had the copyright...
, disparages the opinions of naturalists Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon was a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopedic author.His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier...
and Thomas Pennant
Thomas Pennant
Thomas Pennant was a Welsh naturalist and antiquary.The Pennants were a Welsh gentry family from the parish of Whitford, Flintshire, who had built up a modest estate at Bychton by the seventeenth century...
in this context, stating that "...the general herd of authors who eulogise the 'courage, greatness, clemency, and generosity' of the lion, contrasting it with the unprovoked ferocity, unnecessary cruelty, and poltroonery of the tiger, becomes ridiculous, though led by such names as Buffon and Pennant." Knight goes on to write that "The lion has owed a good deal to his mane and his noble and dignified aspect; but appearances are not always to be trusted."
King of the Beasts
The lion is traditionally thought of as the 'King of the Beasts' in English-speaking countries. But, in many Asian countries, such as China, India (where both big cats are present), Korea, and Japan, it is the tiger which holds this title.However ancient Indian texts in Sanskrit call the lion, 'Vanraj' meaning King of Jungle.
Art
Battles between the two were painted in the 18th and 19th centuries by Eugène DelacroixEugène Delacroix
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school...
, George Stubbs
George Stubbs
George Stubbs was an English painter, best known for his paintings of horses.-Biography:Stubbs was born in Liverpool, the son of a currier and leather merchant. Information on his life up to age thirty-five is sparse, relying almost entirely on notes made by fellow artist Ozias Humphry towards the...
, and James Ward
James Ward
- Sports :*James Ward , part-time footballer*James Ward , British tennis player*Jamie Ward , English footballer*Jim Ward , American football coach...
. Ward's paintings, which portrayed lion victories in accordance with the lion's symbolic value in Great Britain, have been described as less realistic than Stubbs'.
The British Seringapatam medal
Seringapatam medal
The Seringapatam medal, commissioned by the East India Company in 1801, was a Conrad Heinrich-designed military medal distributed to those soldiers who contributed to the British victory in the 1799 Battle of Seringapatam against the armies of Tipu Sultan, ruler of the southern India in the...
shows a lion defeating a tiger in battle; an Arabic language banner on the medal displays the words "ASAD ALLAH AL-GHALIB" (the lion of God is the conqueror). The medal commemorated the British victory at the 1799 Battle of Seringapatam
Battle of Seringapatam
The Siege of Seringapatam was the final confrontation of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War between the British East India Company and the Kingdom of Mysore. The British achieved a decisive victory after breaching the walls of the fortress at Seringapatam and storming the citadel. Tippu Sultan, Mysore's...
(in the town now known as Srirangapatna
Srirangapatna
Srirangapatna is a town in Mandya district of the Indian state of Karnataka...
) over Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan , also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was the son of Hyder Ali, at that time an officer in the Mysorean army, and his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-Nissa...
—who used tigers as emblems, as opposed to the British emblematic use of lions.
Literature
English literature compared their battle strengths. The poets Edmund SpenserEdmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognised as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, and one of the greatest poets in the English...
, Allan Ramsey
Allan Ramsay (poet)
Allan Ramsay was a Scottish poet , playwright, publisher, librarian and wig-maker.-Life and career:...
, and Robert Southey
Robert Southey
Robert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843...
described lion victories. In the view of a 19th-century literary critic, these contests established "sovereignty of the animal world".