Animal Strength Feats

[peter]

(01-14-2017, 02:48 PM)brotherbear Wrote: Peter, about post #24; what are your thoughts about a tigress dragging the carcass of a bull elephant off a trail and into the jungle? Probably three tons ( 900 kg ) or more dead weight. This just doesn't seem possible to me. Am I missing something?

Sorry about the late reply, Brotherbear. I missed the post as a result of a number of problems that had to be addressed.

As to the question. Over the years, I read many books written by those who hunted tigers in Russia, Mongolia, China, Iran, Nepal, India, Sumatra and Indochina. Most of these were written well before World War Two, but not all. Nearly every writer described feats of strength that amazed them. When you read about one example, the tendency is to add a bit of salt to the report. When I had read dozens of reports I consider authentic, I changed my mind. 

In order to test the reports, I asked trainers if they believed a lion or tiger would be able to overcome an animal three or four times their size. With ease, they said. How about dragging an animal 6-10 times their own weight, I asked. Same answer, but they agreed wild lions and tigers would dwarf their captive relatives in this respect.

Nearly every trainer I talked to offered a number of details. When they saw I still had some doubts, one of them took me backstage. He had two male lions and five lionesses. He took them out and selected the smallest lioness. About 100 kg., he said when he gave her the rope. When she started pulling in earnest, the trainer, a big man, more or less disintegrated. When he had recovered and saw me laughing, I got the rope. 

I'm not saying she pulled me trough the bars, but it was close. After I had moved my nose to the correct place, the trainer told her to keep it civilised. Than both us had a go. Together, I mean. Same result. After a new try, one of the male lions got interested. Just over 400 (pounds), the trainer said. Want to have a try? Before I had decided, the lion made it clear he wasn't going to be nice. After we had been crushed, more men reported for duty. This was the moment the other male lion decided to assist his pal.      

When we talk big cat, tooth and claw often feature. Their main weapon, however, is strength. I'm not even going to try to describe it. Apart from that, there is genes, thousands of years of evolution, attitude and aggression. The amount of aggression big cats have is something difficult to fathom. When people have fysical contact with big cats, they often fail to notice the immense power they have.  

When visiting a trainer in the south of our country, he told me to beware of the lion when we arrived at his home. I thought he was joking, but he wasn't. Neither was the lioness who directly came for me. At about 9 months or so, she was not as heavy as I was, but every inch of it was lion. People attacked by big cats often get away with it. They seldom experience the full force. The reason is we are smallish. This means that a big cat can't unload his energy. 

A big cat developed to attack and bring down big animals. With big, I mean big. A lion attacking a buffalo four times his own weight tries to get a grip at a place where he can't be touched. The first object is to get control. The next step is to penetrate the skin. Than he has to hold on. What may seem clumsy in our eyes, is an effective attempt to slow the buffalo down and exhaust him. This often takes many minutes. Minutes in which he uses everything he has. Ever tried to give it all you have and keep it up for 30 seconds? Close to impossible for us, but big cats can do it for many minutes. When they let go and regained their breath, they attack again. And again. Every time, they give it everything they have. When the buffalo goes down, it is a result of sheer exhaustion. He is finished and he knows. What remains is to kill him. This too is something that requires skill, endurance and enormous strength. When the buffalo is killed, the carcass has to be opened. Meat, fresh meat, has to be torn from bones. While at it, you have to compete with your family members.

What I'm saying is wild big cats have tremendous power. People have no idea.

When posters discuss lions and tigers, they often start about the difference in hunting. Not a few tend to think that lions are amateurs in this department. They also think they are no match for a large male tiger able to kill a big boy on his own. I beg to disagree. It's true that adult tigers, solitary hunters, often know how to kill a large animal as fast as possible. It takes a lot of experience and strength. This is why adult tigers often are very muscular animals. But adult male lions, although perhaps a bit less developed in the muscle department, know about extended fights and using all their energy. They also have the frame to administer and take punishment. Wild lions know how to use their strength and how to maul and kill animals larger than themselves. The difference is both kill in a different way. They also use their frame and muscles in a  different way.

I wasn't there when the tigress moved the elephant, Brotherbear. But Locke saw the Malaysian tigress move a big bull buffalo she had killed on her own. The photograph of the bull in his book showed it really was a big animal. The tigresses he shot averaged 7.4 in total length in a straight line. In some parts of Africa, India and Iran, male leopards not seldom exceed that length. 

The tigress that allegedly moved an elephant shot by an American hunter was shot in what's now Myanmar. I don't know if it was a large animal, as he didn't shoot her. Maybe the elphant died on a slope and maybe the tigress waited for rain to assist her. Maybe she was assisted by one of the two males the hunter shot the next day. But when he noticed the elephant had been removed, he concluded a tigress had moved the body. 

I've yet to read a story about a tiger or lion moving a very large animal over a long distance, but I do not doubt that they can and do move large animals on their own at times. A few feet in some instances maybe, but they are able to do it and reliable observers wrote they saw it. I repeat that wild big cats are powerful animals. Reply