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Wild carnivores and humans compared
Wild carnivores and humans compared
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Wild carnivores and humans compared
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Minh Ha
3rd Jan 2015, near Duke's road. Umarpani male was seen chasing Kingfisher across the road. The two then engaged in another fight which was caught on vid. The sheer muscle mass of Uma male was made clearly visible as he threw himself through the road. PC: Shaurya Reshamwala.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Neeraj Bantia
A Typical Tadoba Monsoon Habitat... A Tiger, Greens & of course a Gypsy in the background to complete it  *This image is copyright of its original author ?Matkasur Male - Aug 2016 Do follow my passion for wildlife photography on my page - Junglee Stories - By Neeraj — at Tadoba - Andhari Tiger Reserve.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Minh Ha
Indri male aka Pattewala crossing Kisli main road near the Digdola Junction in 2010. Son of Limping male and Minkur female, He was a major tourist attraction back in the day thanks to his great size, but vanished mysteriously during monsoon 2010. He was abouu 5.5 yrs old when he vanished, having been born late 2004.  *This image is copyright of its original author
It amazes me how people ride in open vehicles so near to lions and tigers. That tiger, post #22, could do horrific damage if something were to spark his anger.
Pranad Patil
8/8/16 Bajrang, the big, dominant male from Moharli range of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve. I was lucky to get him with a Gypsy behind, just shows his size...  *This image is copyright of its original author
  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
TIGERS
Tiger 12 is long, massive in the frontal region and, most probably, taller than Raja. A splendid male tiger. I saw a few documentaries about T-24 recently. Tiger 12 and tiger 24 are quite similar in built. I still don't know the weight of tiger 24, but, judging from everything I read, it might have ranged between 220 kg. as a young adult to well over 250 in his prime. He doesn't seem to be that heavy, though. Tigers from Indochina, Assam and many parts of central and southern India often look as bulky as northern India tigers, if not more so. Reliable old records, however, suggest they could be shorter and not as tall. A 400-440 pound male of 8.10-9.3 in total length measured 'between pegs' often seems to be more robust than a male tiger who has 6-8 inches and 50 pounds on him. LIONS The lion in the second picture also is a splendid male. He combines great length (my guess is 190-200 cm. in head and body in a straight line) with robustness and, in contrast to the tiger above, seems to be every bit as large as he is (most probably close to 430-440 pounds or 195-200 kg.). The lion in the third picture seems to be even bigger. PERCEPTION What is the reason lions often seem to be as large as they are, if not larger, whereas tigers, at least those in India, often are underrated? We don't have to move to lions to get to an answer. Russia would be good enough. Most wild male Amur tigers seem to be large animals. Larger than they really are. There are different reasons. One is quite many males have relatively large skulls. Two is they, compared to Indian tigers, have a different built. Amur tigers seem deep-chested and very muscular in the frontal part. Three is they are quite tall for their length. Four is they have relatively few vertical stripes. The stripes also are quite wide and not as pronounced as in Indian tigers. We also have to add the size of many captive Amur tigers (larger than their wild relatives). The data, however, clearly say that wild Indian tigers have a wider skull, a more muscular and thicker neck, a deeper chest and more muscular shoulders, upper arms and hindlegs. At about similar length, they are heavier. Quite a bit, I would say. Himalayan tigers seem closer to typical Amur tigers, but they too often are larger in all respects. Indian tigers have more, and more pronounced, stripes than Amur tigers. Wild lions have the longest skulls of all wild cats (absolutes). Adult males also have a mane, a robust upper body, a deep chest and an attitude (a lion reading Einstein after work is no lion). Lions have no stripes. When you look closely, you can see the remnants of spots. The typical belly fold of tigers is not always seen in lions. What you see is a tawny-coloured big cat in a tight T-shirt. Lions also have straight spines. Their gait is not, like in tigers, somewhat springy, but straight and determined. Lions are more cursorial than tigers. You can see it in many bones of the skeleton in that they are quite thick-set. I saw a skeleton of male lion next to that of male brown bear of similar size. The brown bear skeleton was a bit more robust, but only just. Yet the bear had been considerably heavier. BONES AND MUSCLES I read a few studies about bones. Lion bones were as long and dense as those of tigers, if not more so. But the owners of the tiger bones were longer and heavier. So what's going on here? The only answer I could come up with is muscles. Tigers often have more muscular limbs. This also is a result of a body covered with a deep orange coat loaded with vertical and narrow black stripes. Why is it a muscular cat doesn't have larger bones than a similar-sized cat with somewhat less muscular limbs? The answer is that a solitary cat who hunts himself needs a flexible spine, big muscles and smallish bones. As small as possible. Same for the skull (a short and wide skull delivers more power than a longer, but narrower skull). The one thing he doesn't need is mass. Size hampers. It also needs energy. Regions that have many large herbivores, like the large alluvial floodplains just south of the Himalayas, can accomodate large-sized specialists, but in most other regions 300-400 pounds would be about right for an adult male. True hunters, however, always have an eye for opportunities. A cat who goes for large animals only no doubt would benefit in the long run. As a larger size enables more access to females, life for a solitary big cat will always be a rat race in some way. THE ESSENCE OF LIONS AND TIGERS I measured, weighed and moved quite a few lions and tigers, big males included. In my opinion, they're very different in many respects. Tigers of large subspecies often are a bit larger and heavier than lions, but I always was impressed with lions. Males are solid animals, relatively heavy for their size. Tigers are a bit more athletic and agile as a rule. More flexible. You can feel it. A bit faster as well, I think. Not more treacherous, as many say, but always busy. Thinking and planning about future moves. As solitary animals, they have to adapt to circumstances. The result is they often lose their 'tigerishness' in captivity. Tigerishness isn't a result of living in a tiger society. It's a result of living on your own in a wild place, developing your skills and competing with other male tigers and other big predators. Some succeed, whereas others do not. Size is important. In ideal circumstances, tigers, for this reason, often gain in size. In bad circumstances, they'll lose it. Quickly. Compared to lions, they are more adaptable in this respect. They will also show more individual variation. It starts in the essence of a big cat, so it seems. Many trainers told me that male tigers, like many tigers posters (...), are obsessed with size and improvement: good, better best - never let it rest - until your good is better and your better best. Captive tigers, and males in particular, are working on it all the time. But it doesn't include real fights and that's where things are decided. Captive tigers are no match for their wild relatives and they know. As soon as the opportunity is offered, they'll go for the real game. The immediate result is dead tigers. John Varty's place is just one example. In wild big cats, it's about the essence of things all the time. Life and death are essential things. We don't really know about that. Captive lions, in contrast to captive tigers, often remain true lions. The reason is they can still live in their own society. They don't need humans to be a lion. They don't care about humans and will prove it every time they'll get the chance. Tigers are elusive animals, whereas lions are the opposite. Like tigers, lions need to compete with other lions from day one. As they live on plains, the pressure is immense on individuals. Out in the open, it is about safety. The solution is coalitions. Before you can join one, however, you need to survive a few months of solitude when you're kicked out by dad. Than you need to find partners and learn how to hunt. When you graduated and survived, the time for a move has arrived. When you succeed, you stand a chance to breed. But not for long. The end always comes faster than you think. I'm not saying that lions have to deal with more pressure than tigers (they don't), but the cycle is shorter. Lions have less time and it often shows in male lions. The now or never attitude is a result of it. It also is a condition to participate in lion society. Lions don't care about size, because it isn't essential. Coalitions are. Doesn't mean they are more sociable than tigers, as they most probably are not. You team up because you have to. A lone male, no matter how big, doesn't stand a chance out in the open. A male in a coalition does. Size doesn't pay, that is. Teaming up pays. Staying together pays. A pride pays. For a male, the Brotherhood is important. CONFRONTATIONS My guess is wild lions and tigers avoided each other when they co-existed in Asia Minor and India. There could have been a few brawls here and there, but serious fights would have been the exception to the rule. I never found anything I consider authentic. Captured wild lions and tigers have been pitted against each other in the past (Greece and Rome) and, more recently, in some parts of India. For those with clear opinions on the outcome of these engagements: the habit in India lasted for many centuries. This most probably means it was close. Many moons later, lions and tigers met in the circus. A century ago or so, wild animals could have been involved. Today, this is out of the question. Those who reported on their experiences roughly underlined what could have been predicted: the Brotherhood dominated the arena and quite a few tigers paid. But tigers apparently are able to learn and adapt. In a large Korean Park, the balance depends on the outcome of a meeting between the two lead males. If the male lion wins, the situation is stable. If the tiger wins, it often won't be. Bad for breeding. Those who saw fights between individuals underlined the experience of the Moguls and Maharajahs in that it could go either way when both are similar in size and age. Based on what I saw and heard, I'd say the male lion would be the usual challenger. Most bouts would be quickly decided, as both know enough after a few seconds and want to avoid injuries. All-out's are unpredictable. Both have power, but they use it in a different way. Lions are slammers and strikers who also like infighting. Mauling is the word. They go forward. Tigers don't go forward, but upward. When boxing or slamming doesn't work, they go for the throat or skull. They lock on and start counting. When you hear a crack, a decision has been reached. Same as what we saw on the video of the two males going for each other at John Varty's place. Those in the know agree there's no such thing as species-related aggression or species-related ability in a fight. Fighting is an individual thing all the way. And never underestimate coincidence. One banana you didn't see and you're a goner. Place your bets.
Lauren Jane Wilson
A male lion walks between the jeeps. OMG!  *This image is copyright of its original author A youngster Rita Bell Male Lion maneuvers through the jeeps. — in Kenya.  *This image is copyright of its original author Carol De La Torre Me getting a male lion selfie. I was gonna do a retake since my eyes were partially closed but I got a little freaked out so I didn't. There's just something that feels ALL BAD about turning your back on a male lion twice since he was right next to my jeep door. I kept thinking.......I wonder if he ate yet  *This image is copyright of its original author Sunil Thakkar Masai Mara reserve - largest protected jungle in the world. we were deep in the jungle searching for the lion pride. Saw 4 lioness and 7 cubs. Alpha male lion was elusive. We heard him roaring at night. We searched all day for him. And jus before sunset he mysteriously appeared from the bushes and walked between our jeeps. We were amazed at his grace and confidence. Long live the king. Stan Allsopp  *This image is copyright of its original author
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