behind the big cat's and bear's, who is the top predator?

[Dr Panthera]

(11-02-2015, 12:01 PM)Spalea Wrote: A young elephant, weighing one ton or a little bit more, isn't, by far, an adult. Thus a lion or a tiger killing an adult buffalo, weighing 600 kilos, or an adult gaur, almost a ton, accomplish a much more remarkable feat than for a young elephant. Same opinion as concerns an adult giraffe for a lion. A juvenile "big prey" cannot do anything against a big lone predator. We have to put into perpective such feats, I think...

While I agree that large bovids ( particularly buffalo) are very challenging prey for big cats and pound for pound they could be more difficult to kill, they are still more easily overpowered and killed than adult giraffes, rhinos, hippos, and juvenile elephants.
The kill would involve catching the prey, wrestling it to the ground, pinning it down , applying the killing bite long enough to suffocate the animal...so killing any animal that is over 1000 kg requires tremendous effort.
Juvenile elephants may look like gentle, helpless giants they can easily flip a jeep, break a tree, and at times harass and even other large animals ( rhinos, hippos)
The fact remains that megafauna comprises less than 1% of tiger food and less than 10% of lion food, tigers are essentially hunters of cervids and suids, and lions are hunters of antelopes, zebras,and bovids..and the protection of these prey items is essential for the big cats survival. Reply