ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)

[Apex Titan]

Prelude

Here's the opening of my upcoming post about the striking difference between specialized (apex) big game hunters (tigers) and omnivores/scavengers (bears).

@peter For some laymen it may be difficult to understand why a male tiger can overcome a (larger) male brown bear more often than not, but for most experienced professionals and experts (biologists, zoologists, naturalists, scientists, rangers, hunters, etc) it seems its difficult for them to understand how it would be possible for an adult male brown bear to defeat such a formidable and specialized apex predator like a tiger more often than not. You mentioned Vaillant's book. Good idea. Let's see what John Vaillant wrote about the Amur tiger.

In his exceptional book (Chapter 2), John Vaillant describes the incredibly lethal weaponry, predatory skills, and physical anatomy of the tiger in great detail. Reading this, a person can easily understand why an Amur tiger can kill even a much larger male brown bear more often than not. A person can also easily see why tigers are able to habitually hunt and kill adult bears. A person can easily see why the medium-sized male tigers 'Ochkarik' and 'Odyr' were able to slaughter and devour large adult male brown bears of impressive sizes.

Vaillant notes that not only can a tiger, at will, kill any creature of the taiga, but it is also widely regarded by the indigenous peoples as a consummate hunter and the undisputed lord of the taiga. Vaillant also notes that within every major ecosystem nature has produced, there's a singularly formidable predator that rules over it, and in the Primorye and Khabarovsk taiga, the Amur tiger reigns supreme and dominates this ecosystem as the undisputed apex predator.

John Vaillant is also very explicit about the Amur tigers' dominance over brown bears, and how the indigenous peoples view the tiger. In my post about Amur tigers and bears in native culture, I'll post Vaillant's statements about the indigenous peoples (Udeghe, Nanai, Orochi) views of the tiger.

Vaillant also notes how a tiger has the power, strength, weaponry, and skills to kill animals many times its size. It is these physical attributes and skills, which makes the tiger a more formidable beast than the brown bear, and why Amur tigers win most fights against adult brown bears.

The tiger's weaponry is far more devastating than a brown bear's and its predatory skills and capabilities are far greater. In addition to the tigers' much larger and thicker canines, as Vaillant states, unlike a bear's claws which are designed primarily for digging and traction, the tiger's razor-sharp hooked claws are designed solely for fighting and killing, and its paws are extremely dexterous. I will elaborate further in my next post.

Physical Description of the Tiger (John Vaillant)

*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

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://www.krabarchive.com/ralphmag/GO/tiger.html


John Vaillant on Amur tigers vs Brown bears

Due to the Amur tigers deadly weaponry, strength, power, and killing skills described by Vaillant above, tigers are able to fight and tear brown bears apart, limb from limb... and also hunt and eat bears on a regular basis:

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

In 2022, "Everest Media" published a summary of John Vaillant's book: "The Tiger". Here are some key notes:

*This image is copyright of its original author

https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/S...frontcover

Vaillant is very clear about the Amur tigers' superiority and dominance over the brown bear, its physical prowess, and how the Amur tiger rules the taiga.

As large, strong, and robust a male brown bear is, as an omnivore, it simply does not possess the physicality, attributes, weapons, and skills of a natural born apex killing machine like a tiger. Tigers are able to quickly and efficiently kill very large and dangerous animals that no brown bear would stand a chance of killing, not even by ambush. This difference in ability makes a huge difference in a serious fight between a male tiger and male brown bear. 

The next part to this post will be about the big difference in experience, qualities, and physical ability (killing prowess & feats) between tigers and bears. And how this usually affects the outcome of a serious fight between a male tiger and male brown bear. Reply