Lion and Tiger Fight Interaction in Zoo, Circus or Any Other Captive Places

[peter]

(08-13-2019, 02:49 AM)Shadow Wrote: Same incident and better quality video and from different directions.

First translation from description:


During the performance in the Moscow Circus on Vernadsky Prospekt, an emergency occurred that will make even the most sophisticated audience shudder for a long time.

In the arena between two dangerous predators, a fight broke out. Trying to prove his leadership, the tiger attacked the lion. He, in turn, gave him a rebuff.

At first, the Zapashny brothers - Edgard and Askold - tried to calm the predators by throwing circus curbstones at them. But this did not affect them.


Then Askold decided to resort to extreme measures - he shot into the air. This cooled the bestial fervor of predators.

Spectators watched in horror at the arena, one of which photographed what had happened on video. Later, the video was published in his "Instagram" by Askold himself.

"For the first time I shot from a light/noise weapon, and, thank God, I managed to stop Philip's lion, who wanted to join the" battle, "said the trainer.

ANALYSIS

a - The fight

01 - The Zapashny Brothers walk the male lion to the side of the cage.

02 - The moment the second Zapashny turns his back, the tiger attacks.

03 - During the first attack, the second male lion prepares to join the fight. Discouraged by one of the trainers, he turns round.

04 - Just before the tiger made contact, the lion turns his head and rolled over.

05 - By rolling over, the lion was able to absorb the weight of the attack. 

06 - On his back, the lion was able to use the tiger's momentum and turn the tables. 

07 - On equal terms, the lion pushed the tiger to his front, in this way creating momentum.

08 - As the lion is behind him and coming forward, the tiger is forced to move out of harm's way. 

09 - During his retreat, the tiger was able to turn round and face the lion head on.

10 - When they meet again, this time on equal terms, the tiger uses his forepaws to get a grip on the lion's mane.

11 - The lion again goes down with the tiger on top of him. This time, he isn't able to get out of the hold immediately. 

12 - After the shot is fired, the tiger jumps away.

13 - Close to the cage, after the fight, the lion moved towards the tiger. The tiger turned to meet him and the lion moved away.  

b - Contenders

01 - Although they were close in size, the lion seemed a bit bigger. 

02 - According to the description (see the translation), the tiger attacked to prove his superiority. However. The trainers I interviewed told me male lions fight each other to move up (not personal), whereas male tigers fight to get rid of tension or to get access to a tigress (personal). When they fight each other, they, apart from exceptions (fueds), usually quickly settle their affairs. When they fight animals they dislike, however, fights can develop into a dangerous all-out. 

c - Trainers

When the fight erupted, the Zapashny's responded in an adequate way. One of them immediately discouraged the second male lion when the fight started, in this way avoiding a new problem. They then tried to break up the fight. The assistents also responded in an adequate way, as they stepped in very quicky and did what they had to do. When the brawlers were not to be discouraged, one of the Zapashy's made sure the fight was stopped. All in all, it took less than 30 seconds. Well done.

My score - Zapashny Bros: 9 out of 10. Beatty: 1 out of 10.

Why not 10 out of 10?

Mixed acts are potentially dangerous, especially when tigers, lions and bears are forced to cooperate. All trainers know there's no love lost between these species, meaning you got to take precautions. Lions often talk about their intentions, but so do tigers and bears. Not as openly as lions, but they're not as secretive as many think. Those who watch them closely often, to a degree, are able to predict their actions. My guess is the tiger involved in the brawl told the trainers about his intentions before he attacked. They apparently missed it (1 point deducted). 

I'm not sure about the history of the act, but the animals seemed a bit tense. Could have been a result of a lack of pedestals. For circus cats, pedestals are always safe. The video suggests only a few pedestals were used. The new concept seems to work, but the lack of a clearly defined individual space could have disadvantages (another point gone).  

I only saw 2 male lions in the video. As male lions, in contrast to tigers, fight together, it meant a tiger involved in a brawl would not face more than 2 male lions. This decision offers the Zapashny's more time and room to break up a brawl. Damage control and good thinking (1 extra point).

d - Style of fighting

01 - Lions.

Captive male lions, and those in their prime in particular, tend to be quite sure of themselves. Surprise attacks and adequate responses are not in the book. A tiger, therefore, can get to an early advantage. When disadvantaged, male lions, like tigers, often roll over quickly to be able to absorb the initial blow. After turning round, they're able to use the momentum of their opponent to their advantage. Male lions often use the freight train strategy, meaning they go forward in order to pin their opponent with everything they have. Although their stocky build enables infighting, they're not very agile. In a brawl with an athletic opponent, they, as a result, often lose initiative. The mane can absorb blows to a degree, but it also offers the opponent an opportunity to get a hold. This hold can enable him to move the lion in a position it wants to avoid at all costs. Without a mane, that would be much more difficult. 

02 - Tigers

Male tigers often are more wary and more cautious than male lions. When confronted, they, more often than not, tend to give way. When determined, however, tigers often are prepared to go all the way. They're different from lions in that they're more manoeuvrable. When they fight another tiger, they tend to lock on. In a fight with a bear or a lion, however, they seem to avoid just that. When they fight a bear, they try to get to his back. Lions have a mane, enabling a tiger to hook on.             

e - Big predators compared

Based on what I saw and what trainers told me, my guess is there's, strengthwise, little to choose between male lions, tigers and bears of similar age and size (difference in weight limited to 100 pounds). The trainer interviewed by Big Bonns (AVA) said bears easily outwrestle a big cat, but added an attack from behind, in his opinion, would result in a dead bear. Pikunov agreed in the department of strength, but thought the bear would outendure a tiger. Krechmar, however, said there are no consistent winners. Tony Hughes, regarding captive big cats and bears, roughly agreed. 

What I heard and saw suggests a tiger would get more opportunities as a result of more speed and agility, but it would be a close call between animals of similar size no matter what. One mistake could be curtains. This regarding animals born and bred in captivity. 

In wild tigers and lions, things could be a bit different. The reason is adult tigers, as Vaillant said, are true survivors. Only the most able and clever get to adulthood. Male lions also have to avoid bad decisions, but their way of life (referring to coalitions) enables both the able and the clever to get to adulthood. In male tigers, fysical ability always is important. Limited ability can result in starvation. This is not always true for all male lions, at least not to the same degree. But I never heard of a male lion starving to death in his prime.

f - Docu on the Zapashny Brothers

I found the documentary below today. It's in Russian.

Wolverine, able in Russian, is out at the moment. Perhaps another poster is able to tell us a bit more about the documentary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P6qyEGAtms Reply