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(03-25-2015, 11:52 PM)faess Wrote: Really doesn't have to be footage of the attack, maybe a book describing the details of a Tiger taking out an adult gaur face to face would be enough.
When a solitary big cat whether a lion or a tiger attacks an adult large bovid gaur-water Buffalo- banteng- Cape Buffalo a frontal attack makes the cat vulnerable to the bovid formidable horns with which the cat could get severely injured or even killed, a pride of lions can use team to work to immobilize the Buffalo by biting the spine above the tail, weaken it by biting the spine and flanks , and eventually applying the killing bite on the wind pipe or muzzle.
Solitary attacks by lions and tigers on adult healthy bovids involve hamstringing the victim or biting its spine immobilizing it and mostly starting eating it alive from the rump.
When the cat sees a possibility of a frontal attack in case of a weakened, sick, pregnant, old, or young bovid it may attempt a throat or muzzle bite but more often than not attacking the rear and stirring away from the lethal horns is the way
While I agree that this is probably the case most often, I don't think its always the case. I have seen madi-ta take a bull buffalo from the front, unsuccessfully but still attempted, I have seen males take down cows from the front and females do the same as well.
I know the Odin (old bull guar) was seen with terrible wounds on his hump which is from a tiger jumping on its back and "riding him like a horse"
But I have seen the large male tiger "Buffalo Killer" who made his living killing buffalo by breaking their necks. Breaking their necks so hard in fact "that their horns were driven into the dirt"
I don't think hunting is cut and dry, like a fight, you must take the opportunity that is given to you. When a area of weakness presents itself, you must go for it. While the "safer" option is to avoid the horns, that seems to benefit a pride where they can take their time to make the kill, but a solitary attack seems to benefit much more from a quick kill rather than a drawn out fight. But I have also heard of battles with elephants and tigers or Odin the bull Guar taking all night long, so it will depend on "the size of the dog and the fight in the dog" so to speak.
Absolutely, no two hunts are the same but the general rule is maximize opportunity and minimize risk of injury especially for a solitary hunter...injury may equal starvation and death so the greatest majority of attacks on large bovids are from the rear, having said that big cats always amaze me with individual behaviour , a tiger that sees more potential of a frontal attack and a level of risk it could take it will go for it. Specialists on tackling a particular prey or particular technique are described.
In the end tigers are cryptic, solitary, nocturnal, elusive, secretive, and quite animals recording their predatory behaviour is a daunting undertaking.
Tigers evolved as predators of cervids and suids and their distribution mirrors these prey ( Sidensticker), it is quite interesting that gaur, water buffalo, and banteng contributed less than 10% of tiger diet in all published studies except in Bandipur and Nagarhole where gaur and sambar contribute most of the eaten biomass ( possibly in other areas in south India I still need to see the results of studies).
Can a male Tiger have a successful face to face kill on a Adult Bull Gaur?
