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

[Shadow]

(11-19-2019, 03:36 PM)Apollo Wrote:

(11-19-2019, 11:43 AM)Spalea Wrote: @Apollo :

At the page 6 of this topic this fight is widely and abundantly commented and discussed by @peter , @Shadow and so on... And your apparent conclusions aren't good.

Its not my conclusion.

42-year-old Edgard Zapashny, animal trainer and head of the circus with the big cats, said in a statement later on that the incident between the two animals was nothing to worry about and was like a fight between two men.

Dieter the tiger is reportedly known to frequently start fights and he had apprently decided that during the performance was the best time to show David who was the boss.
Edgard Zapashny said, "If he had got a serious grip on the lion's neck, then most likely he would have strangled him had we not got involved. The spectators were reportedly safe as they were protected from the ring with a special net that is capable of holding the weight of an adult big cat."



https://meaww.com/white-tiger-attacks-lion-zapashny-brothers-circus

https://pulptastic.com/tiger-vs-baby-lion/

https://www.tert.am/en/news/2018/07/27/tiger-attack/2752751

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5994863/Tiger-attacks-lion-performance-Russian-circus.html

This just show it clearly, what I said earlier. If we take 10 different persons, we get 10 different conclusions and "guesstimations" how that fight would have ended :) One can say, that "tiger failed in ambush attack on lion and was lucky because fight was stopped by trainers", another says "lion was lucky" etc. etc. In the end what happened was failed ambush attack by the tiger and it was all open when trainers finally were able to shoot with gun causing lion and tiger to lose focus from fight. Tiger was in better position, but it looked like lion would have just swiped it if trainer not shooting same time, so they might have been both up in a split second if not interfering. This is speculation of course as much as anything else what comes to possible outcome of this fight, which remains mystery, no matter how much different people speculate.

This might be good time to remind, what Zapashny brothers themselves wrote:

"My brother and I are constantly asked: how often do predators attack you?
Predators are much more likely to sort things out with each other than with us!
Today, Dieter (an adult and a dangerous tiger) decided to show the place to a still very young lion David and attacked him! This was David’s first fight in his life and he wasn’t ready, but after we managed to break them for the first time, David decided to punish the offender and went to the frontal!
For the first time in many years, my brother had to shoot with a BLANK shot at a performance and that only stopped the fight !!! "



Then what comes to that article, it´s good to remember that in articles it matters what reporter asks (and not asking) and what he then chooses to write. Also when looking at what is written, it can be seen in different ways.

42-year-old Edgard Zapashny, animal trainer and head of the circus with the big cats, said in a statement later on that the incident between the two animals was nothing to worry about and was like a fight between two men.

This is kind of funny: "nothing to worry about". So that can be seen, that no danger for either animals if wanted to see like that. Trainer is calm and confident, right... Same time on the video it can be seen, that trainer is at one point so nervous, that dropping gun and he needs to pick it up from ground before shooting... nothing to worry about? I think, that they were very nervous at that point because they might soon have had a dead lion or dead tiger or at least badly injured animal(s) if not able to separate them soon.

Dieter the tiger is reportedly known to frequently start fights and he had apprently decided that during the performance was the best time to show David who was the boss.

This is no-brainer, Obviously Dieter was the one making sneak attack.

Edgard Zapashny said, "If he had got a serious grip on the lion's neck, then most likely he would have strangled him had we not got involved. The spectators were reportedly safe as they were protected from the ring with a special net that is capable of holding the weight of an adult big cat."

This then again... if. If is a good word, if tiger gets a serious grip on lions neck, then most likely it strangles lion. And if lion gets serious grip on tigers neck, then most likely it strangles tiger. 
Since either cat didn´t get serious grip from each others before trainers were able to confuse them by shooting, we will never know.

I have learned long time ago, that newspaper articles have to be read remembering, that reporter has influence to the outcome of the article. What is asked and what not, does reporter have own issues concerning it, what is the topic.

When I look at it, what Zapashny brothers published themselves and that video, I don´t see justification for conclusion, that lion broke free from the grip of the tiger with some help. When they separated first time, it was after "wrestling" and lion simply was able to break free and push tiger away because tiger failed in that sneak attack and didn´t get good enough bite/hold. I don´t think, that they even noticed that thrown chair when they were on the ground. In second "wrestle" it was all open again when gun was shot. Very quick chain of actions and reactions.

In their own message concerning this matter Zapashny brothers say, that only shooting blank stopped the fight. No speculation there, like there is then a bit in later articles.

When commenting this incident it´s good for all to remember, that there can be many opinions and interpretations. For me this fight was unsolved and I have no idea which one might have defeated the other one if not separated. Lion was of course young and attack was surprising, but it seemed to understand immediately, that time to fight.

One more thing, in many articles there is said, that lion run away and tiger followed... Only problem is, that I don´t see lion trying to run away at any point on the video. I did see tiger running away a bit and lion following before second wrestle. I wonder what video those reporters were watching, obviously not the same ones I have seen concerning Dieter and David. Reporters are time to time really something. Reply