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Maximum size of prey that a single male lion or tiger can kill

Guatemala GuateGojira Offline
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(05-29-2020, 02:26 AM)Dr Panthera Wrote: Asad posted a great collection of large lion prey.

To summarize:

African male lion: Juvenile elephants ( up to 2000 kg) , giraffe bulls ( 1000-1900 kg) .

Asiatic male lion : Domestic buffalo ( 300 to 600 kg ) , nilgai bulls and sambar stags.

Amur tiger : Manchurian moose ( 260-300 kg...note smaller than Alaskan/Canadian moose ) , domestic animals including oxen and horses.

Sumatran tiger : Domestic animals and sambar stags ( circa 150 kg in Sumatra , smaller than mainland sambars )

South Asian tiger ( Singapore to Sariska ) Gaur bulls ( 600-941 kg ) , banteng bulls ( 600 to 800 kg ), elephant calves.

There are several issues on this. There are reports of tigers killing young elephants of about 2 tons too, and also the reports of adults rhinos, why to ignore that?

Also, note that none of all those animales reported was actually weighed, there is no information about the weight of those adult giraffes or elephant subadults. The only prey animals that were actually weighed are those from Nagarahole (up to 1000 kg). This means that we can be sure about the maximum weight of the prey killed only in this study. All the others are estimations and guess.
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Brazil Dark Jaguar Offline
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( This post was last modified: 06-17-2020, 01:09 AM by Dark Jaguar )

(06-17-2020, 12:33 AM)GuateGojira Wrote:
(05-29-2020, 02:26 AM)Dr Panthera Wrote: Asad posted a great collection of large lion prey.

To summarize:

African male lion: Juvenile elephants ( up to 2000 kg) , giraffe bulls ( 1000-1900 kg) .

Asiatic male lion : Domestic buffalo ( 300 to 600 kg ) , nilgai bulls and sambar stags.

Amur tiger : Manchurian moose ( 260-300 kg...note smaller than Alaskan/Canadian moose ) , domestic animals including oxen and horses.

Sumatran tiger : Domestic animals and sambar stags ( circa 150 kg in Sumatra , smaller than mainland sambars )

South Asian tiger ( Singapore to Sariska ) Gaur bulls ( 600-941 kg ) , banteng bulls ( 600 to 800 kg ), elephant calves.

There are several issues on this. There are reports of tigers killing young elephants of about 2 tons too, and also the reports of adults rhinos, why to ignore that?

Also, note that none of all those animales reported was actually weighed, there is no information about the weight of those adult giraffes or elephant subadults. The only prey animals that were actually weighed are those from Nagarahole (up to 1000 kg). This means that we can be sure about the maximum weight of the prey killed only in this study. All the others are estimations and guess.

@GuateGojira Those Rhinos indian tigers got reports of preying on, they look like they got armor on its body hahaha, I am curious how do they compare in aggressivness to the White and Black Rhino specially the latter one I am more curious?? Are they just as aggressive and dangerous like the specially Black Rhinos on the same level???
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Guatemala GuateGojira Offline
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(06-17-2020, 01:00 AM)Dark Jaguar Wrote:
(06-17-2020, 12:33 AM)GuateGojira Wrote:
(05-29-2020, 02:26 AM)Dr Panthera Wrote: Asad posted a great collection of large lion prey.

To summarize:

African male lion: Juvenile elephants ( up to 2000 kg) , giraffe bulls ( 1000-1900 kg) .

Asiatic male lion : Domestic buffalo ( 300 to 600 kg ) , nilgai bulls and sambar stags.

Amur tiger : Manchurian moose ( 260-300 kg...note smaller than Alaskan/Canadian moose ) , domestic animals including oxen and horses.

Sumatran tiger : Domestic animals and sambar stags ( circa 150 kg in Sumatra , smaller than mainland sambars )

South Asian tiger ( Singapore to Sariska ) Gaur bulls ( 600-941 kg ) , banteng bulls ( 600 to 800 kg ), elephant calves.

There are several issues on this. There are reports of tigers killing young elephants of about 2 tons too, and also the reports of adults rhinos, why to ignore that?

Also, note that none of all those animales reported was actually weighed, there is no information about the weight of those adult giraffes or elephant subadults. The only prey animals that were actually weighed are those from Nagarahole (up to 1000 kg). This means that we can be sure about the maximum weight of the prey killed only in this study. All the others are estimations and guess.

@GuateGojira Those Rhinos indian tigers got reports of preying on, they look like they got armor on its body hahaha, I am curious how do they compare in aggressivness to the White and Black Rhino specially the latter one I am more curious?? Are they just as aggressive and dangerous like the specially Black Rhinos on the same level???

I don't have specific information about the agressiviness of the Afican rhino species, but I do have about Indian rhinos. In fact, Indian rhinos are famous for been very agressive and the wife of Dr Sunquist, Fiona, had a very bad experience with one of them and she confesed that after that, she allways was affraid of those animales, much more than the tigers. The difference is in the attack, as the Africa rhinos attack using its horns, while the Indian rhino use its canines, they bite!

I can guess that probably all of them have the same aggresiveness.
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Brazil Dark Jaguar Offline
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( This post was last modified: 06-17-2020, 01:33 AM by Dark Jaguar )

(06-17-2020, 01:22 AM)GuateGojira Wrote:
(06-17-2020, 01:00 AM)Dark Jaguar Wrote:
(06-17-2020, 12:33 AM)GuateGojira Wrote:
(05-29-2020, 02:26 AM)Dr Panthera Wrote: Asad posted a great collection of large lion prey.

To summarize:

African male lion: Juvenile elephants ( up to 2000 kg) , giraffe bulls ( 1000-1900 kg) .

Asiatic male lion : Domestic buffalo ( 300 to 600 kg ) , nilgai bulls and sambar stags.

Amur tiger : Manchurian moose ( 260-300 kg...note smaller than Alaskan/Canadian moose ) , domestic animals including oxen and horses.

Sumatran tiger : Domestic animals and sambar stags ( circa 150 kg in Sumatra , smaller than mainland sambars )

South Asian tiger ( Singapore to Sariska ) Gaur bulls ( 600-941 kg ) , banteng bulls ( 600 to 800 kg ), elephant calves.

There are several issues on this. There are reports of tigers killing young elephants of about 2 tons too, and also the reports of adults rhinos, why to ignore that?

Also, note that none of all those animales reported was actually weighed, there is no information about the weight of those adult giraffes or elephant subadults. The only prey animals that were actually weighed are those from Nagarahole (up to 1000 kg). This means that we can be sure about the maximum weight of the prey killed only in this study. All the others are estimations and guess.

@GuateGojira Those Rhinos indian tigers got reports of preying on, they look like they got armor on its body hahaha, I am curious how do they compare in aggressivness to the White and Black Rhino specially the latter one I am more curious?? Are they just as aggressive and dangerous like the specially Black Rhinos on the same level???

I don't have specific information about the agressiviness of the Afican rhino species, but I do have about Indian rhinos. In fact, Indian rhinos are famous for been very agressive and the wife of Dr Sunquist, Fiona, had a very bad experience with one of them and she confesed that after that, she allways was affraid of those animales, much more than the tigers. The difference is in the attack, as the Africa rhinos attack using its horns, while the Indian rhino use its canines, they bite!

I can guess that probably all of them have the same aggresiveness.

@GuateGojira Thank you, I always see those white/black rhinos as complete tanks taken directly from Jurassic Park. Funny












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Ashutosh Offline
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( This post was last modified: 06-19-2020, 06:47 AM by Ashutosh )

@Dark Jaguar , the African and Indian rhino species are both aggressive. It’s a common characteristic attributed to their poor eyesight (they can’t see past 40 metres), which means they have incredible hearing. One of the best in mammalian kingdom, in fact. So, the aggressiveness is borne out of being defensive and protective.

The differences as @GuateGojira pointed out is horns and incisors as mode of attack. Another difference is their surroundings. You will see a rhino charging in Africa for a mile, but, in Kaziranga, amongst the elephant grass, it is tough to spot an elephant even 50 metres away!!!

Kaziranga national park has a compulsory policy of an armed guard in every tour jeep who shoot at rhino’s feet when they charge. And, it is very common to get charged at by a rhino in Kaziranga especially in the mating season or by a mother with a young. Plus, they can run at 55 km/hr!














The last video gives you the sense of the thick vegetation where an animal weighing over 2 tons can disappear 20 feet from your eyes. Also, the guard shoots at the ground to deter them from charging.
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Brazil Dark Jaguar Offline
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( This post was last modified: 06-17-2020, 04:42 AM by Dark Jaguar )

@Ashutosh 

That armor body look ancient. Also because of their very sensitive hearing ears, in Africa rangers scream and they stop the charge.

Those elephant grass are incredible, Many years ago I watched a documentary on the indian Elephants and there's a moment they walking over this tall elephant grass and the reporter on top of the Elephant said '' These grass are so tall to the point that if there were 100 tigers down here we wouldn't know it.''

And its good they only shoot to the ground. Huh
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United States Pckts Offline
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United States Stripedlion2 Offline
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What’s the biggest sized giraffe a lion can kill alone? And can a big enough tiger kill a 1700kg gaur .
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Guatemala GuateGojira Offline
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(07-24-2020, 06:45 PM)Stripedlion2 Wrote: What’s the biggest sized giraffe a lion can kill alone? And can a big enough tiger kill a 1700kg gaur .

Although there are records of lions killing full grow adult giraffes, no one has ever weighed the carcases, so for the moment, is impossible to know the weigtht of the biggest giraffe that a single lion can kill.

About the tigers, although we know that the biggest gaurs killed by tigers did weighed 1,000 kg, we don't know if they could kill a bull of 1,700 kg. In fact, we don't even know if gaurs actually reach that huge weight, as the biggest gaur recorded from India weighed 1,106 kg (n=11), while a single record from Cochin, China, mention a bull of 1,225 kg "clean" (sic!), If we believe in the record from China, then both of these specimens were apparently exceptional and normally the bulls do not weight that much. I guess that a figure of 1,700 kg may belong only to the biggest bisons in the Pleistocene of North America, or may be an exceptionally big bull of domestice cattle.
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United States Stripedlion2 Offline
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Ok thanks guate. What’s the tallest a gaur can get at the shoulder? I’ve read some sites saying up to 7 feet which is massive .also how much did the steppe bison weigh I read that scientists are working on bringing them back and Britain is planning on getting bison reintroduced after 6,000 years of them being abscent . https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.insider.com/wild-bison-to-roam-englands-woodlands-first-time-6000-years-2020-7%3famp
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Guatemala GuateGojira Offline
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(07-28-2020, 06:30 AM)Stripedlion2 Wrote: Ok thanks guate. What’s the tallest a gaur can get at the shoulder? I’ve read some sites saying up to 7 feet which is massive .also how much did the steppe bison weigh I read that scientists are working on bringing them back and Britain is planning on getting bison reintroduced after 6,000 years of them being abscent . https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.insider.com/wild-bison-to-roam-englands-woodlands-first-time-6000-years-2020-7%3famp

The maximum height measured in a gaur in India was of 192 cm "between pegs", and the height to the hump is of 204 cm also "between pegs". There are reports of taller gaurs in Indochina and China (up to 220 cm) but are not corroborated or as far I know, it is not stated if they were actually measured between pegs or not. The next image will show you the size of the biggest gaur ever recorded in India, specifically in the Cooch Behar region:


*This image is copyright of its original author



The estimation of weights of the Bison latifrons, argubly the biggest bovid ever, range from 1,250 to 2,000 kg, depending of the source. The shoulder height (actually the hump height) reported for this animal is up to 250 cm.
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johnny rex Offline
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In conclusion, both male lions and tigers can kill prey up to a tonne by themselves. Does anyone knows the maximum size of the largest prey that Kodiak or Katmai bears and polar bears had killed and devoured?
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Guatemala GuateGojira Offline
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(08-25-2020, 09:36 AM)johnny rex Wrote: In conclusion, both male lions and tigers can kill prey up to a tonne by themselves. Does anyone knows the maximum size of the largest prey that Kodiak or Katmai bears and polar bears had killed and devoured?

That conclution is correct. Big cats over 227 kg can kill prey up to 1,000 kg alone.

About the polar bear, as far I know the biggest prey that they can hunt is the walrus which may weight over 2,000 kg. On the Kodiak bears, I think that the maximum prey are deer species like the Roosevelt elk of up to 500 kg, but no animal in the region is bigger than the bears, so this is a case when the predator is bigger than its prey.
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Italy LeoMan Offline
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I think a focal point when analysing the hunting attempts of tigers is the main role played by the sneak attack/ambush strategy.

 I would guess this factor is much more important then sheer size and strenght of the tiger and of his preys. Every tiger in the world who would face a 1000kg bull gaur into an open confrontation i would say it will share close to zero chances to the kill the massive herbivore.

 How much success the sneak attack will have it will be the decisive factor against every massive prey, i personally believe there is no difference between a 500kg gaur and a 1000kg gaur if the tiger manages to silently ambush the beast, with a bite to the throat from below or with a timely jump on his back followed with a bite on the neck.

 Even if the bull gaur is able to fend of the tiger after being bitten to the neck or throat there are chances it will bleed to death after some time or it will become so weak that the tiger will have another chance to sneak up on him again. In conclusion i would say that for an adult male tiger with great expertise on gaurs hunt there is no big difference between an average size gaur or a really big one, as long the ambush attack manages to hit the soft spots.
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( This post was last modified: 05-09-2021, 09:14 AM by tigerluver )

(04-18-2020, 04:26 AM)Roflcopters Wrote:
(04-18-2020, 01:23 AM)Ashutosh Wrote: @Pckts, the study you quote says that the average weight of adult gaurs killed by tigers was 737.8 kilos. Does this figure include female gaurs? Because, if it does, it very well proves that tigers prey on gaurs as big as 1000 kilos as simple sexual dimorphism between the weights of male and female gaurs would give you that average figure.

Also, the incident of gaur killing the big male tiger is from kabini and was narrated by Karanth himself. What that part doesn’t tell you is that tiger was a gaur specialist. He killed many gaurs (big ones too) before one finally got him and he was a bit on the obese side apparently.



I think you're talking about Dhasa better known as T-03 as described by him in that book.


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back then i read something like this from that book.

1. T-01 (old tiger, 12-13 years), Wt 230 kg+ (507 lb+). Although the tiger was quite a large animal, he had mortal wounds in a fight with another tiger. Died from wounds.
2. T-02 (prime female). Wt 177 kg (390 lb) Was radiotracked for several years offering great insights into tiger behaviour. She was a huge tigress and ruled for a long time.
3. T-03 (prime male). 257 kg (565 lb) Was radiotracked for two years. Was apparently involved in several battles for territory and lost a large part of range to another male tiger, ended up shifting his range. Was a gaur expert, but ultimately was killed in a fight with a bull gaur.
4. T-04 (3-4 years) Wt 250 kg (550 lb) Lost his radiocollar after 2 months in a battle with another male tiger. The bite penetrated the steel collar and severed it. But T-04 seemed to have won the battle and was seen for a few more years. Also recorded as having committed infanticide (killed 3 cubs of the defeated male).
These weights ignore stomach contents, however.

I came across this back in 2008, 12 years ago from now and I could never understand how such an experienced male would get killed by a Gaur. of course my knowledge was limited back then, now that i think about it. Dhasa/T03 was probably nearing the end of his life and was desperate for food. which ultimately lead to his death. simple law of the jungle, you live by the sword and die by the sword. his favorite prey item ended up being the reason for his death. that was probably one of the first few books that really inspired me to look deep into the tigers and since then, I never really looked back. good old times. my only wish list is to read and hear more from tigers in South India. those are perhaps some of the most prestigious chunk of forests with such density. it's a damn shame we don't get to hear much from Bandipur and Nagarhole. Raja was like the last nail in the coffin before Bandipur literally fell off the map. just my two cents, sorry for hijacking the on-going discussions.


I apologize for bringing up an old post. Do you recall the title/reference of the book? Is it this?
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