Felids Interactions - Interspecific Conflicts

[Shadow]

(12-20-2018, 08:35 PM)Rishi Wrote:

(12-20-2018, 07:56 PM)Shadow Wrote: That is a good video showing it once again how tiger and lion "fanboys" are both wrong as usual. When wild animals have space, there are no absolute truths, like "lions fight always to the death" or "tigers do this and that"... in wildlife there are individuals among species and even though something can happen often it doesn´t mean, that it happens always. Of course videos with fierce fights get a lot of attention, but still often things go just like in here. Two dominant predators have some issue, but neither of them wants to test another really and they disperse.

I have read myself about one case, where a man told how he witnessed encounter between Asiatic lion and tiger in wildlife and he told, that there was a short fight and then they dispersed, no "winner". All other cases I can remember are in zoos or circuses in unnatural environment and situation.

In this case you're right, the lion didn't push his luck, but he does seem to behave like the dominant one of the two.

But ofcourse there can be losers...from time to time. The wilderness is littered with bodies of the losers.
Also the captive specimens (circus, zoos etc.) tend to behave much more rashly as i noted. Even semi-captive ones like these two are more cautious & "natural".

My point is just, that it is impossible to say absolutely how things develop, when different species meet. Especially when so equally sized like lion and tiger. I mean, they don´t keep there scales with them and do weighings if they confront to make valuations, that which one has maybe 20-50 kg weigh advantage. Often people give reasoning based on that, what they see happening when lions meet lions or tigers meet tigers. Or what has happened in very unnatural environment and situations.

I am not at all so convinced, that male lion would fight against a tiger in same way as it treats other male lions challenging it for leadership for instance. It might be even more fierce, but then again it could give up a lot easier if alone. Same with tiger, who knows. Here in this video there was a lot of room, not some small cage etc. where impossible to take distance. And what happened.... I personally don´t take too seriously most of hypotheses how tiger and lion would act if confronting, simply because no-one really knows. Reply