Comparing Cats: A Discussion of Similarities & Differences

[Pckts]

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

Both taken by me on the same camera, I tried to find them in similar positions. It's hard to find similar shots of them taken on the same camera so I figured this would be a good comparison image.


Lion v Tiger
The difference in body composition is just as much in these cats as it is in the Bovine.

Females are easier to compare, both are similar in dimension, but both my GF and my self thought that the Tigress just look a bit more strong in the limb section. Even a smaller tigress like Coti Tara, she is just very strong looking, her muscles were more taught. When comparing the biggest females I saw of either species, I'd have to give the edge in overall size in all departments to the Link 8 female, but I'm not sure if she is just a huge female or not, but she looked like a male to me at first, she was massive.

Males are way harder to compare, the mane of the Lion hides a lot but going off of what I can see.
Lions seem taller at the shoulder, the male tiger I saw in Tadoba looked very tall but he was much further off so I couldn't get a close up of him but the Sangam male I saw in kanha is said to be similar height to Munna, Bheema and other Kanha males and he seemed to be shorter at the shoulder.
Body length is very hard to determine with the naked eye.
But when it comes to robustness, the tiger gets the nod, they are more barrel shaped and their muscles seem more massive. Maybe they look more stocky because they seem shorter but they are very robust.

Their personalities are also very different, Lions seem very lazy and don't mind eyes on them, they don't give you much expression and they lay around, a tiger seems to be on edge and much more elusive. Tigers are always moving, even when at the watering hole, they are alert, they prefer to be unseen. The Sangam male was not on edge but on a mission, he was roaring for a female and was moving, tigers are more expressive as my GF put it. Lions seem more confident when around people while tigers just want to slink off into the forest away from viewing eyes but Tigers seem much more unpredictable. They look you in the eye and send shivers down your spine, lions just don't acknowledge you, like you're not even worth their time.

Overall they are two very, very different cats but both command the respect of a King.
Anyone who claims that one is way bigger than the other in any aspect is probably bias, you cannot compare them with the naked eye, they are too different.

In the end, Tigers and Lions are like India and Africa. They are incomparable, both beautiful and dangerous in their own way. Better to enjoy them for what they are than try to stack them up against one another. Reply