There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
01-25-2015, 01:19 PM( This post was last modified: 01-25-2015, 05:20 PM by peter )
TIGERS AND DHOLES IN INDIA
Although I agree the much quoted letter about the fight between a male tiger and a dhole pack in the JBNHS was suspect, there's no question dholes chased, fought and killed tigers in the first half of the century in southern India, Guate. It was a rarity, but it happened. Kenneth Anderson delivered unmistakable proof.
The evolutionary gain (for dholes) is elimination of a competitor, which would result in more food. They paid, but the reward apparently was higher. Tkachenko, in his recent article on Amur tigers in a reserve just north of Khabarowsk (see the tiger extinction thread), wrote Himalayan black bears and brown bears, although they were often taken by tigers in the reserve he studied, didn't hesitate to visit tiger kills. Hunger dominated fear, that is. Access to food is a driving evolutionary factor. It apparently dominates fear. In both bears and dholes.
LIONS, HYENA DOGS AND HYENAS IN AFRICA
Hyena dogs fear lions for good reasons. Lions actively seek them out, which is remarkable. One reason is hyena dogs, even in packs, are unable to huret an adult lion, let alone a pride. When lions raid a denning site, there will be no revenge.
Not so in hyenas. On the African plains, there's little to choose between lions and hyenas. The reason is there usually are four hyenas for every adult lion, which means the outcome of any battle is unclear. Hyenas know this and so do lions.
A question of combined weight, many think. When a situation is undecided, psychology comes in. It's remarkable that lions, when they face a large group of hyenas, do not seem organized. They are when they attack (hunting), but not when the have to defend. Hyenas know this and use it. I never saw any statistics, but my guess is hyenas could be close to 50% in engagements. This is the reason we see so many battles. It apparently pays.
TIGERS AND BEARS IN RUSSIA
Lions and hyenas compare to tigers and bears in Russia. The difference is bears are solitary animals, meaning a tiger can single out any bear he wants to. Tigers use this advantage in that they actively hunt, ambush, kill and eat bears, in this way both eliminating competition and profiting in the best possible way. Some male bears follow and single out tigresses with cubs and immature tigers, but that doesn't happen often.
The number of tigers killed by bears is limited. Not the other way round. Psychologywise, the advantage has to be with the tiger. The result is they do not lose a lot of food: about 15% or thereabout, experts think (see the posts on a thesis recently discussed in the tiger extinction thread). Although females and immatures sometimes lose their kill to a large bear, statistics say it doesn't happen often. Females and immatures also hunt and kill bears, in this way eliminating competition. Read the story about the youngsters recently released. The two young males, at about 2 years of age, both killed a bear. One of these was a 3-year old bear. Not a mature animal, but it tells you a bit about tigers. We now know even immature tigers hunt large wild boars and, at times, bears because of collars. They could have disadvantages, but there's no question there are advantages as well. The wild boars and bears killed by the young tigers would never have been discovered without them.
The impression I have, is tigers are able to cope with bears, although expert agree there's no question very large male bears dominate in the end. But these are few and far between.
AMUR TIGERS AND WOLVES
Amur tigers hunt wolves, which resulted in few wolves in south-eastern Russia. This is remarkable, as we know wolves, in winter, usually live and hunt in large packs. Theoretically, 6-10 adult wolves should outweigh and, therefore, dominate any tiger, but apparently this is not the case. One reason is wolves are not as heavy and big as hyenas. They can't take a lot of damage. Another is tigers are solitary and usually live in forests, which doesn't help a pack hunter. The attitude of tigers could also be important, in that they do not accept competition. They hunt (and eat) leopards, badgers and smaller cats and also are prepared to engage even large bears, at times at their peril. Vindictiveness doesn't seem to be limited to male tigers.
LIONS AND HYENAS
Lions not not actively seek out hyenas and eliminate them. Not consistently, I mean. One reason is lions do not eat hyenas. Hunting them doesn't pay, that is. Two is there are too many hyenas. If you want to beat them, you need a strategy. Tigers seem to seek out competitors, but lions, for some reason, do not. Even male lions do not regard hyenas as enemies. The only real enemy for a male lion is another male lion. Sexual competition dominates the competition for food in male lions, that is. For this reason, they often face stiff competition from hyenas. For male lions, unrestricted access to food apparently isn't as important as unrestricted access to females.