Expert: Walter Hintz - 6/4/2007

Question
Hi there Walta, i'm Scott, Pleased to meet you. My question is that
is high levels of testosterone linked to aggression? For example on this
forum we debate about who would win a fight, a Lion or Tiger. Lion fans
claim that male Lions are more aggressive than Tigers and a way of
telling this is because male Lions produce more testosterone than male
Tigers, is this true?

I dont know if I am correct with this, but one person on the Tiger side
said that Humans produce four times the amount of testosterone than
Lions, and that there is no way a Human could be as aggressive as a male
Lion. So, is the theory of testosterone making you more aggressive true?
And I dont suppose you have any charts or anything to show this?

and Walta, I thought you might be able to give a good
opinion on who you think would win.

Thankyou for your time,

Scott.  

Answer
Hi Scott
First of all I must tell you that I am not an expert on aggression in mammals.  I did a little research and found out that the idea of testosterone stimulating aggression is controversial but most physiologists refute the idea.  As to battles between lions and tigers it is my opinion that the result would depend on factors other than hormones. The physical prowess of each animal would decide the outcome not the chemistry. This goes without saying if the battle was between a man and a tiger.  No amount of hormone would save the man.
 If you wish to find out more about the claims about testosterone google "testosterone and aggression" There are a lot of sites.