AboutRaphael Heng Expertise Anything about Big Cats, especially Tigers. You can also ask me any questions or doubts you have about the organisation Save China's Tigers as i am a volunteer there, How the tigers affect the ecosystem in Africa etc. Questions about any feline re-wilding projects could be ask here, eg: Asiatic lion re-wilding. I can answer questions in both Chinese and English, questions on interspecies conflict regarding felines can also be answered.
Experience I am a volunteer of the Charitable Organisation, Save China's Tigers. The Organisation aims to save the South China Tiger via re-wilding training in Africa and releasing captive trained tigers back into the China's wild.
Organizations Save China's Tigers
Publications Wikipedia.
Education/Credentials Student, currently studying about Animal biology, specifically on felines.
Expert: Raphael Heng Date: 2/10/2008 Subject: LIONS AND TIGERS
Question dear, raphael
is it true tigers are bigger than lions? i hear reports of tigers growing to larger sizes, but no actual proof. even if the biggest tigers on record are larger, that doesn`t neccessarily mean they`re bigger on AVERAGE.
it was stated that the biggest CONFIRMED wild bengal tiger weighed 568 lbs, and the nepalese tiger topped out at 227 kg. of course, there are reports of larger tigers, but, according to mazak and peter jackson, they`re nothing more than estimates.
however, the largest wild lion weighed 702 lbs, while a aptive individual weighed 930 lbs, according to peter jackson.
lions are capable of amazing feats of strength. a 416 lb lion has been known to drag a 1000 lb carcass a distance of over 400 feet. that`s a weight differnece of about 60%, and lions, as such, would need a muscle mass of about 60% to achieve such a feat.
with a muscle mass of 60%, a 416 lb lion has about 250 lbs of muscle, with the strength of 10 men. the average 150 lb man has a muscle mass of about 40%. even though people have less than 1/10 the amount of muscle mass, a lion`s muscles, at similar wieghts, is about 40% stronger, which makes sense for an animal with such a hectic lifestyle.
muscle mass decreases at weights much above 416 lbs, which i deduce must be the average weight of a lion. so tigers, were they bigger, would posses a slower, less agile form.
tigers, living alone, have longer teeth and claws, an adaptation that suits a lone hunter. they are also faster, due mainly to their shorter legs.
example: limbs, when moved, fall in a curve pattern and a shorter limb has a smaller curve and so takes less time to reach it`s mark. also, the receptors that send the command to move has less distance to travel before the brain recieves the message. the quicker the message, the quicker the reaction. tigers are, on average, 15% faster than lions.
being shorter also means a tiger has a more compact form, which may also account for it`s speed.
Answer Hello Jimmy, are you that same Jimmy that asked me a similar question?
I just answered an extremly similar questio just 2 minutes ago from a questioner called Jimmy also, this is my answer, i would jus copy and paste it here.
"Hello there Jimmy and thanks for your question.
Ok enough said about the strength because any big cat expert would tell you that Tiger is the more muscular and stronger of the two. Tigers are said to be as strong as 13 - 15 men(due to the Gaur carcass pulling theory) and as you said, lions about 10men.
Just in case you don't know, both Tigers and Lions have fat percentage less than 5% of their body weight.
about the aggression, speed factors, well, i don't know how it is linked to weights. In captivity, most siberian tigers dwarf lions, you could email BigCatRescue, Tiger Touch or other famous Big Cat Santuaries you know of, ask them about the weights of their tigers and lions, and you can see the actual difference in captivity.
In an interview of Animal Planet with Big Cat Trainer Dave Salmoni, Dave Salmoni clearly stated that Siberian Tigers could get 100 - 150lbs heavier compared to big lions. Although i don't exactly agree with everything he said simply because he is talking about captivity animals, but what he says actually show the actual size difference of lions and tigers on average.
A zoologist once told me that on average, captive siberian tigers average 100lbs more than average captive lions. Now of course, i didn't trust it however after i visited Harbin Park in China, i begin to believe in that satistic. It is said that in Harbin Park, none of their adult 500 male siberian tigers weigh less than 550lbs, and many actually weigh more than 700lbs.
It talks about 2 more 250kg males in Panna Tiger reserve.
And all of this tigers(except Hairyfoot) is weighed by Famous Tiger Expert Dr. Ragu Chundawat, whom i sure you know.
Tigers from Chitwan Tiger Reserve in Nepal is said to be even heavier and larger than tigers from Panna Tiger reserve in central india. Here are 2 pictures of some average tigers from Nepal: http://www.freewebs.com/jackjacksonj/bhutan9mf.jpg
http://www.freewebs.com/jackjacksonj/12914.jpg
I don't really want to continue this by bring in Nagarahole or even Kaziranga park.
It seems that other than in the Sundarbans, Bengal Tigers tend to easily weigh over 200kg, and the average weight of lions is said to be 180 - 190kg.
Now about the Quote from Peter Jackson, Well, I would say that he sounds factual but not 100% correct because the largest Siberian Tiger on recorded is a 1025lbs male Siberian Tiger and it is the only feline in history to reach weights of over 1000lbs.
Well, about the 857lb male bengal tiger, some experts mention that it was a verified account, others disagree. I belong to the latter as i believe that particular tiger couldn't have been so heavy however there is no consensus between experts about whether itis verifed, many experts still use it as a source in their books so i wouldn't want to comment on that.
Anyway, you fail to mention about the 850lb wild Siberian Tiger on record. This was said to be verified.
After saying all this, i would like to add that most experts(if not all) would agree that Tigers are genetically bigger than lions, Tigers still have the potential to outgrow lions given the right conditions. I don't see any expert actually trying to disprove the Tiger as the "World's Largest Cat", Tigers have been crowned World's Largest Cat by scientists and experts because of verified evidence, until Experts and scientists calls the Lion, "World Largest Cat" then would you guys be correct.
However, i don't deny that although Tigers are the world's largest feline, Lions have always tried to rival that title but up till now Tigers are still leading but only by a small margin.
