Cave lion vs saber-toothed tiger who is stronger. American Lion: The giant ancestor of modern cats. What did he look like
A large number of representatives of the fauna lived on our planet at different times. However, the populations of many animals began to decline. The main factors of extinction have always been considered those associated with climate. But with the development of man, many animals disappeared forever. In this article we will talk about the disappeared wild cats.
Tasmanian tiger (marsupial tiger, Tasmanian wolf, thylacine)
One of the most mysterious animals that has been exterminated is the Tasmanian tiger.
It got its name in honor of the habitat - Tasmania. Despite the fact that to a large extent its name suggests the relationship of a mammal to the cat family, in fact it is a big misconception. Many researchers even classify the mammal as a subspecies of wild dogs.
The length of an adult individual could reach 1.4 meters without taking into account the tail. The length of the tail could exceed 60 cm. The weight of the animal is 6.35-7.7 kg.
European settlers who arrived on the Australian mainland began a rapid hunt for individuals of this species, arguing that the Tasmanian tigers steal livestock. By the 1920s, the animal population had been reduced so much that scientists had to list the species in the Red Book. Man finally exterminated the Tasmanian tiger in 1936.
Caspian tiger (Persian tiger, Turanian tiger)
A feature of such tigers is long stripes along the body, as well as their brown color. In winter, whiskers appeared in the Caspian tigers, the fur in the abdomen and the entire body became very fluffy and thick.
The mass of the average Caspian tiger was 240 kg.
The Romans used the Caspian tigers in gladiator fights.
The Caspian tiger lived in Central Asia, as well as the territory of the northern Caucasus. The rookery of the Caspian tiger could be observed up close in tropical impassable places. But they were all pretty close to the water. In just one day, the Turanian tiger could travel more than 100 km, which indicates the endurance of an extinct animal.
The last mentions and studies related to this representative of the fauna date back to the 50s of the last century. On the territory of Turkmenistan on January 10, 1954, one of the last individuals was seen, which migrated from the northern part of Iran. According to some reports, the last Caspian tiger was shot in the southeastern part of Turkey in 1970.
Javan tiger
It got its name because of the place of its main residence - the island of Java, located in Indonesia.
Adult individuals weighed 75-141 kg, body length is about 2-2.5 meters.
It died out relatively recently - in the 1980s, due to habitat destruction, as well as poaching.
Bali tiger
The habitat is the island of Bali, which is why it was called Balinese.
It is believed that the Ballic and Javan tigers had the same ancestor.
The length of the tiger is 0.93-2.3 meters, excluding the tail, weight 65-100 kg.
Outwardly, this tiger among all subspecies was distinguished by the smallest number of black stripes. There may be dark spots between the stripes.
The tiger is often mentioned in folk stories and in the visual arts of the peoples of Bali.
Bali tigers were destroyed by hunters. The last tiger was killed in 1937.
Pleistocene tiger
The most mysterious feline subspecies, known from fragmentary remains.
He lived in Russia, China and on the island of Java.
It is rather an early version of the modern tiger.
European cheetah (giant cheetah)
Lived on the territory of Eurasia about 500 thousand years ago.
Body length 1.3-1.5 meters excluding tail. Weight 60-90 kg. Height 90-120 cm.
Historians have discovered the remains of this cat in Europe, India and China.
Outwardly, he looked like a modern cheetah. The color of this animal remains a mystery. There are suggestions that the European cheetah had long hair.
The European cheetah most likely died out due to competition with other felids, which left no free niche for this large predator.
Miracinonyx
Possibly a distant relative of the cheetah. Probably the ancestor of the cougar.
He lived about 3 million years ago on the American continent.
Outwardly, it was similar to a modern cheetah, had a shortened skull, with enlarged nasal cavities and high teeth.
It was about the size of a modern cheetah.
Miracinonyx died out 20-10 thousand years ago due to climate change, lack of food and human hunting for it.
European jaguar (Gombastsog panther)
Lived approximately 1.5 million years ago, and is the earliest known species of the Panther genus in Europe.
European jaguars averaged around 120-160 kg. They were larger than modern jaguars.
The European jaguar was most likely a solitary animal. Lived in forests, but could also hunt in open spaces.
Pleistocene jaguar
It is believed to have descended from the giant jaguar. Appeared about 1.6 million years ago.
It was 1 meter high, 1.8-2 meters long, excluding tail, weight 150-190 kg.
Pleistocene jaguars lived in dense jungles, swampy floodplains, or coastal areas of North and South America.
Extinct 10 thousand years ago.
giant jaguar
Lived in North America 1.6 million years ago.
There were two subspecies of giant jaguars - North American and South American.
The jaguar had long legs and a tail, and was about the size of a modern lion or tiger.
Scientists believe that jaguars lived on open plains, but due to rivalry with lions and other big cats, they were forced to find more wooded areas.
Extinct 10 thousand years ago.
Barbary lion (Atlas lion or Nubian lion)
The mass of an adult is 100-270 kg.
This animal was considered the largest lion subspecies. The Barbarian lion differed from its counterparts in a thick and dark mane, which went far beyond its shoulders and hung down in the lower abdomen.
In the past, it could be found in Africa, in the northern part of the Sahara desert. Europeans brought it to the Roman Empire, where it was used for recreational purposes, namely, fights with the Turanian tiger.
At the beginning of the 17th century, its population declined sharply, as a result of which it was visible only in northwestern Africa. Due to the popularity of the use of firearms against animals at the time, as well as the existence of a targeted policy against the Barbary lion, the numbers in this region were reduced. The last individual was killed in 1922 in the Atlas Mountains on the territory of their Moroccan part.
cave lion
2.1 meters long, up to 1.2 meters high.
The Mosbach lion is considered the progenitor of the cave lion.
Lived in northern Eurasia.
The cave lion, despite its name, did not live in the caves, but came there only during periods of illness or old age.
It is believed that cave lions were social animals and lived, like modern lions, in prides.
american lion
He lived about 11 thousand years ago.
The body length is about 2.5 meters, excluding the tail. The American lion weighed over 400 kg.
The American lion is descended from the cave lion, whose ancestor is the Mosbach lion. Outwardly, most likely, it looked like a hybrid of a modern lion and a tiger, but, perhaps, without a huge mane.
mosbach lion
Lived about 300 thousand years ago.
The body length of an adult individual reached 2.5 meters, excluding the tail, the lions were about 1.3 meters high. The Mosbach lion weighed up to 450 kg.
It turns out that it was the largest and heaviest subspecies of the lion of all that existed.
From the Mosbach lion came the cave lion.
Xenosmilus
Inhabited the territory of modern North America about 1.8 million years ago.
Xenosmilus weighed up to 350 kg, and the body size was about 2 meters.
Xenosmilus had a powerful physique and short but strong paws, had not very long upper fangs.
Homotherium
Lived in Eurasia, Africa and North America 3-3.5 million years ago.
The ancestor of Homotheria is Machairod.
Growth of Homotherium up to 1.1 meters, weight about 190 kg.
The forelimbs are somewhat longer than the hind ones, the tail is short - the homotherium was more like a hyena than a big cat. Homotherians had relatively short upper canine teeth, but were wider and serrated.
Homotheria had a difference from all cats - they saw better during the day, and not at night.
Extinct 10 thousand years ago.
Machairod
Lived in Eurasia, Africa and North America about 15 million years ago.
The name of the genus comes from the similarity of the teeth of its representatives with curved mahair swords. Machairods looked like giant tigers with 35 cm long saber fangs.
This saber-toothed tiger weighed up to 200 kg and was up to 3 meters long.
They became extinct about 2 million years ago.
Smilodon
He lived in America from 2.5 million to 10 thousand years BC. e.
Smilodon was the largest saber-toothed cat, reaching a height at the withers of 1.25 meters, a length of 2.5 meters including a 30-centimeter tail and weighing from 225 to 400 kg.
He had a stocky physique atypical for modern felines. The coloration of these animals could be uniform, but most likely it was spotted, like a leopard, and the presence of a short mane in males is also possible.
Smilodon fangs were up to 29 centimeters long (including the root), and, despite their fragility, were powerful weapons.
Scientists believe that smilodons were social animals. They lived in groups. Feeding the pride females.
The name "smilodon" means "dagger tooth".
One of the famous cartoon characters Diego from the cartoon "Ice Age" is just a smilodon.
Thilacosmil (Saber-toothed tiger)
Lived in South America about 5 million years ago.
It was 0.8-1.8 meters long.
It died out 2.5 million years ago, probably unable to compete with the first saber-toothed cats, in particular with Homotherium.
Outwardly, thilacosmil was a large, powerful stocky predator, with huge fangs. He was missing his upper incisors.
In general, tilacosmil was not a relative of saber-toothed tigers from the cat family, rather just a similar species that lived in the same conditions.
Before man became a hunter and made his way to the top of the food chain, cats were the most successful and powerful predators. Even today, felines such as tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards are still admired and feared, but even they cannot outshine their extinct ancestors.
giant cheetah
The giant cheetah belongs to the same genus as modern cheetahs. And it looked similar, but was much larger. Weighing up to 150 kg, the cheetah was as big as an African lion and could hunt large prey. Some suggest that the giant cheetah could accelerate to 115 km / h! This beast lived in Europe and Asia during the Pliocene and Pleistocene. Extinct during the last ice age.
Xenosmilus
Xenosmilus is a relative of Smilodon (the famous saber-toothed tiger), but instead of long, blade-like fangs, it had shorter teeth. They looked more like the teeth of a shark and a carnivorous dinosaur than the teeth of a modern cat. This creature hunted from an ambush and killed the victim, tearing out pieces of meat from it. Xenosmilus was quite large by today's standards - weighing up to 230 kg, and in size it looked like an adult lion or tiger. The remains of this cat were found in Florida.
giant jaguar
Today, jaguars are rather small animals compared to lions and tigers, usually weighing 60-100 kg. In prehistoric times, North and South America were home to giant jaguars. These cats had much longer limbs and tail than the modern jaguar. Scientists believe that jaguars lived on open plains, but due to rivalry with lions and other big cats, they were forced to find more wooded areas. Giant prehistoric jaguars were the size of a lion or tiger and very strong.
European jaguar
Unlike the giant jaguar mentioned, the European jaguar did not belong to the same species as modern jaguars. No one knows what this prehistoric cat looked like. Some scientists believe that most likely it looked like modern spotted felines, or maybe a cross between a lion and a jaguar. Obviously, this creature was a dangerous predator, weighed up to 210 kg and was at the top of the food chain 1.5 million years ago. His remains have been found in Germany, France, England, Spain and the Netherlands.
cave lion
The cave lion is a subspecies of a lion of very large size and weighing up to 300 kg. This is one of the most dangerous and powerful predators that lived during the last ice age in Europe. There is evidence that he was feared and possibly worshiped by prehistoric people. Many drawings and several figurines depicting a cave lion have been found. Interestingly, this lion was depicted without a mane.
Homotherium
Homotherium was one of the most dangerous felines in prehistoric times, lived in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. It has adapted well to environmental conditions, including the subarctic tundra, and lived for 5 million years before its extinction 10,000 years ago. Outwardly, Homotherium differed from other large cats. The forelimbs were somewhat longer than the hind limbs, resembling a hyena. The structure of the hind limbs of Homotherium indicates that it jumped worse than modern cats. Homotherium may not have been the largest predator, but some finds show that the mass of this cat reached 400 kg, which is more than the mass of the modern Siberian tiger.
Machairod
Unlike Smilodon, which was a classic saber-toothed tiger, its short tail had different body proportions from a real tiger. Machairods, on the other hand, looked like giant tigers with saber teeth, similar proportions and a long tail. Whether the beast had stripes is unknown. Found in Chad, Africa, machairod remains suggest that this creature was one of the largest cats of all time. It weighed up to 500 kg and was the size of a horse. He hunted elephants, rhinos and other herbivores. Machairod most likely looked like a giant tiger from a 10,000 BC movie.
american lion
After Smilodon, this is probably the most famous prehistoric cat. It lived in North and South America during the Pleistocene and became extinct 11,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age. Most scientists argue that the American lion was a giant relative of the modern lion. Its weight was 470 kg. There is some debate about his hunting technique, but he most likely hunted alone.
Pleistocene tiger
This is the most mysterious beast on the list, known from fragmentary remains. This is not a separate species, but rather an early version of the modern tiger. Tigers evolved in Asia 2 million years ago to prey on a variety of huge herbivores that lived on the continent at the time. Tigers are the largest members of the cat family. However, during the Pleistocene period, there was more food, and therefore tigers were also larger. Some remains have been found in Russia, China and the island of Java.
Smilodon
The most famous cat, which had teeth similar to a dagger or a knife with a long straight blade, can be called Smilodon. He and his close relatives were distinguished by long serrated fangs and a short-legged muscular body resembling a bear. Strong physique did not allow them to run fast over long distances, so they most likely attacked from an ambush. Well, scimitar-toothed cats relied on speed, having long limbs, like those of cheetahs, as well as not so long and more roughly serrated fangs. Smilodons became extinct 10,000 years ago, which means they lived at the same time as humans and may have hunted them.
If you ask even a child about who is the king of animals, then the answer will be unequivocal: "Of course, a lion." Yet there is another opinion. Many experts give the palm to the tiger, and they are sure that it will be he who will emerge victorious from the battle of these two titans. But in order to determine who is stronger, who is faster and who is more dangerous - a tiger or a lion, it is necessary to provide the main characteristics of these two animals.
a lion
Now lions are found only in Asia and Africa, although earlier their range of residence was much wider - from Europe to the Middle East. But over time, people pushed them back, and now in wildlife lions are found only in the south, east and west of Africa, as well as in India. African and Asian lions differ in their appearance and basic characteristics from each other: a different habitat affects.
These representatives of the cat family live in small groups - prides, the number of which ranges from four to thirty or more individuals. Usually a pride includes two or three males, one of which dominates, and several females with offspring. Large dimensions do not prevent these animals from overcoming even a three-meter height. In general, jumping is their forte. When hunting, the lion freezes in the grass in anticipation of the victim, and then knocks it to the ground in one calculated leap. Although, by the way, the main earner is the female, and the male is more responsible for protecting the territory of the pride from unwanted intrusions. It is quite easy to distinguish a lion from a lioness: the male has a lush mane, and the lioness does not.
Tiger
There are different subspecies: Amur, Bengal, Indochinese, Malay, Sumatran, Chinese. All names correspond to the habitat.
Tigers are solitary hunters. They do not live in groups, but apart. The male occupies an area of 700-800 square kilometers, and 500 square kilometers is enough for the female with offspring.
Who is bigger - a tiger or a lion?
The weight of an adult lion reaches from 180 to 240 kg, and the body length reaches three meters. Females are slightly smaller: the average weight is 140 kg, and the body length is half a meter shorter.
The length of the body of an average adult tiger is not inferior to the length of the body of a lion, on the contrary, it is slightly longer. As for body weight, there is also a difference of 50 kg in favor of the tiger. Representatives of the Amur subspecies are even heavier: their weight reaches 350 kg.
So, who is bigger - a lion or a tiger? It turns out that the striped representative of the cat family beats the maned relative a little in size.
Comparison of the strength of two predators
And who is stronger - a lion or a tiger? The answer is far from clear. It depends on what is considered indicators of strength: either the characteristics of the species, or the number of rounds won. The claws of a tiger are sharper and longer (10 cm) than those of a lion (7 cm). Since the tiger is on average heavier than the lion, it means that he has more muscles. The strength of their jaws is approximately the same, and they kill the victim in a similar way: they bite their fangs into the neck. But the success of the duel depends not only on who is bigger - a tiger or a lion, but also on the tactics of the battle. For example, the blow of a lion is more crushing. With one swing, he kills a hyena or a zebra. If we take external characteristics, then the tiger is stronger than the lion. But if we take the specific results of the clashes between these two animals as a basis, then the king of beasts does not give up its positions and proves that it deserved such a title.
Who is faster - a lion or a tiger?
Here the advantage is on the side of the tabby cat. An adult tiger can reach speeds of up to 80 km/h, while a lion is only 60 km/h. True, both those and others are unable to run at such a speed for long distances.
Who is more dangerous?
According to its behavior in a fight, the tiger seems to be more aggressive than the lion. He immediately rushes into battle, while the lion can enter the battle as if reluctantly. Sometimes it seems that he plays first rather than tries to strike. It's all about their social nature. The tiger is used to fighting alone, he knows that he has no one to wait for help from. And the lion, who mostly hunts with members of the pride, may habitually think that he has a support group behind him, ready to turn on at any moment, and therefore behaves less intimidating than the enemy.
Who is more resilient?
Definitely a lion. It seems that he does not care even about deep wounds and pain. He will fight to the end. The tiger, after several injuries inflicted on him, as a rule, runs away. In a fight, the tiger makes more active, but unnecessary movements, and because of this, his strength is quickly depleted.
Who wins the conflict?
The answer to the question "who is stronger - a lion or a tiger" requires facts and documentary evidence, and not just unfounded reasoning. There are many real videos that show the fight between two titans. In a nutshell, the conclusion is this: the tiger is the initiator of the conflict, but he retreats after the lion shows who is the master of the situation. The latter is more confident. Yes, and the lion has more fighting experience, because adult lions constantly fight for territory, and a tiger can only take part in a fight a couple of times in a lifetime.
The duel itself at first looks as if the tiger still inflicts more blows on the enemy, and this creates the illusion of his victory. But mostly these blows do not reach their goal, because the lion manages to dodge in time. The tiger, on the other hand, makes a lot of unnecessary movements, and this gets tired faster. In battle, he stands on two hind legs and tries to fight with his front legs, and at the same time it is harder to maintain balance. In addition, his strategy is not well thought out: he tries to hit on the neck, but the lion has a powerful mane that absorbs these blows, and in general they do not do much harm to the lion. The blows of the lion are more calculated, and if he beats, then so that the tiger will fall for sure. This predator strikes with one paw, standing on three others, and tries to get into the unprotected neck or tear a tuft of skin from the sides or back, and it succeeds quite often. If the blow is strong, but not fatal, then the tiger shamefully runs away, whining like a dog.
In fairness, it should be noted that there is also another side of the coin. Perhaps the tiger runs away not so much because he is tired or scared, but because the lion is more afraid of wounds and does not see the need to fight to the death in a domestic showdown. After all, if a wounded lion needs to lie down, then other members of the pride will take care of him, and the tiger can only rely on himself, and severe severe injuries doom him to starvation. So he can choose to retreat.
Fights in Ancient Rome
Interestingly, the expression "king of beasts" was attached to the lion in the days of Ancient Rome. The attitude towards him as the owner of great strength is evidenced by many architectural monuments, where this majestic predator is depicted as a winner. The question of who is stronger - a lion or a tiger, was also of interest to the ancient Romans. For the sake of the spectators, who were thirsty for bloody spectacles, different animals were pitted. Very often it was lions and tigers who had to measure their strength.
Who usually wins these fights? Almost all historical reports speak in favor of lions. For example, the predominant victories of these predators over tigers are recorded in Plato's Dialogues and Cleopatra's Memoirs. Moreover, there is evidence that the lion tore even an elephant due to its grip and technicality.
Another additional answer to the question of who is stronger - a lion or a tiger, are the architectural monuments of Ancient Rome. It is the lion that is depicted on the sculptures as a symbol of courage and strength. Therefore, eyewitnesses of animal battles also considered him so. There are very few monuments where the tiger is immortalized.
Skirmishes in zoos and circuses
In wildlife, individual fights would never have taken place, because the habitats of some subspecies do not intersect. For example, an Amur tiger or a lion living in Africa would never have had the opportunity to measure strength. Whether it's zoos, where they live in neighboring cells.
You can't argue with numbers. In most fatal cases, tigers fell victim. When they are together with lions in a confined space, such as an aviary or a cage, the tigers panic very much, because they have nowhere to escape. They behave rather irrationally, and this is the main reason for their defeats. The lion, on the contrary, bends his line to the end, and the final outcome is the death of the enemy.
One animal trainer described the case of a lion named Sultan the First. During one performance at the circus, he challenged all the tigers. They approached him in the arena, and he defeated them all in turn. Moreover, these were only large young and strong animals. Sultan the First, like an experienced boxer, delivered false blows, bluffed, forcing the tigers to miss, and then delivered a crushing blow. The defeated tigers crawled around the arena, and the winner triumphantly finished them off. No one could pull them apart, all the tigers died. It was a cruel sight.
Having considered these facts, each reader can decide for himself who is better - a lion or a tiger - will prove himself in a fight. Although it would be much better if they never fought among themselves and did not attack a person.