Lion and Tiger are one of the five big cats, and they are considered as one of the most feared animals in the animal kingdom; thanks to their strength and speed which makes it easier for them to catch and kill any prey and their fellow animals.
This insane strength and speed of a Lion and Tiger often Sparks off questions as to which is stronger between them and equally, which is a faster animal? I’m sure you’re looking for answers to these questions that is why you searched for this keyword on the internet, and this Article is going to give you the much needed answer to this question ‘Which is a faster animal between a Lion and a tiger?’ as well as provide rationale for the answer to this question.
Before we proceed to answering the question proper, it is important that we lay foundation on basic knowledge of these two animals which form the subject matter of this Article.
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Conceptual Clarification
Lion:
A Lion with the binomial nomenclature ‘Panthera Leo’ is one of the largest cats in the world. It is characteristically defined by it’s Sandy brown skin colour, broad chested body, large round bearded head, and it’s huge size weighing up to 200 kg with a length of 208 cm (6.8 ft.), and it is usually found in Grassland, Savanna, Dense scrub, and open woodland.
Lion is considered as the king of the jungle because of its bravery, dominant nature and strength which makes it possible for it to kill medium to very large sized animals which are considered as it’s Prey.
A male lion is called Lion, a Female lion is called a Lioness, while a baby lion is called a Cube. In this Article, we are only using a male lion as our point of reference.
Also see: Which is dangerous between a lion and a tiger? Answered
Tiger:
A Tiger with it’s binomial nomenclature ‘Panthera Tigris’, just like a lion is equally a big cat and is said to be the biggest and overall strongest cat in the world.
A Tiger is characteristically defined by it’s white, orange fur with black vertical strips skin colour, with it’s razor sharp teeth, long tails, and a muscular body weighing up to 650 pounds at a length of 390cm, and muscular legs with sharp claws used to grasp it’s prey.
A male tiger is widely known as a Tiger, while a female tiger is known as a Tigress. So for the purposes of this work, I’m only making reference to a male tiger. Having established that this Article shall only concern itself with a male lion and a male tiger, let’s therefore consider which is faster between the both of them.
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Which Is Faster Between A Lion And A Tiger?
Generally, a lion is considered faster than a Tiger, as a lion has a speed of 50 miles per hour; so therefore could cover a distance of 80.5 Kilometers in an hour. While a Tiger has a top speed of 40 miles per hour, and as such could only cover a distance of 64 kilometers in an hour.
So therefore, in general a Lion is faster than a Tiger. This could be due to the following reasons:
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Reasons why a lion is faster than a Tiger
1. A Lion is lighter than a Tiger: While a Lion is considerably taller than a Tiger, a Tiger is more muscular and heavier in weight than a Lion, as a Tiger weighs between 200 – 310kg, in comparison with a lion which weighs between 130 – 250 kg.
This lighter nature of a lion makes it easier for it to be able to carry it’s body faster than a Tiger, and this therefore constitutes a major reason why a Lion is considerably faster than a Tiger.
2. It has a sleek shape: A Lion has a sleek shape with a balance of Torque and stealth which enables it to accelerate faster than a Tiger over a short distance, as a Lion usually reaches top speed in short bursts.
3. It has a better leap: Another factor which makes a Lion considerably faster than a Tiger is the leap of a Lion. A Lion could leap as far as 11 meters (36 feet), while a Tiger could only leap 18-20 feet.
This therefore means that a lion has a way better leap than a Tiger as Lion could leap 36 feet in just one leap in comparison to a Tiger’s 20 feet in one leap, and this therefore enables a Lion to cover much distance faster than a Tiger, and in general makes it faster than a Tiger.
These aforementioned facts that a lion is lighter in weight than a tiger, has a sleek shape that can carry it’s body very fast, and has a better leap accounts for the major reasons why it is faster than a Tiger.
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In conclusion, it is instructive to note that a Lion is the second fastest member of the big cat family; only behind a Cheetah which is capable of reaching a speed as high as 120km per hour, and as such makes it the fastest big cat and also the fastest land animal.
A lion follows after a Cheetah as the second fastest big cat with a top speed of 80.5 km/h higher than that of a Tiger which is 64km/hr. So therefore, a Lion is faster than a Tiger.
It is equally important to note that both a Lion and a Tiger does not have stamina, as such they don’t have the endurance to Sprint long distances and they could only achieve such aforementioned top speed between short distances. Interestingly, both a Lion and a Tiger can swim, but a Tiger is a better swimmer and is faster than a lion on water with it’s ability to swim 6.4 km/ hour in water, but on land a Lion is faster than a Tiger. I trust this Article best answers your question? You may stay glued to this blog for more educative Articles.
Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka, ACMC, is a lawyer and a certified mediator/conciliator in Nigeria. He is also a developer with knowledge in various programming languages. Samuel is determined to leverage his skills in technology, SEO, and legal practice to revolutionize the legal profession worldwide by creating web and mobile applications that simplify legal research. Sam is also passionate about educating and providing valuable information to people.