Tiger vs Lion

Historically, the comparative merits of thetiger versus the lion have been a popular topic of discussion by hunters, naturalists, artists, and poets, and continue to inspire the popular imagination in the present day.^[1][2][3] Lions and tigers have competed in the wild where their ranges have overlapped. They have also interbred, producing tigons or ligers as offspring. The most common reported circumstance of their meeting is in captivity, either deliberately or accidentally.

In the circuses of Ancient Rome, exotic beasts were commonly pitted against each other. The contest of the lion against thetiger was a classic pairing and the betting usually favoured the tiger.^[4][5] A mosaic in the House of the Faun in Pompeii shows a fight between a lion and a tiger.^[6] Titus, the Roman Emperor, had Bengal tigerscompelled to fight the African lions, and the tigers always beat the lions.^[7] A tiger that belonged to the King of Oude killed thirty lions, and destroyed another after being transferred to the zoological garden in London.^[8] A British officer who resided many years at Sierra Leone saw many lion and tiger fights, and the tiger usually won.^[9]At the end of the 19th century, the Gaekwad of Baroda arranged a fair fight between aBarbary lion and a Bengal tiger before an audience of thousands as the Asiatic lionswere no match for the Bengal tigers. The Gaekwad favoured the lion, and as a result had to pay 37,000 rupees as the lion was mauled by the tiger.^[2][10]

Lions and tigers coexisted in central India until the late 19th century.^[11] The possibility of conflicts between the two has been raised in relation to the Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project, which would introduce Gir Lions (Asiatic lions) from Gir Forest National Park to another preserve, the Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary, that contains tigers.^[11] Concerns were raised that the co-presence of lions and tigers would "trigger frequent clashes".^[12] The University of Minnesota's Lion Research Project describes one reason to delay the introduction of Gir lions to Kuno Palpur is the fears that tigers living in Kuno would kill the incoming lions.^[11]

The Siberian tiger and Bengal tigerrepresent the largest subspecies of the Panthera genus,^[14] with reliably measured specimens weighing up to 465 kg (1,025 lb) in captivity and 384 kg (847 lb) in wild,^[15]and 388.7 kg (857 lb)^[16] respectively. The largest African lion on record weighted 313 kg (690 lb).^[17] The average weight of males is 175 kilograms (390 lb) for theAsiatic lion, 186 kilograms (410 lb) for theAfrican lion,^[18][19][20] 221.2 kilograms (488 lb) for the Bengal tiger and 176.4 kilograms (389 lb) for the Siberian tiger.^[21][22] The average weight 221.2 kilograms (488 lb) measured for the Bengal tiger excluded any stomach content while the average weight 186 kilograms (410 lb) measured for the African lion included stomach contents,^[19][23] and a lion may eat up to 30 kg (66 lb) in one sitting.^[24]

Temperament

The lion is a highly social animal and the tiger is a solitary animal, and they have marked differences in personality. It is generally agreed that the tiger is the faster, smarter, and more ferocious of the two.^[25]

Brain size

A study by Oxford University scientists has shown that tigers have much bigger brains, relative to body size, than lions and other big cats. Although comparisons showed that lion skulls were larger overall, the tiger's cranial volume is the largest - even the tiny female Balinese tiger skulls have cranial volumes as large as those of huge male southern African lion skulls.^[26][27] Balinese tigresses weight between 65–80 kg (143–176 lb)^[28] while the southern African male lions have an average weight of 189.6 kilograms (418 lb), representing the largest living lions.^[19]

Bite force

Tigers have been shown to have higher average bite forces (such as at the canine tips) than lions.^[29] The bite force adjusted for body mass allometry (BFQ) for tiger is 127 while that for lion is 112.^[30] Tigers have a well-developed sagittal crest and coronoid processes, providing muscle attachment for their strong bite.^[31] Tigers also have exceptionally stout teeth, and the canines are the longest and biggest among all living felids, measuring from 7.5 to 10 cm (3.0 to 3.9 in) in length, and are larger and longer than those of a similar-sized lion,^[31][32]probably because tigers need to bring down larger preys alone than lions, which usually hunt large preys in groups.^[32]

Global Warming

Global mean land-ocean temperature change from 1880 to 2013, relative to the 1951–1980 mean. The black line is the annual mean and the red line is the 5-year running mean. The green bars show uncertainty estimates.

Global warming and climate change both refer to the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth'sclimate system and its related effects. Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming.^[2][3]More than 90% of the additional energy stored in the climate system since 1970 has gone into ocean warming; the remainder has melted ice, and warmed the continents and atmosphere.^[4][a] The observed increases in global average surface temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide have been much faster in recent decades than the natural changes of previous millennia, and levels are now higher than at any time for hundreds of thousands of years prior.^[5] [6]

Scientific understanding of the cause of global warming has been increasing. In itsfourth assessment (AR4 2007) theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that scientists were more than 90% certain that most of global warming was being caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases produced by human activities(anthropogenic).^[7][8][9] In 2010 that finding was recognized by the national science academies of all major industrialized nations.^[10][b]

Climate model projections were summarized in the 2013 Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) by the IPCC. They indicated that during the 21st century the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to 1.7 °C (0.5 to 3.1 °F) for their lowestemissions scenario using stringent mitigation and 2.6 to 4.8 °C (4.7 to 8.6 °F) for their highest.^[12]

Future climate change and associated impacts will vary from region to regionaround the globe.^[13][14] The effects of an increase in global temperature include arise in sea levels and a change in the amount and pattern of precipitation, as well as a probable expansion of subtropicaldeserts.^[15] Warming is expected to bestrongest in the Arctic, with the continuingretreat of glaciers, permafrost and sea ice. Other likely effects of the warming include more frequent extreme weather events including heat waves, droughts, heavyrainfall, and heavy snowfall;ocean acidification; and species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes. Effects significant to humans include the threat tofood security from decreasing crop yields and the loss of habitat frominundation.

Possible responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction,adaptation to its effects, building systemsresilient to its effects, and possible futureclimate engineering. Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC),whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change. The UNFCCC have adopted a range of policies designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to assist in adaptation to global warming. Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required,^[and that future global warming should be limited to below 2.0 °C (3.6 °F) relative to the pre-industrial level.^[c]