Lions and Tigers

by Fiona 7B

Both lions and Tigers are wild cats. Very huge ones. Sometimes they might look cute but it's better not to touch them if you wanna live. We all know that male lions have huge hair around their head while tigers have stripes on their bodies. It's pretty simple to tell which one’s a lion and which one’s a tiger from their physical features. But do you know they have similarities as well? Well, they are both huge wild cats. But there might be more similarities than that. This essay will start on their differences and then will move onto their similarities.

Let’s start with the easier differences that you may find just by seeing them. Male lions have a mane around their head unlike tigers which don't. The male lion's mane might look pretty similar to what you would’ve looked like waking up in the morning. Female lions don't have any hair on their head nor any stripes unlike female tigers which do have stripes. Adult Tigers tend to weigh a lot more than lions. Male lions weigh around 330 pounds. Female lions weigh around 270 pounds. Tigers of any gender could way around 220-660 pounds.

Some behaviors that I’ve heard is that lions are considered lazy when compared to tigers. If lions and tigers are siblings, lions would be the lazy ones while tigers would be the independent ones. Tigers are much more active than lions. Lions would live in a group with around 10-15 other lions. The leader of the groups would most likely be a male lion. Female lions in their group would guard the territory. Tigers on the other hand, would live alone instead of staying in groups. Tigers would hunt their pray, alone and eat them alone. Tigers would meet up occasionally with other tigers to either mate or share their food; unlike lions, they would stay together and don’t separate. Lions would most likely be found in Africa somewhere in the Sahara desert. Tigers on the other hand are most likely found in Asia and in forests.

Now the similarities between lions and tigers. Tigers and Lions have the same genus name which is Panthera. Even though they look different they still have some similarities that can be discussed. Some similarities that are pretty simple to spot is that they are both huge cats and are carnivores. Of course, to eat their prey, they need some sharp fangs to cut in through that meat. They both have a roar that would make everyone terrified. Both their roars are used to communicate with each other by aggression. Both these two cat’s fur also have the same function which is to camouflage in their habitat like a chameleon.

As you can see, Even though both tigers and lions look different they still have some similarities. The physical features of both might be different but it does not mean the function of the physical differences is different either. Not only that but they both have the same genus as well which is Panthera. They might live at different places but are still huge cats that live in the wild.

Work cited :

• “Lion Fact Sheet.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 3 Sept. 2020, https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/lion-fact-sheet/#

• Safariadm. “What You Need to Know about Lions and Tigers.” Bali Safari Marine Park, 1 Aug. 2021, https://www.balisafarimarinepark.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-lions-and-tigers/

• “Tiger Fact Sheet.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 29 July 2020, https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/tiger-fact-sheet/

• “Lion vs Tiger.” Diffen, https://www.diffen.com/difference/Lion_vs_Tiger

• "Social Behavior | College Of Biological Sciences". Cbs.Umn.Edu, 2021, https://cbs.umn.edu/research/labs/packer/social-behavior

• “Behavior.” SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, https://seaworld.org/animals/all-about/tiger/behavior/

• Vyn, Katie. “Natural Habitat of Siberian Tigers.” Pets on Mom.com, 19 Nov. 2020, https://animals.mom.com/natural-habitat-of-siberian-tigers-12325177.html

• “Top 10 Facts about Lions.” WWF, https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/fascinating-facts/lions