African Lion vs Siberian or Bengal Tiger

Who would win on more average in a fight between a male lion and a tiger?

Hi dura_grip and welcome to WAA.
An interesting question you raise.
The obvious answer is the tiger, as it is much bigger than the African lion, although the large male lions can weigh over 200 kilos. However they both have different lifestyles and that could affect the result of an encounter. The tiger is a solitary cat keeping to the shadows and always well hidden whereas the lion is very sociable and generally live in prides with females in the open. Even the lone males tend to form coalitions with other males and therefore are rarely seen alone. Although all predators will try and kill other predators to reduce the competition for food they are all very careful to avoid any confrontation that will result in injury and therefore making them unable to hunt for food. Even the biggest male lion will runaway if he feels he is outnumbered, it is always better to live to fight another day!! I think the two cats would try and avoid each if possible and limit their chances of a confrontation.
I know there is a small lion population in the Gir National Park in India and that the Asian lion is smaller than the African but I don't know if there are any tigers in the same park and whether there are any records of confrontations between the two.
Thanks for the question

SM

Thanks for the response! That's an interesting take. Most people would say the male African lion is stronger than the tiger. The lion is hailed as the King of the Jungle. And even in most lore the male lion is the leader of a group that includes a tiger. I've even heard the male lion's mane scares the tiger. Circus animal trainers have said the tigers are intimidated and agitated by the lions, whereas the lions are not effected by the presence of the tigers. One theory of why one the the albino tigers grabbed Zigfried or Roid was because he saw a lady in the audience with big hair and grabbed the trainer and ran away, trying to take him to safety. It mistook the lady for a male lion, one of the Tigers natural enemies. The male lion probably has more courage.

Hi Dura grip
Welcome to WAA. I totally agree with SM, the Tiger would win most times in a confrontation one, on one. However the two species do not interact with each other, and you cant judge the behaviour of the from Zoos, or Circus's its a false invironment , and the sightings, and close proximity of each other would not happen in the wild. Nor would you have a group of big cats that included both Lions, and Tigers. When it comes to courage it really has nothing to do with it animals do not really understand it. When it comes to a confrontation, they have two options Flight or Fight, If they don't think they can win they will run, the exception is if they are protecting cubs, they may well fight even though they don't thibk they can win. Great question Dura thanks

WS

I heard the African male lions mane would protect his neck, prevent the tiger from latching on to his necks. Others have said it's only for mating purposes, to attract females.

The mane is useful for protecting the neck area, usually in confrontations with Hyenas or other Lions, but it is mainly an attraction to Lioness's the darker the mane the more attractive it appears to be to the Lioness's the theory is that the dark mane signifies strength and virility .

WS

I did not know females in the animal world were such simple creatures. Human females care about the man's heart, personality, how well he treats her.