The main difference between the lion and the tiger is their appearance. Tigers have bold and black stripes across the bodies, whereas lions don’t have stripes on their bodies.
Lions and tigers belong to the same Felidae (cat) family, and they both are among the five big cats of the world, whereas the other three are jaguar, leopard and snow leopard. They are known as the furious animals of the world.
Lions mostly live in groups which are called “pride”. They don’t have stripes on their bodies, and male lions have large mane around their faces. As compared to other cats, lions are more social.
On the other hand, tigers are the largest cat in the world. They have bold and black stripes on their bodies, and they don’t have manes like other adult male lions.
Comparison Chart
| Basis | Lion | Tiger |
| Introduction | Lions are the second-largest cat in the world, which lives in pride and mostly found in Africa and north-western India | Tiger is the largest feline with bold and black stripes. wild tigers found in Asia almost 80% of the tiger population and are found in India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal |
| Family | Felidae (cat) | Felidae (cat) |
| Order | Carnivore | Carnivore |
| Origin | Africa and India | Asia |
| Life span | 12 years for male and 12 to 15 years for female lions | 15 to 20 years |
| Body length | 2.2 to 3.0 meters | 2 to 3.3 meters |
| Binomial Names | Panthera Leo | Panthera Tigris |
| Society | Lions are social and live in groups which are called Pride | Tigers are solo animals |
| Habitat | Lions live in Savannah | They live in a lot more habitats from jungles to steppe (in Russia) to mountains |
| Size | The weight of a male lion is almost 390 lbs (Asiatic lion) and the African lion is 410 lbs. However, the weight of the largest African lion has recorded 690 lbs | The average weight of a Bengal tiger is 488 lbs and the weight of Siberian tiger is 389 lbs. moreover, the weight of the male tiger is 579 lbs and the weight of the female tiger is 308 lbs |
| Number of offspring | Tigers produce two or rarely three young | Lions produce 5-7 |
| Appearance | They are sandy brown and don’t have stripes on their bodies | They have bold, black stripes across the body |
| Appearance 2 | Adult male lions have a large mane around the face | Tigers don’t have a mane |
| Breeding | Lion helps lionesses in bringing up the young | Tigers mate with a Tigris and leave her alone to bring up the young |
| Brain size | They have a larger skull but small brain as compared to tigers | They have a 25% larger brain than a lion |
| Diet | Their diet includes zebra, giraffe, buffalo, wildebeest or sometimes in groups they hunt large prey such as young elephant | Tigers mostly hunt deer, buffalo, fish, monkeys, reptiles and antelope, pigs, rhinos |
What is Lion?
A lion is the second-largest cats of the world. Lions are famous as the king of the jungle due to their extreme power and roar, but they don’t live in the jungle, Lions mostly inhabit savanna and grassland and sometimes they inhabit the forest, shrub-land and desert.
Lions roam in pride which is headed by a mature male along with other females and cubs. It is the lioness that hunts the prey and brings the prey for the family, whereas they mostly prey in groups.
Facts of Lions
- Lions eat almost 18 pounds of meat per day.
- Only 1 out of 8 male lions survive to adulthood, while the majority of lions died as they were kicked out of the pride at the age of 2.
- A male lion can stretch up to 10 feet long and weighs about 400-500 pounds whereas female weighs about 250-350 pounds.
- A roar is a sign of dominance, and lions roar to warn the rivals how danger they are. Moreover, male lions have a deeper roar as compared to lionesses.
- Lions may mate roughly every 30 minutes (for 20 seconds) for 2 or 3 days to ensure the female is pregnant so that the cubs will bear as soon as possible.
- Male lions live for 12 to 16 years, while in captivity they may live for 24 years and lionesses live for about 15 to 18 years.
- Lions come in various colors like yellow, brown, tan and even red.
What is Tiger?
Tigers are the largest felines on the earth. They are generally longer, more muscular or heavier as compared to lions. They are very aggressive and active by nature.
Tigers have orange fur with black and brown bold stripes on their bodies. They usually live alone except for cubs with the parents and hunt their prey on their own. They are carnivorous and mostly they eat large prey like deer, elephant calves, but sometimes they kill and eat people too. It happens when the tiger is old or injured and unable to catch the normal prey.
Facts of Tiger
- An adult Siberian or Amur tiger which is the largest sub-species can weigh up to 660 pounds.
- The Sumatran is the smallest tiger, and male tiger can weigh up to 310 pounds whereas the female weighs less than males in all species.
- Tigers are the only cat species which have stripes on their bodies.
- The strips of two tigers can never be same like human fingerprints; each individual has a unique pattern of stripes.
- It is calculated that tiger hunts are only successful about 1 in every 10-20 attempts.
- We can hear a tiger roar from almost two miles away.
- Tiger has a 14-year life span, once they matured, then they live and hunt alone.
- Mostly wild tigers live in Asia, their larger species like Siberian tiger live in colder areas as eastern Russia or northeastern China. However, small subspecies live in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Key Differences between Lion and Tiger
- Tigers have brown and black bold stripes across their bodies whereas lions don’t have any stripes.
- Tigers are more active, agile and aggressive by nature as compared to lions.
- Lions mostly live in groups which are known as pride; on the other hand, tigers live alone.
- Male lions have a mane around their faces, whereas tigers don’t have a mane.
- Tiger hunts the prey alone, whereas the female lion hunts the prey and bring it back to the pride.
- Lion helps the lionesses in bringing up the cubs, whereas, after mating, tigers leave the Tigris alone to bring up the young.
Comparison Video
Conclusion
However, both lions and tigers are furious and powerful animals. Lions are more social than tigers as they live in pride. They are the second-largest cats of the world and they are yellow, brown, tan or reddish. Male lions have a mane and have a deeper roar as compared to the lioness. On the other hand, tigers are the largest cats and are more muscular, heavier than the lion and more aggressive. Tigers are a solitary hunter; they live and hunt the prey on their own.