You mean 2nd best after the leopard. How can he (the male tiger) be the best when he gets releatively owned by the female tiger:
Captivity
http://www.kvia.com/news/Female-Tiger-Kills-Mate-at-El-Paso-Zoo/15246770
Wild
(Tigress kills much bigger male tiger)
They stood up and tore and clawed,
the tiger appearing much bigger than the tigress. Now he had her by the shoulder, now he was fastened on to his throat, but they did not seem to held. In another instant the tiger had the tigress on ber back, and his head appeared burled In her body. She was clawing him fearfully down the flanks with both hind legs, while she truck and tore at his shoulders and sides with her fore-one. A moment they remained like this. Then they broke away and flew at each other again.
The tigress appeared to me much the more active of the two and she was evidently the stronger. She bit and tore again and again, charging the tiger with all the fury of madness every time they seemed for an instant to be relieved from each other' clutches. I could plainly see that the fight was a la mort,
and the tigress too much for her older and less active mate. Again they separated, and then, with a charge which see me 4 to me to carry all the wild deviltry of which her frantically savage nature was capable, her jaw wide open and grinning, the angles of her mouth drawn back,
the, tigress hurled herself upon her companion, and seizing him by the throat, left him dead, stretched upon the crimson sand. The tigress knew he was dead. She evidently knew, too, that she would soon be dead herself, for she was mauled beyond recognition. As she sat there unsteadily upon tier haunches, rooted
http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...+dead+throat&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&prmd=ivns&strip=1
Unheard of in lion country, and never brought up with leopards, it seems both female tigers and female leopards have killed male bengals. Atleast the leopard uses lightning speed to evade throat grabs, it seems the tiger exposes his neck more often when he choses to fight on two legs:
The other advantages the leopard seems to have over the tiger is, the tiger is quite passive, while the leopard the opposite, the leopard is more aggresive, mentally the leopard will have a marked leverage.
(Another size difference)
I guess the whole bit that tigers have the most powerful bite force, longest canines ect goes all out the window, both have killed fauna twice there own weight so its like both have weapons equvilent to one shot kills (throat grabs) even though the tigers resembles a canon, the leopards pistol is more accurate and quicker to the draw.
Wow, dident know that george schaller also saw leopards kill silver back gorillas:
George schaller was one of three biologist who found that tigers are not as territorial as other cats, males have been seen sharing kills and tolerating rivals to certain extants. It seems where the leopard excells (killing apes) the tiger ran frantically away from a attacking gorilla/monkey:
http://books.google.com/books?id=V0...X&ei=-I8GUNnoI8Hi2QWCvKnOBQ&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAjgK
It seems that speed is the name of the game, the leopard has killed smaller crocs (whom are lightning fast) and pose more agility and dexterity than a large salty:
It seems the tigers has the...need, for speed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu76HITtXNo