Well if a bear lives in a tree its no going to be the big kind related to the brown bear or Grizzly bear. The smaller bears lions and tigers can kill easily.
But yes there is no doubt that tigers are no joke, I certainly would never say that many people think they are the toughest strongest cat. In some ways they are, both the lion and tiger have advantages over the other. There not the same animal, in many ways the tiger is like all cat species, its just over sized, its is big as it gets. Because all cats are structured and designed for sudden rapid burst of speed even your house cat, this gives the tiger that advantage, cats can fall off roofs and still be fine, again the tiger can jump very well it is flexible. These are advantages. Ever see how fast your house cat strikes a snake on the ground with its paw, tigers and house cats are related, but that is where the weaknesses are as well.
Cats as a species are skitish mentally, they have more fear then the dog family there more nervous, and they have poor endurance. They rely on there paw speed for protection to keep enemies at bay like packs of dogs. And because they rely almost totally on there paws, there head and neck and jaw coordination and mobility isn't even close to that of a dogs.
Dogs have amazing head eye coordination, they can catch balls frisbees from far away, they can tilt there neck all over the place to dodge other dogs bites, and the can bite rapidly many bites in one second far faster then any cat.
The lion is unique among all cats, in that it is just about the only cat closer to the dog family besides the Cheetah. The lions limbs are straighter, its lower radius is the same in length as its upper limb the humerus, this is indicative of dogs, and it helps with endurance in running, the tigers radius is shorter in length then its humerus, which is not good for endurance running but good for starting off speed to ambush prey.
The lion has heavier bones then the tiger, the tigers are more hollow, again dogs have heavier bones then the cat family. This will slow the lion down a little but it will enable it to take more abuse in fights. The lion has larger lungs and heart then the tiger, this will most certainly help it with having more endurance in fights, its heart can beat up to 20 beats slower then the tiger at the faster rate, this is significant.
The lion also has longer front arms then the tiger, this can give any where from up to 3 to five inches in reach length over he tiger, most tigers are lower to the ground then the average lion. At times the lions front arms are so long there even longer then its back legs like hyenas. Tigers are the opposite, they have longer rear quarters that aid it in jumping. But over all the lion just appears bigger, because it stands taller even in the back legs, its lower foot is also longer then the tiger with causes its back legs to stand higher then the tiger as well, the tiger just happens to be at times longer in the rear and its back curves more like all cats up at the end and then tapers down. Lions have less curving backs, again there straighter and shorter more like dogs.
The shoulders of the lion are what gives it its swing and shoving strength over the tiger this is what you use in fights and the lion has the advantage here, the data the pictures all indicate that the lion has the biggest shoulders by quite a bit over all the cats including the tiger.
Tigers exceed the lion in the forearm area, this is for solitary prey gripping the animal and taking it down, and for starting off speed in ambushes plus it is good for running on un even hilly topography. It also appears and some like Bold have disagreed here, I'm not sure, but the tiger may exceed the lion in the tricep or bicep area, but it wont be by a significant amount to really give it an edge, the lions arms are son long, that sometimes it makes its arms appear thinner then the tiger, the tigers arms are shorter so they bend more and flex more when walking making them appear thicker in photos. Plus the tiger has looser skin around the chest area and the stomach, making its chest appear bigger and its mid section larger.
Lions have very tight fitted skin, they have no excess fat any where, they can't have this because of the over whelming heat in Africa, there fur is very thin, like skin, they also don't use the water to cool them selfs off so they can't afford to have thick fur or extra fat or skin anywhere. This can at times make the lion appear less bulky then the tiger.
Because the tiger also has thicker fur, which it has too, because it swims, it needs to keep warm again coming out of the water so its fur can't be as thin as lions. Lions that swim in the Okavango delta actually grew thicker fur to keep them warm in the water, in some seasons coming out the water can be cold, the animal needs more insulation.
There are many more differences, mentally as I was saying in the beginning, the lion is very different then the tiger and all cats. Its is far more fearless and bold like the dog family, it is not easily spooked or nervous like most cats. This gives it a huge advantage over the tiger, even if there was a big strong tiger say a siberian, mentally the lion will be stronger and it will be calmer in battle not frantic.
The up bringing of the lion is also much different that ads to this, it spars with its father upon first meeting him from birth. The young lions also play fight with older brothers in the pride also as there growing up. They fight over food at meal time with each other, they basically learn to fight as a way of life, this has been going on for thousands of years, the result is a different social cat that is more at home and accustomed to disputes and conflicts. While most cats like the tiger are more shy and solitary. If the lion is not a good fighter, it will probably die. If the tiger is not a good fighter it wont matter, it will be fine as long as its a good hunter.
The mane of the lion hinders it in hunting, the prey can see it far off, and its long front arms and heavily built bones are more designed for combat not agile hunting like the tiger, so the lion needs the lioness's to help it. But the only way it can get a pride of lioness's is by its toughness to run off the existing male, to beat him in a fight. This is why the lion has to specialize in fighting. And is the reason it does.
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