These people are usually referring to instances where the two are forced to fight each other. Not as an animal in general.
And to some degree, they’re right. Lions “fearlessly” attack tigers and are always ready for a fight. Whereas, a tiger is more likely to retreat. Why?
Because lions are social. They’re programmed to take more risks, knowing two things:
- Someone else has their back in fights.
- If injured and cannot hunt, others will provide for them.
Tigers don’t live with this luxury or reality, so they instinctively respond differently. This doesn’t make them LESS BRAVE. It makes them insightful and intelligent.
To enter a fight with another LARGE PREDATOR that will inevitably result in terrible injury and possibly death is reckless. For tigers, the risk/reward analysis is simple: no reward.
Despite the two predators responding categorically different to the same scenario, I wouldn’t classify either as more or less brave. Because both are entering the fight with different and accurate perspectives. If lions were solitary, they would certainly respond like the tiger does. Lions social structure merely wires them differently for a number of reasons.
Also, it’s important to note that all big cats ie: lions are individuals. Not all are brave. Studies have shown that in a coalition of lions, there is almost always a laggard or dastard. Aka coward. One that doesn’t race forward towards trespassing lions roaring in their territory. They let their brothers go ahead and stroll in as its ending. So, you can’t label all lions as brave. AT ALL.
To summarize: if a tiger were to respond as a lion in a fight…. it would be foolhardy & reckless; but, if a lion were to respond like a tiger, it’d be cowardly. So, where one may inaccurately label a lion more “brave” due to this, I label the tiger wise.
