KINGDOM ANIMALIA: Comparison LION and TIGER

Comparison chart

	Lion	Tiger
Family	Felidae (cat)	Felidae (cat)
Weight	375-496 lbs (males) 280-396 pounds (females)	579 pounds (average male) 308 pounds (average female)
Phylum	chordata	Chordata
Coloring	coat: tan tail fur/mane:dark brown	orange with brown-black stripes
Speed	59 Miles Per Hour	37 miles per hour
Litter size	Avg. 1 - 2	Avg. 2 - 4
Class	Mammalia	Mammalia
Binomial name	Panthera Leo	Panthera Tigris
Order	Carnivora	Carnivora
Conservation status	Near Threatened	Endangered
Diet	carnivore	carnivore
Kingdom	Animalia	Animalia
Scientific name	Panthera leo	Panthera tigris
Distinctive feature	A mane ranging in color from tan to black	Stripes all over the body
Habitat range	Africa and india	Southeast and Eastern Asia
Genus	Panthera	Panthera
Species	P.leo	P. tigris
Hunting behavior	Nocturnal	Nocturnal - Ambushes prey
Number in wild	unkown	3,000 to 4,000
Teeth and Jaws	3 in. canines and heavy pressure jaws	Wide mouth that has strong teeth 4 in. canines
Hunting	Most females hunt together night to make it harder on the prey to see them, but they will sometimes hunt in the daytime. They have three important hunting strategies; that vary based on the prey. The ambush, the blitz, and the siege.	hunts alone during night (nocturnal)
Avg. Meat required for food	11 - 60 lbs also 57 for large males The number of lions in the pride may vary.	Tigers may consume up to 40 kg (88 pounds) of meat at one time. It is estimated that every tiger consumes about 50 deer-sized animals each year, about one per week.
Main Prey	Medium to large ungulates, most notably thompson's gazelle, zebra, wildebeest, impala, warthog, hartebeest, waterbuck, cape buffalo, hippo, rhino, giraffe, and elephants.	Large animals such as deer, buffalo and wild pigs, but they will also hunt fish, monkeys, birds, reptiles and sometimes even baby elephants. Occasionally, tigers kill leopards, bears and other tigers.They also hunt Gaur and Indian Rhinos.
Other food sources	Opportunistic and will readily scavenge the kills of cheetahs, leopards, wild dogs and hyenas.	Will strictly eat only meat hunted by self. When old, will depend on either smaller preys requiring less effort or on other tigers of the pack.
Brain size	Has the largest brain out of all the big cats except the tiger.	Largest brain and reaches maturity faster than other big cats. Their brain is 25% larger than a lion .
Habitat	Rich grasslands of East Africa to sands of Kalahari Desert, South Sahara to South Africa, excluding the Congo rain forest and India's Gir forest. Lions like to live in open woodlands and thick bush, scrub, and tall grassy areas.	India to Siberia and South East Asia. They are also found in grassland and swamp margins. They require sufficient cover, a good population of large prey and a constant water supply.
Population Status	Asiatic - endangered, Others - vulnerable	Critically Endangered
Life Span	Avg. 12 years in the wild for males and 15-16 years in the wild for females.	Avg. 15 - 20 Years
Sexual Maturity of Cubs	24 - 28 Months in Captivity; 36 - 46 Months in Wild	24 - 28 Months in Captivity; 36 - 46 Months in Wild
Body Length (mm)	2200 - 3000 (2.2 - 3 meters)	2000 - 3300 (2 - 3.3 meters)
Tail (mm)	700 - 1000	600 - 1100
Reproduction	Females will give birth after a gestation period of 100-110 days	Females will give birth after a gestation of 104 days
Mother nurses cubs for	10 - 12 Months	18 - 24 Months
how blends into habitat	tan coloring to match dry grasses	stripes to resemble shadows of the forest and black ears with white spot on back like eyes.