Lion vs Tiger

July 29, 2022
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN Topics

Lion vs Tiger

Subject: Environment

Section: Biodiversity

Context: Starting in August, Cheetahs will be imported from Namibia and South Africa to Kuno National Park in MP to establish Cheetah into its “historical range”. Kuno is getting Cheetahs ostensibly to serve a host of grassland ecosystem services, all of which could be served by Lions, an apex species.

Concept:

Lion and Tiger

These are from the four big cats (Lion, Tiger, Leopard, and Jaguar).
Both are the most ferocious
Both belong to the Felidae (cat) family.
They reside on the top of the food chain and are apex predatorse., don’t have any predators of their own.
India is the habitat of five big cats, namely, the Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris), the Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo), the Indian Leopard (Panthera pardus), the Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia), and the Indo-Chinese Clouded Leopard (Neofelisnebulosa).
All the big cat species are listed in Schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act 1972ensuring the maximum protection and indicating that their habitats are in danger.

Lion vs Tiger

Lion

Tiger

Binomial Name: Panthera Leo
a social animal
Appearance– don’t have any stripes; Adult male lions have a large mane around their faces and its Tan colouring match dry grasses
In terms of bone strength, lions are stronger.
typically inhabit savanna and grassland i.e., East Africa to sands of Kalahari Desert, South Sahara to South Africa, excluding the Congo rain forest and India’s Gir forest.
IUCN Status: African Lion-Vulnerable; Asiatic Lion – Endangered
Hunting behaviour: Mostly Diurnal but females hunt in groups in the night to make it harder on the prey to see them
Hunting Strategies: The ambush, the blitz, and the siege.
Life span: Average 12-15 years
The “Asiatic Lion Conservation Project” has been launched by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and has been approved for three financial years from 2018 to 2021.

Binomial Name: Panthera Tigris
a solitary animal
Appearance– bold, black stripes across their bodies to resemble shadows of the forest, don’t have mane like lions
In terms of muscular strength, tigers are stronger.
found in grassland and swamp margins i.e., India to Siberia and South East Asia.
largest feline species in the world & Bengal tiger is the most common sub species, constituting approximately 80% of the entire tiger population.
IUCN Status: Endangered
Hunting behaviour: Nocturnal and hunt alone
Hunting Strategies: Ambushes prey
Life span-: Average 15-20 years
“Project Tiger” is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change launched in 1973 to provide central assistance to the tiger States for tiger conservation in designated tiger reserves in India. The project is administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

Project lion

Project Lion will involve conservation of the Asiatic Lion and its landscape in a holistic manner.
The Project Lion will entail habitat development, engage modern technologies in Lion management and address the issues of disease in Lion and its associated species through advanced world-class research and veterinary care.
The project will also address Human-wildlife conflict and will be inclusive involving local communities living in the vicinity of Lion landscape and will also provide livelihood opportunities.
Asiatic lions were once distributed upto the state of West Bengal in east and Rewa in Madhya Pradesh, in central India.
At present Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary is the only abode of the Asiatic lion.
The last surviving population of the Asiatic lions is a compact tract of dry deciduous forest and open grassy scrublands in southwestern part of Saurashtra region of Gujarat.
Listed in Schedule I of Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, in Appendix I of CITES and as Endangered on IUCN Red List.