# Can a Wolf win against a Tiger, and a Lion? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 27, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-wolf-win-against-a-tiger-and-a-lion/590533 "2011-07-27T19:53:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-wolf-win-against-a-tiger-and-a-lion/590533/61 "2011-07-29T23:58:24Z")
Slight hijack - What would a wolf and a tiger do if they somehow encountered each other in the wild? Since they’d likely have no experience of each other, would they be instantly hostile, cautious but curious, or largely ignore each other? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-wolf-win-against-a-tiger-and-a-lion/590533/62 "2011-07-30T00:03:07Z")
For clarity, Rhombus, you refer to a lone wolf and lone tiger? ---
**Author:** ![kjckjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e36b37/32.png) [@kjckjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kjckjc)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-wolf-win-against-a-tiger-and-a-lion/590533/63 "2011-07-30T01:00:39Z")
What about a lion vs a tuna? I think it would go down like: [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4wykeJBHdE) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-wolf-win-against-a-tiger-and-a-lion/590533/64 "2011-07-30T02:54:35Z")
> [@Mr.Slant](#): > > For clarity, Rhombus, you refer to a lone wolf and lone tiger? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-wolf-win-against-a-tiger-and-a-lion/590533/65 "2011-07-30T06:28:49Z")
The honey badger could take all three, maybe even at the same time. They have been documented as having killed lions twice their size. [You want to know how?](http://www.badassoftheweek.com/honeybadger.html) > [@](#): > > known to go after anything, anytime, anywhere, and has been known to attack buffalo, humans, wildebeest, jackals, monitor lizards, wild boars, and even lions and cheetahs. If the creature is too huge for the Badger to straight-up eviscerate with its inch-and-a-half long claws or its razor-sharp teeth, the Ratel still knows how to go for the weak spot – the balls. **That’s right, folks, this thing has been documented as killing male lions by running underneath them and tearing off their scrotums.** Don’t fuck with a honey badger. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-wolf-win-against-a-tiger-and-a-lion/590533/66 "2011-07-30T23:03:16Z")
On the other hand, it’s been said that tigers have a slight edge on lions. Sorry, no cite–I’m remembering things I read in old books, like a 1960 encyclopedia. ---
**Author:** ![Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enter_the_Flagon)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-wolf-win-against-a-tiger-and-a-lion/590533/67 "2011-07-31T05:13:17Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > The honey badger could take all three, maybe even at the same time. They have been documented as having killed lions twice their size. [You want to know how?](http://www.badassoftheweek.com/honeybadger.html) > Don’t fuck with a honey badger. Documented? It’d be nice to see a more authorative cite for that, especially since Animal Planet disagrees: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3pua7f9mLI](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3pua7f9mLI) > [@](#): > > Also, there’s no evidence that they attack large animals by biting them ‘below the belt’. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-wolf-win-against-a-tiger-and-a-lion/590533/68 "2011-07-31T21:52:18Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Ever played with a house cat that got a bit serious? The cat grabs you with front paws and sinks teeth in, then proceeds to rake with the back paws for a disembowling shot. (Even if the target is just your arm, rather than your bowels.) Hell yes. I think I’ve recounted this on the Dope before but anyway… short version… had my cat at the vet to have an abscess cleaned. Vet asked me to help hold cat and started an electric shaver to prep the area. Cat went bananas. A moment later the vet has apparently teleported to the other side of the room, the cat is holed up in a corner of the room hissing, and I’m standing there looking dumbfounded with runnels of blood down my forearm from numerous claw marks and a shed claw embedded in one finger. By morning the claw wound was infected and led to a couple of days in hospital on IV antibiotics. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-wolf-win-against-a-tiger-and-a-lion/590533/69 "2011-08-01T21:40:59Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > The honey badger could take all three, maybe even at the same time. They have been documented as having killed lions twice their size. [You want to know how?](http://www.badassoftheweek.com/honeybadger.html) > Don’t fuck with a honey badger. Is there an echo in here? > [@Enter\_the\_Flagon](#): > > Documented? It’d be nice to see a more authorative cite for that, especially since Animal Planet disagrees: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3pua7f9mLI](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3pua7f9mLI) I wouldn’t mind more evidence. It’s definitely a wild claim. However, watching the thing take on puff adders and living to tell the tale is pretty impressive. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-wolf-win-against-a-tiger-and-a-lion/590533/70 "2011-08-01T21:57:46Z")
A wolf would seem to have no real chance against a lion or a tiger. The only real chance is if the cat got bitten, the wolf got eaten or ran away and the cat’s wound got infected, but a black fly or mosquito could take down a cat that way also. I am even sort of wondering how anyone would think a lone wolf could pull that off. In the case where they are evenly weighted/sized, such as a wolf/cougar, I still can’t see the wolf winning most of the time, though it has a far better chance then a lion or tiger. Wolf’s strength are in numbers and they generally have little to do with solitary attacking of large dangerous animals. Though when packed together they have been known to take down lions. Cats are solitary hunters and frequently go after big prey. They have 5 points of attack plus if bitten they have very loose fitting skin that generally allows counter attacks. So even if the wolf can get a bite in it will be bitten and/or clawed back - this is why I feel that a cougar would take a lone wolf most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-wolf-win-against-a-tiger-and-a-lion/590533/71 "2011-08-02T13:18:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Intra-species fights for dominance or over mates are very rarely to the death, since the loser almost always concedes before then, and once he’s conceded, there’s no need to finish him. The lion’s mane is probably more to defend against hyenas. If the mane is for defense against hyenas, why don’t females have them? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-wolf-win-against-a-tiger-and-a-lion/590533/72 "2011-08-02T18:55:20Z")
Given that dogs have chased off cougars, I am fairly certain that without a strong need, the cougar confronted by a lone wolf would probably hightail it rather than risk the exchange. A wolf without a strong need might not want to confront the cougar, either, but what constitutes a strong need? What level of hungry makes it want to steal prey, for instance? Put youngsters for either in the mix, that changes the motivations dramatically. Put excessive hunger in the picture, that changes the stakes. Rile them up and stick both in a cage to force the situation? I’d bet on the cougar over the wolf. Cats is mean when cornered. Plus, more agile and flexible. I can’t see a full grown lion or tiger backing off from a single wolf. The size disparity, even for a female lion, is still significant. I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-wolf-win-against-a-tiger-and-a-lion/590533/73 "2011-08-02T19:03:13Z")
> [@](#): > > If the mane is for defense against hyenas, why don’t females have them? Because it’s for defense against hyenas. That’s the male lion’s job in the pride: The females hunt, the males fight off hyenas. Same as any other species, the males get the most dangerous job. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-wolf-win-against-a-tiger-and-a-lion/590533/74 "2011-10-19T22:07:36Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > Missed the edit. > > Additional info: The above clip was apparently from a movie. It was set up but was an actual fight. The info in a related video says that the tiger eventually goes on to kill the lion. When I clicked on the link, the info on the bottom says that lion eventually kills the tiger. Is there another video that tells a different side to the story? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-wolf-win-against-a-tiger-and-a-lion/590533.md?page=3)