Liger vs Lion

Ligers and lions are the two magnificent beasts belonging to the top hierarchy of the big cat family. A liger is a hybrid offspring of a lion and tigress, whereas; a lion is a pure species which rules the land of African Savannah. Since lion is a father of a liger; therefore there are many physical attributes which a liger inherits from a lion.

Even though a liger is an offspring of a lion; it has a lot of physical differences as compared to its father i.e., the lion.

Yet still within a big cat family, a liger maintains its distinction when it is compared with a lion. Therefore; a comparison which creates this distinction more vivid in between a liger and a lion looks pretty much on the cards. This article tends to compare all the difference and similarities between a liger and a lion.

Liger - Classification
Hybrid Animal Lion - Classification
Pure Species Liger
Offspring of a Lion & a Tigress Liger vs Lion
Big Difference

In a comparison of a liger vs. lion; the most decisive comparison lies within the weights of both animals. A liger is a heavy weight and it is far bigger in terms of its size and weight as compared to a liger. A liger normally weighs around 800 to 900 pounds, whereas a lion normally weighs around 400 to 500 pounds.

A liger is bigger in size and weight as compared to a loin. A liger weighs around 900 pounds while a lion weighs around 500 pounds.

Therefore; a liger weighs twice more than a lion and also it is twice bigger in size as compare to the lion. In the wild a lion comes only second to a tiger in terms of its weight and size. The Siberian Tigers are considered as the biggest of all the big cat species who weigh around 600 to 700 pounds. Therefore; a liger is even bigger and stronger than a Siberian Tiger as well.

Liger - Weight
800 to 900+ Pounds Lion - Weight
400 to 500 Pounds Siberian Tiger Weight
500 to 600 Pounds Weights - Liger vs Lion
Liger is twice heavier than a lion

In a body length comparison of a liger vs lion; a liger again holds an upper hand over a lion who comes as the second best to a liger. A liger has a length of around 12 feet long, whereas; a lion has a body length of around 8 to 9 feet long.

A liger is almost 12 feet long in length while a lion is around 9 feet long. A liger truly has an edge over a lion in the body length comparison.

Therefore; it wouldn't be wrong to conclude that a liger is almost one quarter longer in terms of its length when compared to a liger. In the wild lions are even slightly shorter than their rival big cats i.e., the tigers. The body lengths of the tigers are in between 9 to 11 feet respectively.

Liger - Body Length
12 Feet Long Lion - Body Length
9 Feet Long Siberian Tiger - Body Length
10 to 11 Feet Long Liger vs Lion
Liger is quarter longer than a Lion!

Height comparison is a very attractive feature which differentiates the size of any big cat. The same is true about the comparison of the liger vs. lion. When it comes to the average height of a liger, it is almost 6 feet tall from its feet to the tip of its ears. However; on the other hand; a lion is four and a half to five feet tall from its feet to the tip of its ears.

A liger has a height of 6 feet when it is measured from its feet to the tip of its ears..

Therefore; a liger leads lion in terms of its body height as well. This also means that height is also a very distinctive feature that differentiates a liger from its father i.e., the lion. Furthermore; it also proves that a liger has a huge body structure which supports its large weight.

Liger Height
6 Feet Tall Lion Height
4.5 Feet Tall Liger vs. Lion
A liger is one and a half feet taller than a lion.

One of the common features in between a liger and a lion is the presence of the mane. Lions were previously (until the arrival of the ligers on the scene) the only cats within the big cat family which had manes around their necks. Now the ligers have also emerged as the big cats that have manes around their necks. However; the mane of a liger is usually smaller in size as compared to the mane of a lion.

Both ligers have lions have beautiful manes around their necks. However; a liger has a smaller mane as compared to the mane of a lion.

It should also be noted that not all the ligers have manes around their necks. The world’s biggest liger i.e., Hercules the liger also doesn’t have any mane around its neck. However; a famous liger named as Hobbs the liger and Levi the liger from Wynnewood Zoo have manes around its necks. Similarly; a liger named as Levi from the Wynnewood also has a beautiful mane around its neck as well. It should also be noted that only the male lions and male ligers have manes around their necks.

Liger Mane
Slightly Trimmed Mane Lion Mane
Huge Sized Mane around its Neck Females
Both Female lions and Ligers don't have any manes. Mane Comparison
A lion has a bigger mane than a liger.

Despite the fact that a liger has a small mane around its neck its face is still distinctive as compared to the face of a lion. A liger’s face has unique markings which are absent both within lions and tigers. It is very rare for a lion to have facial markings. Tigers do have facial markings but the ligers’ facial markings are much different than that of a tiger.

The presence of the mane does not make the similar facial resemblance for a lion and a liger. A liger has spotted facial markings on its face while a lion doesn't possess any facial markings.

A liger has spotted facial markings while a tiger has linear facial markings and lions as mentioned earlier usually have no facial markings at all. It should also be noted that young lion cubs have facial markings like the liger cubs, however; at the age of the maturity these facial markings are absolutely diminished.

Liger vs Lion
Facial Distinction Liger - Facial Markings
Spotted Facial Markings Lion - Facial Markings
No Facial Markings Tiger - Facial Markings
Linear Facial Markings

When it comes to the color of the skin; a liger has a skin and a fur of a lion. Therefore; both the lion and a liger has tawny-brown colored fur on their bodies. However a liger’s fur along with the color of lion’s fur also has dark brown colored stripes like that of a tiger. These stripes are spread throughout the body of a liger and each liger has a unique pattern of these stripes.

Ligers and lions have same colors of their fur i.e., tawny brown. However; a liger's fur contains dark brown stripes like that of a tiger which makes a liger's fur very unique.

A visual comparison has also shown that a liger’s fur has more stripes than a tiger. Lions when they are young, they usually have spots on their bodies and when the reach the age of maturity; these spots disappear as if they never existed.

Liger vs Lion
Similar Fur Color Liger's Fur Color
Tawny Brown Lion's Fur Color
Tawny Brown Liger's Fur
Dark Brown Stripes

A very interesting comparison in between the liger and a lion is about the bite force intensity. Just like the overall huge body structure of a liger, its head size is also very huge. It is believed that a liger’s head is almost twice bigger in size than that of a lion. A bigger head size also means bigger jaws and massive jaw power for biting.

A liger's bite force is twice powerful than a lion. A Liger's bite force exerts a pressure of 1000 pounds while a lion's bite force exerts a pressure of 400 to 450 pounds.

According to National Geographic; a lion’s bite force is around 400 pounds while a liger’s estimated bite force is almost 1000 thousand pounds. Therefore; a lion or a tiger is no match for a liger when it comes to the intensity of the bite force because a liger may easily crush the neck of both lion and tiger.

Liger vs Lion
Bite Force Difference Liger's Bite Force
1000 Pounds Lion's Bite Force
400 Pounds Tiger's Bite Force
500 Pounds

Agility is a key component within the big cat family. Speed is a core feature that defines the agility of a big cat. A liger’s speed is measured at Myrtle Beach Safari and it turns out to be around 50 miles per hour. A lion on the other hand has an average speed of around 40 miles per hour. This may mean that a liger in terms of its speed must be more agile than a lion.

A liger (50 miles per hour) is faster than a lion (40 miles per hour). However; a lion is more agile than a liger.

However; a liger’s big size will not make it any more agile as compared to a lion. We have seen in the big cats that bigger the size lesser the agility and the same is true about the liger vs lion comparison. Therefore; a lion is more agile as compared to a liger.

Liger vs Lion
Speed & Agility Comparison Liger's Speed
50 Miles per Hour Lion's Speed
40 Miles per Hour Agility Comparison
A lion is more agile as compared to a liger.

According to Dr. Bhagavan Antle; a man having more than 30 years of experience with the big cats, a liger is very calm and less aggressive as compared to a lion. Lions on the other hand are highly territorial and they always tend to maintain their dominance by territory gain.

A liger has a very moderate and mild personality. Lion on the other hand is extremely territorial and has very aggressive instinct.

Lions are even known to play an aggression bluff to scare to scare off any opponent from their territory. A liger on the other hand is not as much aggressive as compared to a lion. According to Dr. Bhagavan Antle; a liger inherits its calmness from its mother i.e., the tigress.

Lastly; lions are born both in the wild and in captivity, whereas; all the ligers are born in captivity. It is not possible for a liger to born in the wild because there is no common territory in the world, where lions and tigers live together. Therefore; the only way to breed a liger is within captivity such as zoos, animal sanctuaries and safari parks etc.

Ligers only exist in captivity while lions exist both in the wild as well as in captivity.

However; Myrtle Beach Safari believes that in Singapore hundreds of years ago lions and tigers used to co-habit with one another. Furthermore; there has been a story of a huge big cat creature which by all accounts match the attributes of the liger.