Speed of a Tiger
A tiger has a maximum running speed of 80 kilometers per hour (km/h). However; there are varying accounts about speed calculations of the tigers. National Geographic one of the most reliable source about animal reference mentioned the speed of the tigers to be around 80 km/h. But many other references mention the speed of the tigers to be around 40 miles per hour or 64 km/h. This prompts us to assign a speed range of a tiger to be around 64 to 80 km/h. This speed also makes tigers as one of the fastest ones among the land mammals and within the big cat family as well. Let’s enter further into this speeding attribute of the tiger in a more profound manner!
Myrtle Beach Safari is the only institute in the world which has publically measured the speed of the tigers by tempting the tigers to chase a lure. Therefore; as a visitor you have a great opportunity to witness a live sprinting tiger at the safari park. Furthermore; Myrtle Beach Safari has also produced one of the rarest footage of a sprinting tiger. The Myrtle Beach Safari Team headed by Dr. Bhagavan Antle measured the speed of the tigers to be from 40 miles per hour to 47 miles per hour. The team also found that the female tigers to be faster than the male tigers. According to their findings; female tigers had a maximum speed of 47 miles per hour while the male tigers had a speed of 40 miles per hour. Since; female tigers are smaller than the male tigers, therefore; the size and weight plays a key role within the speed of the tigers.
Tiger may also be the fastest among all the big cats with non-retractable claws. Cheetahs are fastest among all the big cats and within land mammals as well. Cheetahs are the only big cats with retractable claws like the claws of wolves and dogs. However; tigers also have a speed competitor within the range of non-retractable big cat categories i.e., the lions. Usually a male lion has a fastest speed of around 35 miles per hour.
However; this speed of a male lion is less than the speed of the male tiger which is 40 miles per hour. Male tigers are more agile than male lions. The body structure of a male tiger is more aerodynamic oriented than that of a lion whose big mane and a relatively bigger head serve as hindrance in terms of aerodynamics. Therefore the speed and aerodynamic advantage goes to the male tiger when it comes to a lion vs tiger speed comparison. Lionesses on the other hand have perfectly aerodynamic bodies and they can attain a speed of around 45 to even 50 miles per hour as per National Geographic.
In one of the famous documentaries on Animal Planet the host Dave Salmoni demonstrated a tamed male tiger successfully chasing down an ostrich that run at around 40 miles per hour. Therefore; reaching the top speeds of around 40 miles per hour an even more for male tigers is a lot easier. However; we haven’t witnessed such successful chases of male lions preying on ostriches by chasing them down. Lions usually ambush their prey and this is how they take down ostriches in Africa. A male lion successfully chasing down an ostrich in a long run will demonstrate their speeding ability of more than 40 miles per hour.
The question is whether the tigers need speed in their hunting? Usually the tigers live in dense jungle and rather than speed a surprise attack always determines the successful hunting. Therefore; the speed element is rather secondary for tiger’s hunting habitat. But at times we have witnessed tiger successfully chasing down its prey by having a quick sprint. In a very remarkable footage on National Geographic a Bengal Tiger literally runs on water surface to take down its prey in a water pond. This demonstrates how speed is one of the key hunting weapons for the tigers to capture their prey? This also explains the speed power and versatility of a tiger to hunt according different situations as well.
