Weighing Comparison: Lion vs. Tiger

Measuring the weights of lions and tigers is one of the fundamental measures that decides the largest big cat in the world. Tigers are the largest big cats in the world followed by lions, and then jaguars. The largest specimen of a tiger ever recorded was in Russia's Sikhote Alin Gory Mountains. It was a male Siberian tiger and he weighed a whopping 846 pounds. The largest specimen of a male lion ever in the wild weighed 690 pounds. Therefore, the tiger leads the largest weight specimen in the initial lion vs. tiger comparison.

Weighing Comparison Lion vs. Tiger (The Largest Specimens Ever)

Big Cat	Weight in Pounds
Largest Siberian Tiger	846 Pounds
Largest African Lion	690 Pounds

The Siberian tiger is the largest of all the big cats weighing up to 550 to 600 pounds. Bengal tigers are the second largest big cat in the world weighing 500 to 550 pounds. The largest species of African lions, i.e., Etosha and Southern African lions, weigh up to 500 pounds. Therefore, Bengal tigers and African lions are at the level of par in terms of weight. However, Bengal tigers still have some pounds more than African lions on their bodies. Especially, if we consider Craig Boddington's argument that it is very rare for a lion to be at 500 pounds weight in the wild.

Weighing Comparison of Different Tiger and Lion Sub-Species

Big Cat Name	Weight in Pounds
Siberian Tigers	600 Pounds
Bengal Tigers	550 Pounds
Southern African Lions	500 Pounds
East African Lions	400 Pounds
Asiatic Lions	400 Pounds
Indochinese Tiger	390 Pounds
South China Tiger	330 Pounds
Sumatran Tiger	275 Pounds

There is another subspecies of tiger dubbed the Indochinese tiger that weighs up to 400 pounds. Most male lions of East African origin weigh around this range, i.e., 400 pounds. But keep in mind that the largest East African lion ever weighed 524 pounds. Similarly, Asiatic lions also weigh around 400 pounds. Therefore, Indochinese tigers, East African lions, and Asiatic lions all weigh around 400 pounds. There are two more subspecies of tigers that are smaller than lions. These include the South China Tigers weighing around 330 pounds, and the Sumatran Tigers weighing around 275 pounds.

So far, in a weighing comparison of a lion vs. a tiger, the Siberian tigers are right on top. Bengal tigers are on the second spot while African lions (Southern African and Etosha lions) are on the third spot. On the fourth spot are the East African and Asiatic lions. Moving forward, the Indochinese tigers are marginally behind on the 5th spot. Lastly, the South China Tigers and the Sumatran Tigers are both at the bottom.

Interestingly, according to Kitchner and Yamaguchi, the average weight of male tigers in the wild is 352 pounds which is lesser than the average weight of male lions, i.e., 385 pounds. Similarly, the average weight of tigresses (250 pounds) is also lesser than that of lionesses (265 pounds). However, these are average statistics that take into account all the wild tigers and lions and they don't make larger subspecies of tigers any smaller than lions.

Average Accumulated Weights of All the Wild Tigers and Lions (Including Sub-Species)

Big Cat Name	Weight in Pounds
Male Tigers	352 Pounds
Male Lions	385 Pounds
Female Tigers (Tigresses)	250 Pounds
Female Lions (Lionesses)	265 Pounds

Lastly, females of both lions and tigers are about half the size of their males. For example, a Siberian tigress is about 350 pounds, and an African lioness (Southern African lioness) is about 310 pounds. Similarly, Bengal tigresses weigh around 310 pounds, and Asiatic lionesses around 285 pounds. Sumatran tigresses are the smallest of all tiger sub-species at 200 pounds.

Weighing Comparison of Lionesses vs. Tigresses in the Wild

Big Cat Name	Weight in Pounds
Siberian Tigress	350 Pounds
Southern African Lionesses	310 Pounds
Bengal Tigress	310 Pounds
Asiatic Lionesses	285 Pounds
East African Lionesses	265 Pounds
Indochinese Tigresses	265 Pounds
South China Tigresses	240 Pounds
Sumatran Tigresses	200 Pounds

References

1. Boddington, C., 2013. Safari Rifles II: Doubles, Magazine Rifles, and Cartridges for African Hunting. Safari Press.
2. Bothma, J.D.P. and Walker, C., 2013. Larger carnivores of the African savannas. Springer Science & Business Media.
3. Kerley, L.L., Goodrich, J.M., Miquelle, D.G., Smirnov, E.N., Quigley, H.B. and Hornocker, M.G., 2003. Reproductive parameters of wild female Amur (Siberian) tigers (Panthera tigris altaica). Journal of Mammalogy, 84(1), pp.288-298.
4. Kitchener, A.C. and Yamaguchi, N., 2010. What is a tiger? Biogeography, morphology, and taxonomy. In Tigers of the World (pp. 53-84). William Andrew Publishing.
5. Lueders, I., Reuken, J., Luther, I., van der Horst, G., Kotze, A., Tordiffe, A., Sieme, H., Jakop, U. and Müller, K., 2024. Effect of age and body condition score on reproductive organ size and sperm parameters in captive male African lion (Panthera leo): suggesting a prime breeding age. Theriogenology Wild, p.100093.