Gaurs are large and powerful bovines that are often mistakenly called Indian bison. However, these mammals aren’t bison, as they’re part of a different genus.
Gaurs can grow as large as 8-10 feet in head-and-body length and weigh as much as 3,300 pounds! Naturally, they shouldn’t be at high risk of predation, right? Well, the truth is, some animals do have the courage to hunt gaurs, and tigers are among them! In fact, someone spotted such an encounter and recorded it on camera, thus providing valuable insight into what we know about gaurs and tigers!
Will the Tiger Kill the Gaur?
Here’s how a tiger “met” a gaur in the wild. The tiger spots a gaur somewhere in its vicinity and decides to hunt it down. Since gaurs are much larger than tigers, and the latter are aware of their hunting boundaries, tigers usually hunt gaurs only by ambushing them and biting their throats. At the same time, they use their powerful forelimbs to hold the prey and wrestle it to the ground. Tigers understand that they don’t stand a chance against these giant bovines if they resort to a different hunting technique. That’s what the tiger does now, too.
It spots the gaur and then stands still as if pondering whether it has any chance of capturing its larger opponent. Once it makes up its mind, it starts walking towards the gaur while keeping a close eye on it.
As it advances, the feline slows down, walking quietly to avoid making any sounds and “informing” the prey of its plans. Once the tiger feels it got close enough to ambush its prey, it starts running towards it!
It’s only then that we see the gaur, which, in fact, is not alone! So we’re now dealing with an extremely courageous tiger that stood a chance of winning a battle against several gaurs! Well, you’ll definitely be disappointed, Mr. Tiger, as gaurs won’t give up as easily as other animals you prey upon!
As the tiger runs towards them, a gaur spots it and begins chasing it away, the poor feline fleeing for its life as quickly as it can. At the same time, the other gaurs are patiently waiting until their friend deals with the unwelcome guest. Once the bovine “gets rid” of the tiger, it stops and leisurely returns to the group to enjoy the rest of the day.
A tiger attacking a group of gaurs is, in fact, a rare sight. They will most often hunt calves or old and unhealthy gaurs, but ambushing a whole group of adults – that’s definitely something! Luckily, no one got hurt, and all animals went on with their daily routine.
How Often Do Tigers Kill Gaurs?
©Thorsten Spoerlein/Shutterstock.com
While this doesn’t happen too often, tigers were spotted killing gaurs, and they did this masterfully. One tiger killed a large adult gaur; surprisingly, it was strong enough to drag the heavy bovine for a distance of over 39 feet! This again indicates how powerful tigers are if they can easily drag bodies three or four times heavier than them! A group of 13 men reportedly tried to move that same carcass later, but it was impossible.
Gaurs, on the other hand, can easily defend themselves against tigers unless the circumstances are against them. In fact, they’re very protective of each other, and their calves and are known to encircle their babies to shield them from tigers.
Up Next:
More from A-Z Animals
The Featured Image
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us? Contact the AZ Animals editorial team.
