Heavyweight Battle: Watch a Tiger and a Crocodile Battle Over a Wild Boar

We know that crocodiles are happy to eat carrion – the carcasses of dead animals, often killed by other predators. But you’d think that they’d wait until the other predator had actually killed the prey! This impatient crocodile thought that it would join in with a tiger kill of a wild boar. It’s unlikely that either the tiger or the wild boar would have been very pleased about that!

Watch the Fascinating Footage Below!

How Do Tigers Hunt in the Wild?

Tigers are large carnivores, they are obligate meat eaters and get practically all of their nutrition by eating the bodies of other animals. Their preferred prey are large ungulates, just like this wild boar.

Their hunting technique is a solitary stalk and ambush method. It consists of three stages which are: concealment, stalking and a final sudden rush at the prey. Small animals are typically killed with a bite to the back of the neck. As they bite, the tiger inserts its canine tooth into the gap between neck vertebrae. This forces them apart and breaks the spinal cord. It does not work on larger animals because the canine is not long enough to reach in between the vertebra. Therefore, larger prey receive a throat bite that crushes the trachea, cutting off the animal’s air supply and effectively strangling them.

Not all of a tiger’s hunting attempts are successful. They may have a success rate of under 30 percent.

What Is the Relationship Between Tigers and Crocodiles?

Tigers and crocodiles are both apex predators. Crocodiles are not the natural prey of tigers.  However, there are isolated reports of large adult tigers being able to overpower a crocodile on land. Tigers may also work together to overcome a crocodile. They have trouble piecing the reptile’s tough skin with their teeth.

Similarly, there are rare sightings of crocodiles killing tigers. On the whole, they tend to compete for the same prey rather than hunt each other. Crocodiles would have a greater advantage in the water if they could sneak up on an unsuspecting tiger and drag it into the water. On land, as we see in this vid, the tiger has less to fear from the croc.