Watch This Enormous Elephant Show Its True Size And Expel A Menacing Tiger

Continue reading for our analysis...

In the clip below, we get to see an encounter filmed at the amazing Kabini Wildlife Reserve in Karnataka, India. It is home to a number of endangered animals including elephants, tigers, and other animals who all make an appearance in this clip.

Where Do Asian Elephants Normally Live?

The distribution of Asian elephants has reduced from their historical range. Currently, there are populations on the Indian subcontinent in India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. They can also be found in continental Southeast Asia – China, Myanmar, Thailand, Kampuchea, Laos, Vietnam and Malaysia. Some also live on the Asian islands including Sri Lanka. In total, 60 percent of the surviving population is found in India.

Their preferred habitats are tropical and subtropical broadleaf forests. The transitional zones between forests and grasslands are ideal. They move around with the seasons so during the dry months they are found closer to rivers. Surprisingly, they swim between various islands in India’s Andaman Islands!

How Do Asian Elephants Usually Interact With Other Animals?

Asian elephants are rarely seen interacting with other species – they usually ignore them. They certainly don’t appear to be frightened by them. There are some recorded confrontations with Indian rhinoceros, but these have mainly been in domestic elephants that were ridden into the rhino’s territory. Most importantly, a tiger would not take on a fully grown, fit elephant.

If you look at the wider ecosystem, elephants are actually useful for tigers! They act as an ‘engineer’ in the habitat and uproot small trees that maintain open grassland. This benefits grazing animals and the predators, including the tiger, that prey on them.

What Do Tigers Usually Eat?

We know that tigers do not normally eat elephants so what do they eat?

Tigers are obligate meat eaters and plants do not make up a significant part of their diet. Their preferred prey are ungulates (animals with hooves) and the larger the better! Therefore, they like to eat large bovids such as water buffalo and large cervids such as deer. Additionally, they will supplement these larger kills with small animals including primates, birds, fish and even invertebrates. Tigers have been seen taking elephant and rhino calves but know better than to try to tackle an adult!