Everyone knows that lions and wolves live and hunt in groups. Lion prides often have to contend with hyena clans and other prides over food and territory. Wolf packs have conflicts with other wolf packs over territory and food. So what would happen if these two animal groups were to have a battle? In this article, we have an African lion pride vs gray wolf pack fight.
Lion vs Wolf: Size Comparison
Male Lion:
Weight: 150 – 250 kg (330 – 550 lb)
Shoulder height: 1 – 1.2 m (3.5 – 4 ft)
Head-to-body length: 1.84 – 2.08 m (6 – 6.8 ft)
Tail length: 82.5 – 93.5 cm (32.5 – 36.8 in)
Female Lion:
Weight: 120 – 180 kg (265 – 395 lb)
Shoulder height: 0.9 – 1.1 m (2.9 – 3.6 ft)
Head-to-body length: 1.6 – 1.8 m (5.2 – 5.9 ft)
Tail length: 72 – 89.5 cm (28.3 – 35.2 in)
Male Wolf:
Weight: 31 – 65 kg (70 – 145 lb)
Shoulder height: 76 cm (2.5 ft)
Head-to-body length: 0.9 – 1.5 m (3 – 5 ft)
Tail length: 30 – 60 cm (1 – 2 ft)
Female Wolf:
Weight: 27 – 45 kg (60 – 100 lb)
Shoulder height: 66 cm (2.1 ft)
Head-to-body length: 0.9 – 1.5 m (3 – 5 ft)
Tail length: 30 – 60 cm (1 – 2 ft)
As you can see, lions clearly dominate wolves in weight, height and length. Even female lions are larger than male wolves. It’s not looking good for the wolf pack.
Lion Pride vs Wolf Pack: Animal Strengths
Lions have a bite force of 650 psi, while wolves are weaker, with a bite force of 400 psi. Wolves manage to beat the lions on the number of teeth they have in their mouth, with 42 to the lion’s 30. But in a fight, it is the canine teeth that are going to be dealing the most damage. So the wolf falls short again as their canines are 6.3 cm (1.5 in) compared to the lion’s canines, which are 7 cm (2.8 in).
Lions have razor-sharp claws that are 3.8 cm (1.5 in) long and are kept sharp by being retractable. Their resting position is when they are retracted inside the paw, as they would become blunt if they constantly walked on them. The wolf has claws that are 2 cm (0.8 in) long. Unlike the lion, the wolf’s claws are not retractable and are constantly worn down and are dull as a result.
As we established in the size comparison, with the lion being the larger of the two animals, they would be able to use their weight and more muscular build to weigh down any wolf they caught.
Lion Pride vs Wolf Pack: Group Behaviour
The average lion pride can consist of 2 – 40 lions comprising 3 – 4 male lions, 12 or so females and the rest being young adults or juveniles. All of the lionesses in the pride are related the female cubs typically stay with the pride once they become adults. The adult males drive out the young males as they enter adulthood. The adult males patrol the territory and fight off intruding males, while the females lead most of the hunts.
A wolf pack’s average size is 2 – 15 wolves. An alpha male and female run the pack, with the rest of the pack members being mainly their offspring. The alphas lead the hunts and are responsible for pack safety.
As we can see, both lion pride and wolf pack are formed by close family bonds. They will do anything to protect each other.
A wolf pack cover a greater territory range than the lions; a wolf pack can cover 50 – 1000 square miles (130 – 2590 square kilometres), while a lion pride covers 15 – 400 square miles (39 – 1036 square kilometres).
Lion Pride vs Wolf Pack: Hunting Strategy
Lions are ambush predators who silently stalk their prey using the undergrowth for cover; they select the weakest-looking animal. Once they are closer enough, they launch into a fast sprint, hoping to pounce on their prey or knock it off balance. They kill their prey by biting the neck of the animal, which crushes the windpipe or covering the animal’s nose with their mouth to suffocate it.
Wolves are different; their hunts are based on endurance. They chase their prey, looking for a weak, injured or young animal as this will make the kill easier. Wolves will bite the neck of their target, but if it is large, like a bison, they will circle it taking turns to bite it anywhere on the body until it is dead
Lions have a hunting success rate of 25% compared to a wolf’s 14% success rate.
Lion Pride vs Wolf Pack, What Animal Group Would Win In A Fight?
Now we come to the fight to make it fair, the animal numbers will be the same but follow the normal animal group hierarchy:
Lion Pride: 15 members
2 adult males
13 adult females
Wolf Pack: 15 members
1 alpha male
1 alpha female
7 adult males
6 adult females
As if you hadn’t already guessed, a lion pack would annihilate a wolf pack in a fight. They have an advantage over the wolf in every way. Lions are way larger than wolves, with even females being twice the weight of male wolves. Lions, with their extra weight, could easily pin a wolf down. Then, the lions have their superior bite force and more prominent canine teeth than the wolves. The lions also have one over on the wolves, able to use their claws in the fight, unlike the wolf, whose claws would be useless in a fight. So their you have it the lion pride remains the king of the jungle.
Lion Related Fight Articles
Pride of Lionesses vs Grizzly Bear
Wolf Related Fight Articles