Shark Versus Tiger
Dear Conor Friedersdorf,
Thank you for your email regarding a hypothetical meeting between a Bengal Tiger and a Great White Shark.
I’m sure you’ve considered that your taking a marine creature and having it duel with a terrestrial animal, something that rarely occurs. You asked, “how many inches of water would it take before the shark won.” The first thing you need to do is to establish is the age, which relates to size, of each of the combatants. Is it a juvenile white shark, less than 4 feet in length, which would still need at least 2 – 2.5 feet of water to navigate, or is it an adult that is over 16 feet in length and weighing more than 4,000 pounds?
The adult shark would need at least 6 – 8 feet of water to navigate efficiently. On the other hand, any water depth over 3 feet would probably necessitate the Bengal Tiger swimming, in which case the shark would have the advantage. If the water depth was less than that required for normal swimming behavior by the shark, the tiger would have the advantage. So, I believe it would simply be, the winner would always have Home Field advantage. Water depth more than that required for the appropriately sized Great White Shark, the shark would win. If it were less than that required the Tiger would win.
I hope this has been of some value to you. I appreciate your interest in my research and if I can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate in contacting me.
Sincerely yours,
Ralph S. Collier
Shark Research Committee
Yes , I saw the tiger & the shark in a small pool ON THE SIMPSONS ages ago.
Is this a new idea ?
— jardine_cody · Oct 1, 04:56 AM · #
What if the tiger was standing on a small submerged island (5ft x 5ft) so that it was in, let’s say, 3 feet of water, while the shark was swimming around in a much deeper pool? Tiger would have enough space to move around while the shark could still attack it.
— Marko · Oct 1, 07:16 AM · #
Shark Research Committee
— Tony Comstock · Oct 1, 11:02 AM · #
I do believe this blog has just jumped the . . . oh, never mind.
— Noah Millman · Oct 1, 12:15 PM · #
The much more interesting question is the hypothetical meeting between a tuna and a lion. For the answer, check out this link:
http://www.mtv.com/videos/movies/539652/the-other-guys-clip-lion-vs-tuna.jhtml
— Jeff Singer · Oct 1, 01:59 PM · #
Animal A vs. Animal B is as old as time itself, or at least as old as Ninja vs. Pirate or Kirk vs. Picard, and predates Simpsons references comfortably.
— Gareth · Oct 1, 02:07 PM · #
You guys clearly don’t know the greatest question of our time: Jaws vs. the Ghostbusters.
(On a rubber raft, on the ocean, within a half-mile of the coast, they have the proton packs but not the trap.)
— Freddie · Oct 1, 03:23 PM · #
Have them fight on a ramp between dry land and deep water.
Consider having them fight by proxy rather than directly—give each of them a turn fighting a crocodile. If croc wins against both, try fighting smaller crocs or alligators. If croc loses to both, try having each face multiple crocs. (I’m assuming an infinite supply of crocs, sharks, and tigers here).
More economically, see if you can get a shark expert and a croc expert into a fight over which one would win. Bonus points if you can get them to mime the attacks of their respective animals.
— Consumatopia · Oct 3, 02:42 AM · #
More economically, see if you can get a shark expert and a croc expert into a fight over which one would win. Bonus points if you can get them to mime the attacks of their respective animals.
This is teh WIN
— TW Andrews · Oct 3, 05:37 PM · #