---
title: "African elephant vs tiger — size, speed and bite force"
description: "African elephant and tiger compared on mass, length, speed, bite force and lifespan — every measure side by side, with why the numbers cannot settle an encounter."
url: https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/african-elephant-vs-tiger/
site: "At One Place"
---

# African elephant vs tiger

**African elephant vs tiger: African elephant leads on 4 of 5 measures**

Measured comparison — not a prediction

The largest living land animal, distinguished from the Asian elephant by larger ears and a dipped back. The largest living cat, with Amur and Bengal tigers the heaviest subspecies. On the measurements below, African elephant leads on more of them — but they do not all point the same way, and the ones that disagree are the interesting part.

## The measurements

|  | African elephant | tiger |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mass | 2,200–10,400 kg | 100–310 kg |
| Length | 5.5–7.5 m | 1.7–2.3 m |
| Height | 2.2–4 m | 0.8–1.1 m |
| Top speed | 40 km/h | 50–65 km/h |
| Bite force | — | 1,050 psi |
| Lifespan | 50–70 yr | 8–26 yr |

## Where each one leads

- Mass: African elephant is 27× heavier.
- Length: African elephant is 3.3× longer.
- Height: African elephant is 3.2× taller.
- Top speed: tiger is 1.6× faster.
- Lifespan: African elephant is 5.5× a longer life.

## What this does and does not tell you

These are measured averages with real ranges behind them, and every figure links to its own page. What they cannot do is settle an encounter. Outcomes between animals turn on circumstance — who initiates, whether either is hungry, defending young, injured or cornered, and what the terrain favours. Size and bite force are not decisive on their own, and most of these pairs never meet in the wild in any case, because their ranges do not overlap.

> Every figure here is an average with a substantial spread. Individual animals vary enormously — a large individual of the smaller species routinely exceeds a small individual of the larger one.

## Common questions

### Is a African elephant bigger than a tiger?

African elephant is heavier — 2,200–10,400 kg against 100–310 kg.

### Who would win, a African elephant or a tiger?

That is not something measurements can settle. The comparison above shows which animal leads on each measure, but an actual encounter depends on circumstance, motivation, health and terrain — and most pairs like this never meet in the wild.

## Related pages

- [How much does a African elephant weigh?](https://atoneplace.net/weight/african-elephant/)
- [How much does a tiger weigh?](https://atoneplace.net/weight/tiger/)
- [lion vs tiger](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/lion-vs-tiger/)
- [tiger vs wolverine](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/tiger-vs-wolverine/)
- [tiger vs white rhinoceros](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/tiger-vs-white-rhinoceros/)
- [tiger vs white-tailed deer](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/tiger-vs-white-tailed-deer/)
- [tiger vs wild boar](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/tiger-vs-wild-boar/)
- [tiger vs walrus](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/tiger-vs-walrus/)
- [tiger vs tiger shark](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/tiger-vs-tiger-shark/)
- [tiger vs whale shark](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/tiger-vs-whale-shark/)
- [leopard vs tiger](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/leopard-vs-tiger/)
- [jaguar vs tiger](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/jaguar-vs-tiger/)
- [cheetah vs tiger](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/cheetah-vs-tiger/)
- [cougar vs tiger](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/cougar-vs-tiger/)

## Sources

- Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History — Smithsonian Institution (https://naturalhistory.si.edu/)
- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]