I will start by addressing the appropriateness of this question –
Life is hard for an animal in the wild. Most do not die from natural causes. They fight to survive and often encounter other species in their environment who they will compete with for resources.
Welcome to the jungle.
In the case of any physical conflict, the environment and the combatants will be the biggest factors that will determine the results.
For this exercise, I am going to match the best of the best against each other. Top alphas who are in their prime…undefeated killers.
There are documented cases of Gorillas fighting against leopards. I found mixed results with the gorilla winning at times and then the leopard winning at other times. It always depends on the situation.
Felines are apex predator hunters. They sneak up on their prey and pounce on them when it is too late for them to react. Gorillas are not impervious to this type of attack, and this is how a leopard defeats them. When gorillas confront leopards head-on, they have overpowered and overtaken the big wild cats.
However, a leopard is not a tiger.
Tigers are known for their frontal attack. They pounce once, then leap forward at full force with their claws out so they can catch their prey, and then sink their 3-inch fangs into their quarry’s neck to finish them off. A swipe from their paws generates 10,000 lbs. of force, which is enough to break gorilla bones.
A strike from a gorilla can generate over a ton of force which is enough to break a tiger’s spine. They are omnivores and will hunt for their dinner if they must. They are quick, strong, and have fangs that they can bite with as well. They fight similarly to humans and will battle to the death like a pankration fighter.
As the tiger and gorilla face-off, the tiger bares its teeth, growls, and stalks forward. The gorilla grunts and pounces forward.
They race toward each other.
The tiger lunges, claws out, and swipes the gorilla’s midline.
Gorilla leans in and slaps the back of the tiger’s neck, breaking its spine.
They both lay on the ground, suffering from their injuries. Tiger is crippled and can’t move, while the gorilla bleeds out.
They both lose.
The only winners here are the dogs and vultures who find the gorilla and tiger laying incapacitated in the middle of the wild.
So goes the cycle of life.