00:00Tigers are the largest feline predators on the planet.
00:06These golden-striped killing machines come armed with 10-centimeter claws and 10-centimeter fangs.
00:16When these fearsome cats collide, the results can be devastating.
00:22That's the scenario John Barty faces when two of his tigers, Ron and Shaito, come head-to-head on his
00:29breeding ranch in South Africa.
00:32At Tiger Canyons, I have very large areas, and each area has its own dominant male tiger.
00:39They are extremely aggressive to the neighboring dominant male.
00:46Tigers are not native to Africa, and usually have wide-ranging territories.
00:52But in captivity, dominant males have to live closer together, making it a hotbed for territorial aggression.
01:01This particular morning, I shot some shots of Ron, then I moved to go to Shaito's area.
01:10So I opened the gate, drove through, and Ron then moved behind my vehicle.
01:16Before I could stop him, he was in Shaito's area.
01:21Tigers were killed for territory, and Shaito is completely unaware of the approaching danger.
01:31He just went straight for Shaito, trying to knock him down, and he tried to get to the throat.
01:40At 240 kilograms, Shaito has the weight advantage.
01:45But Ron is six years older, with more fighting experience.
01:51He goes onto his back, and he punches front paws, back paws, and Shaito's just keeping him off.
02:01The intruder dominates in this fight.
02:03After they've matched each other for a while, Shaito turns submissive and lies on his back and exposes his belly.
02:11They separated briefly, and then the fight continued.
02:17To see two tigers fighting is an extremely rare and terrifying sight.
02:23I was not prepared for the ferocity of the fight, and I realized that one or both of them could
02:29be killed in this fight.
02:31I've just abandoned my filming.
02:37I took the stick that I had, and I hit both of them with the stick, shouting, swearing, and then
02:42managed to separate them.
02:44Then I took a big, big risk, one swipe of a paw, and I'm dead.
02:50John knows this reprieve won't last long.
02:52He needs to get Ron back into his enclosure, and fast.
02:56As a cub, I used to load him into a vehicle and take him hunting, but I hadn't done that
03:02for four years.
03:03I threw the meat into the back of the truck, eventually jumped into that truck, and I was able to
03:09drive him back to safety.
03:11At this point, Ron's turning very, very aggressive.
03:18His face is badly cut, his front-left paws slashed, he's limping badly.
03:25I was over the moon that both these tigers had survived this brutal fight.
03:31But Ron and Shito are not the only ones lucky enough to be alive.
03:37That ferocious fight has taught me that the tiger has the power to kill me in the flash of a
03:44second.
03:44And I must never get complacent.
03:49I've seen male lions fight, but nothing compares with two big tigers.
03:53And he hasn't had a pretty strong
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