What's first on your wildlife bucket list: lions in Africa or tigers in Asia?

They're both cuteness overload - from a distance, of course - but which feline megastar do you want to encounter in its natural habitat first? Our duelling experts help you decide.

By Amy Cooper

This catfight is a tale of two territories. Like fellow megastars De Niro and Pacino, the food chain's top felines are too famous to appear together. Tigers roam Asia, while lions rule Africa.

I lean towards the lion - and box office backs me up. With theme tune by Elton John, casting by Disney and wardrobe by Narnia, it's hard to outshine Hollywood's hottest apex predator.

In real life, the lion is king, too. Brave, beautiful and badass, the species gives us marvels like Jacob, "the world's toughest lion", who this month broke all his species' swimming records by traversing 1.3 kilometres of crocodile infested waters in Uganda after being gored, mauled and losing a leg in a poacher's snare.

Such is the awe-inspiring power of a creature who can grow to 272kg and 2.5m long, eat 25 per cent of its own weight in a single sitting and take down some of the world's largest prey.

Unlike the solitary tiger, lions are party animals. They live in prides of up to 30, which means when you see one, you'll often meet the whole family of regal lionesses and cute cubs, getting maximum fang for your buck.

But there's more. Just like the movie, the lion king comes with an all-star cast. A member of the African Big Five along with elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhinoceros, lions also share habitat with zebra, giraffe, hippo, impala, hyena, cheetahs, antelopes, warthogs and monkeys. The Serengeti's Great Migration sees 1.5 million wildebeest and 250,000 zebra travel 1,900km between Tanzania and Kenya - a moveable feast for lions and unforgettable spectacle for we upper primates.

In the time it takes to track an elusive tiger in India, you'll have ticked off your African bestial bucket list before you can say Hakuna Matata. Africa's 23,000 or so lions inhabit swathes of the continent's sub-Saharan regions, in tantalising countries including Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia and Uganda. Game reserves span savannahs, wetlands and UNESCO-listed sanctuaries, with accommodation ranging from basic camping to five-star in opulent lodges with palatial tents, sumptuous suites, spas, butlers and private plunge pools.

From blockbusters like South Africa's Kruger National Park, Botswana's Okavango Delta, Tanzania's Serengeti National Park and Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve to lesser-known gems like Uganda's Kidepo Valley, home of rare tree-climbing lions, African game reserves are as majestic and mesmerising as their wild inhabitants.

They're also famously hospitable. While Mal's earning his stripes stalking Tigger, days away from the nearest bar, I'll be toasting a magical mane event with gin and tonic sundowners out on the savannah under the stars. Long live the king.

By Mal Chenu

As a lifelong Richmond supporter, this is a topic I can really get my teeth into. The AFL Tigers may be at the bottom of the AFL ladder but we're still strong and bold. Like our mascot.

Everyone knows tigers are endangered but the Netflix series Tiger King and its sequels highlighted the degree of their plight, and showed us the sorts of dodgy villains and conservation heroes that could determine their future viability.

We all cheered when Joe Exotic and his appalling blond mullet were jailed for their part in a plot to murder conservationist Carole Baskin, owner of the American animal sanctuary, Big Cat Rescue. This was great theatre. But the reality on the ground - in the last bastions of the ever-shrinking habitat where just 4000 tigers survive in the wild - remains dire.

The main purpose of tiger tourism is to promote conservation efforts and raise awareness about their endangered status. Responsible and sustainable tours contribute to their survival, as visitor dollars flow to local communities, encouraging them to support conservation efforts.

Tiger tours in India include safaris at Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, Periyar National Park in Kerala and Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh, known as the "Tiger State" and considered to be the setting for Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. At Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, you can stay in the middle of the forest at the Dhikala Forest Lodge.

Other residents, depending on the area, include elephants, hyenas, panthers, jackals, macaques, porcupines, palm civets, leopards, sloths, bears and deer (which tigers call dinner), as well as hundreds of bird species and snakes, including pythons and kraits.

In the Sundarbans mangrove forest on the India-Bangladesh border, tiger tracking takes place on boating safaris and occasionally on foot. Between encounters, you'll come across saltwater crocs, wild boar and langurs.

On the Nepal-India border, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Chitwan National Park is another tiger hang-out. If you don't see one, hopefully communing with the numerous one-horned rhinos will ease the pain.

Lions may be the kings of big cat tourism but tigers are the real cool cats. And they're rising up to the challenge of their rival. Take the feline less followed and help save a tiger today. And if you know of a young gun full forward, call the Richmond recruitment manager.