Amur Tigers

[GreenGrolar]

(03-01-2022, 06:16 AM)peter Wrote:

(02-25-2022, 05:25 PM)GreenGrolar Wrote:

*This image is copyright of its original author

Is anyone able to tell me how heavy Final 16 (tiger on the right) is?

I read about this tiger in one of the threads of the former AVA forum. I have no information about his weight, but remember he was quite a bit bigger than the other lions and tigers. As they thought he might kill one of them one day, it was decided to keep him apart. 

I recently posted a few tables with information about the length and weight of captive Amur tigers in the tiger extinction thread. There's no question young adult males are able to reach 250 kg (552 pounds) every now and then, whereas exceptional males can exceed 300 kg (662 pounds). The heaviest I found was 320 kg (706 pounds). 

Up till recently, it was assumed (referring to the table published in 2005) wild Amur tigers, mainly as a result of the population bottleneck created in the thirties and forties of the previous century, lost quite a bit of size over time. While this could (have) be(en) true, recent information suggests quite a few wild male Amur tigers well exceed 200 kg (442 pounds). One of them was a young adult male captured in northeastern China after he had attacked a farmer and smashed the window of a car. This male, weighed, was 225 kg (496 pounds). Our member 'Betty' told me another male captured in that region, also recently weighed, was 260 kg (574 pounds). 

This is without the tigers living in the northern part of Sichote-Alin (Khabarowski Krai). According to Russian biologists, they can grow to a large size at times. Here's one of them compared to an old male brown bear. Same tree, same distance. The bear is more robust and heavier, but the male tiger almost compares in the departments that matter:

*This image is copyright of its original author

It's all but impossible to get to a decent estimate, but we know adult male brown bears in that region (recent information) average 257,5 kg (almost 568 pounds) and it's also known old male brown bears often exceed 300 kg (662 pounds). 

The photographs I have suggest wild male Amur tigers, although a bit shorter, are more robust than their captive relatives. Captive male Amur tigers (large sample) average 224 kg (495 pounds), whereas their wild relatives (referring to a recent post of our member 'Khan' in this thread) seem to average 206 kg (455 pounds). 

The info I have suggests the difference between an average tiger and an exceptional individual (referring to wild male tigers) could be 30-35% in a healthy population, perhaps even a bit more. Using this information and assuming the population is healthy, it's quite likely exceptional male Amur tigers, like in the recent past, approach or even exceed 600 pounds (272,16 kg). 

The question is if the population really has recovered from the bottleneck in the thirties of the previous century. My guess is more adults and more corridors are needed, but the wild male tiger recently weighed in northeastern China suggests the situation is still improving. Many of us seem to take it for granted, but it's quite an achievement to bring a species very close to extinction back to life. The Russians no doubt did a great job. If the Chinese join hands, chances are the population will continue to grow in the next decades.

Peter, great picture and comparison. Both animals seem to have a mutual avoidance. I agree that amur tigers can reach 600 pounds and still have the potential too in the wild. They could reach that weight again if poachers stop hunting them. And that is if the Chinese join hands as you pointed out. 

Back to size comparison, just as there are dwafts and giants among humans, there are probably dwafts (below average) and giants (above average) among the amur tigers and Ussuri brown bears too. Here is another size comparison (you might have already seen it):

https://www.instagram.com/p/CTDfraGoSdr/...29e5eeb99c Reply