For Waverider

[Pckts]

Now N. India and Nepal

*This image is copyright of its original author

b - Remarks 

1 - Tiger 02 was " ... a monster. It took fourteen men to pull him out of the steep nulla at the bottom of which he lay ... " (pp. 82).

2 - Tiger 06, at 10 feet 5 and a half inches in total length, was the biggest Hewett ever measured.

3 - Tiger 26 was a bit shorter and not as heavy as most others. He had been severely incapacitated, but seemed in good condition: " ... it turned out that he had been wounded in the jaw some time before, both of his lower canine teeth having been shot away and part of his tongue cut off. It must have been very difficult for him to get his food, but he was not in bad condition and had a most lovely coat and ruff ... " (pp. 140).
 
4 - Tiger 30 was a large one. Hewett wrote " ... I was not able to weigh him, but he must have been about five hundred pounds. Quite recently, he had killed a bear. The forest guard had a theory that he jumped on the bear's back from a point of vantage ... " (pp. 149).

5 - There is a mistake in the remark on tiger 31. It said this tiger (no. 31) was taller and younger than tiger no. 35. This has to be 'tiger no. 30'. 
 
6 - Tiger 35, shot by his daughter Lorna, was measured the morning after he had been shot. Hewett wrote " ... I have never seen a finer tiger. He measured 10 feet 2 inches, and must have been an inch or two longer had the tape been put over him before he had got stiff. He was in his winter coat and very perfectly marked. The measurements of his skull as given by Messrs. Spicer & Co., of Leamington, who set up the skin, are in their words 'over the bone' as follows: Length - 16,25 inches, Weight cleaned 4 lb. 14 oz. ... " (pp. 180).

This is the longest skull of an Indian tiger that I know of, but I wonder about the part " ... over the bone ... ". The length of a skull has to be measured in a straight line. My guess is this skull was measured in a different way. Maybe 'over the bone' means 'over the curve of the skull'. This would explain the moderate weight and the lack of width.

I have no clue as to the real greatest length in a straight line, as I never measured a skull 'over the curve'. There is, I think, no question that the skull was not 16,25 inches in greatest total length in a straight line. My guess for now would be just over 14 inches.        

7 - As to the scale used to weigh the tigers in the table. Hewett wrote " ... I had a weighing machine made at Calcutta at the end of April 1908, and used it intermittently to weigh a number of tigers and tigresses and some leopards, but it was not always in good order, and I had often to send it away for repairs. As a result, though I was able to weigh some very good tigers, chiefly in 1909 and 1910, I only had it available twice when a 10-foot tiger was in the bag, and, finally, as the machine was going out of action so often, I did not bother to have it repaired ... " (pp. 72-73).  
 
8 - Tiger 34, although average in total length, was the heaviest by a margin. There are no details about this tiger. Hewett, however, wrote that the region in which he was shot was different from the northern part of the UP: " ... The jungle in the Mirzapur district is quite different from that in the northern part of the United Provinces. There are none of the swamps and big savannahs, such as exist at the foot of the Himalayas, and no sal forests. The country is very like certain parts of the Central provinces. It is very hilly and there are a number of small rivers ... " (pp. 161).   

9 - One more to finish this paragraph. It's about a tiger cub stung to death by bees or hornets: " ... In the reserved forest near Amangarh we found a tigress with three small cubs, of which we succeeded in capturing one, a female to which we gave the name of Tilli. She was a delightful little creature, and was most agreeable in her bamboo cage except when she was given a feed of the liver of sambar or spotted deer, when she would roar like a grown-up animal. We had every hope of making a real pet of her. But unfortunately this was prevented by a tragedy a short time after. We were going to ride up the hill next day from Kaladhungi to Naini Tal, and send her on in advance. The syces coming down the hill with our ponies succeeded, by smoking, in disturbing large numbers of bees, and probably hornets, near one of the halting grounds. The men taking Tilly uphill stupidly stopped there, and she was violently attacked and stung to death. The poor little thing succumbed just as she arrived at Naini Tal ... " (pp. 122).

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

http://wildfact.com/forum/topic-on-the-e...is?page=59



Here you go Bold, this should add substantial individuals to the data base, shouldn't it? Reply