The size of the chital - spotted deer (Axis axis):

Well, here is the comparison image of size, of the famous chital deer, considered by many as the most beautiful deer of the world, and base of the food change in the Indian subcontinent. With out them, tigers-lions-leopards-dholes will be lost. Check it:





Just like the other Indian mammals, it was very hard to found body measurements, however I found an article about wild chital in Hawai and the authors found no difference between the body size of this population and those of India and Sri Lanka. I reviewed on Phillips and his great document about the mammals of Sri Lanka, and in fact, the body size ranges are practically the same. It is interesting that those from Sri Lanka were measured "between pegs" and those of Hawaii were "along the curves", but the differences is no more than 5 cm, which suggest that those deers were measured following a straight line, pressing the tape at minimum. Also, the deer hunted by Hornaday also fit in the range, and the figures from the classic zoologist (summarized by Blanford) also fit perfectly, so I decided to use those measurements.

Now, on the weights, I put all the figures that I could found, separating it by regions.

Hope you like it, like always, if you have more data, fell free to post it, after all, the figures in my images are in constant evolution and nothing is write in stone.

Greetings to all.

I know India is a small country and Africa is a Big continent and India comes distant second but still there is no wrong in comparing these two distinct places.

BTW I don't have even half knowledge about either Africa or Indian wild life so any corrections are welcome.


Start with Humans best friend 'DOG'

Africa





India Dhole

As the world sleeps, in the dead of night, Tigers roam the fringes of the villages and cities. This is a reality, which has come to stay in some parts of India. With shrinking forests and eroding legal protections, the tiger’s space is being squeezed. The Forgotten Tigers, takes a peep into the lives of these tigers that live outside the Tiger Reserves.

This is one of the most mind boggling questions about the Pleistocene. What could have caused the relatively sudden loss of so many species? At the same time, why didn't we lose just about all large mammalians like Cretaceous catastrophe and its dinosaurs?

I invite everyone, even those not into paleontology, to share their thoughts on this issue.

Here are short summaries of the hyptheses considered by the scientific community:

1. Overkill hypothesis - Humans were mainly responsible for the sudden loss of megafauna. A recent paper (in the Extinct Animal News thread) believes this is answer for sure. A possible caveat to this hypothesis is whether or not the human population at the time was large enough to decimate the great amounts of megafauna, especially considering the limited tools of the time.

A sub-hypothesis to this is the second order predation hypothesis. This hypothesis is more pertinent to the New World.
1) Humans kill off (directly through hunting, indirectly through competition for the same prey base) enough predators to disturb the predator-prey population cycle relationship. 
2) The loss of predatory top-down control allows prey numbers to soar. These species essentially eat themselves to death. They deplete the resources they depend on in the end, as follows:


With the added caveat that the prey doesn't recover, in turn the predator's already dim plight is made worse. The overpopulation of prey would also destroy habitats as a whole.

2. Climate change - Temperatures rose significantly around 15 kya, affecting plants and sea levels to say the least. Change is not helpful to survival. On the other hand, there had been rapid climate change incidents before without such catastrophic effects.

3. Hyperdisease hypothesis - Some virulent pathogen may have decimated populations. We've seen instances of this pathogens wreaking havoc on populations in modern times, such as canine distemper in felids. An argument against this theory is that if such a pathogen existed, it would be unrealistically selective or unrealistically broad as to what species it affected.

4. Comet hypothesis - A sudden burst of comets (Younger Dryas impact) around 12 kya tampered with the climate, and in turn, ecology of the biosphere. An issue with this theory is that not all extinctions coincide with the Younger Dryas impact.

The list does not necessarily end here. Let us know what school of thought you agree or disagree with and any other hypotheses or questions you may have.

Posts paleontological finds on species other than dinosaurs or felids here.

Position: Research Assistants
Location: Bengaluru and field work in multiple sites.

Requirements:

1.    Undergraduate degree in any discipline
2.    Basic working knowledge of computer
3.    Physically fit to walk in rugged terrain, for extended hours
4.    Valid driving license
5.    Good interpersonal skills and ability to work in a team
6.    Willing to work long hours
7.    Meticulous and organized
   

Selected applicants will be required to complete a paid internship period of 3 months. An evaluation will be carried out following the probation; depending on performance and mutual interest, the candidates may be offered a permanent position in the organization.

Interested candidates are requested to send a brief Statement of Purpose (including their interest in this position) along with their resume (stating prior work experience) to [email protected] with the subject line "Application: Research Assistant, August 2015"

Volunteering Opportunity in Kanha-Pench landscape

Details:
Mahi Puri (Research Associate Centre for Wildlife Studies) is undertaking a project dealing with leopard and sloth bear occurrence in the unprotected forests connecting Kanha and Pench Tiger Reserves in Madhya Pradesh. The project will also examine the interactions of the focal species with humans in the landscape. Project methodology will involve indirect sign surveys in forested habitats and questionnaire-based surveys in the human-dominated areas. The project is being carried out in affiliation with Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bangalore.

Offers:
We are looking for volunteers to work in the research project and participate in either/both surveys (sign-based occupancy surveys and questionnaire-based social surveys). This project offers opportunities to learn scientific methods of data collection and advanced field skills.

Volunteering time period and requirements:
The minimum period for volunteering is one week of fieldwork, starting from 6th September 2015. Preference will be given to candidates who can commit themselves for longer duration, and who have prior field experience in identifying indirect signs of large mammals or conducting social surveys. We encourage all candidates with interest in wildlife to apply for these positions, irrespective of their education background and qualification.

Terms and conditions for volunteering:

1. Simple vegetarian food and basic field accommodation will be provided.
2. Travel expenses to and from the survey locations will have to be borne by the participants.
3. Applicants must be physically very fit and have some experience in hiking through forests and rough terrain.
4. Ability to communicate fluently in Hindi is a must.
5. Details about reporting (date & venue) and field kit to be carried for the survey will be communicated upon selection.
   

How to apply:
Interested applicants should send an email with the following details to mahi.cws@gmail.com:

1. Name
2. Age
3. Gender
4. Have you participated in any field based research project before? If yes then please provide details on what project, which field site and who was the supervisor.
5. Where do you live
6. Field work availability dates (Please give multiple dates if possible)
7. Contact email and phone number
   

--------------------------------
Regards
Mahi Puri
Research Associate
Centre for Wildlife Studies
WCS-India
Bangalore

Warsaw posted this account, I want to know if this is verified or not?
Do any of you have any news on it?
http://www.mid-day.com/articles/having-r...gR.dpuf%22

"Even the king of the jungle has to fight hard to stay on top, and it is no different for Gabbar, the 8-year-old tiger who, at a hefty 185 kg, is the undisputed king of the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR). - See more at: http://www.mid-day.com/articles/having-r...gR.dpuf%22"

With age setting in, however, Gabbar is getting tough competition from rival males and was injured in a fight last month. But unlike his namesake in the cult film Sholay, everyone has been rooting for Gabbar the tiger to make a speedy recovery, since he holds great promise for researchers at Tadoba.

Gabbar is one of the two tigers that have been radio collared and are being monitored by researchers so we can better understand the big cat’s behaviour. Much to the authorities’ relief, Gabbar made a natural recovery without any human intervention and is now back on the prowl in his territory.

TATR field director Prahlad Garad said, “We were a little worried last month when one of our radio-collared tigers was found with injures on his face. We had a discussion about whether we should tranquilise the animal for treatment or not. But after monitoring the animal’s movement, we came to the conclusion that there was no need for him to be tranquilised. Gabbar has recovered naturally from his injuries and is even hunting properly.”

The struggle for power is far from over for Gabbar though, as sources from the tiger reserve said that due to his advancing age, Gabbar might be pushed out of his territory by younger, stronger males. This is just a matter of time, which is why it is important that the experts not waste even a single opportunity to study the tiger and his activities.

Apart from the fact that Gabbar showed promise of getting better on his own, researchers did not want to tranquilise him as it would have interrupted the ongoing data collection process from his radio collar. Dr Bilal Habib from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) who had radio-collared Gabbar and the female tiger, Tara in October last year, will study the duo for a year, until the collar’s batteries run out.

Experts hope to understand prey segregation amongst males and females so that they can explain the weight difference between the two – Tara’s weight is 85 kg and Gabbar’s is 185 kg, a full 100 kg more. The researchers also plan to collar two leopards and a dhole (wild dog) in the same area to know how tigers, leopards and dholes move in the same area and how they segregate in terms of space and time.

Scientist Dr Bilal Habib from WII said, “In cats it is the pouncing effect that subdues the prey and through the collaring study that we are doing, we may get the segregation data about the prey. We may also get details like what is the choice prey of a male tiger and that of a female. We want to study this factor also because there is a huge difference between the body weight of a male tiger and that of a female.”
- See more at: http://www.mid-day.com/articles/having-r...gR.dpuf%22

I did the behind the scenes Tiger Exhibit.

We got to feed a gigantic One horned Rhino, he was absolutely massive. Its insane to see an animal as tall as me at the shoulder and the length of a SUV.
He literally looks like a living Ford Explorer, its unreal.

We got to go where the Sumatran Tigers Sleep, one female was there and all the other were out in the exhibit.

I saw both the Africa and India Safari exhibit and we stopped behind the scenes of the India Portion and Fed a Blue Bull who cam over to us.

I saw White Rhino's, Giraffe, Cape Buffalo, different types of gazelle and goat in the africa exhibit.
I saw Nigale, One horned rhino, Guar, Gazelle, Sambar in the India exhibit.

Obviously the Rhinos rule the herbivore safaris, but the most aggressive animal at the entire park was the Guar, according to my guide.
The bull Guars horns are absolutely gigantic, they are so wide and long, its crazy.
All animals are female except for a single bull of each species, it would be to aggressive and dangerous if multiple bulls were there. So they sell them to other sanctuaries and zoos to keep the breeding process alive.



I didn't get to see the Male lion, only cubs, but the male lion there is almost 500lbs according to my zoologist guide.


All in all, I had to pay a little extra for the experience but it was well worth it.
I highly recommend it at least once.

In this thread we will keep updating about any new posts on our blog -


One of our new member on wildfact blog "Dr Panthera" (original name Eddie http://wildfact.com/introduction-and-comment/) posted few very good blog post
In his recent blog post he write about "The Dwarfing of Amur and Indochinese Tigers and Asiatic Lions"

Take a look and make put your feedback in comment below the post
http://wildfact.com/the-dwarfing-of-amur...tic-lions/