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Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers - Printable Version

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RE: Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers - Roflcopters - 10-31-2019

(10-17-2019, 03:58 PM)Rishi Wrote:
(10-17-2019, 03:17 PM)BorneanTiger Wrote:
(10-17-2019, 11:16 AM)Rishi Wrote: Alleged man-eater of Bandipur that mauled to death 2 farmers & killing 14 cattle, was captured in Karnataka this Sunday after 5 days of tracking & combing. The tiger "of around 5 years", is under observation at the wildlife rescue & rehabilitation centre in Mysuru. The animal is said to be a healthy male, weighing around 170 kg.


*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

Forest Department was in for a surprise as the captured tiger was a known male tiger which was once identified in Kerala a year ago, about 100kms away.
In last one year, it had been wandering in search of territory through several forest ranges and ended up in the buffer area of GS Betta Range of Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Officials who verified their database for the authentication of the big cat revealed that it was the same tiger that was previously camera trapped in Nagarahole Tiger Reserve near Dammanakatte (Kabini) in Antarasante range in 2018 January-February.

Not a man-eater, say officials

Forest officials said the tiger was looking for a new territory and food. He was pushed out of every place by other tigers, and found solace at the border of Gopalaswamy Betta range, near Muguvinahalli and Hundipura villages. He was hunting cattle. Camera trap images confirmed that the tiger mauled its victims out of fear, and there is no ground to call it a man-eater, officials said.


*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

5 teams on ground participated in this search & rescue operation:
  • 300 staffers
  • 7 elephants
  • 5 veterinarians
  • 5 teams, 5 guns
  • 200 camera traps
  • 30 vehicles
  • 4 Soliga tribal-trackers

Sources:
http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/2019/oct/14/high-drama-operation-concludes-after-five-days-with-capture-of-tiger-in-karnatakas-bandipur-2047155.html
https://www.deccanherald.com/state/the-tiger-that-walked-100-km-in-search-of-territory-768153.html
https://indianewengland.com/2019/10/karnatakas-captured-tiger-healthy-under-observation/

So this tiger is a male that managed to kill 14 cattle, but still weighed only about 170 kg (374.8 lbs)? Then how do male Bengal tigers, with the exception of those in the Sundarbans, manage to have average weights of at least 182  218 kg (401.2 – 480.6 lbs) with empty bellies, judging by the work of Raúl A. Valvert?

This one is from the lowest end of the spectrum, I suppose... Probably the only healthy & fed tiger weighing 170kg that i can remember, he couldn't establish a territory in more than 5000 sq.km of one of Asia's most bountiful contagious forest cover & ended up near fringe villages where there are no tigers nearby.


that tiger was a sub adult around 3 years of age and was struggling to survive as a transient male. they were wrong about his age and the young male was never weighed. It was just an estimate.


RE: Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers - BlakeW39 - 12-11-2019

Hey guys! I have a question for the community here. What would you guys consider the largest reliably weighed tiger? I'm presuming we are discluding all of the outrageous 800lb cats, but is the biggest one the 272kg, the 280kg, the 300, the 320kg..?


RE: Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers - Rishi - 12-11-2019

(12-11-2019, 05:13 AM)BlakeW39 Wrote: Hey guys! I have a question for the community here. What would you guys consider the largest reliably weighed tiger? I'm presuming we are discluding all of the outrageous 800lb cats, but is the biggest one the 272kg, the 280kg, the 300, the 320kg..?

No, not those... Check the one from Dudhwa (or Pilibhit? @Pckts) discussed on page 13 & 14 of this thread. Verified by Dr. Wasif Jamshed of WII.
More on him & his peers here #389.





RE: Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers - BlakeW39 - 12-11-2019

(12-11-2019, 07:17 AM)Rishi Wrote:
(12-11-2019, 05:13 AM)BlakeW39 Wrote: Hey guys! I have a question for the community here. What would you guys consider the largest reliably weighed tiger? I'm presuming we are discluding all of the outrageous 800lb cats, but is the biggest one the 272kg, the 280kg, the 300, the 320kg..?

No, not those... Check the one from Dudhwa (or Pilibhit? @Pckts) discussed on page 13 & 14 of this thread. Verified by Dr. Wasif Jamshed of WII.
More on him&& his peers here #389.




Wow... 345kg? Is that right? That's huge! Almost 70% greater than the average for Begal tigers!


RE: Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers - Shadow - 12-11-2019

(12-11-2019, 07:17 AM)Rishi Wrote:
(12-11-2019, 05:13 AM)BlakeW39 Wrote: Hey guys! I have a question for the community here. What would you guys consider the largest reliably weighed tiger? I'm presuming we are discluding all of the outrageous 800lb cats, but is the biggest one the 272kg, the 280kg, the 300, the 320kg..?

No, not those... Check the one from Dudhwa (or Pilibhit? @Pckts) discussed on page 13 & 14 of this thread. Verified by Dr. Wasif Jamshed of WII.
More on him & his peers here #389.



Have they published those weights somewhere or is that unofficial? Any photos from weighing?


RE: Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers - Rishi - 12-11-2019

(12-11-2019, 02:44 PM)Shadow Wrote:
(12-11-2019, 07:17 AM)Rishi Wrote:
(12-11-2019, 05:13 AM)BlakeW39 Wrote: Hey guys! I have a question for the community here. What would you guys consider the largest reliably weighed tiger? I'm presuming we are discluding all of the outrageous 800lb cats, but is the biggest one the 272kg, the 280kg, the 300, the 320kg..?

No, not those... Check the one from Dudhwa (or Pilibhit? @Pckts) discussed on page 13 & 14 of this thread. Verified by Dr. Wasif Jamshed of WII.
More on him & his peers here #389.

Have they published those weights somewhere or is that unofficial? Any photos from weighing?

I think @Pckts got it from Dr. Jamshed personally (& was not to make anything public, I recall him individually PMing us the info on request). I don't know how the guy in the screenshot knows... probably in the same way.

I knew from Facebook that he works in Dudhwa/Pilibhit area, otherwise location wasn't disclosed either.


RE: Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers - Hello - 12-11-2019

(12-11-2019, 05:13 AM)BlakeW39 Wrote: Hey guys! I have a question for the community here. What would you guys consider the largest reliably weighed tiger? I'm presuming we are discluding all of the outrageous 800lb cats, but is the biggest one the 272kg, the 280kg, the 300, the 320kg..?

The largest Bengal according to hunting records was of 389 kg weighed on a sugar mill scale with an empty belly estimated of 320-325 kg and according to scientific records 261 kg Sauraha male based on chest girth measurement .


RE: Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers - Shadow - 12-11-2019

(12-11-2019, 08:26 PM)Hello Wrote:
(12-11-2019, 05:13 AM)BlakeW39 Wrote: Hey guys! I have a question for the community here. What would you guys consider the largest reliably weighed tiger? I'm presuming we are discluding all of the outrageous 800lb cats, but is the biggest one the 272kg, the 280kg, the 300, the 320kg..?

The largest Bengal according to hunting records was of 389 kg weighed on a sugar mill scale with an empty belly estimated of 320-325 kg and according to scientific records 261 kg Sauraha male based on chest girth measurement .

That tiger claimed to have been 389 kg has many controversial issues and it isn´t anymore mentioned as 100% sure by Guinness World Records. Same thing is with all tigers claimed to have been closer to 400 than 300 kg. And now I´m not talking about obese captive tigers.


RE: Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers - Hello - 12-11-2019

@Shadow here is a good chart made by @GuateGojira  indicating largest bengals.Don't know how reliable are hunting records.

*This image is copyright of its original author



RE: Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers - Shadow - 12-11-2019

(12-11-2019, 08:41 PM)Hello Wrote: @Shadow here is a good chart made by @GuateGojira  indicating largest bengals.Don't know how reliable are hunting records.

*This image is copyright of its original author

There are many kind of hunting records, from some there is more information available while others are very vague. People are naturally free to choose what they believe. Guinness World Records is one good example, they have during time changed information for various reasons. They had in past for instance mentioned, that great white sharks could be 12 meters long, for some reason you don´t find such information anymore from them Wink But if someone has Guinness Book of Records from 1970-1977 there it is. But in past many sources, which were considered as reliable, published a lot of rubbish creating many false expectations.

I personally believe, that exceptional tigers around 300 kg are possible, but if there is a claim, that clearly more, the more skeptic I become. 320 kg, why not, 350 kg.... I want to see someone confident enough to publish it with documentation before I believe. This is of course my personal opinion, not something to debate. 

For me that table of Guate looks ok.


RE: Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers - Pckts - 12-11-2019

(12-11-2019, 04:08 PM)Rishi Wrote:
(12-11-2019, 02:44 PM)Shadow Wrote:
(12-11-2019, 07:17 AM)Rishi Wrote:
(12-11-2019, 05:13 AM)BlakeW39 Wrote: Hey guys! I have a question for the community here. What would you guys consider the largest reliably weighed tiger? I'm presuming we are discluding all of the outrageous 800lb cats, but is the biggest one the 272kg, the 280kg, the 300, the 320kg..?

No, not those... Check the one from Dudhwa (or Pilibhit? @Pckts) discussed on page 13 & 14 of this thread. Verified by Dr. Wasif Jamshed of WII.
More on him & his peers here #389.

Have they published those weights somewhere or is that unofficial? Any photos from weighing?

I think @Pckts got it from Dr. Jamshed personally (& was not to make anything public, I recall him individually PMing us the info on request). I don't know how the guy in the screenshot knows... probably in the same way.

I knew from Facebook that he works in Dudhwa/Pilibhit area, otherwise location wasn't disclosed either.
That's correct, he originally instructed me not to disclose the location due to poaching threats. 
He's got quite a few there over the 300kg mark according to him. 
Regardless of if you believe him or not there is no denying that those guys look absolutely massive.

But you can see Wasif weighing many cats on his FB page so his words should carry more weight than most.
I'm also curious what exactly qualifies as acceptable?
Every weight we read about it seems like someone has an excuse one way or the other.


RE: Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers - Roflcopters - 12-12-2019

I’m not a fan of replying to the critics or wasting my time going and back forth with people that i feel like are irrelevant to my level of interests and i feel like more than anything, i sense a level of entitlement associated with each individual and what they perceive as reliable information, pictures, published data and so on. at the end of the day, the world is constantly changing. methods and platform that were primarily used are often not the best way to find out things or questions that we are looking for. at the end of the day, tiger expert. Wasif Jamshed and his team is present in Dudhwa and have done a tremendous job with their conservation efforts to make sure tigers number thrive and are monitored long term to understand their lives better, food habits, prey selection, territorial affairs, stress level, weight and size. (al though not a priority) Dr. Raghu Chundawat and countless others from Wildlife Institute of India are few of the admirers and if they too believe, these tigers are exceptional. that to me is enough to know where i stand. both the 180kg female and the 340kg + male were weighed and this information is public knowledge to all of the experts involved on the ground level and specially the up front department that is currently present in making Dudhwa a perfect tiger reserve. if someone feels facebook communication isn’t a reliable source of information or if direct exchange of information through a private message isn’t reliable, maybe they need a reality check and figure themselves out. the weight is official and it isn’t something to be contested unless proven otherwise. however i do agree, more information is needed to fully understand the weight a little better. for example, was the male full belly? partially full or an empty belly 300-320kg tier specimen with some food content in the stomach. since we don’t know, we can’t speak on it but the weight is firm and Wasif Jamshed’s authority can’t be questioned. he’s a leading tiger expert from Wildlife Institute of India and if he confirmed he weighed the pair. It is to be accepted by all means. finally, on that note. Dr Raghu Chundawat weighed a 250kg Madla (bottomed out a 250kg scale specimen) and according to him, a tiger even bigger than him was present around the same time and i’m sure we have all heard of Hairyfoot. a spectacular specimen who Dr.Raghu Chundawat couldn’t get to and he died by falling into a well. so if a upper maximum limit for a Central Indian male at his peak is 250-280kg. males from Dudhwa being significantly bigger can’t be too far off the 300-320kg limit. again with food content, the number changes a tiny bit and Dr.Raghu Chundawat visibly acknowledged that these Dudhwa tigers are on a league of their own. 


*This image is copyright of its original author

Dr.Raghu Chundawat replying on Kauvia Ghatia’s picture below 




*This image is copyright of its original author



*This image is copyright of its original author


just my two cents.


RE: Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers - Ashutosh - 12-12-2019

Very well said @Roflcopters. There are certain people who will never be convinced no matter what. Just because either the said information doesn’t align with their preconceived notions or they are just mad that they were somehow not a part of obtaining such information. 
Questioning an expert is fine but saying things like “I wasn’t there so how could I believe it” are the sort of nonsensical arguments are bandied around. It really isn’t worth one’s time and effort to engage them.

Anyway, the tiger that weighed 340 kilos even if full-bellied would be around 290 kilos in weight. No tiger is eating more than 1/6th of their body weight in one sitting. As you said, the female next to him is probably in the 95+ percentile in relation to weights as she weighs 180 kilos (I only know of Machli who weighed 175 kilos and her daughter ST1 who weighed 170 kilos) and he completely dwarfs her.


RE: Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers - Shadow - 12-12-2019

To clarify a bit. Of course no-one needs to like it, that some people are critical. I don´t expect people to like it nor do I care frankly speaking. I´m just interested to find out reliable information.

Social media is one endless source for unreliable information, so naturally I don´t take too seriously all I see there. Poaching as reasoning to not publish all or some information too clearly is quite ok argument. Same time it can be asked, that if that is really something to be worried about so much, why then spreading that information all over facebook and other places and put all those pictures there? Do these people think, that people organizing poaching have no access to internet?

In reality now seems to happen so, that poachers know where to look for, if they want to find big tigers. No logic all the way in that argument, when thinking about it a moment, even though it sounds in the first place good. And on the other hand while some big tiger might create some extra interest for poachers, do they really care? People organizing poaching pay good money, no matter if tiger is 200, 250 or 300 kg.

Also it can be thought, that information could be given to people, who do research anyway. Like let´s say Ullas Karanth and others if information is really good. They could easily publish new and more or less record breaking information so, that location of the tiger wouldn´t be exposed. 

What comes to weighings, for instance it could be said if the tiger had been gorged etc. I guess, that tiger experts can separate a gorged tiger from normal looking. But that wasn´t said for some reason.

So when seeing information like that, I´m not saying that totally impossible. But I don´t take it as reliable weight just like that. As @Ashutosh mentioned, it could have been a 290 kg tiger and weighed after gorging. Or it could have been many other things in between. I have learned a long time ago to be somewhat careful, when information like this possible 340+ kg tiger comes up and wait for more.

It´s good to like animals, but it´s also good to remember, that things can be looked from different points of views. When forum name is "wildfact" and goal is to find out reliable information, certain level of criticism is and should be always present. No matter if we are talking about tigers, lions, bears, elephants or sharks etc.

Maybe that opens up a bit how I see things and why I don´t take that 340+ kg tiger as 100% confirmed with current information. I find it interesting though and will try to find out more information about it too. Luckily it´s 2019 and contact information of institutes and people are easy to find out for all who are interested in to find out more information. 

And @Ashutosh , it looks like, that you like to talk about preconceived notions every now and then. Have you ever thought, that you can be seen as a person with preconceived notions, easily. It´s all about point of view. Maybe something to think about.


RE: Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers - Pckts - 12-12-2019

(12-12-2019, 08:40 AM)Shadow Wrote: To clarify a bit. Of course no-one needs to like it, that some people are critical. I don´t expect people to like it nor do I care frankly speaking. I am just interested to find out reliable information.

Social media is one endless source for unreliable information, so naturally I don´t take too seriously all I see there. Poaching as reasoning to not publish all or some information too clearly is one quite ok argument. Same time it can be asked that if that is really something to be worried about so much, why then spreading that information all over facebook and other places and put all those pictures there? Do these people think, that people organizing poaching have no access to internet?

In reality now seems to happen so, that poachers know where to look for if they want to find big tigers. No logic all the way in that argument when thinking about it a moment, even though it sounds in the first place good. And on the other hand while some big tiger might create some extra interest for poachers, do they really care? People organizing poaching pay good money, no matter if tiger is 200. 250 or 300 kg.

Also it can be thought about it, that information could be given to people, who do research anyway. Like let´s say Ullas Karanth and others if information is really good. They could easily publish new and more or less record breaking information so, that location of the tiger wouldn´t be exposed. 

What comes to weighings, for instance it could be said if the tiger had been gorged etc. I guess, that tiger experts can separate a gorged tiger from normal looking. But that wasn´t said for some reason.

So when seeing information like that, I´m not saying that totally impossible. But I don´t take it as reliable weight just like that. As @Ashutosh mentioned, it could have been a 290 kg tiger and weighed after gorging. Or it could have been many other things in between. I have learned a long time ago to be somewhat careful when information like about this possible 340+ kg tiger comes up and wait for more.

It´s good to like animals, but it´s also good to remember, that things can be looked from different points of views. When forum name is "wildfact" and goal is to find out reliable information, certain level of criticism is and should be always present. No matter if we are talking about tigers, lions, bears, elephants or sharks etc.

Maybe that opens up a bit how I see things and why I don´t take that 340+ kg tiger as 100% confirmed with current information. I find it interesting though and will try to find out more information about it too. Luckily it´s 2019 and contact information of institutes and people are easy to find out for all who are interested to find out more information. 

And @Ashutosh , it looks like, that you like to talk about preconceived notions every now and then. Have you ever thought, that you can be seen as a person with preconceived notions, easily. It´s all about point of view. Maybe something to think about.

Regardless of this, dont they look like huge Tiger's, probably some of largest you've seen photographed in your life?