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Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers
Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers
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Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers
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YOUNG TIGERS IN INDIA AND RUSSIA
The Russian Far East In southeastern Russia, young tigers disperse at 18-24 months of age. I've yet to see a reliable report about a 3-4 year old male reaching 400 pounds (181,44 kg.). In the RFE, tigers need more time to get to their potential, so it seems. Not a few young males never get to adulthood. Even when they reach maturity, trouble always is close. Only few males exceed 450 pounds (204,12 kg.), whereas adult male brown bears with a similar head and body length average 550-600 pounds. Sizewise, Amur tigers compare to Indian tigers in most departments, but they lack in weight and individual variation. The reasons are not known. It's not related to the number of tigers, as large individuals have been shot in the period in which the number of tigers was well below that of today. Long winters of course have an effect, but the Russian Far East always had long and severe winters. That leaves human pressure and destruction. In Manchuria, the natural world was all but destroyed in the last century. The mighty forests were decimated and the inhabitants were hunted to extinction. In Russia, the situation was a bit better, but Arseniev and his guide Dersu had zero confidence a century ago. Destruction was everywhere. Amur tigers, largely as a result of the efforts of Kaplanov, survived, but they still face empty forests, long distances, deep snow and a lot of competition. Primorye has 60 000 - 100 000 hunters with a license and thousands of bears, but the destruction seems to have slowed. The Russians are working on it, that is. Same for the Chinese. If all goes well, Amur tigers will have 200 000 square km. at their disposal in a few years from now. If we add the declining human population in Primorye, more pressure on poachers, more adequate legislation, well-equipped and well-trained rangers and genuine interest from Moscow, chances are the situation could change in the next decades. If the ecosystem is healthy, apex predators will respond sooner or later. In tigers, size seems to be related to the size of the reserves, the size of the competitors they face and the size of the animals they hunt. Large mammals need time to reproduce and to repopulate suited regions. When the situation in the RFE improves, tigers will profit more than their competitors (bears). The reason is that they depend on protein. Protein is the quickest way to size. Tigers and bears Always competed in the RFE. In contrast to their Indian relatives, Amur Amur tigers didn't gain in robustness, but opted for a combination of length, strength, athleticism and aggression. Robustness has an advantage when large herbivores are on the menu, but not when a big cat hunts similar-sized and agile animals like wild boars and bears. If a big cat develops features typical for omnivores like bears in order to get on equal terms, it has to sacrifice it essence ('tigerishness'). Life likes experiments, chance and individual variation, but crossing limits defining species is not included. There's, however, nothing wrong with a few adaptions like extra-large canines, an extra-wide rostrum, big fore-arms, a long and flexible spine and an attitude and that's what we see in wild male Amur tigers that made the cut. Individual variation could result in a few extra-large tigers in some time from now, but my guess is the basic model won't change very much. Apparently, the road to that model is long and rocky. It is even seen to a degree in captive Amur tigers. Captive Amur tigers are different from captive tigers of other subspecies. Tougher and more 'serious' in all departments, a few trainers told me. And they don't like bears. What I saw is difficult to describe. I'm not surprised that some captive Amur tigers seem out of this world. The energy I sense needs a way out. Some of these giants seem like old battleships. Very powerful, but a bit outdated. Wild Amur tigers also seem to have this energy, but use it in another way. Although smaller than their captive relatives, they seem more battleworthy. Amur tigers compare to captive lions in that they too seem to live in a different dimension. The difference is that lions direct their energy at each other, whereas Amur tigers do not. Lions are 'ingoing', whereas Amur tigers are 'outgoing'. In spite of that, they too do not interact. Most male lions are not interested in humans. If they show interest, better beware. Amur tigers don't care about humans (different from 'not interested'), but also show no antipathy. If they, however, get a chance to get close, you're gone. Male lions maul, but Amur tigers will kill you immediately. Although more Indian tigers perish in conflicts with other tigers, Amur tigers could face more problems. They know that every mistake can be the last. They have more room to avoid problems, but they have to learn about conflict, interaction and when to strike. More than their captive relatives, wild male Amur tigers interact with those who share their territory. All wild male big cats walk the edge most of the time, but Amur tigers could top the list in this department. Psychological warfare is their thing. Those who knew about tigers avoided them when possible. Even in the century of destruction, Amur tigers were seldom hunted. Too dangerous. Indian tigers need to grow fast and get big to survive encounters with other tigers in densely populated reserves, but Amur tigers need to learn about war and peace and everything in-between. Apart from that, they need to learn about long winters and survival. Wild male Amur tigers that made it to adulthood are loaded with knowledge. True survivors, Vaillant wrote. India In most parts of India, young tigers disperse when they reach 24-30 months. Males ranging between 2-3 years of age often exceed 350 pounds (158,76 kg.), with some well over that mark and even up to 497 pounds (225 kg.). The difference between India and Russia is a result of conditions and competition. Young tigers in Russia have more room at their disposal, but they have to cope with long winters, a lack of large prey animals and competition from older tigers and bears. MB2 Tiger MB2 was 297 cm. in total length measured 'over curves' and 195 kg. (430 pounds) at about 30 months of age. In spite of his impressive size, he was no match for his father. If he would have entered the territory of an adult male in another part of town, it could have been curtains. Umarpani told him to move on, but seems to be prepared to tolerate him for now. In northeastern India, a century ago, the difference between a measurement taken 'over curves' and a measurement taken 'between pegs' for males was about 13,5 cm. This means that the total length of MB2 measured in a straight line is about 283-284 cm. (just over 9.3). Umarpani, in his prime, is a bit longer and significantly denser and heavier. The average size of male tigers in Central India In Dunbar Brander's day, adult males in central India averaged 9.3 and 420 pounds. The longest he shot was 10.3 in total length in a straight line, whereas the heaviest was 9.11. That male had a head and body length of 221 cm. (7.3) in a straight line, which still is the record for India. It's likely that male tigers with a territory in central parts of India are a bit longer and heavier than a century ago, but not by much. The reason is that quite a few males will never be able to establish a territory. Some of them perish while trying, whereas others avoid problems. A population has males with a territory, males unable to compete, young adults, fugitives, disabled tigers and old tigers. Tigers with a ranch might average 9.8 in total length in a straight line and 550 pounds in their prime, but others never reach 9 feet and 400 pounds. If the average would be higher than a century ago, the most likely reason is a lack of room, more confrontations, more casualties and less smallish tigers. The reserves are well-stocked, but the number of buffer zones and corridors is too limited to provide room for tigers unable to compete. Buffer zones also are used by farmers, which often results in conflicts. MB2 MB2, when he survives, will add a few more inches and quite a few pounds in the next years, but his main concern is finding a place to call home and avoiding confrontations with older and larger tigers. When he succeeds, chances are he could compare to his father in most respects. Umarpani is a large tiger, but he wasn't taller, longer or heavier than the two males he beat. Coincidence might have been a factor, but chances are he was more competative than the others. Excellent work, PC. Many thanks on behalf of all.  (05-04-2018, 09:30 AM)Rishi Wrote: Lost tiger finds its way to an abandoned rubber factory in Bareilly, next home is zooIt's a shame that we consistently find animal weights which are of unhealthy cats. Still good find! Would like to mention that this tiger actually weighed 172.45 kg not 175.5 kg Hopefully this big cat likes his new home. 
@peter
I was very curious about that 388.7kg tiger shot in the Kumaon Region (1967), apparently this huge male fed on a buffalo calf prior to getting shot, his measurements were 323 cm (121 inch) in total length between pegs and 338 cm (133 inch) over curves. let’s say we subtract atleast 40kg stomach content, that is still a very massive tiger and to be honest. I never took this record seriously until i saw that 340kg + male that @Pckts posted about from Dudhwa Tiger Reseve, which is basically located a bit south of the Kumaon Region. (Rajaji and Corbett) are in the area known as the Kumaon region to be exact. I’m also well aware that this particular tiger is on exhibition in the Mammals Hall of the Smithsonian Institution. the Taxidermist that worked on this tiger didn’t really do justice to this beast. now after seeing that verified weight from a well known tiger expert, It makes me wonder. I think i am left with no choice but to believe this tiger actually existed. what are your thoughts? here’s the map of Kumaon region  *This image is copyright of its original author an older map from 1992  *This image is copyright of its original author recent map  *This image is copyright of its original author all the tiger reserves by region, 2017 map.  *This image is copyright of its original author around 160kg summer weight of the female, 180kg weighed and verified by Wasif Jamshed of Wildlife Institute of India. the male is over 340 kilograms (full stomach? empty?), also weighed and verified by Wasif Jamshed. full picture of these two.  *This image is copyright of its original author
@Roflcopters your last two post are superb!
And yes I agree I struggled to believe that 388.7 kg, I even struggled to believe a tiger could be 300 kg today. As being more into lions I could see some enormous male lions rarely surpassing 250 kg. And I found it hard to believe a tiger could be that much heavier, but now that has changed lately you can see some tigers being so massive it's just ridiculous. I at least thought that Tigers from central India was more or less the same about 220-250 kg at maximum, but when you see MB2 at 197 kg just above 2 years, in a very bad period (weight wise) side by side with an adult male dwarfing him just days before being weighed. You start to think how big those Central males are too. Today I walk around knowing that a few 340-350 kg male tigers do roam the forests of Terai. And that is just insane. If that tigress is 180 kg it's hard to argue that this cat isn't a 300+ kg cat!  *This image is copyright of its original author This is one of the most impressive males I have ever seen from Katerniaghat (India) with connection to Dudhwa (Nepal). He's muscular from nose to tail.  (06-23-2018, 01:20 PM)Roflcopters Wrote: @peter It is said that the 388kg tiger was unreliable, because of the measuring problem and fullness situation ? 
@Pantherinae @Roflcopters @Pckts
Thanks guys for the wonderful pictures and discussions on the forum. I have been absent here since a last few days but the hard work you guys and people like @Rishi @parvez and some others put in is commendable. Anyways coming to this whole dudhwa Male thing. Truth is for someone who has spent watching the tigers in Terai (being brutally honest) seeing giants like him is not an exception. Anyone who has spent his life watching tigers in this region has seen alot of them. And the WII person is absolutely spot on when he says this male is not the only one who is above 300 here. I can tell you there are many more. That Rajaji tiger has had my attention ever since I saw his photo 2 years back. He is exceptional. The whole MV2 and Umarpani situation. The truth is somewhere down the line the mistake we all are making is still taking into accounts the older average weights of tigers around the world. What I mean we see live examples everyday of not one but alot of tigers from different parts of India exceeding everyone's expectation. Maybe the bar is just set wrong. Maybe new serious research is actually required on India's bengal tiger. Terai region seriously lacks this. For a park like corbett which has roughly 300-350 tigers living around each other its practically impossible to know what giant males are living in there. The more images I see more dudhwa the more I believe in my theory that not one rather many males should average 250 or above in India especially in these region. Assam I don't even want to comment. I have had the pleasure of seeing KZT085 during his prime and he looks every bit big as he does in the photos. Not to mention way bigger than most in central India I have seen. I have seen the likes of Big Bam and Waghdoh. And many others in Kazi look bigger than KZT085 quite easily in the photos. And lastly, the central Indian tigers are no dwarfs themselves. MV2 at hardly 2 years old during summer is a giant. Uma dwarfed him in battle. And many give Uma a run for his money in Central India. Then we have late Raja(his photographs, his legacy) and now his son (the Basavankatte Male) I will be honest that guy looks every bit a top dominant male tiger should look like. So for someone who has been watching tigers since I was a kid all this new weights and exceptional sizes of males and females do not surprise me one bit . Because these tigers have always been there. Most of them underestimated and not much research done on them. About the whole killing Rhinos, Elephant thing in terai and Assam. I can confirm you I know plenty of trustable accounts of tigers feeding on elephants in corbett. Most of them hunt alone and yes they do hunt the adults too. I am sure that's the case in other parks too.People really underestimate how much amazing things one tiger can do. Anyways, But its time we take the research more seriously and for once forget the old data and try to fetch new data which explains our beautiful animals correctly. Sorry for the long post guys :)
Bandavgarh Tigress Reaches Odisha’s Satkosia to Befriend Kanha Tiger
[b]KalingaTV News Network[/b] [b]Angul[/b]: The Royal Bengal Tiger (MB-2) brought from Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh to Satkosia Tiger Reserve in Odisha is all set to meet its new companion, a 27-month-old tigress named ‘Sundri’ from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, who reached in Raigoda here on Thursday evening. The tigress was tranquilised and brought in a special vehicle with the support of Madhya Pradesh forest department. Officials and experts from Wildlife Institute of India have also accompanied the tigress. In a first of its kind in India, the tigers were translocated as a part of inter-state re-introduction of tigers, following the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) guidelines. “The tigress weighed 135 kgs and is in good health. She will be kept in a special enclosure next to Kanha tiger’s enclosure. After consulting the wildlife experts, both the tigers will be released to the wild,” said Suresh Mohapatra, Forest and Environment Dept secretary. This inter-state tiger relocation is a part of joint project Union Environment ministry, NTCA and WII. Further, four more tigers from different tiger reserves of Madhya Pradesh will be relocated to Odisha. Meanwhile, forest officials have said that the Royal Bengal Tiger brought from Kanha is healthy and two groups are keeping a close eye on the activities of the fenile through a radio collar. http://kalingatv.com/latestnews/cbdt-ext...next-year/
Rare Bengal Tiger Killed By Indian Tribals In Village
An adult tiger, one of the only 80 remaining near-extinct Royal Bengal Tigers was barbarically killed with spears by terrified tribal men after it strayed into their village and attacked a wild boar. The elusive tiger had been roaming the forests of Jangalmahal, Jhargram and Bankura in West Bengal in eastern in India for more than two months and several attempts by forest officials to capture the beast had failed. On Friday morning, some tribal men who were out for cutting wood in the jungle were shocked to see a wild boar and the tiger involved in a fierce fight. Before they could even react and call others for help, the tiger had killed its prey and started devouring it. Hundreds of villagers flocked into the forest after the news of the wild beast's presence broke. The forest department was also informed but it took more than three hours to reach and rescue the tiger. Forest officials blamed for failing to save tiger  *This image is copyright of its original author Forest department officials have been accused of failing to save the Royal Bengal Tiger from reportedly getting lynched by hunters in the forest of Lalgarh on Friday. Locals living in Lalgarh area and wildlife activists alleged that the forest officials did several attempts to capture the big cat but those were not enough for catching a Royal Bengal Tiger. “It’s their failure and now to cover up their incompetency, they have lodged a FIR against some unknown people with the Gurguripal police under sections of Wild Life Protection Acts,” said Pinak Bhattacherjee, a wildlife activist. Meanwhile, the police and the forest department have independently initiated a probe into this matter. The National Tiger Conservation Authority also sought a report from the state. NTCA member-secretary Debabrata Swain said: “We will find out the origin of the tiger by DNA sampling. This will help us establish the probable corridor it took to reach Lalgarh and secure the route.” Chief wildlife warden Ravi Kant Sinha said the autopsy was done in presence of wildlife board members. “Tests were done on the wild boar carcass to find out whether it was laced with poison.” Wildlife activist Rana Purohit said: “The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, doesn’t give any right to hunt or trap or extract body parts of wild animals. The culprits must be punished under the Wildlife Protection Act.” Foresters said tribal hunters, mainly from the nearby Aajulsuli village who were celebrating the ongoing hunting festival, killed the tiger. Officials suspect Badal Hansda and Bablu Hansda, who came face-to-face with the tiger inside the forest when it was gorging on a wild boar and hurled the spear, wounding it fatally. The two hunters, too, were injured. A post-mortem report revealed the animal was also hit several times on the head with a blunt object. As a result, its scull was broken. The viscera report is awaited. The tiger’s carcass, which weighed around 220 kg, was brought to Garbeta’s Arabari forest where it was cremated in Hindu way of rituals. A procession was taken out in the village of Arabari forest area on Friday night and the big cat was consigned to flames. The tiger, apparently fleeing from Simlipal forest, was found loitering in Junglemahal ~ once a Maoists citadel in Bengal. It travelled from Lalgarh to Jharkgram and then to Bankura. The forest department had been trying to net the tiger for last two months laying all kind of traps. It installed a CCTV camera in the forest and even used camera-fitted drone at different parts of the forest to catch the tiger. These had created immense fear in the minds of people, mostly adivasis, living inside the forests. Children could not go out to schools during day time. Many stopped entering the forests for work. The tiger’s roaming left them completely dismayed and confined into their thatched hut. A few brave people, however, went deep into the forest to bring their daily items for business. Some of them saw the tiger and a couple of them were scratched by its paws. That none was killed by the tiger despite they came-face-to-face each other pointed to the fact that the tiger was tired, and even lost strength to hunt and perhaps had an eyesight problem. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city...754388.cms http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/tig...ort-294400
Thrice As Many Tigers Near Bhopal
"The juvenile male tigers in the dense forest area are fighting with the older big cats to claim their territory, say ... “Apart from other adults, pugmarks of the siblings T121 and T123 have been found on the marsh lands. The two are around 2 years and 3 months old and weigh between 220 kilo and 270 kilo." Read more at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/57191021.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
New update on the deceased tiger of Lalgarh forest. The tiger wasn't only weighed, but he was measured too...
 *This image is copyright of its original author Lalgarh's deceased Royal Bengal Tiger"The Royal Bengal tiger, which died in Lalgarh yesterday, was around 10-12 year old and weighed around 220 kgs. It was six-feet four inches tall." I'm assuming that when they say six feet four inches tall, they mean the body length not shoulder height. https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/news...763526.cms  (07-28-2018, 11:26 AM)Kingtheropod Wrote: New update on the deceased tiger of Lalgarh forest. The tiger wasn't only weighed, but he was measured too... has to be body length. also they must of exclude the tail. if it was shoulder height, this tiger would of been the tallest in history of any cat prehistoric or living. i believe the largest cats of all time only reached about 4 feet and some inches in height.  (02-21-2018, 09:48 AM)Kingtheropod Wrote: Interesting. T-3s weight of 200 kg at 60 months (5 yrs) is interesting. It would be nice to see the weights of tigers of different ages compared before and after they reached Prime.Little question, did anybody manage to corroborate this weight of 240 kg? I wrote to the email in the article, but I don't have any answer yet. (09-06-2018, 04:27 AM)GuateGojira Wrote:(02-21-2018, 09:48 AM)Kingtheropod Wrote: Interesting. T-3s weight of 200 kg at 60 months (5 yrs) is interesting. It would be nice to see the weights of tigers of different ages compared before and after they reached Prime.Little question, did anybody manage to corroborate this weight of 240 kg? I wrote to the email in the article, but I don't have any answer yet. Unfortunately I too have sent a email, but no response. However, I don't doubt the weight, because now that we know he weighed 200 kg at 5 years old, this news article about T-3 actually makes a lot of sense. If you read the bit where it says, "T-3 now weighs about 240 kgs" we now know why he said that in the article because obviously there was a previous weighing done, which we now know to be true.
Thank you @Kingtheropod for the clarification.
Now, somebody can translate what this image says?  *This image is copyright of its original author @sanjay , can you help me with this?  Sorry for the size of the image.
 (09-06-2018, 09:07 PM)GuateGojira Wrote: Thank you @Kingtheropod for the clarification. Central headline: "Mirza" becomes Mukundara 's new king. Smaller headline (Top left): 15 years later Mukundara resonates with tiger's roar. T-91 sets foot. Description about relocation, size of first etc. No readable mention of his weight or size measurements. |
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