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(08-21-2014, 11:10 PM)tigerluver Wrote: The Hasinger Tiger
In this post I'd like to analyze the probability of a 389 kg specimen with a total length of 322.5 cm.
When something is out of the ordinary, we often try to modify and find reasons to why. For this tiger, most say it was gorged. But this picture of it says otherwise:
*This image is copyright of its original author
The stomach is not distended and looks to be of normal circumference. So before we bring out the inaccurate scale to unreliable weight theories, let's trust the 60s and look for another explanation.
So my next guess is that this specimen may have a short tail. I analyzed this photo:
*This image is copyright of its original author
Assuming Hasinger has a shoulder width of 46 cm, I estimated the tail length. He's a relatively short tailed tiger. Unlikely that it was greater than 100 cm long, and thus conservatively I'd say he had a body length of 220 cm.
Now I looked to math to support or reject the 389 kg weight. Let's use the most simple growth ratio, isometry.
Sauraha will be our comparison specimen. The math:
(x/y)^3*ymass = (220/197)cm^270 kg = 376 kg.
Quite close to the actual weight. Keep in mind that true growth in tigers happens at a significantly greater rate than cubic, so the true estimate could be even more, thus even if this male is shorter than 220 cm body length, the 389 kg weight is still attainable.
The 317 kg tiger is also very probable with a body length of 210 cm using the same isometric logic.
Mathematically, I've verified these specimens. The rest is on individual discretion.
Edit:
A quick tidbit I'd like to add about food intake corrections. Over a 24 hour period, the amount eaten will not equal amount in belly. Especially with raw meat, there is more water weight involved, which passes rather quickly. Tigers also are predicted to have a higher end metabolism, thus quicker food passage. In the case of domestic cats, expect nothing left in the belly from a meal at most 24 hrs ago. Metabolic-wise, tigers would be even quicker. Of course, if something is eating constantly throughout the day then you'll have a inflated mass, but if the bait was consumed a while ago, the bait lost is greater than the food in the belly.
really old post but... if you want to make your estimates more accurate, use the barrel of the gun which is 25 inches from Winchester pre64 model 375