Nepal tigers

[peter]

COPTERS

Great info. Video interesting as well. Agreed on the expertise of the Nepalese, but the Banke rehabilitation center could do with an upgrade. You don't want a man-eating tiger leaving jail without first signing the proper documents. That's still apart from the cage he destroyed:

*This image is copyright of its original author

  

The photographs you posted show some male tigers in Nepal, like in the twenties and thirties of the last century, can reach a large size. Back then, they were measured 'over curves'. According to Sunquist, they were still measured in that way half a century later. That is to say, more or less. 

One of the photographs you posted, however, suggests a steel tape was used to measure the first male:

*This image is copyright of its original author

When a steel tape is used to measure a big cat, the result will be a measurement taken 'between pegs'. This means it's very likely the first male was 309 cm in total length measured 'between pegs'. 
 
A few decades ago, I measured 3 adult captive male Amur tigers in a Dutch facility. They were 280, 287 and 298 cm in total length measured 'between pegs'. The 298 cm male had a long tail (104 cm). His head and body length was 194 cm. Not exceptional, but those present thought he was very long. Most people only appreciate the size of a big cat when they're real close.  

Here's the first male with a total length (most probably measured 'between pegs') of 309 cm:

*This image is copyright of its original author

As his tail seemed a bit shorter than the tail of the Amur tiger I referred to, my guess is he exceeded 200 cm in HB. Most unusual, but the photograph didn't show a very long tiger. The reason is he's massive in just about every department: 

*This image is copyright of its original author

Compared to the captive male Amur tiger I measured, his skull and neck are larger and his shoulders and forelimbs are quite a bit bigger as well. My guess is he compared to the largest males shot in Nepal almost a century ago. Measured 'over curves', they were 10.7, 10.8, 10.9 and 10.9 in total length. 

After reading 'Big game shooting in Nepal' (E.A. Smythies, 1942), I decided for a few tables. They were posted in the tiger extinction thread a few years ago. Here's one of them:

*This image is copyright of its original author

 

The two longest were 10.9 (327,66 cm) in total length measured 'over curves'. The difference between both methods ('over curves' and 'between pegs') in large male tigers can be as much as 8 inches, but, according to J. Hewett ('Jungle trails in northern India', 1938 - I have the 2008 Natraj Publishers reprint, pp. 68-70), the difference between both methods in northern India, provided the tiger was measured with care, was 3-5 inches only. This means the 10.9 tigers in the table above could have ranged between 10.1-10.4 if they would have been measured 'between pegs'. Not much, if at all, longer, than the man-eater darted in Nepal in March 2021.  

One of the two 10.9 tigers shot in Nepal in the thirties of the last century was 705 pounds (319,788 kg). In spite of his exceptional weight, he went straight for an elephant when he was cornered. This means he was in good shape. Same for the Sauraha tiger collared in the seventies of the last century. The photograph in Sunquist's book shows a well-proportioned male. Although he was long (long tigers often are heavy), they were surprised at his weight. Another male darted in Nepal a few years later also bottomed a 600-pound (272,16 kg) scale. 

I'm not suggesting adult male tigers in Nepal top the list, but reliable information suggests they could be very close. Hunters agreed. One of them ('Hunting in the mountains and jungles of Nepal', P. Byrne, Safari Press, 2012, pp. 63) wrote Nepal tigers (referring to tigers in the western part of the country in particular) have shortish tails, large heads and long, bulky bodies.  

Tigers in India and Nepal are protected. Quite something if you consider the number of humans living in both countries. The result is more tigers. Although new reserves have been added, more are needed. Another problem is most reserves are quite small. Not seldom, tigers unable to compete as a result of age and injuries have no option but to settle outside the reserve. As many reserves are surrounded by villages, conflicts between humans and tigers never are far away. 

What happened to the male who destroyed his cage? Did he, regarding humans, change his behaviour? Reply