Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers

[Ashutosh]

@Pckts, you keep talking about Branders mentioning different sizes in sal and mixed forest, but you keep leaving out context. Context of persecution of wildlife. Sal forests have always been much better preserved and were given preferential treatment during the colonial/maharaja days.

So, Brander doing his research in the 70s had a very different landscape to work in. One of the largest tigers EVER killed was the Palamu tiger shot whose skull is easily the biggest I have seen. That male was not from a Sal forest.

If you dig through history of central India, you will see how British incentivised/threatened the local gond tribes to cut down their own forests and inviolate spaces. You talk about how certain areas of Pench have gotten tigers because of artificial waterholes, well, this exploitation on a massive scale is the reason. You cut down trees and waterholes dry up instantly.

Nagzira, Pench, Satpura and Kanha were part of one big forest not even 150 years ago. While Kanha was to be a hunting lodge, the other forests were seen as a resource and an inconvenience including everything living in it. Kanha remained pristine whereas others withered away. And, when Branders did his research these forests were still recovering (they still are but are much healthier) whereas Kanha while not perfect was always much better placed ecologically speaking (hunting aside).

The results of that conservation was reflected in the last tiger census which clearly concluded that Pench had a better biomass/area ratio than Kanha with a higher density for all herbivores (except Barasingha which are only found in Kanha) and boars. Reply