ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)

[peter]

THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE

I forgot to mention 'The tiger's claw', Brotherbear.

It wasn't translated from Russian, but written in English by Mary Linley Taylor right from the start. Taylor, from the UK, lived in Korea between 1918-1942. In Seoul, she met a woman who often went to the northern part of the country in summer. She was the one who introduced her to the daughter of George Jankowski. Mary Taylor was invited by the Jankowsky's.

The book she wrote is largely based on conversations with George Jankowski, who had moved to Korea in 1923. Jankowski was well-known in his time. Even the Japanese, who had occupied Korea in those days, respected the man who knew more about tigers than any other man. His children called him 'Papa Tiger'.

When the Red Army invaded Korea in 1945, the Jankowski's were arrested. Taylor wrote she never heard anything about them after 1945. I don't know what happened to Georg Jankowski and his family, but it's clear they survived. In his book 'Der Tiger' (1983, pp, 185-186 and 189), V. Mazak wrote that he corresponded with W.J. Jankowski, one of the sons of George Jankowski.

In his letters, W.J. Jankowski informed Mazak about the Amur tigers he, his brothers and his father had shot. In one of his letters (May 8, 1970), W.J. Jankowski wrote that the largest Amur tiger he had even seen was a male shot in July 1943 in Manchuria, This tiger, significantly bigger than all others, was 11.6 'over curves' in total length and most probably very close to 300 kg. (662 pounds). His father also saw his share of large tigers. Most, if not all, were shot in Manchuria. 

The book offers a room with a view on a region that has been completely transformed. Manchuria, only a century ago described as a 'sea of forest', still has forests and tigers (in the extreme east), but these are migrants from Russia. The Manchurian gene is gone. Important, as these tigers seemed to be different from tigers in Korea and Russia. All large skulls are from Manchuria, not Korea or Russia. Jankowski also saw a white tiger in Manchuria. Manchurian tigers, regarding humans, had a different attitude in that not a few of them considered humans as fair game.  

There are many rumours about the size of Amur tigers. Today, adult females of 3 years of age or older average 120-125 kg. (266-277 pounds). A century ago, they averaged 137,5 kg. (304 pounds). Adult males today average 420-430 pounds, but a century ago they averaged about 475 pounds. Although the lower average today no doubt is a result of the decision to consider a 3-year old tiger as an adult, I do not doubt that they are not as large as a century ago. The reasons have been discussed many times. The question is if they were larger than typical Amur tigers. Another question is why, if so, that was. 

We could discuss Bergmann, but I propose to start with opportunity. That and protection. The region were the biggest Amur tigers have been shot could have been an imperial hunting reserve for a long time. This map is from 'The tiger's claw' (Imperial hunting reserve in green):

*This image is copyright of its original author

     

Seen in that light, one wonders if it really was a coincidence that the 11.6 giant giant shot in July 1943 was killed near the upper part of the Sungari River. Georg Jankowski also shot very large tigers in this region.

This is a larger map for orientation. It is about the region in the extreme northeast:

*This image is copyright of its original author

   

Based on what was described in some of the books I read, one could conclude that the region just south of the extreme southeast of Russia could have been ideal for tigers 1-2 centuries ago.     

We could dismiss all old records out of hand, but it is remarkable that captive Amur tigers not seldom are longer, taller and heavier than their wild relatives. Is the smaller size of wild Amur tigers today a result of tough conditions and a population bottleneck? If so, why is it that captive Amur tigers descending from wild tigers captured in the fifties and sixties in Russia, when the conditions were not as good as today, were not affected?

Anyway. To show the difference between tigers in Manchuria and those in northern Korea and southeastern Russia, a few pictures to finish the post.

This male, shot in 1911 near the border with Korea (so not a Manchurian), is the largest wild Amur tiger accepted by biologists. Apart from his size, this tiger isn't very different from most wild Amur tigers today. He was long (11.7 'over curves') and heavy (560 pounds), but not very robust: 

*This image is copyright of its original author

 

To underline the point made, another picture from Baikov. Same period, same region and same type of tiger (long and athletic):

*This image is copyright of its original author

This is a tiger of today. Very similar to the ones above, I think:

*This image is copyright of its original author

Now for the Manchurians. This is the 11.6 ('over curves') and 660 pound (estimated) giant shot by the Jankowskiy's in 1943 near the Sungari River:

*This image is copyright of its original author

This is the captive giant from the Duisburg Zoo. His father was from the Rotterdam Zoo 'Blijdorp'. I talked to the keeper, who has the skin of his father. He told me the father was a descendant of a male captured in extreme south of Russia just after WWII. Could have been a wanderer from the south (Manchuria): 

*This image is copyright of its original author

The picture below was posted by Amnon. Amur tigers in some zoos and facilities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia are descendants of tigers captured in Russia just after WWII. In the period directly after the war, those in the know distinguished between typical Amur tigers and those who apparently had different genes. They called them the Manchurians.

I saw a few of them. They were very tall and robust. Different league. Not saying they were from Manchuria (they were not), but it is possible that some had a connection with Manchuria. In those days, Manchuria still had a few wild Amur tigers. Maybe some of the captive tigers in the Czech republic and Slovakia kept the Manchurian genes:   

*This image is copyright of its original author

A century ago, wild boars and bears shot in the region close to the alleged former Imperial hunting reserve also were large. Some individuals still are, but there is a difference between a few individuals and an average. These wild boars were shot by G. Jankowski not long after he had moved to Korea. He didn't select them for size. The average of 21, if I remember correctly, was just over 420 pounds: 

*This image is copyright of its original author

This is a picture of a very large male Amur tiger in a Korean zoo. He had killed his mate. Different from your typical captive Amur tiger and similar to the giants above: 
 

*This image is copyright of its original author

Another one. China, I think:

*This image is copyright of its original author

One more:

*This image is copyright of its original author

Are these robust Amur tigers all a result of individual variation, or was there a difference between Korea, Russia and Manchuria? If so, is it possible that some captive Amur tigers (as well as a few wild ones) carry that gene? 

I'm not saying all of this is a result of 'The tiger's claw', Brotherbear, but the book definitely raised a number of questions. My advice is to buy it when you can. Reply