There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
Every guide I spoke with said the same thing, BMW, Ryakassi and Handsome (khusapr male) are all similar size, Tarzan was the largest tiger there, bar none. Prince is less seen but said to be similar to the other 3 mentioned.
The other tourist group I befriended were very lucky, they spotted the BMW male on 2 separate safaris and spent quite a bit of time with him up close, meters from the Gypsy. Then later in my trip we both went to Kanha after pench, again they were extremely lucky and spotted what they thought was the Rhonda male but turned out to be the Sangam Male and what they said stuck with me. They said that the BMW male is not extremely large, more of an average sized male but bulky but when compared to the Sangam male, the BMW was much smaller. They said the Sangam male was bigger in every way, he was the much more impressive Tiger. The next day after they left, I got a runoff of their luck, I then spotted the Sangam male with my friend who arranged the trip and my GF plus the guides of course. My friend who has seen Wagdoh, Matkusar, Munna, Katezari, Sangam etc. said the Sangam Male was similar size to Munna and the guides who I spoke with in Kanha all said that Munna, Bheema, Link 7, Sangam were all very close in size compared to one another, it's very hard to tell who's actually larger between them in their prime. Umarpani is much less seen, but the guides who saw him all said he was a large cat and T-1 was said to be very large as well but he's not as seen either.
Kanha V Pench females
I saw the Durga Female in pench, she is said to be the same size as Collarwali and as many here know, I saw the Link 8 female in Kanha and she was massive, she was the largest female wild Cat I have seen and the Budbudi female in Kanha is also said to be equally as large, the same guy I went to kanha with was just there again and he saw the Budbudi Female this time and he confirmed that they are similar in size. The durga female also had 3 sub adult cubs, 2 females and 1 male, the father of the Sub Adults is the Handsome male and while the Male sub adult was a good size I can guarantee he would not be the size of the Sangam Male when full grown, he just didn't have the frame to match him.
Like @Roflcopters said, in Tadoba the tigers are a bit less dense and seem to be smaller overall but the largest cat my friend had every seen was Wagdoh, he's the same height as Munna, Sangam etc. but he is longer and thicker. But the tigers in Tadoba aren't as muscular in frame, even when you look at the likes of Shivaji, Katezari, Waghdoh, Mutkasur, they seem a little softer in musculature, Gabbar seemed more dense but he wasn't the largest Tiger around.
Choti Tara and the other female I saw were both smaller than the Link 8 female by a good margin, the male I saw with her was definitely large but not nearly as dense as the Sangam male.
Bandhavgarh Tigers:
There certainly are some large males but not as many IMO, Bhim and Jobhi certainly are very large but Blue Eyes wasn't extremely large, Mr. X doesn't seem to large, Bamera's other son doesn't seem that large, Mahaman male isn't that large and others I have spoken with who have seen them say they aren't quite as large as when compared with Kanha so take it for what it's worth.
I hope that you make it to India one day and you see these parks, you will then understand why Kanha has a tendency to produce larger cats. It's massive, the prey density is higher and the weather is much more accommodating. Even in Pench which is much cooler than Tadoba and more hilly, it's still thanks to man made watering holes that Khusapar even has a Tiger population, it most likely wouldn't support any tiger population during the summer month's otherwise, the Touria gate would but I had no luck there when searching for tigers.
In closing, all parks will have large and small tigers, like all wild animals, they come in many sizes and shapes. But parks with better resources will produce larger animals more often. This is proven in Africa and India, the herbivores are larger in the Ngorongoro Crater because the resources are better and the herbivores were larger in Kanha for the same reason. This is from my personal experience and others I have spoken with, so take it for what you will.
I never said Bandhavgarh Tigers were larger then Kanha males. I know Kanha definately has the larger Tigers and so does Pench....i said i like the physiques and head shapes on the Bandhavgarh males the most. As for you're visits to these parks, have you got any footage of them?? I'd like to see some videos from you're trips and see the sightings, so if you got some, please send them to me?...
As for the cost of these trips, is it expensive, like for a weeks visit to Kanha? And whats the probability of spotting a big male Tiger there??...
Where is the biggest bengal tigers?
