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.
This is the table I posted in the extinction thread on tigers in AVA:
*This image is copyright of its original author
As you can see (a1 and a2), the 8 tigers averaging 491,75 pounds (a2) were significantly longer (14 cm.) than the 10 males averaging 390,80 pounds. The difference could be a result of age, but that's only a guess.
Now go to the tigers not weighed (B). You can see they were longer than the 8 heavy tigers (300,87 cm. vs 299,71 cm.). Let's say they were similar in length. We can't say anything on their average weight, as they were not weighed. Hewett, however, wrote 12 of these 22 were either 'heavy' or 'very heavy'. We also know long tigers in this sample were about 100 pounds heavier than shorter tigers. If we combine both, we can assume the tigers not weighed probably were close in weight to those of similar length that were weighed.
This means the average for male tigers in North-India probably is quite a bit higher than the average based on the 18 animals that were weighed. As the 5 male Nepal tigers that were not weighed averaged no less than 311 cm. 'over curves', we have to assume they were even heavier.
I'm sure we can get to a new average using the information in the table, as the information on weight is rebliable. My guess is we will get somewhere between 470-520 pounds. Let's say 495 pounds empty for now. This assumption is, indirectly, confirmed by the average of 7 adult males in Chitwan Sunquist found nearly a century later (221 kg. adjusted or 488 pounds).
2 - TIGERS IN NORTHERN-INDIA AND NEPAL COMPARED
If we add the information from Russia regarding wild Amur tigers today, the conclusion is Nepal tigers, most probably, are the largest tigers today in both length and weight. My guess is they also were about a century ago, although the information I have suggests Russia and, in particular, Manchuria probably had more individuals that compared to the largest tigers in Nepal today (570-625 pounds or a bit over).
Tigers in north-east India today seem to be at least at heavy as those in northern India and Nepal, but there's no reliable information we can use. The biggest surprise, perhaps, is the size of today's tigers in South-India (referring to the tigers actually measured nd weighed by Ullas Karant). Could reflect excellent conditions.
3 - THE REAL AVERAGE OF WILD ADULT MALE TIGERS TODAY
On the other hand. Any wild population will have young adults, prime animals, old animals and tigers that struggle for some reason (just look at Russia). This means we can't use prime animals only to get to an average, as this would have an inflatory effect. Seen from this perspective, Hewett's average could be more reliable than we assume. Same for the average of Cooch Behar and Assam, also because of the size of the sample.
If we apply this idea, we have to assume that wild adult male tigers in most regions in North-India probably averaged somewhere between 402-460 pounds a century ago (the average for adult wild males in 4 regions about a century ago was 402, 420, 435 and 460 pounds).
Let's assume wild male tigers living in reserves today are about 5-10% heavier than a century ago. This would result in an average ranging between 422 (402 + 5%) and 506 (460 + 10%) pounds or between 442 (402 + 10%) and 483 (460 + 5%) pounds. If we add 422, 442, 486 and 506 (1856) and go for the median, we get to 463 pounds or thereabout for an average wild adult male in the regions mentioned above. This works out at about 210 kg.
4 - CAPTIVE MALE TIGERS IN INDIAN ZOOS
If the average weight of wild male tigers is opposed to the average weight of male tigers in Indian zoos (just over 183 kg. or 405 pounds), we could say wild adult male tigers are about 27 kg. or 60 pounds (about 13-15%)heavier:
*This image is copyright of its original author
Although we can't just compare both (there's no information on the length and age of the animals used), we have to assume the difference between captive and wild male tigers is roughly 10-15%.
The main reason is wild big cats can feast on large prey animals every now and then, whereas their captive relatives would not get that opportunity. Less food is less proteine is less weight. There's no need to grow to a large size in captivity, as it doesn't pay.
Brander, Hewett and the Maharaja of Cooch Behar: a review to the records
