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

[peter]

1 - THE SCAN

The Godavari male tiger, PC, wasn't 5.9, but 9.9 (head and body 6.6 and tail 3.0). The scan is ok, but the original is old, hence the unclear numbers.

The scale used (a 300-lbs. Salter's Spring Balance) was tested before and after use and found to be accurate. 

One of the male leopards, at 7.11 in total length (tail 35 inches or 2.11), was 115 lbs. This is the longest in head and body (5.0) I know of. 

2 - THE METHOD USED 

The question is if the felines were measured 'between pegs' or 'over curves'.

I bought 'Tigers of the Raj - the Shikar diaries of Col. R.W. Burton, 1894-1949'. This book was first published in 1987 and is largely based on the diaries of Col. R.W. Burton. The diaries were edited by family members, who decided to use them for a book. Any information about the table in the previous post or the animals mentioned? Yes. 

3 - THE BOOK

The book is 'Tigers of the Raj - the Shikar Diaries of Col. R.W. Burton, 1894-1949' (Alan Sutton Publishing, Gloucester, 1987). In Chapter 6 ('The Jungles of Jeypore, tigers and bears') a trip to the Godavary River in December 1912 and January 1913 is described. In his diary, Burton wrote:

" ... All the tigers in this Jeypore country are potential man-killers and readily take to man if they meet him after dark ... " (pp. 42).

A little later, he wrote:

" ... News came of a big tiger which had recently killed several people along the Poteru river to the north, so I decided to move camp to Lachipeta ... " (pp. 42).

And:

" ... The tiger killed a buffalo on the very night of my arrival at Lachipeta. I sat up for him in the machan, and with the moon at full took one shot ... " (pp. m42-43).

The tiger was shot when he returned to the buffalo kill. After the shot, the tiger disappeared. They found him next morning:

" ... The tracks were followed up and the tiger was found fifty yards from where fired at, having evidently died within a very few minutes. He was very large and would have measured 10 ft. between pegs if measured immediately after death. This was the tiger who killed five people within the last three months. His left upper canine tooth was broken off short and had a deep cavity full of maggots which looked very painful. A bullit was found embedded in the muscles of the lower jaw on the same side, behind the last molar. It seemed to be the base of a .500 hollow point bullit - a most dangerous form of projectile to use. His tootache accounted for his having eaten so little of his kill, only one hind leg in 24 hours. No doubt he was waiting for it to get soft ... " (pp. 43).

Anything else on tigers and leopards in this part of India? Yes:

" ... All the panthers of these parts are said to be of this small size (referring to a 6.7 panther of 72 lbs. he shot on February 6, 1913), and the tigers all seem to be extra big (there was another very large tiger in the district he was hunting).

4 - THE HIMALAYAN BEAR

In the table, Burton referred to a big Himalayan bear of 387 lbs. The animal was shot in Chakrata, where bears were considered dangerous as a rule by the local people. On pp. 51, there is a footnote about the bear, who was killed with one bullit through the back of the neck. The bear had been hunted and shot just before he was killed by Burton. He had bullits in the shoulder and the jaw. 

5 - CONCLUSIONS

1 - The tiger mentioned in the table had been shot before he was killed by Burton. He had a bullit in the muscles of the left side of the lower jaw, just behind the last molar. The left upper canine was broken off short and full of maggots. My guess is the canine had been damaged by the bullit as well. 

2 - The tiger was a confirmed man-eater who killed and ate at least five humans in three months.

3 - The tiger was measured perhaps 8-12 hours after he had been killed. If he would have been measured immediately after death, he, Burton thought, would have been 10 feet 'between pegs'. About half a day after he was shot, the tiger measured 9.9 'between pegs' and weighed 416 lbs. Hewett, Berg and others confirmed that a tiger measured half a day or so after he was shot usually is 2-3 (closer to 3) inches shorter than when measured immediately after death. The shrinking is a result of rigor mortis.  

4 - According to Burton, the tiger had " ... eaten so little of his kill ... " because of a wound. Burton thought the tiger, as a result of the wound and the pain, was unable to eat a fresh kill. The relatively low weight, therefore, could have been a result of the inability to eat properly. 

5 - The conclusion is the tiger was measured 'between pegs'. As the scales used to weigh the tiger were accurate and the tiger wasn't gorged (far from it), the weight is reliable as well.

6 As to his fitness. As a result of a severe and painful wound, the tiger probably was unable to eat properly. Although he didn't starve, chances are the tiger was far from fit. Reply