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.
06-18-2015, 11:45 PM( This post was last modified: 06-18-2015, 11:53 PM by peter )
(06-18-2015, 10:09 PM)'Pckts' Wrote:
(06-18-2015, 08:41 PM)'peter' Wrote: SCRATCH MARKS AND CLAW MARKS
When a big cat climbs a tree, you might see claw marks. Most of the time, however, you will see nothing. The reason is the claws are use to climb or hold on. Same when climbing down. Scratches are a result of stretching while standing. When stretching while standing on his hind legs, the cat will leave scratch marks as a rule. This is done to sharpen the claws.
Go to a local zoo, talk to those who know or read before posting.
I did read before posting, hence why I stated the fact that using scratch marks may not be the best correlation.
They lock in with their back claws and scrape their front against the tree, their claws are extremely sharp and leave scrapes, like dragging a knife down a tree.
Bokha
Young Male Challenging B2
Notcie his face scratch and look where his back claws are, couple of inches off the ground.
Since I never said they don't stretch their bodies out to scratch trees
*This image is copyright of its original author
I simply said that they "sometimes" jump to scratch trees so trying to use that as a tell tell sign of the body size of the tiger is not the best correlation, that is all.
Here you see claw marks of all different heights but you can tell the strength and sharpness of their claws, so obviously they can leave serious marks in a tree when climbing.
The intention is to climb up and hug the (smell on the) tree and stay there for a few seconds. In order to do that, you have to use your fingers and claws as hooks. To stay up, you need to push yourself (in)to the tree. This will result in extensive use of the arm, shoulder, neck and back muscles.
If all goes well, you won´t see long scratches, but deep ones. When you see long and deep scratches, it means you went down in an uncontrolled way, rupturing a few muscles, tendons and claws on your way down. Meaning you climbed your last tree.
When a big cat is stretching himself on his hind legs, however, the intention is to stretch the muscles to the utmost and sharpen the claws. In order to do that, different muscles are needed. The force used isn´t intended to keep you up (lateral forces in particular), but to exercise maximum force at the tip. Maximum force exercised at the tip, but in a controlled way. Without 200 kg. pulling you down, I mean. In order to get the maximum result, you need to stretch yourself to your capacity. This would result in the long and deep scratch marks often seen on scratch trees. For this reason, scratch marks definitely can be used as signs regarding the size of a tiger.
In order to understand what I mean, try it yourself. Climb the tree using your hands and feet only. If you would have had claws, you would have left a few scratches going up or down, but they wouldn´t be long. They would be deep. The intention is to go up and stay there for some seconds. You would have to use your arm, shoulder, neck and back muscles to push yourself to the tree. The fingers (claws) are used to hook yourself in when you go up and when you go down. When you don´t make it, you will go down with force, leave long scratch marks. Now stretch yourself on your hindlegs. You will notice that the force exercised will be completely different.
I was a bit harsh when I responded to your remark (sorry about that), but I don´t want to explain things you could and should have known yourself. When you have question, be a tiger. If you don´t find the answer, read, talk or ask. And don´t lecture. Ever. You do lectures and rankings at school. This is a public forum. The intention is to find answers to questions. While doing so, you develop yourself without getting ridiculed or dismissed. We help each other, but never at the expense of each other. This is the difference with other forums. Over and out.