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

[peter]

KHAN

Thanks for the information. Much appreciated. My advice is to keep silent about your source. This in order to prevent a barrage of questions from countless members and visitors. 

This post, to avoid confusion, has two paragraphs and a few questions.

1 - Amur tigers

When you contact your source again, tell him there's reliable information (large samples) about the total length of captive male Amur tigers. What is known (referring to the recent Chinese studies mentioned in my previous post), suggests they habitually approach or even exceed 10 feet in total length measured 'between pegs'. Biologists today seem to measure their wild relatives 'over curves'. In spite of that, only few males seem to get close to that mark. 

The first question is if biologists really measure wild Amur tigers 'over curves' today. The second is why the difference in length between captive and wild Amur tigers (about 8 inches measured 'between pegs') is that pronounced. 

Recent photographs (referring to cameratrap pics) suggest Amur tigers today show more individual variation than, say, two decades ago. They also seem a bit more bulky. Is this a result of selection (referring to the photographs published) or do biologists agree? 

We're also interested in the way male tigers and male brown bears interact. Although there's no confirmed evidence of a clash between males of both species in the period 1992-2021, Aramilev, the CEO of the Amur Tiger Project, suggests not everything was documented. Some of us think his ideas are based on real incidents, but others think adult males of both species avoid each other. What is his opinion?  

Ask your source if there's anything else of interest. Something ignored by many.

2 - Indian tigers

I recently read one of your posts in the thread 'Amur Tigers'. You wrote you had contacted a biologist working in India. He told you a number of adult male tigers had been darted in central India. The tigers were actually measured and weighed. One of them, not gorged and not empty, was 285 kg. Is this true? Any other details known about this tiger?

Would he be able to inform us about the dimensions (and weights) of an average adult male in central India? Is he able to compare tigers in central India with those living in other regions? Reply