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

[peter]

ESSENCE, BONES, MUSCLES AND EVOLUTION

When you're interested in muscles, you have to start with the bones. As bones and function are strongly related, anyone interested in anatomy should read a bit about the essence of a species. That and evolution. 

Big cats evolved a long time ago. Everything you see today is a result of evolution and that largely is a result of what they do. All cats are professional hunters. Big cats can be considered as super cats: specialists who used the available opportunities in the past to develop into big game hunters.

Compared to most professional big game hunters before them, modern big cats are smaller and not as heavy. Same for skulls and teeth. The result is a more adaptable animal able, if need be, to change from big herbivores to hares at any moment. Even the two biggest Panthera species, lions and tigers, combine size, weight and strength with athleticism. In regions that still have big herbovires, big cats are larger and heavier than in regions where big animals have been exterminated. In these regions, big cats could develop into largish generalists within a few generations only. The keyword is adaptability. Big cats know all about it, as it was one of the conditions to survive the changes in the last 200 000 years or so. There were many. 

Today is the day of humans. In a century only, human overpopulation and a free for all kind of system resulted in the destruction of the natural world and global warming. Bad news, but not more so than, say, a decent vulcanic eruption, tsunamis, melting ice and meteorites. Mammals, perhaps, can be considered as the best answer to conditions severely affected by what I would consider as speed foremost.   

Returning to bones, muscles and big cats. Modern big cats can get big at times, but it doesn't show in the bones. Weight today isn't a result of large bones, but muscle mass. The question is how relatively small and light bones can be effective for a professional big game hunter subject to immense pressure at times. The answer is angles and density (different from robustness). That and skill (technique). 

When we want to discuss big cat skulls, muscles and the effect of captivity, we need precision. When I was in Stuttgart in 2012, I got these drawings from Dr. D. Mörike. They were posted in another thread some time ago, but a repost in this thread is not a bad idea. The 'big cat' in this case is the 'domesticated' house cat:   

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

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