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

[epaiva]

(08-23-2017, 07:06 AM)peter Wrote: ABOUT A STRUGGLE BETWEEN A TIGER AND A WILD BOAR IN AMUR COUNTRY


a - The struggle

If I got it right, a 7-8 year old male Amur tiger attacked a big wild boar some 3 years ago. Although he was severely injured during the struggle, the tiger was able to kill the wild boar. The report didn't say if the boar was eaten, but it was known that the tiger dragged himself to a kind of depression after the struggle. It must have been quite an ordeal, as his tracks in the snow showed he had been hardly able to walk. Not far from a road, the tiger perished.

b - Cause of death of the tiger

The autopsy revealed that the tiger didn't perish as a result of his injuries, but as a result of his disease (cancer). Although the struggle could have resulted in injuries to his legs (not known), death was inevitable because his respiratory system, over time, had been severely affected by the disease. In other words: the tiger died as a result of a lack of oxygen. 

c - Results of the disease: starvation

The autopsy suggested that the tiger had been suffering from his disease for some time. The lack of oxygen most probably resulted in one or more failed hunts, as hunting requires a lot of energy, especially in winter. In Amur country, wild boars hunted by tigers select sloping hills to stay ahead. For a tiger, it takes a lot of stamina to reach the wild boar he hunts.

If the tiger, as a result of his disease, had been unsuccesful on more than one occasion (likely), chances are he had been starving for some time. The photograph showed a big-skulled and muscular male, but he seemed a bit below par.        

Maybe the large wild boar was his last chance. 

The wild boar

The photograph showed that the length of the skull of the boar was at least 450 mm., meaning his head was over 500 mm. Large by any standard. Maybe the wild boar was a seasoned old warrior, as his tusks seemed a bit short. Old male wild boars often live on their own and don't care that much about tigers. Not in India and not in Russia. An old boar knows it would take quite a tiger to take him out. 

The struggle

There are no details in the article I read, but the tiger was severely injured during the struggle. Could have been an injury to his legs, because he was hardly able to walk after the struggle. If we include the results of the autopsy, one could say it was a small miracle that he had been able to kill the large wild boar.

I read quite a few reports about tigers injured and killed by wild boars. Most reports are from India. Amur tigers seem to do quite well against wild boars. I don't know why that is, as Ussuri wild boars are larger than those in India, whereas Amur tigers are not larger than Indian tigers. If anything, they're not as heavy.

The difference between Russia and India for tigers is opportunity. In India, tigers often have the opportunity to select their target. Adult male tigers often select large herbivores. I'm not saying that a large herbivore is an easy prey, but it is a fact that tigers in India only very seldom perish in struggles. Ullas karanth found a male tiger killed by a gaur, but incidents of this nature a few and far between. In Russia, on the other hand, tigers often have no option but to hunt dangerous animals. As a result of a lack of large herbivores, tigers have to include bears and wild boars. This results in experience for those who survive an encounter. Recent studies suggest that quite a few tigers prefer bears over other animals in some seasons (...). 

Tigers and bears in Russia have been discussed at length. This is not true for wild boars. I posted a few articles in this thread, but all in all I'd say we could use a bit more. The problem is there's not that much available.

Here's a few pictures posted before:

- Bulgaria. Definitely well below 200 kg. (440 lbs.). Picture from a hunting book I got from someone I met:

*This image is copyright of its original author

- Turkey (first posted by Warsaw):

*This image is copyright of its original author

- Another very large (781 lbs.) male boar from Turkey (Nitroexpress):

*This image is copyright of its original author

India:

*This image is copyright of its original author

- Skull of the Amur boar that featured in this post (from the article posted by Wolverine):

*This image is copyright of its original author

A hunt in Tadjikistan

When I tried to find a bit more about wild boars and tigers in the Russian Far East, I came up empty. I did, however find a number of shortish videos about wild boars in Europe, Asia Minor and Central Asia. I selected Central Asia, because it's closest to the Russian Far East. Another reason is wild boars seem to be, ehhh, more wild in Asia.

Posting a video about a hunt in a forum like this one has disadvantages. More often than not, you see some people with powerful rifles firing from a very comfortable position. They don't eat the animal they kill, but take his skull or skin home to show they were there. At home, the cat and mouse game with those opposed to hunting starts. I can understand the eagerness to get close to a wild animal, but the days of true hunting, in my opinion, are over.

What is true hunting? A one-on-one on your own. On foot. More or less equal terms. And no fixed winner.

The man below hunted a man-eating tigress in Orissa. She had killed and eaten over 200 people. It took him a very long time to get close to her. When he did, he had to abandon the hunt as a result of tough circumstances, stress and faling health. When he returned, stress again struck. But he succedded when he had dressed as a local for some days. When the tigress approached, coincidence had it his cook recorded the moment she was shot:

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

Anyhow. Big cats and a few other dangerous animals feature in a lot of documentaries, but I've yet to see one on, say, wild boars. In order to show you that an adult male wild boar is not an easy target for any tiger, I decided for this one. Swallow your opinion, don't hold it against me and go to 04:25:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv8tknuIY9A

Tadjikistan was Caspian tiger territory. Caspian tigers, depending on region, disappeared between 1920-1970 (perhaps 1980 in some regions, but I still hear rumours about tigers seen in remote parts of Central Asia), but the boars remained. They're not hunted by big cats anymore. 
 
Maybe you can find a good documentary about wild boars. If you do, don't hesitate to post it. Remember we want good info about the Ussuri wild boars, not those in other parts of the world.


Wolverine and Diamir2

Interesting posts. Many thanks on behalf of all interested in Amur tigers and wild boars. Anything known about the length and weight of the tiger?

Big powerful Wild boars with huge teeth Reply