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

[GuateGojira]

(10-24-2014, 12:09 AM)'tigerluver' Wrote: A tidbit on the Nepal weights. 261 kg is not literally a correction for food intake, as we'll never know that due to the scale's capacity. It's a best estimate based on regression of about r^2=.80-.90 (quite enough room for variability).

And I guess it's time for some exciting news I've held for a while. We know M105 and M026 being the 270 kg exceeding specimens. M026 initially was not 270 kg in his first weighing for the Nepal document giving the average of 235 kg. 4 years later Dr. Dinerstein's massed him, this time exceeding 270 kg. Well, during my research for a better database of regression, I found out there were two more males in Nepal during the Smithsonian project that were Sauraha's size, give or take, 270+ kg. Off the top of my head when I was putting together the data, the new Chitwan average was 246 kg.

 

Tigerluver, in fact, we already know that the 261 kg was the result of a chest girth-weight equation. Check my previous posts in AVA and the email send to me by Dr Sunquist, that was already an established fact.
 
However, about the adjustment for the stomach content, that was my own conclusion, and incredible, it gives the same result, proving that the figure of 261 kg is, after all, fully accurate.
 
Just for remember, my estimation was based on this: The male tiger weighed over 272 kg (it bottomed the scale of 600 lb), but I used this figure as is the only available. Then, we know that tigers (male and female) eat between 14 to 19 kg in a single night in Nepal, based in both natural kills and baits (Sunquist, 1981). After that, I investigated with butchers that the large old spring scales (which are still used by them) can be bottomed by 5 to 10 kg, which was confirmed by Dr Chundawat in his captures in Panna. So, with this data, I made this:
 
272 – 14 = 258 + 5 = 263 kg
272 – 19 = 253 + 5 = 258 kg
272 – 14 = 258 + 10 = 268 kg
272 – 19 = 253 + 10 = 263 kg
 
So, from 4 possibilities, the lower estimation was of 258 kg and the highest estimation was of 268 kg. The average of all figures is of 263 kg, empty, so I guessed that the empty belly of the Sauraha male was of c.260 kg. Interestingly, this estimation matches perfectly with the calculated weight with the chest girth-weight equation. At the end, based in all, we can safely estate that the weight, empty belly of Sauraha (and probably also M126 male) was of 261 kg empty belly. This also show that the estimation of Yamaguchi of “as low as 218 kg” had not sense, as it ignore ALL this facts (the equation, the actual food intake, the scale bottomed).
 
Tigerluver will prepare to us a great presentation of the new two males of over 600 lb in a future. Stay tuned! [img]images/smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]
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