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

[peter]

DISPLACEMENT OF THE UPPER RIGHT CANINE IN AN ADULT MALE INDIAN TIGER

I found this on the internet some days ago: In March 1947, a cattle-killing tiger was shot near Hardwar (U.P.). Although the tiger was in perfect condition, it killed with one upper canine only: 

" ... A severe injury to the deciduous canine led to the loss of that tooth and the displacement of the forming second premolar. The upward impact of the deciduous tooth on the permanent tooth split a flake off the crown of the latter and dislocated it into the nasal fossa, where the crown came in contact with the floor of the fossa but still retained a hold on the bone around the apical portion of the root. The growth around the end of the root exerted pressure upon the floor of the fossa and gradually led to absorption of the bone and the appearance of the crown in the mouth, where it must have been an unwelcome visitor to the animal and hence its constant efforts to remove it by the tongue ... " (pp. 59).

The injury, therefore, happened before the eruption of the permanent canine, when the tiger must have a little over a year old. This is when tigers start to hunt themselves. It's likely the tiger was injured when he attacked an animal capable of delivering a telling blow. In spite of that, the tiger developed into a large animal, measuring 9.10 (299,72 cm.) 'between pegs'  when he was a young adult. So much for the connection between severe injuries and man-eating, so it seems.

He was a young adult, because the sutures on and near the maxillary bone (see the photograph) were not completely closed when he was killed. The upper canine is long and sharp, but not as robust at the insertion into the maxillary bone as in older animals. The incisors and the molars also are in good shape. Watch the nasals: quite wide, rounded at the insertion into the os frontalis and not expanding but straight towards the nasal opening. This is typical for many Indian tigers. In skulls of Sumatran tigers, the nasals often expand towards the nasal opening. This is also often seen in lion skulls.

He could have been 4-5 years of age and he did ok on cattle, when he met Lt.-Col. R.C. Crowdy on that fateful day in March 1947:    

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

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