There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
04-14-2014, 10:44 PM( This post was last modified: 04-14-2014, 10:51 PM by peter )
1 - THE DIFFERENCE IN SIZE BETWEEN YOUNG ADULTS AND PRIME ANIMALS IN WILD INDIAN MALE TIGERS
Everything discussed in the thread started by Guate on Dunbar Brander, the Maharajah of Cooch Behar and Hewett regarding size seems to be confirmed by the photographes posted in this thread. Young male tigers, although similar in length to adult males, lack in bulk.
Males enter their prime between 4-6 years of age and lose muscle when they reach 12-15 years. Just before death, they often are thin as a rail. There are reliable reports on males well over 15 and even 20 years in good health a century ago (referring to Corbett, Wiele and a few others), but wild tigers today very seldom exceed 15-17 years of age. Most of them seem to be females.
2 - NORTHERN INDIA AND NEPAL
This is the table I posted in the thread mentioned above. It's an overview of all male tigers mentioned by Sir John Hewett in his book 'Jungle Trails in Northern India'. Notice the remarkable difference in weight between long male tigers (a2) and those about 6 inches shorter (a1).
The table suggests adult males in their prime could be 480-500 pounds (possibly 520 pounds in Nepal) in northern India. An average, however, has young adults, prime animals, old animals and, to quote Miquelle regarding wild Amur tigers, 'problem animals'. Hewett's sample is a little small and probably incorrect (many heavy animals could not be weighed), but my take is 450-460 pounds for all adult males could be close to the mark. About 20-30 pounds heavier than today's wild male Amur tigers, that is.
The two 600-pound Chitwan male tigers weighed by Sunquist and Dinerstein a few decades ago are not typical for all wild male tigers in these regions. Animals over 550 pounds empty were and still are few and far between. However. The two Nepal tigers confirm wild male tigers can get to 550 and even 600 pounds in good conditions.
*This image is copyright of its original author
3 - YOUNG ADULT MALE TADOBA
This is a youngish male tiger. Although quite bulky, the teeth confirm he has some growing ahead of him. Probably about 3 years of age or a little over:
*This image is copyright of its original author
4 - PRIME MALE TIGER CENTRAL INDIA
This is a male tiger in his prime (Hairyfoot, Central India). Big in every way:
*This image is copyright of its original author
5 - VERY OLD MALE TIGER CENTRAL INDIA
This is Charger just before his death. Notice the length of his body and legs and the lack of muscles. He also was almost blind and, therefore, unable to fend for himself :