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B2 and Other Great Tiger Pics from India

peter Offline
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( This post was last modified: 04-06-2015, 02:13 AM by peter )

Next to impossible as a result of the angles, Grizzly. The captive Amur tiger was 320 cm. in total length and 210 cm. in head and body ('between pegs'). At the shoulder, he stood 110 cm. and in his prime he was estimated at 280-300 kg. His head length was 50 cm., meaning the greatest total length of the skull would have been between 16-17 inches. My guess is the skull was destroyed after he died.

The head seems a bit larger in the Kazirangha tiger. If we assume he was shorter in head and body, which seems likely because the captive Amur tiger was a giant, we can conclude he had a relatively large skull. This, however, doesn't mean the skull would have been longer in absolutes. 

I saw more photographs of Kazirangha tigers with large skulls and concluded they are different from other Indian tigers in this respect. Kazirangha skulls not only are quite long, but also robust. The Maharajah of Cooch Behar wrote large skulls ranged between 14-15 inches a century ago. I found more evidence of skulls of this size in the JBNHS. The longest in that part of India (northeast) ranged between 15-16 inches. One male of 10.4 in total length had a 16 inches skull. A shorter, but bulkier, male had a slightly shorter, but wider skull. 

The longest Indian skull I know of was 16.25 inches in greatest total length. It was measured by a taxidermist. The owner, shot by the daughter of Sir J. Hewett, was 10.2 'over curves' when he was measured the next morning, meaning he would have been a few inches longer when he would have been measured directly after death. In a straight line, this tiger would have been very close to 10 feet in total length straight, possibly even a trifle over. The tiger was shot in northwest India. It was the finest Sir John Hewett saw.

Although there are many rumours, I've yet to see unquestionable evidence of an Amur tiger with a 16-inch skull. I don't doubt their existence, but there's no evidence. In captive animals, it's a bit different. The longest I saw was just under 15 inches, but Christiansen wrote one captive Amur skull exceeded 350,00 mm. in condylobasal length. Based on what I saw in skulls of captive male tigers, my guess is the skull could have ranged between 390,00-405,00 mm. in greatest total length. The owner of the skull was large, but he didn't compare to the Duisburg Zoo tiger. Not even close, I'd say.    

There's no question lions top the table for greatest total length, but tiger skulls usually have relatively wider rostrums (Russia) and arches (India). Watch 'relatively'. In my experience, there are way more 14-inch lion skulls than 14-inch tiger skulls. The problem, as always, is sample size. There are very few skulls of wild Indian and Amur in European natural history museums. A pity, as the few wild skulls I saw were much more robust than captive skulls. The difference between wild and captive in tigers is more pronounced than in lions and it also shows in skulls. All in all, I'd say the information on big cat skulls is well below par. The reason is not enough skulls of wild tigers in European museums.
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Messages In This Thread
ST2 tigress of sariska - Rage2277 - 04-07-2014, 02:28 PM
Backwater male march 2014 - Rage2277 - 04-08-2014, 10:30 AM
big male from nepal - Rage2277 - 04-08-2014, 05:21 PM
Backwater male may 014 - Rage2277 - 05-17-2014, 11:56 AM
Mahaman subadult may 2014 - Rage2277 - 05-24-2014, 10:56 AM
Lyla T41 may 2014 - Rage2277 - 05-25-2014, 06:09 PM
RE: B2 and Other Great Tiger Pics from India - peter - 04-06-2015, 01:43 AM
Big Kaziranga Tiger - sanjay - 04-05-2014, 10:32 PM
RE: Big Kaziranga Tiger - Apollo - 04-12-2014, 07:56 PM
RE: Big Kaziranga Tiger - Apollo - 04-13-2014, 10:30 PM
RE: Big Kaziranga Tiger - Wanderfalke - 04-13-2014, 11:13 PM
RE: Big Kaziranga Tiger - Pckts - 04-15-2014, 03:26 AM
RE: Big Kaziranga Tiger - Pckts - 10-05-2014, 01:57 AM
RE: Big Kaziranga Tiger - Roflcopters - 10-09-2014, 01:58 PM
RE: Big Kaziranga Tiger - Pckts - 10-11-2014, 01:15 AM
RE: Wagdoh - Pantherinae - 06-05-2015, 02:18 AM
RE: Bamera - Pantherinae - 06-05-2015, 03:26 AM
RE: Munna - Pantherinae - 06-05-2015, 03:29 AM
RE: Bamera - Tshokwane - 06-05-2015, 03:33 AM
RE: Bamera - Pantherinae - 06-05-2015, 03:54 AM
RE: Bamera - Pckts - 06-05-2015, 09:41 PM
RE: Bamera - Pantherinae - 06-05-2015, 11:00 PM
RE: Tigers of Central India - Ngala - 11-16-2017, 01:07 AM



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