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.
(03-24-2019, 04:49 AM)smedz Wrote: I just had an idea, I could use some of the data you gathered to make a YouTube version of your series so it can go more public, and also put those fanboys in their place, seriously, don't they have anything better to do?
Perfect idea my friend. But now time is a big problem. I will try to do my best, but I can't promess that wil be fast.
About the questions, here is a very little summary:
1. Are tigers territorials? Depend of its habitat and prey base. Long terms studies shows diferent results, and there is a pletora of information about them from Chitwan, Kanha, Ranthambore and Panna, but few information from Pench and Nagarahole and pratically nothing from other regions, specially Sundarbans and Kaziranga, regions where tigers live in completelly different habitats and probably behave different. While Chitwan tigers are indeed territorial, those from Panna and Kanha showed different patterns. For example in Panna the tigresses are very agresive but males do not, in Kanha is the contrary (although latter observations showed that they now behave more like in Chitwan). I am still reading the book of Dr Chundawat, and I am amazed how different are the tigers in that area from those of Chitwan, for example.
2. Do tigers fight? Yes, but again, depend of the situation. Tigers are very inteligent animals and they try to avoid conflict trough "negotiations". However, when they fail, they do fight and there are many images with terrible injures and reports of many broken radio-collars because of this too.
3. Are tigers good fathers? Yes, they are, and at some point more tolerant than male lions. The tiger father spend time with all its "families" and contrary to previous perceptions, there are no "lazy" and do travel large distances daily, althouth this depend of the area and also the season.
4. Do tigers hunt larger or smaller prey than lions? On average, the prey mass of animals in Africa is larger than that of Asia. So, on average, lions prey large prey than tigers. In India, there are only about 5 or 6 species that surpass the 100 kg and they densities are not very large. The common prey is the Chital that barely surpass the 100 kg. In Russia the main prey base is red deer and wild boar, animals that are about the same size than the Amur/Indian tigers. In Africa there are plenty of antelopes that weight over 100 kg and the numbers of wildebeast and zebras surpass the prey base of Asia by a lot. However, single handled, I don't know of lions killing rhinos and although I belive that a single lion can hunt a big African Buffalo, they probably don't do it with the same frecuency that tigers do with gaur or Asian buffalo, which are larger than the record African buffalo. So, on average lions do kill larger prey than tigers, but in the extrems, tiger do kill the larger prey that a felid can hunt single.
5. Are tigers larger-smaller-equal than lion? This is a very dark place, but I have navigated this waters and the true is that, at species level, the lions are slightly larger than tigers, but at subspecies level, tigers still mark the line. There are extreme specimens like the 272 kg lion from Kenya, but this cattle eater specimen do not represent your average East African male, specially that is the only male that weighed that much and the next one is much lower at just 235 kg and is also labeled as exceptional. South African lions, on the other hand, are very big and I think that some specimens are as big as the large Indian tigers, but on average, they are still slightly smaller. In the skull department, we do know that lions have longer skulls but tigers have wider zigomatic arches and bigger cranial regions. I think that based in all the information that I have, the South African lion and the Indian tiger are the best candidates for the largest cat with the Bengal still reaching the edge.
Need article or blog written by members for upcoming section of wildfact
