John Varty & Tiger Canyon

[peter]

Varty's orbituary on Saetao, again, underlines that an adult male big cat of 500 pounds is big, even for someone used to seeing big cats all the time. Most adult captive male big cats range between 350-450 pounds. Even adult Indian male tigers seldom exceed 450 pounds in captivity. In one sample (Indian zoos), the heaviest was 436 pounds. In the second (Indian zoos as well), the heaviest was 464. The average of all males (n>50) was 400-410 pounds.    

Saetao, 229 kg. (506 pounds) in his prime, had an advantage in that his father was a white tiger. White tigers usually are a bit larger than other tigers. Same for white lions.

Varty's orbituary also underlines that wild male Nepal tigers are very large animals. Adjusted, depending on the criteria used, they probably averaged 470-490 pounds in the seventies and eighties of the last century. Unadjusted, they averaged 520. At least two males bottomed a 600-pound scale. One of the two, the Sauraha tiger, was included in the sample mentioned before. The other, as far as I know, wasn't.      

Varty also confirms that size, all other factors equal, matters in a fight in that large individuals like Saetao usually prevail. I know of a few exceptions, but that's what they are. 

Good find, Sanjay. Observations on captive big cats are few and far between and, for that reason, interesting. One has, however, to remember that Varty's big cats have an advantage in that they have a (small) territory and hunt themselves. Although captive, they get the chance to be a tiger. To a degree, of course, but it still beats the conditions zoo tigers face. Reply