Size comparisons

[chui_]

(08-27-2019, 12:31 AM)Pckts Wrote: Jaguars in the Pantanal easily get over 130kg, Adriano is a 130kg Jaguar measured by Panthera and when discussing him with Paulo, Paulo said there are a few that are definitely larger than he is, I saw a couple with my own eyes.
Jaguars and especially Caiman were hunted to near extinction and are still hunted but not nearly to the extent they were in the past. They were literally killing Caiman by the 100s of 1000s each year and the Jaguars suffered right along side. 
Also to note is that Panthera captures Jaguars on their private land which is flat and further away from the 3 rivers meeting point where you have the largest Caiman and Jaguars. It's also shown to be true since you have the highest density of Caiman and Jaguar there as well. Up to 65 adult individuals ID'd in this area alone. Can some Jaguar travel too and from the Panthera farm to the Meeting of the 3 rivers, of course. But regardless, the resident Males in the meeting of the 3 Rivers are the biggest and strongest Jaguars in the Pantanal and that is including North or South. 
Marley, the male I've mentioned before is an Outlier, he's smaller and was born and raised in the Pantanal, he never left. Almost all young Jaguars are kicked out of the Meeting of the 3 rivers and never seen again, it's a place that only the strongest males survive.

I've seen large Leopards in person, I'm fairly confident in my estimations and I think I have enough experience to make a valid claim. The largest Leopard I've seen would probably be in that 70-80kg mark but in no way does it compare to Marley, the smaller Male Jaguar I spoke of earlier. But assuming Marley is the average 100kg Jaguar I can guarantee there are many Jaguars in N. Pantanal that are much larger than he is, I don't know if they all are 130kg+ but I know a few that I've seen are. Jaguars always look full, they are extremely stocky Cats with huge heads, the only time you'll ever see them looking "empty" is usually after an injury when hunting is tough. But more common they will be full to the brim but they are still extremely active, the most active cat I've viewed to date to be honest and even when you think they are "full" they are still out on the hunt so obviously they're hungry still. 
 142kg Jaguar weighed, caught via snare trap

In regards to Cattle Kills, in the Pantanal some cattle is of course killed, but it's usually during the floods and it's actually females that are the more common culprit, usually females with cubs to be more specific. But nothing comes close to the Caiman, Caiman are by  far the most predated animal in the N. Pantanal and there is direct correlation to Caiman number increases contributing to Jaguar number increases. 

Quote:In contrast, the relatively lower sexual dimorphism in jaguars is probably due to both reduced male to male competition and lack of resource partitioning between the sexes (males and females hunt the same prey mostly). Interestingly, male jaguars also completely lack any distinct secondary sex traits which are present in the other 3 big pantherines. The male lion of course has the mane, male leopards have dewlaps, and even male tigers have ruffs which are usually bigger than those of females. These features probably all help males signal their quality to potential rivals and mates – this is important when competition is intense for mating. The lion’s mane and the male leopard’s dewlap probably also offer protection during fights.

Competition in the Pantanal is unlike any other place on earth that I've seen for Wild Big Cats. There is a reason why Jaguars leave and never return and the ones that do are massive and must come in right away and fight off all others in the area. 
Jaguar males are larger and have a much denser skull and body when compared to females. They also have a more "grumpy looking face," they almost look like their eyes are closed, their head is just filled with muscle and it causes them to squint almost. The Females are also very impressive in the Pantanal, that is due to the massive amount of prey available to them and the relative ease in which they can catch it. But like all big cats, I've seen huge males that would dwarf smaller females and I saw huge females that were almost the size of smaller males, even 1 female who I'd wager was as large as Marley, the smaller male.
Sexual Dimorphism is ever present there just like it is in all locations, just not to the extent you'd see even in Los Llanos, But that is only because Los Llanos has similar sized males but the females are a decent amount smaller.
But since both Male and Female in the Pantanal hunt similar sized Caiman and Capyvara for the most part you see the females starting to become larger. You even see this in Kanha, both my self and @Pantherinae have seen the largest females Cats in the wild there, but @Pantherinae said he thought the males were similar sized to males he'd seen elsewhere, I didn't have the same opinion as him when it came to the Males but with out a doubt the females there are huge. Kanha, like the Pantanal is a unique place with certain factors that contributes to a larger cat and some of those factors must benefit females even more so than Males. Or at least females have more room to grow while a Large male usually can be a large male no matter the location, but the abundance of large males seems to be location dependent.

Where do I begin.

The video you've posted of the jaguar being weighed shows the same specimen we were talking about above. It was apparently weighed at 315lb (143kg) but then they said someone was holding the head so they added 5kg to account for that to get to 148kg. But they did not subtract for stomach content!

The video you posted is edited and cuts off right before they say he’s just eaten and appears fat but not overly gorged. Here is the end of the video without that part being cut out.

With regards to all the huge male jaguars in prime territories. Here is a video showing an interaction between Marely (a small, less impressive male according to you) and Scarface, a 12 year old dominant male. Not only does the dominant male not look any bigger, he is clearly more submissive. He literally has his tail between his legs, a well known sign of fear/anxiety, the only time I've seen a male big cat show such hesitation in a fight. So I don't buy your whole idea of super intense competition among these jaguars, I'll stick with the science.

The jaguar is an incredibly powerful and impressive cat, it does not need exaggerations. Reply