Tigers of Ranthambore & Western India Landscape

[Rishi]

(12-17-2018, 10:42 PM)peter Wrote:

(12-17-2018, 12:22 PM)Apollo Wrote: Khumba male

mating pair from Ranthambore

I asked Apollo to post the video of the Jilin tiger (post 1,973) and both videos in which Ranthambore tiger feature (post 1,974) in this thread, because they're special.

Jilin tigers are Amur tigers, but there is no contact between tigers in Sichote-Alin and those of northeastern China. Chances are they could develop in a different way, that is. The largest Amur tigers were shot in Manchuria. A century later, I wonder if we will see something similar in the near future. Northeastern China roughly compares to Sichote-Alin, but the photographs I saw suggest the vegetation could be a bit more lush. More cover, that is. Tigers in the southwestern part of Sichote-Alin (and those in northeastern China) hunt bears more often than elsewhere. A result of more cover or a result of a lack of large prey animals (in northeastern China, tigers attack domesticated animals at times)? Quite a few tigers in southwestern Sichote-Alin and northeastern China are recent migrants. Maybe they lack knowledge in the wild boar department?  

Ranthambore tigers belong to Panthera tigris tigris, but they seem different from tigers in northern, southern, central and northeastern India. Less stripes, shorter stripes and more black. A bit longer and taller and seemingly not as massive as in other regions in India. Even the infamous man-eater who was arrested and jailed some time ago, although well over 500 pounds in his prime, was different from the tanks occasionally seen in central and northeastern India. This although measurements suggest they could top the list for India.

In a way, they remind me of Kalahari lions. These lions could top the list for Africa, but also seem less massive than in southern Africa and the Crater.

Could be a result of adaptation to more arid conditions. Preyanimalwise, semi-deserts are less productive than lush forests, safari-like landscapes and hills in more tropical regions. In spite of that, Ranthambore tigers and Kalahari lions seem a bit longer and taller than tigers and lions living in more productive regions. 

Many thanks, Apollo.

(12-17-2018, 11:40 PM)Pckts. Wrote: I also have my doubts about that, I see no reason for them to be Taller or Longer than any other Tiger, there is no benefit there and the prey they hunt is no different than Tigers else where, in fact, the prey there is small to mid size but missing the large bovines, Rhino or Elephant that should require more size. 

Genetically, they are more comparable to Ngorongoro Crater lions than Kalahari lions. Less genetic diversity but larger & little to no inbreeding related issues.  

Actually the two strongest plausible reasons for them having disinct physical appearancepearance, are prey availablity & genetic isolation, or most likely both working together.

In absence of larger prey animals like gaurs or water-buffaloes, the "chaser" get a clear survival advantage over the "wrestler"... physique wise. The longer & taller tigers do have an edge while surviving mainly on animals like deers or pigs.
Another similar example i'll give is Corbett where too tall, long & athletic tigers are very common.

Also unlike Panna or Corbett, this region's tiger population have become completely isolated from rest (already was, due to sparsely vegetated dry hills between them & other central Indian tigers, but main reason explained below), meaning repeatation of same genes while it's traits become more & more prominent every generation.

(12-19-2018, 10:42 AM)GuateGojira Wrote: 2. Valmik Thapar found that the tigers from Ranhambore are not "native" from the area, but were introduced by the Maharajas from the Gwalior region, which is very close to the Terai...

No! Gwalior is just on the other side of Ranthambore in MP. The city is north of Kuno-Palpur & princely state was the northern half of today's Madhya Pradesh. It's southeast of Ranthambore's actually...

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

Back in the hunting era it was the Gwalior reign that was famous for her tigers & a popular hunting destination, while Ranthambore was a tiny fragmented outer fringe of the Western India Tiger Landscape. 
You may know, that until it got declared a Tiger Reserve & Fateh Singh Rathore took charge of the relocation, all its prime tiger areas of today, like Rajbag lake etc. were settled & cultivated. There were barely a dozen tigers...

A book (i can't recall which) stated that Kailadevi actually had lions once due to its being mostly scrub & thorn forests.

That's like the primary reason i'm not comfortable with the whole lion relocation to Kuno & this... Reply