Asiatic Lion - Data, Pictures & Videos

[peter]

(05-09-2018, 08:17 AM)Rishi Wrote: Where are you sourcing that information from? 
Declaration of average weight needs extensive study! Most concrete modern data i have, is that the weight ranges from 150kg-225kg for males & 100-150kg for females (Source1, Source2, etc).

Anyway, after reading your post yesterday, i contacted few of the most qualified people in the field.  
Dr. Jhala replied that he's traveling till 18th & would go through is database once he's back! 

I'm expecting to be able to present some factual numbers by the end of next week...

Meena Venkataraman (researcher, you've seen her in "Last Lions of India" documenary) & Dr. D. Solanki (vet of Sasan Gir Rescue Centre) haven't responded yet.

1 - PANTHERA LEO PERSICA - SIZE

1a - How to get to good information

I visit forums, buy books, read articles and papers on the internet, talk to those with a similar interest, measure skulls in museums and visit big cat facilities. Everything I have, is filed. Information on a species is kept in one place.This way of working has big advantages and often results in original information. Information is a tool. 
 
1b - Weights of captive male Indian lions: a research paper published in 2009

I recently found two papers that have information about the weight of captive Indian lions. One of these was published in 2009. Below is a bad scan (apologies) of a page that has reliable information. 

It says that 22 captive male Indian lions in 6 Indian zoos ranged between 140-180 kg. (310-398 pounds). They averaged 163,9 kg. (just over 361 pounds). The table at the bottom of the page says that all captive big cats used for the study ranged between 3-12 years of age: 

*This image is copyright of its original author

1c - Weights of captive male Indian lions - forums

Before I started this forum with Sanjay, I was a member of AVA. I also visited other animals forums every now and then. One poster interested in the size of Indian lions called himself 'Spirit Lion'. Here's a scan of a table he posted some years ago. Although he didn't provide details, he strongly suggested that the information had been collected by biologists: 

*This image is copyright of its original author

The table doesn't, as suggested, have weights of 19 male lions (nr. 12 and 18 are missing), but 17. Of these, 4 were zoo animals. They ranged between 148-170 kg. and averaged 160,75 kg. (just over 354 pounds). The 13 wild male lions ranged between 146-184 kg. and averaged 156,31 kg. (just over 347 pounds).

The 4 zoo lions (average 160,75 kg. or 354 pounds) more or less compared to the 22 males mentioned above (163,9 kg. or just over 361 pounds). The average of all 26 captive males is 163,42 kg. or just over 360 pounds (range 140-184 kg.).

1d - Weights of wild male Indian lions

The 13 wild males mentioned in 1c averaged 156,31 kg. or just over 347 pounds. Anything else on the weight of wild male Indian lions? The answer is no. There's one report about a short, but very heavy male of 490 pounds (...), but that's about it. For some reason, Indian biologists never published anything on the weight of wild male Indian lions.

1e - Length of wild male Indian lions

Anything known about the length of wild male Indian lions? Yes. The table below was posted by the same poster who posted the weight table ('Spirit Lion'). The 4 wild male Gir lions averaged 262,25 cm. in total length (about 8.75) and 180,75 cm. (almost 5.11) in head and body:

*This image is copyright of its original author

Were they measured 'over curves' or 'between pegs'? My guess is they were measured in a straight line ('between pegs').

Here's more. The lions in the table below were measured 'between pegs' as well:

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

The information is from this series published in the JBNHS:

*This image is copyright of its original author

1f - Length of wild male Indian lions shot by hunters

So far, hunters were not mentioned. But they knew about Gir lions as well. L.L. Fenton wrote about his experience in the JBNHS. The longest male he shot was 9.5 in total length measured 'between pegs'. Two other males, measured in the same way, were 9.1 and 9.0.

In the page scanned and posted below, he compared the skull of his 9.5 lion with the skull of a 9.8 tiger he shot in North Kanara:

*This image is copyright of its original author

Here's a scan of a letter published in the JBNHS. This is the longest Gir lion I know of measured 'between pegs': 

*This image is copyright of its original author

 

1g - Length of wild male Gir lions - the difference between hunters and others

Before conservation became an issue, hunting was quite popular in British India. In the days of the British Raj, it was related to status and all that. Although it might have affected the size of some big cats, my guess is that cheating wasn't done. If you were involved in cheating in some way, it was game over. And back then, game over was game over.

It can't be denied that well-known hunters often produced longer and heavier animals than others. In some cases (Maharajahs and royalty), the sheer scale of operation had an effect. Same for the know-how of many invisible assistents. In the great majority of cases, however, size was largely related to experience, knowledge, time invested and chance. That and the decision to focus on the most impressive individuals in your letters. 

All in all, I have 31 measurements I consider reliable: those collected by Dharmakumarsinhji and Wynter-Blyth (n=20), those posted by 'Spirit Lion' (n=4) and those I found in letters of hunters published in the JBNHS (n=9). The average of Dharmakumarsinhji and Wynter-Blyth (263,74 cm.) compares to the average of 'Spirit Lion' (262,25 cm.). The hunters average 277,64 cm. 

As all lions had been measured in the same way ('between pegs'), I added all measurements. The result (n=31) is 267,58 cm. (just short of 8.10). The difference between hunters and others is almost 6 inches. Experienced hunters tended to focus on large individuals, whereas records of others often included the lame and the cripple.

1h - Skull

The 9.5 lion shot by Fenton had a skull with a greatest total length of 13.4. Not much different from the skulls Pocock measured: 

*This image is copyright of its original author

  
 
For now, the conclusion is that wild male Indian lions average 330-340 mm. in greatest total skull length, 8.7-8.8 in total length (measured in a straight line) and 347 pounds.

Captive male Indian lions seem to be a bit heavier (360 pounds versus 347). I measured 3 skulls of captive male Indian lions. They averaged about 360 mm. in greatest total skull length. The owners might have been exceptional animals, but my guess is that the remarkable length of the skull was a result of age: all 3 males were very old when they perished.

I don't doubt that some wild male Indian lions far exceed the averages mentioned in this post, but there is no good information. The information of 'Spirit Lion', by the way, seems to be recent. My guess is he had contacts in India.

One more remark to finish the post. Based on what was posted, one could conclude there is a difference between young adults (4-5) and mature males (6 and over) in all departments (body length, weight and greatest skull length). In this respect, P. tigris, P. leo and P. pardus definitely compare. Reply