Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers

[Rishi]

(10-17-2019, 02:47 PM)BorneanTiger Wrote:

(10-17-2019, 10:46 AM)Rishi Wrote: Alleged man-eater of Bandipur that mauled to death 2 farmers & killing 14 cattle, was captured in Karnataka this Sunday after 5 days of tracking & combing. The tiger "of around 5 years", is under observation at the wildlife rescue & rehabilitation centre in Mysuru. The animal is said to be a healthy male, weighing around 170 kg.

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*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

Forest Department was in for a surprise as the captured tiger was a known male tiger which was once identified in Kerala a year ago, about 100kms away.
In last one year, it had been wandering in search of territory through several forest ranges and ended up in the buffer area of GS Betta Range of Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Officials who verified their database for the authentication of the big cat revealed that it was the same tiger that was previously camera trapped in Nagarahole Tiger Reserve near Dammanakatte (Kabini) in Antarasante range in 2018 January-February.

Not a man-eater, say officials

Forest officials said the tiger was looking for a new territory and food. He was pushed out of every place by other tigers, and found solace at the border of Gopalaswamy Betta range, near Muguvinahalli and Hundipura villages. He was hunting cattle. Camera trap images confirmed that the tiger mauled its victims out of fear, and there is no ground to call it a man-eater, officials said.

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

5 teams on ground participated in this search & rescue operation:

• 300 staffers
• 7 elephants
• 5 veterinarians
• 5 teams, 5 guns
• 200 camera traps
• 30 vehicles
• 4 Soliga tribal-trackers
  

Sources:
http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/k...47155.html
https://www.deccanherald.com/state/the-t...68153.html
https://indianewengland.com/2019/10/karn...servation/

So this tiger is a male that managed to kill 14 cattle, but still weighed only about 170 kg (374.8 lbs)? Then how do male Bengal tigers, with the exception of those in the Sundarbans, manage to have average weights of at least 182 – 218 kg (401.2 – 480.6 lbs) with empty bellies, judging by the work of Raúl A. Valvert?

This one is from the lowest end of the spectrum, I suppose... Probably the only healthy & fed tiger weighing 170kg that i can remember, he couldn't establish a territory in more than 5000 sq.km of one of Asia's most bountiful contagious forest cover & ended up near fringe villages where there are no tigers nearby. Reply