Modern Weights and Measurements of Jaguars

[peter]

(08-04-2020, 06:06 AM)Balam Wrote: @peter thanks for the explanation! @Dark Jaguar had recently posted on the size comparisons thread the pug mark of a jaguar that measured 14 cm in total, although now by reading your explanation I can see that taking the heel width is the best and most accurate way to gage overall size. Maybe Dark can repost that picture here for is to analyze the heel width.

With that in mind, my guess is that a jaguar with complete paw width of 10 cm would probably yield a heel width of around 8 cm, which still somewhat compares to that of a tigress. Now, I recall reading that proportionally jaguars have the widest paws on the Pantherines, so using the paw widths to compare with those of tigers might end up providing inaccurate results as the latter can still grow bigger with a proportionally thinner paw (I will investigate this further and maybe locate the study I read this from, it was a while ago).

The past paragraph does leads me to believe that similar to skull length, paw size might not be the best indicator go use when comparing the sizes of two animals. A clear example of this are the longer skulls we see on lions, that sometimes both proportionally and totally end being longer than those than tigers, even if the tiger is the heavier animal. Nonetheless having this data from Chaco jaguars gives an inside on them, hopefully we can continue getting more in the upcoming months.

BALAM 

What I have, suggests heel width could be the best indicator of weight. 

Tigers living in elevated regions seem to leave smaller pugmarks than similar-sized tigers in alluvial plains. A large male shot in the Siwaliks (northern India) over a century ago left pugmarks not much larger than those of a large male leopard. This although he was both long and heavy. The Forest Officer who saw them wrote he had seen it more than once in tigers shot in elevated regions. Maybe cats living in elevated regions walk in a different way as a result of the conditions. 

Although large tigers quite often have large skulls (absolutes), skull size is not a good indicator of size in tigers. The main reason is individual variation. Chest circumference, on the other hand, seems to be a good indicator of weight in both tigers and brown bears. My guess is it isn't much different in lions, jaguars and leopards. 

DARK JAGUAR

Very interesting post on African trackers in Brazil. Maybe the tracks they followed expressed the mood of both cats, but it's also possible jaguars walk in a different way than lions. Reply