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Modern Weights and Measurements of Jaguars
Modern Weights and Measurements of Jaguars
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Modern Weights and Measurements of Jaguars
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 (11-01-2020, 03:06 AM)Dark Jaguar Wrote: UPDATED MEASUREMENTS OF 3 OF THE PORTO PRIMAVERA JAGUARS CAPTURED BY THE MASTER PETER CRAWSHAW. DARK JAGUAR Very interesting post! Must have taken you some time. Many thanks for the effort. As to Crawshaw. Most biologists involved in wild big cats stay away from forums, but he decided to contribute. I'm sure it's much appreciated by many readers interested in jaguars. DIMENSIONS Peter Crawshaw is one of the few biologists who measured wild big cats in a straight line. This is the correct way to measure the length of a cat. I also have no questions on chest circumference, as it's clear the jaguars were lifted in order to measure the chest circumference. The information he provided, therefore, is very reliable. The dimensions of the 3 wild jaguars enable us to compare them to leopards. When we have reliable information about the dimensions of Sumatran tigers, we will be able to get to a table like the one below:  *This image is copyright of its original author The table has one typo (on top). It says '1989-1902', whereas it should have been '1889-1902'. The Maharajah of Cooch Behar measured 10 male tigers shot in Cooch Behar, the Duars and Assam in the period 1898-1902 'between pegs'. Of these, 8 were measured both 'over curves' and 'between pegs'. The average difference between both methods was 13,84 cm. My aim is to get to similar tables for lions, jaguars and leopards, as it's the only way to get to a reliable comparison. In order to get there, we need reliable information on the neck girth of tigers and the circumference of the front limbs of jaguars and leopards. Same for the width of the heel. Maybe you can talk to a few jaguar biologists, as measuring the heel width, the fore-arm and the upper-arm won't take a lot of time. RELATIVE ROBUSTNESS Some years ago, Tigerluver, using reliable measurements only, tried to find out a bit more about the relative robustness of different tiger subspecies. Based on what he had, he concluded Sunda tigers were more robust than mainland tigers. Unfortunately, there's not much on Sunda tigers. Apart from skull measurements, there's almost no info on the body dimensions of Bali and Java tigers. We do, however, have some information about the body dimensions of Sumatran tigers. How do jaguars, in the department of relative robustness, compare to Sumatran tigers? What we have strongly suggests Sumatran tigers (referring to wild adult males only) are longer. My guess is it could be 10-12 inches at the level of averages (referring to total length measured in a straight line). They also have longer (and heavier) skulls. Weightwise, however, both more or less compare. This means jaguars most probably top the table. The problem is the information on Sumatran tigers (referring to weight) was collected about a century ago, whereas the information on jaguars is recent. The question is if the size of wild big cats can change in a period of, say, a century. What I have on tigers strongly suggests it is quite possible. This conclusion is, indirectly, confirmed by recent information about the size of jaguars: there's no question that conditions and hunting have an effect. QUESTION In the eighties of the last century, I was in Surinam and French Guyana. When they heard I was interested in wild animals, I was introduced to a man involved in capturing and selling wild animals. I met him in the heart of the jungle. He told me he had an official permit and added he graduated in Berlin (Germany) in 1941 (during WWII). This although he had the Dutch nationality. Meaning he most probably topped a few lists after the war. But they couldn't find him and my trade was big cats. He showed me everything he had and told me about his contacts (USA mainly). I also talked to the people trapping jaguars, pumas and ocelots. What I saw suggested jaguars in Surinam seldom exceeded 60 kg. A week later, however, we visited a river island close to Brazil. The island was small, densely forested and almost empty. Almost, as there was a jaguar. We stayed for 2 days. During the first night, he paid us a visit. I didn't see or sense any (indirect) aggression, meaning we were welcome to stay for the night. On the second day, his claws had left deep scars in the bark a giant tree a few feet away from the tent. Time to leave, we concluded. His prints and scratches said he was a big man, but he was the only one of that size in Surinam. Many years later, I visited the Naturalis Museum in Leiden (Netherlands). I measured many skulls from jaguars shot in Surinam. I also read an article written by Husson. All skulls I measured were small to medium-sized. The size of jaguars in Surinam was confirmed by Husson. Not so long ago, this photograph was posted. I know about angles and the effect on size, but it's clear the jaguar, allegedly poached in Surinam, was both robust and big-skulled:  *This image is copyright of its original author Watch the machine used to transport the jaguar, the buildings, the mud and the woman. Not typical for Surinam, but you never know. My question is if you can find out a bit more about the location and the photograph. |
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