Modern Weights and Measurements of Jaguars

[peter]

PC

Good info. Thanks on behalf of all.

a- Questions

1 - Can you ask them what method they use to measure the total length of jaguars ('over curves' or 'between pegs')?

2 - Do they measure the head and body length and the length of the tail seperately? 

3 - Do they really measure the belly circumference or do they use a different method to get to an accurate estimate? I ask because biologists at times only measure a part of the chest circumference. The reason is some wild ats are too heavy to move.   

4 - Why do they measure the belly circumference and not the chest circumference?

5 - Do they measure the circumference of the neck directly below the skull or just above the shoulders? 

6 - Do they measure the circumference of the skull just before or just behind the ears?

b - Differences between different big cat species

The answers are needed in order to be able to compare jaguars and Sumatran tigers. Dimensionwise, there seem to be species-related differences between the big cats. I measured captive Sumatrans and Amurs. The captive male lions I measured had bigger chests and skulls than the male Amur tigers and seemed a bit more robust up front, but the Amurs, although measured and weighed after a prolonged period of neglect, were a bit heavier. 

All in all, I conclusion that weight in tigers isn't a direct result of robustness, but something else. I got to a similar conclusion on wild Indian tigers shot a century ago. The only more or less consistent difference between (both captive and wild male) lions and tigers I found is tigers have (relatively) bigger fore-arms. Males of large subspecies also are a bit longer.

Captive tigers often appear a bit lankier than captive lions, but reliable information says they're as heavy or heavier. Wild Indian tigers not seldom are quite muscular and robust. This is the reason I think they could be heavier than many assume.

Anyhow. In order to compare the big cats, details are needed. See what you can do and thanks in advance. Reply