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01-02-2020, 10:44 PM( This post was last modified: 01-03-2020, 12:45 AM by Pckts )
(01-02-2020, 10:01 PM)peter Wrote: 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.
-Over the Curves, Tail was 71cm
-Total Body Length would be 165cm or about 65''
Also shoulder height was measured to the paw, Almeida prefers to straighten the Leg then measure to heel of the forefoot while others straighten the entire paw downward.
He didn't clarify what he meant by "paw" and I didn't want to get to pushy on that note, I can't imagine it's much of difference between the 2 but I'm sure there is a difference albeit, small.
"We measure the chest from the spine to the center of the chest (sternum) and multiply it by 2. Doing this we don't need to change the animal's position and disrupt the measurements of vital signs which our vet does.
We use to measure the neck in the middle part (between the base of the skull and shoulders)
The circumference of skull just before the ears getting the masseters muscles"
He thinks the Jaguars in the North are slightly different than the South
He also said
"A problem we have is that our coordinator always gives the opportunity to someone measure the jaguars, I mean each capture is a different person measuring the animals which mess up the accuracy and the protocols.
It's nice because you teach someone else but you lose accuracy although there is always somebody supervising it."