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Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers
Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers
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Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers
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"Body weight
File:T 17 (Panthera tigris) - Koshyk.jpg Female Bengal tiger in the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve Bengal tigers may weigh up to 325 kg (717 lb) and reach a head and body length of 320 cm (130 in).[15] Several scientists indicated that adult male Bengal tigers from Nepal, Bhutan, and Assam, Uttaranchal and West Bengal in northern India (collectively, the tigers of the Terai) consistently attain more than 227 kg (500 lb) of body weight. Seven adult males captured in Chitwan National Park in the early 1970s had an average weight of 235 kg (518 lb) ranging from 200 to 261 kg (441 to 575 lb), and that of the females was 140 kg (310 lb) ranging from 116 to 164 kg (256 to 362 lb).[18] Males from northern India are nearly as large as Siberian tigers with a greatest length of skull of 332 to 376 mm (13.1 to 14.8 in).[19] Three males captured in Nagarahole National Park in India had a head and body length which ranged from 189 to 204 cm (74 to 80 in), with a tail length of 100 to 107 cm (39 to 42 in), while a single female measured 161 cm (63 in), with a tail length of 87 cm (34 in). Adult male Bengal tigers in Nagarahole National Park ranged from 230 to 260 kg (510 to 570 lb) in weight. An adult male tiger named "T-03" that was killed by a large male gaur, weighed 257 kg (567 lb). Another male, "T-04" who was estimated to be between 3 and 4 years old weighed 250 kg (550 lb) and had a head and body length of 290 cm (110 in). "T-01" was an old male that weighed 231 kg (509 lb). A collared male weighed 240 kg (530 lb) despite the fact that both his canine teeth were broken. The tigresses in the area were equally massive. One female, named "Sundari" weighed 150 kg (330 lb). Another female, named "T-02", had a head and body length of 250 cm (98 in) and weighed 177 kg (390 lb).[20] In comparison, a weight range of 150 to 189 kg (331 to 417 lb) is considered fairly average for a male African lion in the Serengeti.[21][22] Verifiable Sundarbans tiger weights are not found in any scientific literature. Forest Department records list weight measurements for these tigers, but none are verifiable and all are guesstimates. There are also reports of head and body lengths, some of which are listed as over 365.7 cm (144.0 in). More recently, researchers from the University of Minnesota and the Bangladesh Forest Department carried out a study for the US Fish and Wildlife Service and weighed three Sundarbans tigresses from Bangladesh. All three tigers were female, two of which were collared, captured and sedated, but the other one had been killed by local villagers. The two collared tigresses were weighed using 150 kg (330 lb) scales, and the tigress killed by villagers was weighed using a balance scale and weights. The two collared females both showed signs of teeth wear and both were between 12 and 14 years old. The tigress killed by the villagers was a young adult, probably between 3 and 4 years old, and she was likely a pre-territorial transient. The three tigresses had a mean weight of 76.7 kg (169 lb). One of the two older female's weight 75 kg (165 lb) weighed slightly less than the mean due to her old age and relatively poor condition at the time of capture. Skulls and body weights of Sundarbans tigers were found to be distinct from other subspecies, indicating that they may have adapted to the unique conditions of the mangrove habitat. Their small sizes are probably due to a combination of intense intraspecific competition and small size of prey available to tigers in the Sundarbans, compared to the larger deer and other prey available to tigers in other parts.[23]" http://zipcodezoo.com/index.php/Panthera_tigris_tigris  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Sub adult females from Ranthambore.
Bina 1 and Bina 2 weighed 122kg and 133kg as two year old cubs http://www.teriuniversity.ac.in/mct/pdf/...khawat.pdf page 8,9 & 10 Sub adult males from Umred Vijay confirmed that Bittu weighed 138kg and Srinivas 127kg as 18 month old cubs. 
Are there any information about the seize/weight of tigers from not very "traditional" reserves like Periyar, Indravati or even the complex Satpura-Melghat ??
Recently someone here in Wildfact ( sorry, I do not remember exactly where ) said that the tigers from Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam - India´s largest reserve - are very big, and it is estimated that more than 50 big cats live there. In my opinion, tigers from South India might be bigger than Central, because prey base seems to be excelent in south ( at least in Nagarahole and Bandipur ), where gaurs represent a very important part of tigers diet. The 177 kg tigress from Nagarahole is a good example. She was as big as an average South Africa lion !! Incredibly !!! India has 50 Tiger Reserves, but we get regular news or pictures from only some Central and Ranthambore tigers, sometimes, also from Bandipur ( almost always Raja, my favourite tiger ), Nagarahole , Kaziranga and Corbett. As a result it is possible that there are some very impresssive cats in reserves that nobody talks about. However, the Assam ( Manas, Orang, Kaziranga), and Terai ( Nepal, Bhutan, North India ) tigers seems to be in another league. Considering that Bheema was 225 kg when he was 2,5 year old, I believe that not few tigers from Assam + Terai reach 300 kg . 
Tiger that killed three people trapped in a daring operation
 *This image is copyright of its original author Dr Mayukh Chatterjee sets a quad-copter to rescue the tiger. The tiger was trapped and sent to o the Lucknow zoo as it was found that it had lost its right upper canine and was suffering from cataract too A four-year-old tiger with a broken canine and cataract in its right eye, which killed three people in two weeks in Uttar Pradesh's south Kheri forest division in Mailani range near Lakhimpur Kheri was rescued in a daring operation on Wednesday- a day before he would have ideally been shot. The 235 kilogram tiger who is now living in an enclosure in Lucknow Zoo after being declared unfit for release in the wild had been playing 'cat and mouse' with UP's forest department and team of Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) since August 15. According to forest officials the first kill was reported on August 19 when the tiger killed a farmer from Chedipur village. In fact the very next day the tiger struck again just 200 meters away from its first kill, this time killing a man and partially eating the body. "With two deaths in two days the forest department was alarmed and an intensive combing operation was initiated from August 24 to search the tiger so that it could be tranquillised. Search operation was conducted by sitting on elephant backs and using quad-copters that was flown over forest fringes," shared Dr Mayukh Chatterjee, Head of WTI's Man-Animal conflict mitigation in UP praising the work of the forest department. Even as attempts failed to tranquillise the tiger, the worst fears came true as the tiger killed yet another man on August 30 at Chedipur village causing a huge furore as the villagers began agitation and threatening the forest department. Left with no choice and under pressure the forest department sanctioned an order to shoot the tiger. "Forest department and we just had one day to save the tiger from being shot as the shooters were on their way and hence on August 31 as soon as we received information that the tiger had dragged a buffalo calf towards the forest fringes we decided to take a chance and sought help from police to keep the angry villagers at bay," said Chatterjee. As soon as the tiger was spotted by the forest department and WTI's team they fired the first dart around 2.42pm and gave another two booster dose. "Once we were certain that the tiger was tranquillised we immediately shifted it to a cage and it was sent to the Lucknow zoo as it was found that it had lost its right upper canine and was suffering from cataract too," informed Chatterjee adding that they felt that the tiger was not a man-eater as being impaired with one eye it would have seen any squatting man as a small prey. Another reason believed that the tiger wasn't a man-eater was the fact that in between it kept killing livestocks regularly and even taking baits away. Quad-copters used in search According to forest officials the first kill was reported on August 19 when the tiger killed a farmer from Chedipur village. In fact the very next day the tiger struck again just 200 meters away from its first kill, this time killing a man and partially eating the body. "With two deaths in two days the forest department was alarmed and an intensive combing operation was initiated from August 24. Search operation was conducted by sitting on elephant backs and using quad-copters that was flown over forest fringes," shared Dr Mayukh Chatterjee http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-tig...on-2251087
Just found two more subadult tigers that where tranquilized
ERILS FACED BY DISPERSING TIGERS: A case study from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve of Madhya Pradesh Two subadult males weighing 164 and 159 kg.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Quote:Tigers dispersing from a source population face various problems. In Indian context the source population areas, generally tiger reserves are like islands in a sea of human habitations all around, with fragmented corridors or no corridor at all. The dispersal of tigers, specially the young tigers and ensuing man-animal conflicts initiated by cattle kills sometimes result in death of the tigers or human deaths. In later case the tigers involved are dubbed man-eaters and the local population demand their removal. Many a times the situation takes ugly turns. http://projecttiger.nic.in/WriteReadData...0issue.pdf
I also found these two tigresses. It says that one of them weighs 150 kg and the other 160 kg.
Twin tigresses from MP get a new home in city TF2, an 8-year-old tigress, at the 15x10 feet enclosure at Sanjay Gandhi National Park Borivli.  *This image is copyright of its original author Quote:Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), Borivli, will nest two eight-year-old female Royal Bengal tigresses in two months. http://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-new...4WnEO.html
Vietnam hotel boss nicked for buying 303kg dismembered tiger to make bone glue
 *This image is copyright of its original author A picture of the 120 kg frozen dead Vietnamese tiger being weighed. Another dead tiger which was dismembered, also weighed in pieces turned the scale at 303 kg! "Vietnamese police have arrested the director of a hotel in the northern province of Bac Kan for illegally procuring a large dead tiger, an endangered wild species, to make bone glue. Colonel Trieu Dinh Hoa, chief of the province’s anti-environmental crime police department, has recently confirmed the arrest of Nguyen Van Duoc, 51, director of the Bac Kan Trading and Hotel Co. Ltd., news website Dan Tri reported on Wednesday. The colonel added that Duoc was found purchasing the tiger which had been dismembered to make tiger bone paste. Duoc was detained for breaching regulations on the protection of precious and rare wild animals after investigators concluded that he was the owner of five separated parts of a big tiger that was discovered in a truck at the Bac Kan Hotel in Duc Xuan Commune on January 15. When police examined the truck that day, the driver, Pham Minh Long, 43, told police that he had been hired by unknown people to transport the items to Duoc’s hotel. The parts of the tiger, which were packed in sacks, weighed 303kg in total. Police also impounded two sacks containing animal bones, three kilograms of tiger bone glue, three kilograms of turtle shells, two scales, and a set of special kitchen utensils intended for cooking tiger bone glue in the truck. Police is detaining Long for further interrogation. On searching Duoc’s room at the hotel, police found and seized two handguns and numerous animal claws, clutches, and bones. Police are expanding their probe to identify the origin of the dead tiger, the animal parts found in the truck and in Duoc’s room, and the two guns. On November 8, 2013, police in the north-central Vietnamese province of Ha Tinh caught a man illegally cooking tiger bones in his home to make tiger bone paste. This incident occurred a year after a rash of raids by police on tiger bone glue producers. Tiger bone paste is said to treat a variety of ailments, including rheumatism. On December 22, 2014, police in the central province of Nghe An confiscated a frozen dead tiger, weighing 120kg, after detecting it in a car traveling on National Highway 1. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of threatened species, tigers are classified as “endangered,” with the current global wild tiger population estimated to be around 3,000 individuals. The illegal trade in high-value tiger products including skins, bones, meat, and tonics is the primary threat to tigers, according to IUCN." http://tuoitrenews.vn/society/25561/viet...-bone-glue
Second tiger caught on the loose near Vladivostok after killing a cow
Concerns that the wild predators are coming closer to cities and settlements in Russian Far East.  *This image is copyright of its original author The animal caught at Artem is also a male, in this case four or five years old and weighing 173 kilograms. Picture: Amur Tiger Centre The Amur big cat was caught close to the city of Artem, 47 kilometres north of Vladivostok, after helping itself to a cow on a farm. Earlier a tiger was snared at Shamora, some 31 km from downtown Vladivostok following reports that one tiger or more had been spotted in the Pacific capital's environs. Residents especially parents have expressed fears for safety over the encroachment of the predators and for now it cannot be ruled out that other animals have ventured into the region's most populous area. The animal caught at Artem is also a male, in this case four or five years old and weighing 173 kilograms. It is likely to be returned to the wild, far from urban areas, in Primorsky region. It was caught after thermal imaging was used to locate it following the cow attack. The animal is now in a rehabilitation centre in the village of Alekseyevka, where the first tiger is also kept. Experts say that heavy rains and flooding has led to a shortage of food in the forests for the cats. Amur or Siberian tiger numbers are recovering after the species became seriously endangered. There still remain hundreds rather than thousands living in the wild. http://siberiantimes.com/other/others/ne...ing-a-cow/
A Tiger Hunt in Thailand
It’s a surreal feeling speeding through the jungle in the black of night, guided only by the faded headlights of a primordial Toyota truck, in search of one of the most feared, most respected, most endangered and fiercest animals of the jungle: the tiger. For what felt like an eternity (around an hour in a half), myself along with sixteen other students, our instructors and a handful of research station workers raced through the tangled mountainous jungles of the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary in Northwest Thailand in search of a tiger. Just after 9 p.m., we got word that the tiger researchers from the Khao Nang Rum Wildlife Research Station had successfully caught a tiger in a snare set next to a bantang (large cow-looking creature) carcass. With the sedation lasting around three hours, we grabbed our cameras and doused ourselves in bug spray before hopping in the bed of the truck. We all traveled to Thailand with the hope of catching a glimpse of a tiger, something no other group had successfully done in the previous eight years of visiting. It seemed that on this night, if all was successful, we would get to see one of the rarest creatures on earth. We had been in Thailand for a little over a week and had only been in Haui Kha Khaeng for a few days. The wildlife refuge is part of a larger protected area, known as the Western Forest Complex, which is about three times the size of Yellowstone National Park. Due to its designation as a wildlife refuge, the protected land is relatively untouched and visitors aren’t allowed without a permit. It’s an incredible landscape, filled with thick forest-covered mountains, miles of impenetrable bamboo stands and thousands of acres of evergreen, deciduous and dry dipterocarp forest. The animals that inhabit the area are just as diverse as the landscapes. Along with the Indo-Chinese tiger, the Western Forest Complex is home to Asian Elephants, leopards, sun bear, Asiatic Black bear, tapir, barking deer, sambar (an elk-looking ungulate), water buffalo, gaur, bantang, wild boar and gibbons, and many other species. When we arrived in the refuge, we were warned about venomous snakes and scorpions, and to be fearful of tigers and leopards, but most of all be on alert for elephants and bears. In the last few years, elephants have apparently killed five people in the area, including a worker at the entrance of the research station. Needless to say we were on high alert. We weren’t in Minnesota anymore, that was for sure. It was as if we’d entered Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book world and we were finally in a place where humans didn’t hold all the power but rather in an Eden where pretty much everything could kill you or was trying to kill you. Earlier that day we had split up into groups of three and set out with Thai researchers on remote trails throughout the wildlife refuge to conduct a prey occupancy survey. We were looking for signs of wildlife – specifically tiger prey and evidence of tigers – in designated areas. The data provided researchers with information about the wildlife in the area and if it was viable habitat for tigers. We observed and recorded signs of dung, tracks, scents, scratch marks and all other signs of wildlife. My group hiked around five miles down a mountain through a dense bamboo forest. At times our Thai guides had to cut new trails with their machetes because we were either hiking through an uncharted area or the trail had become overgrown with lush vegetation. It was an exhausting trek and every inch of my body was soaked in sweat. Dirt and leaves stuck to my damp skin and my bare arms were riddled with cuts and scratches from the various thorns and nettles that clawed at us in every direction. I was always cautious about grabbing vines and trees in fear of accidently grabbing a snake or some poisonous insect. According to the Thai guides, there’s also a plant with toxic leaves that can cause blindness if rubbed in or near the eyes. Elephants had recently been through many of the areas we trekked through. They trampled everything in their path and often left the forest looking like a war zone. We were constantly hopping over downed bamboo stands and avoiding the elephant dung that littered the flattened areas. Our group came across a lot of evidence of prey (sambar, bantang, gaur, wild boar), but we also encountered a lot of tiger tracks, claw marks and scent marks. The scent marks gave off a surprisingly smell of buttered popcorn. I probably wouldn’t wear it on a first date, but it didn’t smell horrible. After six hours of hiking and recording our data in the heavy jungle heat, we were rescued by a couple of Thai researchers in a shoddy truck. When we returned to the research station, another group had encountered what no other student from the University of Minnesota ever had: a tiger. Apparently the group rounded a bend on a road only to come within a few yards of a frightened tiger. Both the tiger and the students bolted in opposite directions. The group seemed a bit shook up, but excited. The rest of us listened in envy of seeing one of the most extraordinary and endangered animals on earth. When the tiger experts radioed in that evening, we were beyond ready. The researchers had placed snares in a handful of locations around the refuge only a few hours before. To have actually caught a tiger in one of them in that short of time span seemed unreal. Not only are tigers rare (somewhere between 150 and 200 are thought to inhabit the entire Western Forest Complex), they’re also extremely intelligent and seem to avoid human presence at all costs. We had no idea where the trap was located and excitedly rode the bumps of the degraded gravel road up and down the steep hills. There was a lot of anticipation, but there was also a lot of anxiety. This encounter with a wild tiger is rare even for researchers and one little misstep could end in disaster. Due to their endangered status, not only is each tiger vital to the population in the refuge, but also to Thailand as a whole, which only has a handful of other much smaller populations around the country. If the tiger were to die while anesthetized, researchers could come under punishment and repercussions from the Thai government. Everything was on the line.  *This image is copyright of its original author After about an hour riding through the jungle in the back of the truck, I was feeling the pain of sitting on a narrow wooden board. Each bump emanated moans and groans from the truck bed. We were all exhausted from our occupancy surveys and the uncomfortable setting in the truck wasn’t helping. The stop and go jerks of the stick shift caused people to fly all over the place, and the occasional branch to the face was both painful and annoying. When we passed one of the ranger stations near the entrance to the refuge, we were greeted with large toothy grins. The rangers either knew we were headed to see a tiger or they were amused by seventeen haggard American students being tossed around in the back of a cattle truck. My guess is the latter. We took a side road and were told to hush. We were close. A couple of lights shined in the distance and we knew we had made it. The truck parked about a hundred yards away and we could see a group of Thais bustling around something large. We were instructed to be silent and do as we were told. In the most disorderly fashion, we hustled through the knee-high grass with our headlamps guiding the way. And there it was. A tiger. The beast of folklore and today a symbol for endangered species. It didn’t seem real. My mind raced and couldn’t seem to catch up to the current sight. It was as if I were in shock. No, I was in shock. I gasped and smiled, unsure if what I was seeing with my own eyes was real. A bag covered the tiger’s face in order to shield the bright lights, but its enormous muzzle poked out. The Thai researchers buzzed about – recording temperatures, taking measurements, locking on a radio collar and snapping photos. They yelled in whispers and we stood in awe of what was happening before us. I snapped a few photos with my iPhone before they announced that we weren’t allowed to take any photos. We put all our cameras away reluctantly but we were now free from technology and able to fully observe the amazing animal. They weighed the young male by tying the tarp it was on to a stick with a scale on it. The meter ticked around 350 lbs. – not even fully grown (adults can weigh between 600 – 800 lbs.).  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Read more below... https://mattherbertgoestoeurope.wordpres...-thailand/ 
About this article: http://siberiantimes.com/other/others/ne...ing-a-cow/
Well, I normally read The Amur Tiger Programme page, and I found the same event, but with a different age and weight. Check this link: http://programmes.putin.kremlin.ru/en/tiger/news/25409 "The tiger is a three-to-four-year-old male that weighs 170 kg." We have a little discrepancy here. Certainly, by the wear of the canines, between 3-4 years old seems more plausible.
https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/hand...sAllowed=y
250kg male tiger from Chitwan and two 150kg females, page 6 on the pdf and 110 of the book. first and second paragraph. 
Good contributions, Pod, Guate and Roflcopters. We might get somewhere in the end.
The large male tiger in the Nepal document could be the Sauraha tiger. Interesting document in more than one way. |
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