There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
(07-13-2022, 01:18 AM)Khan85 Wrote: Some large tigers of 21st century.
Over the past year and a half, me as well as others have communicated with many scientists and forest officials from India and nearby countries. A large database for weights of Bengal Tigers has been compiled. Here, I am going to list and make remarks on some of these large tigers that have been documented by scientists and researchers and I have permission to talk about freely. Some of these have been confirmed twice. I will not add direct names of sources to avoid spam.
*(+) sign - exceeded / more than
Following is the list in ascending order:
1. M-125 aka "Madla" Weight: Exceeded 250 kg scale (adjusted minimum 220-230 kg+) Age: 8 - 8.5 Capture date: 12-01-2002 Location: Panna Tiger Reserve Region: Central India Remarks: Madla exceeded a scale of 250 kg used by Dr. Raghunandan Chundawat. This included around 10 kg weighing bed and est. 20 - 30 kg food. Minimum empty was estimated to be no less than 220 - 230 kg+
2. T-3 aka "Betal" Weight: 240 kg Age: 10 Capture date: 13-01-2013 Location: Panna Tiger Reserve Region: Central India Remarks: This tiger was captured multiple times. The weight was confirmed by Head of Forest Department in an email.
3. M-91 aka "Old King" Weight: Exceeded 250 kg scale (adjusted 240 kg+) Age: 6 - 6.5 Capture date: 11-04-1996 Location: Panna Tiger Reserve Region: Central India Remarks: After recovering, he regurgitated the food he had eaten before being darted. To eyes, M-91 appeared fully gorged with 25 - 30 kg meat but the amount in vomit was only 19 kg thus adjusted to 240 kg+ empty
4. MT-3 Weight: 243 kg Age: 4 Capture date: March of 2020 Location: Mukundra Tiger Reserve Region: Central-Western India Remarks: Originally from Ranthambore, he was darted after a maggot infection in his face which hindered him from hunting. A few months later, he died due to illness and it was found he lost over 52 kg in this period.
5. T-04 aka "Mara" Weight: 250 kg (empty or near empty?) Age: 2 - 3 Capture date: 29-01-1990 Location: Nagarahole National Park Region: Southern India Remarks: A young tiger that was attracted to bait but captured within 10 mins of taking it.
6. Unknown Weight: 250 kg empty Age: Adult Capture date: 2008 Location: Tezpur (near Kaziranga) Region: North-Eastern India Remarks: A very large (long and tall) tiger that was rescued after being stuck in a well after annual floods in the region.
7. Unknown Weight: 250 kg empty Age: Adult Capture date: 17-06-2021 Location: Valmiki Tiger Reserve Region: Terai Arc Remarks: This problem tiger was causing chaos in a village near Valmiki Tiger Reserve. He was said to be hungry for 4-5 days
8. Unknown Weight: 250 kg+ Age: 6 - 7 Capture date: 28-06-2022 Location: Dudhwa Tiger Reserve Region: Terai Arc Remarks: This tiger was accidently captured in a trap set up for another tiger. A "highly reliable" source confirmed this tiger weighed more than 250 kg.
9. T-24 aka "Ustad" Weight: 240 kg / 258 kg empty Age: 3 / 9 Capture date: 2009 / 16-05-2015 Location: Ranthambore National Park Region: Central - Western India Remarks: Ustad was moved to zoo for alleged attacks on humans.
10. "Poochkata" Weight: 285 kg gorged (adjusted 255 kg) Age: Adult Capture date: Unknown Location: Kanha Tiger Reserve Region: Central India Remarks: Weighed by Dr. Jhala of Wildlife Institute of India. He was gorged at the time of capture so adjusted value for 30 kg meat, resulting in c. 255 kg empty.
11. Unknown Weight: 260 kg Age: Adult Capture date: Unknown Location: Unknown Region: Central India Remarks: In the paper, "Field Guide for Ageing Tigers" by Dr. Jhala, a range of adult tiger weights is given as 200 - 260 kg and Dr. Jhala's unpublished data is quoted. This leads me to believe that this 260 kg tiger is an individual tiger, although I could be wrong. 12. Unknown Weight: 280 kg (adjusted 260 kg) Age: Adult Capture date: Unknown Location: Ranthambore National Park Region: Central-Western India Remarks: Large tiger that had recently eaten before being weighed. So adjusted value for 20 kg meat, resulting in c. 260 kg empty.
13. Unknown Weight: 280 kg (adjusted 270 - 280 kg) Age: Could be a young adult or adult Capture date: Unknown Location: - Region: Central India Remarks: The source could not comment on if the tiger was empty but confirmed that it was 100% not gorged, meaning the tiger had nothing noticeable amount food in him (little to non). Hence I adjust for 10 kg or less than 10 kg food, resulting in c. 270 kg+ empty, making him one of the biggest felids.
14. M-126 Weight: Exceeded scale of 272 kg Age: Adult Capture date: 1984 Location: Chitwan National Park Region: Terai Arc Remarks: A large tiger captured by Dr. Dinerstein and his team in 1984. The tiger exceeded a weighing scale of 272 kg.
15. M-105 aka "Sauraha" Weight: Exceeded scale of 272 kg Age: 11 Capture date: 1980 Location: Chitwan National Park Region: Terai Arc Remarks: One of the largest tigers of all time, Sauraha exceeded a scale of 272 kg on his 4th capture. As the researchers who captured him described, he was a walking hunk of rippling muscle without an ounce of fat. 16. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCX_JPM...FgnjSldkwr this corbett male 270kg . source https://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/201105...CrRofoi0jw third last para , 270kg , this male is confirmed .000000000000
fair enough, i wonder who this other 280kg male was from Central India. also Ghunghuti male’s information came from Shree Jitendra Agarwal (PCCF) so it can’t be questioned. read the article, that’s his own statement and not some publisher writing stuff for news purposes.
fair enough, i wonder who this other 280kg male was from Central India. also Ghunghuti male’s information came from Shree Jitendra Agarwal (PCCF) so it can’t be questioned. read the article, that’s his own statement and not some publisher writing stuff for news purposes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I6Aza_sHNc this male tiger can be that ghunghuti 280kg tiger ,he was said be cattle lifter too .
fair enough, i wonder who this other 280kg male was from Central India. also Ghunghuti male’s information came from Shree Jitendra Agarwal (PCCF) so it can’t be questioned. read the article, that’s his own statement and not some publisher writing stuff for news purposes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I6Aza_sHNc this male tiger can be that ghunghuti 280kg tiger ,he was said be cattle lifter too .
Not the same tiger. Tiger in the video is Singham who was taken to Satpura in 2013 and unfortunately got poached in 2015.
fair enough, i wonder who this other 280kg male was from Central India. also Ghunghuti male’s information came from Shree Jitendra Agarwal (PCCF) so it can’t be questioned. read the article, that’s his own statement and not some publisher writing stuff for news purposes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I6Aza_sHNc this male tiger can be that ghunghuti 280kg tiger ,he was said be cattle lifter too .
Not the same tiger. Tiger in the video is Singham who was taken to Satpura in 2013 and unfortunately got poached in 2015. okk i was guessing given his thickness ,i think the weight of ghunghuti male is unadjusted , it must be with belly content .
fair enough, i wonder who this other 280kg male was from Central India. also Ghunghuti male’s information came from Shree Jitendra Agarwal (PCCF) so it can’t be questioned. read the article, that’s his own statement and not some publisher writing stuff for news purposes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I6Aza_sHNc this male tiger can be that ghunghuti 280kg tiger ,he was said be cattle lifter too .
Not the same tiger. Tiger in the video is Singham who was taken to Satpura in 2013 and unfortunately got poached in 2015.
Hello,khan,do you have more details about the tiger 13 in the list?
fair enough, i wonder who this other 280kg male was from Central India. also Ghunghuti male’s information came from Shree Jitendra Agarwal (PCCF) so it can’t be questioned. read the article, that’s his own statement and not some publisher writing stuff for news purposes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I6Aza_sHNc this male tiger can be that ghunghuti 280kg tiger ,he was said be cattle lifter too .
Not the same tiger. Tiger in the video is Singham who was taken to Satpura in 2013 and unfortunately got poached in 2015.
Hello,khan,do you have more details about the tiger 13 in the list?
I am trying to gather more information about him atm
Khan85 is right, Singham had a sad ending and he’s not the Ghunghuti male. a while ago, i found a set of pictures from 2018 of a tiger that was found dead aroung Ghunghuti. he had trident like mark as well.
*This image is copyright of its original author
*This image is copyright of its original author
trident mark
*This image is copyright of its original author
tiger found dead from Ghunghuti in 2018 with a trident like mark. this could be purely a coincidence because i have no idea what happened to the ghunghuti male after he was captured from Ghunghuti range and moved to Beherha enclosure in Bandhavgarh. what happened to him? was he released back into the wild? it wouldn’t make sense since he was a heavy cattle lifter and a man-eater. maybe Tigers of Bandhavgarh facebook page has the answer we’re looking for.
*This image is copyright of its original author
after doing further research, i realized Ghunghuti male was scientifically accepted and talked about in India. this was from a Project tiger study last year where his name surfaced again.
by now, i think there’s enough information on the Ghunghuti male. this male should be included in the overall list. Shree Jitendra Agarwal (principal chief conservator of forest) provided the weight himself.
*This image is copyright of its original author
he’s literally the person who oversees everything.
It is fascinating to see what kind of weights tigers can reach. In the cat kingdom unrivaled (except the african lion, which have fairly comparable body masses). I can not judge the trustworthiness of all sources but even those that seem 100% confirmed are completely sufficient to be able to form a judgment what the maximum is and where it begins to become extraordinary. The others support the thesis in this case.
But I would also be interested in the weights of the female tigers. As far as I know, males are 40-50% heavier than females. Hence, I would estimate the maximum of the female tigers at 165-185 kg.
Khan85 is right, Singham had a sad ending and he’s not the Ghunghuti male. a while ago, i found a set of pictures from 2018 of a tiger that was found dead aroung Ghunghuti. he had trident like mark as well.
*This image is copyright of its original author
*This image is copyright of its original author
trident mark
*This image is copyright of its original author
tiger found dead from Ghunghuti in 2018 with a trident like mark. this could be purely a coincidence because i have no idea what happened to the ghunghuti male after he was captured from Ghunghuti range and moved to Beherha enclosure in Bandhavgarh. what happened to him? was he released back into the wild? it wouldn’t make sense since he was a heavy cattle lifter and a man-eater. maybe Tigers of Bandhavgarh facebook page has the answer we’re looking for.
*This image is copyright of its original author
after doing further research, i realized Ghunghuti male was scientifically accepted and talked about in India. this was from a Project tiger study last year where his name surfaced again.
(07-13-2022, 01:18 AM)Khan85 Wrote: Some large tigers of 21st century.
Wikipedia weights, newspaper weights are not reliable. Only peer reviewed, published weights are reliable. Other than nepal chitwan, panna, nagarhole tiger weights, others in your list are not reliable.
(07-13-2022, 01:18 AM)Khan85 Wrote: Some large tigers of 21st century.
Wikipedia weights, newspaper weights are not reliable. Only peer reviewed, published weights are reliable. Other than nepal chitwan, panna, nagarhole tiger weights, others in your list are not reliable.
Verified by contacting vets/researchers/Forest Department people present on site so yes they are reliable. You want to believe it or not, that's up to you.
07-18-2022, 03:51 AM( This post was last modified: 07-18-2022, 03:53 AM by Charger01 )
(07-15-2022, 09:57 AM)TemptingFate Wrote: It is fascinating to see what kind of weights tigers can reach. In the cat kingdom unrivaled (except the african lion, which have fairly comparable body masses). I can not judge the trustworthiness of all sources but even those that seem 100% confirmed are completely sufficient to be able to form a judgment what the maximum is and where it begins to become extraordinary. The others support the thesis in this case.
But I would also be interested in the weights of the female tigers. As far as I know, males are 40-50% heavier than females. Hence, I would estimate the maximum of the female tigers at 165-185 kg.
(07-13-2022, 01:18 AM)Khan85 Wrote: Some large tigers of 21st century.
Wikipedia weights, newspaper weights are not reliable. Only peer reviewed, published weights are reliable. Other than nepal chitwan, panna, nagarhole tiger weights, others in your list are not reliable.
Opinions will differ greatly, of course. I also have my doubts about a few individuals in this list.
There is something like personal communication (sometimes it can be a video or whatever, but this is not the general case) with some individuals. This can be stamped as "trustworthy". Of course it also depends on the person who publishes this communication. As a scientist you could quote them in your text and then publish these weights.
Example:
"5 males weighed around 235 kg, the heaviest of them around 240 kg and their last meal was 2 days ago. (X, personal communication, date) "
In personal communications, personal communications were also cited to me. Whether your scientific paper is approved by a peer certainly does not depend on it unless you misquote and misinterpret the personal communication with the respective person. They will then most likely report it (or otherwise). In order to have a paper peer reviewed, it is not your work (field) or education that is important, but rather what you have written in this paper.
Modern weights and measurements on wild tigers
